Mike Brown (CP)

Two silver medals for Canadian swimmers at 2005 World Aquatic Championships.
(CBC)

MONTREAL- The Canadian swim team delivered two spectacular silver medal performances on Friday night at the 2005 World Aquatic Championships.

Mike Brown of Perth, Ont., earned the silver medal in the men’s 200-metre breaststroke and the men’s 4X200 freestyle relay with Brent Hayden of Vancouver, Colin Russell of Barrie Ont., Rick Say of Calgary and Andrew Hurd of Toronto were also second finishing ahead of Australia, three-time defending world champions. Canadian records were set in both races. National marks have been lowered 11 times this week.

“We’ve definitely made a complete turn from the Athens Olympics,” said Brown. “We’re in a new beginning. We have a great team heading into Beijing 2008 and I don’t think anything can stop us right now. We have the momentum and we’re going to keep riding this wave.”

Canada is up to four medals so far in swimming at the competition (three silver and a bronze). Hayden and Say each have two silver medals as they were part of the 4X100 freestyle relay as well on Sunday.

In the men’s 200 breaststroke, world record holder Brendan Hansen of the U.S., took the gold in 2:09.85 while Brown clocked 2:11.22 to eclipse his Canadian record of 2:11.26 set in Thursday night’s semifinal. Genki Imamura of Japan was third in 2:11.54.

“I stuck to my race plan,” said Brown who has steadily climbed the international ladder since his bronze medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. “I knew Brendan would be ahead of me at the start but I stayed with it. I always get nervous before a race, it doesn’t matter what competition I’m at. That’s because I care about my races and I want to swim fast. I knew I had done the work, I was confident and I was ready.”

In the 4X200 freestyle relay, the Americans with Michael Phelps leading off took the gold in 7:06.58. Canada, which marched onto the deck with their lucky Canadiens jerseys, won an intense battle with the Australians - armed with superstar Grant Hackett- for the silver in 7:09.73. That smashed the Canadian record of 7:13.33 set at the Olympics last year. Hayden, Say and Hurd were on that relay.

“All of us are just ecstatic,” said Say, who clocked a scorching 1:46.84 on his relay. “These guys just stepped up today and provided a great effort all around. I had a tough week (in individual races), but my teammates really picked me up. I couldn’t let them down and Brent got us in the race right off the bat and has been a real inspiration throughout.”

With a medal on the line, Hurd delivered under pressure in the anchor leg. “I usually like a little pressure and it helps me swim better,” said Hurd. “I was really pleased with it. When I went in I knew I couldn’t let the team down and I knew I had to do my best after these guys had such a great race.”

Australia was third in 7:10.59 and Hackett paid tributes to the Canadian performance. “The home crowd does lift you a notch” said Hackett. “Your expectations are higher and your ability to perform is better. They did a wonderful job tonight, full credit to them, that’s a wonderful time.”

In the men’s 100 butterfly semifinals, Mike Mintenko of Vancouver squeaked into the final tying for the seventh best time in 52.91. World record holder Ian Crocker of the U.S., was the top qualifier for Saturday night’s final in 51.08. “At the end of my career this is a big step to get back into the final”, said Mintenko, the Canadian record holder. “I think the final it’s going to be important to use the mental part and emotional part of it to get myself up and do even better.”

Meanwhile Brittany Reimer of Surrey, B.C., turned on the jets in the final length and passed Olympic champion Ai Shibata of Japan to win the last heat in the women’s 800-metre freestyle preliminaries Friday morning and qualify first for Saturday night’s final.

Reimer, 17, clocked a solid 8:30.96 and was greeted at the finish by one of the louder roars this week at the swimming venue as the spectators were riveted by the young Canadian’s surge to the finish. Shibata also posted the second fastest time overall in 8:30.98 and Flavia Rigamonti of Italy qualified third in 8:33.34.

