Pierre Lueders, Ken Kotyk, Morgan Alexander and Lascelles Brown (CP)

Lueders livin' large with Turin around the bend: That's two gold medals in two days.
(The Calgary Herald)

Despite accumulating a truckload of World Cup medals over 16 years of international racing, Pierre Lueders had never done this before.

A day after winning gold in Saturday's two-man World Cup race in Koenigssee, Germany, the bobsled pilot from Edmonton topped the podium again in the four-man event. "It feels great and the timing couldn't be better," Lueders said Sunday night, minutes after arriving at a hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland, the site of next week's races. "I won the two-man and four-man in the same weekend twice in Calgary -- 1993 and 1997 -- in the fall of Olympic years. But this is the first time I've done it in Europe."

Lueders and his crew of Ken Kotyk, Morgan Alexander and Lascelles Brown set a track record on their first run. Todd Hays of the United States had the next-fastest time.

Prior to this victory, the best result of this season for Lueders' Canada 1 sled was a fifth at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, before Christmas. Saturday's win with Brown was also his first of the season in two-man. "Sooner or later, there was going to be a breakthrough," said Lueders, who lives and trains in Calgary. "In two-man, it just kind of happened. "In the four-man, we had a different strategy. It was part of the master plan to start turning it up after Christmas. "We weren't showing anything all year and we were doing all right. Then, we made some planned changes with our equipment, and we knew we'd be faster in the second half of the season."

Winning on the track continues to be only half the battle for members of the Canadian bobsled team. They impatiently are awaiting word on whether Brown will obtain his Canadian citizenship before Jan. 30, so he can compete at the Winter Olympics in Italy. The former Jamaican bobsledder joined the Canadian program nearly two years ago and applied for citizenship about five months ago. Brown, 31, lives in Calgary and has been with Lueders for 14 World Cup and world-championship medals over the past two years.

On Saturday, Canadian Olympic Committee president Mike Chamber suggested "it was likely" that Brown would be on the Canadian team next month. "We haven't heard anything new, but it is (was) Sunday," said Canadian men's bobsled coach Gerd Grimme. "We've heard some positive things, but definitely nothing official."

Three Canadian aerialists capture medals in World Cup.

Veronika Bauer of Toronto and Warren Shouldice of Calgary collected silver medals, while Kyle Nissen of Calgary took bronze. Instead of qualifying rounds and a second jump for the top 12 qualifiers, all jumpers were scored on just one jump.

Shouldice’s third World Cup medal of the season clinched his berth on the 2006 Olympic team, but in a final that began on a sour note. The one-jump final started very late, due to gusting winds, and the very first jumper, world-class aerialist Dmitri Arkhipov of Russia fell hard and was air-lifted from the site. “It’s tough to try to be thrilled to compete when something like that happens,” said Shouldice. “It really had you thinking twice, especially when you see someone get caught with a tricky wind.”

With their medal placings, Nissen remained atop the men’s overall aerials standings, while Shouldice moved into second. Nissen, who hasn’t missed a final in seven World Cup starts, clinched an Olympic berth Friday, when he finished ninth. “To be on the podium is such a feeling,” said Nissen, after capturing his fifth World Cup medal of the season. “I can’t believe the season I’m having.”

The win went to Dmitri Dashinski of Belarus. Ryan Blais of Grande Prairie, Alta., finished fifth and remains in contention for the final men's aerials spot on the Olympic team.

On the women’s side, a score of 93.76, with a triple-twisting double somersault, produced Bauer’s second World Cup medal of the season. “It’s a jump I’m always scared to do because I don’t do it often. But when I do do it, I do better,” said Bauer, 25, who does this jump with two twists on the first somersault. “It means I have one more piece of the puzzle,” explained Bauer, of her important jumps for the upcoming Olympic Games. Unless conditions change, she anticipates using Saturday’s jump and another triple-twisting double – with two twists on the last flip – in Italy next month.

Bauer, who sits fifth in the overall women’s aerials standings, says she’s jumping the best of her life prior to competing in her second Olympics. In 2001 she was World Champion. At the 2002 Olympics, she placed 10th. In Saturday’s aerials final, the other Canadian women were Amber Peterson of Thunder Bay in 10th and Deidra Dionne of Red Deer 19th.

Mellisa Hollingsworth-Richards (CP)

Skeleton racer finds her groove: Eckville's Hollingsworth-Richards adds gold in Germany.
(The Edmonton Journal)

EDMONTON -- The odds were stacked against Mellisa Hollingsworth-Richards on Friday. She was first out of the gate on one of the world's most difficult skeleton tracks, facing the powerful Germans on their home course, and wearing the yellow leader's jersey that serves as a target for every other competitor in the race. But none of that fazed the 25-year-old from Eckville. She beat the best women in the world once again, this time by nearly a full second, to win her second World Cup gold medal and extend her medal-winning streak to five.