“In the heat I just wanted to make sure I made the final,” said Reimer, a bronze medallist in the 1,500 freestyle earlier this week. “But once I saw Shibata beside me I decided I may as well race her. It’s always a good feeling when you catch someone after they’ve been ahead of you. For the final, I know I’m going to swim fast and have fun. It’s all a game and I’m trying not to take everything so seriously lately and that’s why I’ve been swimming so fast. I’ve done the training for it and there’s no doubt in my mind.”

Members of Team Canada (CP)

Canada wins satisfying bronze in women’s water polo at 2005 World Aquatic Championships.
(Canadian Sport News)

MONTREAL- Veterans Ann Dow of Montreal, Cora Campbell of Calgary and Johanne Begin of Ste-Foy, Que., sparkled in the their swan song game Friday as they led Canada to an 8-3 victory over Russia to win the bronze medal in women’s water polo at the 2005 World Aquatic Championships.

It was Canada’s first medal at the worlds since finishing third in 1991. Hungary defeated the U.S., 10-7 for the gold medal.

Dow led the Canadian offence scoring her team’s first four goals while Begin, Tara Campbell of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., Sue Gardiner of Vancouver and Krystina Alogbo of Montreal added singles. Rachel Riddell of Vancouver showed why she is among very best goaltenders in the world stopping 18 of 21 shots.

“We feel really good about the medal and momentum we’ve built for the sport,” said Cora Campbell, 31, a national team member since 1992 and named the world’s best player in 1999 by Water Polo magazine. “The attention has been wonderful for water polo and I hope it continues to grow and grow.”

Dow said Canada fielded one of its best teams in her 14 years with the squad. They won five of their six games including victories over Italy and Greece, gold and silver medallists at the 2004 Olympics.

“We had one of our best tournaments ever,” said the 34-year-old who led Canada in tournament scoring with 14 goals in six games. “Sure I put the ball in the net today but it was a team effort, offence and defence. We stuck together until the last moment. It was wonderful for me to have a tournament like this at home and have a final opportunity to thank all the people who were there for us.”

At the post game press conference, the 33-year-old Begin, who wore Canadian colours for the first time at the 1991 World Cup, was emotional in paying tribute to her teammates.

“We had a tough tournament but gave all the energy we had left today,” said Begin, who’ll rejoin her boyfriend in Italy and play professionally there as well. “Water polo has helped me become the person I am today. I look at the past with a lot of pride especially in the people who supported us. It’s an indescribable feeling right now, my teammates are my family and I’m going to miss them.”

The Canadian team was disappointed on Wednesday night when it lost to Hungary in the semifinal and saw its gold medal hopes evaporate.

“When we got back to the hotel after the last game we didn’t talk about the game,” said head coach Patrick Oaten of Montreal. “Basically it’s a choice and they made the choice to go for the bronze here and not hold back. I don’t think it was hard for them to get ready for this game. They made me look good.”

Canada in fact responded with one its best games of the tournament. After the Russians opened the scoring, Dow scored four times to propel Canada to a 5-2 first half lead. The Canadian defence was stifling from start to finish and if the Russians saw an opening they couldn’t solve Riddell.

“We really wanted to win today and came out and played our hardest,” said Riddell who stopped 53 of 81 shots in the tournament, an astounding 65.4 percent efficiency rating. “I look up to everyone of these players and feel honoured to play with these girls and win a medal.”

The end of the game was a moving celebration between the spectators, who came in droves over the past two weeks at the 4,500 seat pool to see the Canadians, and the players. They chanted the Goodbye song in the final minute while waving Canadian flags and giving the team a standing ovation. When the game ended the coaches and staff joined the celebrations by jumping in the pool. The team then walked around the pool deck to once again say a final thank you.

The other Canadian team members were Whynter Lamarre and Christine Robinson, both of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., Valerie Dionne of Ste-Foy, Que., Marie-Luc Arpin of St-Lambert, Que., and Dominique Perreault and Jana Salat, both of Montreal.

Despite the departure of three key veterans, Oaten isn’t worried about the future. “We have an incredible group of dedicated players right now and coming up as well,” he said.

Brittany Reimer (CP)

Canada finishes with record 10 world aquatic medals.
(CBC.CA News)

Even though no Canadian swimmers advanced to Sunday finals, few national team athletes hung their heads on the heels of a record showing at the world aquatic championships in Montreal.

Team Canada captured 10 medals for the best performance ever by the country's athletes at the multi-sport world aquatic championships, beating the old standard of nine set in 1978.

Canada ends the two-week event, which wrapped up Sunday, with five swimming medals (four silver, one bronze) and four diving medals (three gold, one bronze) to go with a bronze in women's water polo. "I think we had a great week," Vancouver's Brent Hayden said of the Canadian swim team. "People were predicting we weren't going come out of here with any medals. It's just been a great week. We exceeded all our expectations."

Canada's success in the swimming pool was one of the biggest surprises of the week. The Canadian swim team was shut out of the medal count at the 2004 Athens Olympics in the worst performance by the national squad in 52 years. The lacklustre effort led to a lot of finger pointing and the eventual dismissal of long-time national team coach Dave Johnson.

Pierre Lafontaine was brought on board in March as Swimming Canada's chief executive officer. Lafontaine has helped instill a new swagger in the young Canadian team. "At least they are walking tall, walking with confidence and they are walking like they belong on the pool deck," said Lafontaine. "With that alone, anything can happen."

So far, it's worked. Less than one year after Athens, the Canadian team looked confident in Montreal - making finals, winning medals and breaking a handful of national records. "I'm so happy that we can prove everybody wrong. We're not a bad team," said Brittany Reimer of Surrey, B.C., who led the Canadian swim squad with two medals. "We made a big stand to the world. We do have a good swim team and we're just as good as everybody else." Canada's success at the swimming venue in Week 2 came after a strong performance by the country's divers.

Alexandre Despatie of Laval, Que., solidified his status as one of Montreal's most popular athletes by winning gold medals in the men's one-metre and three-metre springboard events. Despatie also became the first diver ever to win crack the 800-point barrier, scoring 813.60 points in the three-metre competition.

Blythe Hartley of North Vancouver took gold in the women's one-metre springboard, while Meaghan Benfeito of Montreal and Roseline Filion of Laval captured bronze in the three-metre synchronized diving event.

Quebec singer Gregory Charles provided the entertainment at Sunday evening's closing ceremonies, drawing to an end the first world aquatic championships ever held in North America. The next world championships are slated for 2007 in Melbourne, Australia.

Cindy Klassen (CP)

WINTER OLYMPICS: ON THE PODIUM - Athletes wanted to use their skills in another sport, Recruitment program takes aim at grooming talent for Vancouver.
By JAMES CHRISTIE

MONTREAL -- They may think their sports careers have come to an end: the lightning-fast hockey player who has been told he's too small to be drafted; the skilled girl gymnast who has been told she's grown too big for the sport of pixies; or the sprinter who has afterburners for 40 metres, then could use a ride to the finish.

Before they get discouraged, they should know these are the kinds of athletes on the radar screen of the On the Podium recruitment program.

On the Podium is the well-funded joint project of Vancouver 2010, the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees, the Calgary Olympic Development Association, the national winter sport federations and the federal government that has a goal of seeing Canada win at least 35 medals to finish atop the medal standings at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010.

A hurried search is taking place to find athletes who are not in the Olympic stream but have transferable skills -- and five short years -- to be groomed into potential medalists in the sports of ice and snow.

It's not a pipe dream to think that today's castoff can be tomorrow's gold medalist. Cathy Priestner Allinger, a 1976 Olympic silver medalist in speed skating and the senior vice-president of sport for the Vancouver Olympic organizing committee, helped in the recruitment of U.S. athletes for the Salt Lake Winter Games in 2002. The United States jumped from 14 medals at Nagano in 1998 to 34 at home.

"And two-thirds of the increase came from athletes who came from outside the system," Priestner said in an interview. "A lot of kids came from skateboard parks and in-line skating."