"I was really surprised with the result because the Germans were so strong all week on their home track," said Hollingworth-Richards, who now has two gold, two silver and one bronze medal in five World Cup races this season. "I felt really relaxed today and really nailed both runs, so I'm really pleased with the way I performed."

Hollingsworth-Richards started the season by winning the first gold medal in her 10-year career in the opening event in Calgary. Coming off the Christmas break, she was first down the track, which stood as the fastest first run, and then solidified her victory with the fastest time on the day with her second run.

The track at Koenigssee, Germany, is extremely difficult, usually requiring a lot of runs and experience to figure it out, but Hollingsworth-Richards, now a gold-medal favourite for the Olympic Games, had an ace on her side in the person of Canadian coach Will Schneider. "Willy grew up on this track and knows it like the back of his hand," she said. "It was a huge advantage to have him with us all week. When we did track walks, we definitely listened to what he had to say, even if we disagreed. He knows this track and that was key for me."

Her victory prevented a sweep by the Germans, who finished second, third and fourth, and gave her 460 points in the overall standings. Maja Pedersen of Switzerland is second with 420 points and Diana Sartor of Germany, third in Friday's race, is third with 310 points.

Hollingsworth-Richards takes the yellow jersey to St. Moritz, Switzerland for next weekend's event, the second-last race before the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
"I love having the yellow jersey and it's exciting for me to put it on," she said. "I've been sliding a long time and never had it until this year, so I find it is a prestigious reward."

Three other Canadians raced Friday -- Michelle Kelly of Fort St. John, B.C., was 12th, Lindsay Alcock of Calgary was 14th and Carla Paven of Lethbridge was 28th.

Jenn Heil (CP)

Heil wins silver; Bilodeau is fourth.

January 13, 2006, DEER VALLEY, Utah – Jennifer Heil of Spruce Grove, Alta., captured a silver medal over one of the toughest moguls courses on the Freestyle FIS World Cup circuit Friday. And Alex Bilodeau, 18, of Rosemère, who won his first-ever World Cup last week, finished fourth, a mere 1/10th of a point behind bronze medallist Dale Begg-Smith of Australia who was once part of Canada’s national ski program.

Bilodeau had finished second in the qualification round while eventual winner Toby Dawson of the U.S. Dawson produced a huge score in the final, and the silver medal went to Janne Lahtela of Finland.

Heil, who won the women’s qualification round, finished second on a night where several skiers had difficulty with the long, demanding course. They included defending Olympic champion Kari Traa of Norway who went off course and tied for 14th. “It was tough,” said Heil, who was the last to run in the women’s final.

Her score was second-best to American Michelle Roark’s over the 260-metre course. “All the conditioning in the summer is paying off,” said Heil after capturing her fourth medal in four starts – three of them silvers and one gold. Despite hearing the troubles of other skiers, the Alberta skier, who now trains out of Montreal, says she never considered using conservative tactics. “I’m skiing well and when I’m conservative I struggle, so I just exploded out of the gate,” said Heil, who likes skiing in such plentiful and dry snow conditions. “It’s really good to be in these environments,” she said of the estimated crowd of 10,000 that was getting behind the skiers with the help of a rock band. “It was electric out there.”

Heil, 22, had plenty of Canadian company in the 16-skier final. Kristi Richards of Summerland, B.C., was fifth, Stéphanie St-Pierre of Victoriaville, Que., eighth and Audrey Robichaud of Val Bélair, Que., ninth. Three other Canadians joined fourth-place Bilodeau in the men’s moguls final. Warren Tanner of Grimsby, Ont., was seventh, Chris Wong of Prince George, B.C., eighth and Marc-André Moreau of Chambly, Que., 10th.

Helen Upperton and Heather Moyse(CP)

Upperton starts new year in style.
(The Calgary Herald)

A season-opening World Cup bronze medal in Calgary got Helen Upperton some attention, but not necessarily credibility.

It was the third podium ever by a Canadian in women's bobsleigh and a skeptic might have dismissed it as a fluke -- someone jumping on home-track advantage out of the gate. Two weeks later, though, the 26-year-old pilot went out and upgraded to silver at Igls, Austria. It was the best result ever by a Canadian woman. The next week, she finished fourth at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

By the time Upperton returned to Canada for Christmas, she officially was on the map. On Friday, World Cup racing resumed for the new year and Upperton took silver with brakeman Heather Moyse on a technical track at Konigssee, Germany. "I don't know what people might be thinking now," said Upperton, from the team hotel Friday night. "You don't have too much time to think about things being really good or really bad. "I'm already packing my stuff and going to another track first thing in the morning. You have to get ready for the next race. There's always so much to do."