About a million dollars is available this year to help convert about 60 Canadian athletes deemed to have medal potential in 2010, said Guy Thibault, a two-time Olympic speed skater and former national coach who is heading up the search. "We learned some lessons from other countries' programs," Thibault said from Calgary, where he has been based at the Olympic Oval. "You need to look at 100 athletes to get one through, and time is short. It takes five years for an athlete who already has some skills to refine them in a new sport for Olympic competition."

To help whittle down the candidates, Thibault has been consulting experts, such as former world champion freestyle aerialist Nicolas Fontaine, a variety of coaches and hockey scouts. There will be testing camps across the country before the end of the summer to complete the list of participants and get them into training for the winter 2005-06 season. "We need to find good ones," Priestner said.

"The idea of 'poaching' is out of our vocabulary," Thibault said. "We're not out to steal elite athletes, but to give a magnificent opportunity to someone who has plateaued where they are."

About the half the recruits will be selected for their potential in speed skating and short-track events, where Canada has experience, facilities and coaching expertise, and there are many medals available. Next in On the Podium's priority are snow sports, and then sports requiring specialized facilities -- biathlon shooting, sliding and ski jumping.

The three absolute requirements are a clean bill of health, extremely self-motivated personality and technical capacity. Athletes 18 to 22 are the prime age because relocation would be easier, but younger athletes are not excluded.
For the athletes who are chosen, the program will offer at minimal cost coaching, equipment, performance monitoring, competitions, training camps and, in some instances, relocation and bursaries or scholarships.

Crossover athletes are not something new. Speed skater Clara Hughes, a Winnipeg native now of Glen Sutton, Que., was an Olympic medalist as a cyclist before she became the first Canadian to get medals in both summer and winter events. Cindy Klassen of Winnipeg was a hockey player before she was a record-setting world champion skating on the long blades.

Former National Football League star Herschel Walker competed in the Albertville Winter Olympics in 1992 as a member of the U.S. bobsleigh team, while hockey player Haley Wickenheiser was a member of the Canadian women's softball team at the Sydney Summer Games in 2000.

Jean-Luc Brassard, a gold medalist in moguls at the Lillehammer Olympics 11 years ago, said that Chinese sports officials have recruited non-skiing acrobats to be aerialists. "Once you have the sense of moving your body in the air, like a gymnast or a diver, you can learn the skiing part," he said. "At first, they couldn't land their jumps, but watch them at the next two Olympics." Lafontaine has had acrobats from Cirque du Soleil in a camp.

Finding gold

In the quest to make Canada the top medal winner at the Vancouver Games in 2010, the Own the Podium program is recruiting athletes from a range of sports whose skills may be transferable to Winter Olympic events. These are their targets:

Bobsleigh-skeleton: track and field, football, rugby.

Speed skating: hockey (retiring players, university, overage juniors), ringette, short-track skating, figure skating, in-line skating, cycling (BMX, track cycling, road cycling).

Freestyle aerials: gymnastics, trampoline, skateboarding, snowboarding, diving.

Snowboarding: skateboarding, alpine skiing.

Hayley Wickenheiser (CP)

HOCKEY: WICKENHEISER ON PAPERBACK.
The Edmonton Sun

Hayley Wickenheiser had pictures of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier on her bedroom wall while growing up in Shaunovan, Sask.

It wasn't until she was 12 years old and watched the first women's world ice hockey championship on television that she realized there were women out there playing the game at a high level.

Now 26 and an international women's hockey star, Wickenheiser wanted to encourage young female hockey players to keep playing by telling them the story of her life. She has collaborated with Elizabeth Etue on the book Hayley Wickenheiser, Born to Play, which will be in bookstores this week.

Born to Play is published by Kids Can Press and the 40-page publication is geared towards pre-teens or younger. It is filled with pictures, many of them childhood photos provided by Wickenheiser's mother Marilyn, and documents more than just the triumphs and disappointments of her hockey career.

It includes a section on playing softball for Canada at the 2000 Olympic Games as well as a chapter on her life with boyfriend Tomas Pacina and adopted son Noah.

Pierre Lafontaine (CP)

Successful world aquatic championships launches new era in Canadian swimming.
(Swimming Canada)

MONTREAL- Canada’s swimming team completed the 2005 World Aquatic Championships with five medals- its highest total since the 1986 worlds- and more importantly gained plenty of steam for the next major international events over the next few years.

“The team came together this year,” said Mike Brown of Calgary, a silver medallist in the 200 breaststroke on Friday night. “We’re a lot more positive and everybody has just stepped it up. Now we’re moving forward to the future.”

Brown says a big factor for Canada’s success included the home crowd support and the great start to the competition last Sunday. That evening the Canadian men’s 4x100 freestyle relay with Yannick Lupien of Quebec City, Rick Say of Victoria and Mike Mintenko and Brent Hayden of Vancouver won the silver medal and Brittany Reimer of Surrey, B.C., was fourth in the 400 freestyle. Both performances were in Canadian record time.

“That first day was crucial,” said Brown. “It tells you that our preparation was right and we were ready for this meet. When we saw what Brittany and the relay did we knew we were moving in the right direction and we made the right decisions. That set the tone. The crowd was also phenomenal and they pushed us through a lot of races.”

Reimer, 17, went on to add a silver medal in the 800 freestyle and bronze in the 1,500 freestyle, also in Canadian record time. Canada added a fourth silver in the men’s 4X200 freestyle relay with Hayden, Colin Russell of Barrie, Ont., Say and Andrew Hurd of Toronto.

In all Canada lowered Canadian records 14 times in 10 events. The records were set by Reimer in the women’s 400, 800 and 1,500 freestyle; the men’s 4X100 freestyle relay; the men’s 4X200 freestyle relay; Mintenko in the men’s 50 butterfly; Hayden in the men’s 100 and 200 freestyles; Brown in the men’s 200 breaststroke and Sophie Simard of Quebec City in the women’s 200 freestyle. The men’s 4X100, Brown, Reimer in the 400 and Hayden in the 100 all lowered records twice.

At a news conference Sunday morning Swimming Natation Canada CEO Pierre Lafontaine unveiled an ambitious plan that included putting Canadians athletes on the medal podium and Canadian kids in the swimming pool. He outlined five objectives for the next seven years.

They are: win three medals at the 2012 Olympics in London; double the number of registered swimmers in Canadian clubs which stands now at about 35,000; have all provincial and national records in the book today beaten by 2012; double SNC’s operating budget; and establish a progressive and organized program at all levels for swimmers, coaches and officials.

“What we’ve seen is a cultural shift in our organization,” said Dan Thompson, SNC’s president. “It’s really about us believing in ourselves, our kids and our country. There’s a lot of work to do and we’re up to that challenge. We want to be the pre eminent summer sport for Canada.”

Sunday was Canada’s quietest day at the championships. In the women’s 400 individual medley preliminaries, Elizabeth Warden of Toronto and Tanya Hunks of New Westminster, B.C., were 13th and 23rd and didn’t advance. The men’s 4X100 medley relay with Keith Beavers of Waterloo, Ont., Brown, Mintenko and Hayden were ninth, missing a berth in the final by one spot.

Lafontaine paid tribute to the competition’s organizers. It was the first time World Aquatic Championships were held in North America. “It’s been a fun meet for us and for Montreal,” said Lafontaine. “The swimmers have been excited to perform for the people that were committed to have this event in Montreal. The swimmers are proud to have done well for Montreal, Quebec and Canada.”

Vanoc on the move to East Van: Relocation to outside downtown lets agency keep burgeoning workforce together.
The Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER - The organizing committee for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics will move out of downtown Vancouver early next year to a larger office space that will accommodate its ever-increasing number of employees.

Vanoc will move to two buildings purchased by the city of Vancouver in East Vancouver near the First Avenue and Trans-Canada Highway interchange.

"If we stayed in the downtown core . . . our teams would have been spread out," Vanoc CEO John Furlong said in an interview Thursday. "The vision we have of trying to affect the country and touch the soul of Canada -- you can't do that and have your team divided and all over the place."

Office space in downtown Vancouver is difficult to find, let alone the 200,000 square feet Vanoc will need. Even if it could find enough space, the cost would be up to three times what it will pay at the city-owned buildings, he said.

Other Olympic organizing committees have struggled to find the amount of office space necessary for planning such a large event and others have been located out of the downtown core of host cities, said Furlong. "People will get used to where we are."

Vanoc will be talking to the city about putting Olympic colours and logos on the outside of the buildings to make them stand out.

"We want to make it like an Olympic campus," he said.

There are currently 120 employees at Vanoc, but that number will grow about 10 times over the years until the games begin, said Vanoc spokeswoman Renee Smith-Valade. In addition to the 1,200 full-time employees, there will be 3,000 working part time and 25,000 volunteers.

The team is growing so fast it will move some departments to offices across the street from its overflowing West Pender Street location in September while it waits for the new buildings to be made ready, she said.

Even though the new offices are located away from the city centre, Vanoc is confident employees will be able to travel easily to work by car, transit or even bicycle. There is ample parking available as well as bike storage, and the nearest SkyTrain station is about nine blocks away, said Smith-Valade. Buses also run frequently on nearby Boundary Road.

Vanoc will pay for any necessary refurbishing and preparation of the buildings and the city will be making a return on its investment, said Bruce Maitland, director of real estate for the city.

"There's no cost to the city."

Two or three floors will be renovated at first, and work will continue on the rest of the buildings as space is needed for new employees, said Smith-Valade. Vanoc has budgeted for renovations and the expected preparations are well within that budget.

"It's a very solid building and . . . from a technological standpoint it's well equipped," she said.

The buildings have a cafeteria, a fitness centre and a large atrium that will serve as a place for meetings and announcements that require the entire staff.

Most of the space in the two buildings on Gravely Street and Kootenay Street is empty, with only three current tenants. Vanoc will lease all of the empty space in both buildings -- more than 200,000 square feet, said Maitland.

CODA Accepting Applications for Full Time Communications Specialist.

CODA is a national leader in creating Canadian Olympic winter sport excellence from the grassroots level to the country's best athletes. A not-for-profit organization, CODA financially supports national sport organizations, educational opportunities and subsidizes the operation of unique training and recreational facilities used by the nation's top athletes and the general public including Canada Olympic Park. CODA has the following career opportunity available:

In six months Canada’s high-performance athletes will be marching into the Olympic stadium in Italy in pursuit of a gold medal. With Canadian athletes poised to claim a record medal haul this winter, CODA will continue to play an integral role in creating Canadian Olympic winter sport excellence.

An exciting opportunity exists for an intermediate public relations professional to be a part of the Olympic journey with CODA’s communications team. The successful candidate will have strong written and oral communications skills, and have the ability to balance multiple projects while working effectively with athletes, sport leaders and national media under tight deadlines. The candidate will be responsible for assisting the communications manager with media and public relations for each of CODA’s key brands including Canada Olympic Park, Canadian Centre of Sport Excellence and selected national winter sport organizations.

If you have a degree or diploma in journalism or public relations, and two-to-five years prior work experience, this may be the opportunity for personal and professional growth you are looking for. Knowledge of the sports industry is an asset. Evening and weekend work is required.

Competition Deadline: Monday August 8, 2005
Please submit resume/cover letter:

Human Resources
CODA/Canada Olympic Park
88 Canada Olympic Road SW
Calgary, AB
T3B 5R5
E-mail: jobs@coda.ca

Applications will only be accepted through Human Resources. Only successful applicants will be contacted for an interview. All employment offers are contingent on a Police Security Clearance.

CODA is a not-for-profit organization.
CODA’s Vision…Creating Canadian Olympic Winter Sport Excellence

By applying for this position, you consent to the collection, use and necessary disclosure of the personal information provided during the application and selection process. All applications will be kept on file for three months.