The Canadians set a push record and had a two-race combined time of one minute, 42.74 seconds, just .14 seconds behind Susi Erdmann and Anne Dietrich of Germany. The convincing effort suggests they could be in the medal hunt next month at the Winter Olympics in Italy. "The girls that are finishing in the top six to eight, any of them could medal in any given race," said Upperton. "I don't think so much about how I can do in Torino. I just keep going week by week, keep practising and try to get better at handling situations with pressure.

"It's never been this tight in women's bobsleigh before. It's a little stressful in some ways. You used to see a lot of time in between sleds, now it's 1/100ths. You go into the second heat being 2/100ths ahead or 2/100ths behind and you could maybe win the gold or you could drop down to fourth and not win a medal. "It's hard, but it's really good."

Upperton never won a World Cup medal before this season and her previous best was eighth last year at Lake Placid, N.Y. She credits her breakout to improved conditioning, working with a mental coach and receiving driving advice from coach Francoise Burdet, a former Swiss driver who was hired by the Canadian program this year.

Plus, Upperton has had some impressive athletes riding shotgun. "With Heather, Jamie (Cruickshank) and Kaillie (Simundson) pushing, we have maybe the three fastest brakemen in the world, so we're really lucky," she said. "I feel like we just keep getting faster. Our starts are phenomenal. That helps give me peace of mind because I know we have a bit of a lead at the top and maybe I can afford to make mistakes. It's nice to have that kind of leeway."

Jeffery Buttle and Emanuel Sandhu (CP)

Buttle leads figure skating team into Olympics at Turin: No shocks as selections follow final standings.
(The Vancouver Province)

OTTAWA -- The wait is over. Jeff Buttle believed all along that he'd be on Canada's Olympic team. He was confident enough in his abilities to know he could earn the trip to Turin, Italy, and it became a reality when Skate Canada named its team Sunday. He's officially an Olympian. "The feeling is more genuine now," Buttle said. "All year it's been, 'I'm preparing for the Olympics, I'm preparing for the Olympics,' but I hadn't officially qualified for the Olympics. "I can actually feel it now. I was really excited [Saturday night]. I couldn't sleep very well. I think it's going to help my training knowing that the wait is over and I can actually enjoy, and work hard."

Three Olympic figure skating berths were available in men's singles and two in each of women's singles, pairs and ice dance events.

Buttle, from Smooth Rock Falls, Ont., won a second straight national title Saturday. He, runner-up Emanuel Sandhu, who trains in Burnaby, and bronze medallist Shawn Sawyer of Edmundston, N.B., were awarded the three men's spots for Turin. Joannie Rochette of Ile Dupas, Que., retained her women's title, and runner-up Mira Leung of Vancouver got the second of two women's berths.

Valerie Marcoux of Gatineau, Que., and Craig Buntin of Kelowna assured their selection by winning a third straight pairs title. Runners-up Jessica Dube of Drummondville, Que., and Bryce Davison of Cambridge, Ont., also go to Turin.

Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon of Montreal won a fourth national ice dance title Sunday. Also named Olympians were runners-up Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe of Vancouver.

There were no surprises in the selections. In all cases, they followed the order of the standings. Skate Canada CEO Pam Coburn said that when the national championships began a week ago, she had expectations of one Olympic medallist -- Buttle. After watching the competitions, she ventured that two are possible. She's added Dubreuil and Lauzon because their Somewhere In Time free dance has evolved so spectacularly. "We have the potential for two medals at the Olympics," Coburn said following the announcement of the team.

With the exception of Dubreuil and Lauzon, the '06 Canadian champions didn't leave their best performances of the season on the Civic Centre ice. That's not necessarily a bad thing, said Buntin, because Turin is where they want to make the biggest impression. "It would have been nicer to have done it in true championship style but we'll take it for now and peak later in the season," he said. "This might be a blessing in disguise."

Alexa Loo (CP )

Loo breaks snowboard drought with slalom bronze: First Canadian woman to win a podium spot.

There was elation, frustration, a sick feeling and conflicted emotions for the Canadian snowboard team on the weekend in Kronplatz, Italy.

The only medal came from a surprise source as Alexa Loo of Richmond, at age 33, became the first Canadian woman to reach the podium in a World Cup snowboard alpine event when she won bronze Sunday in the parallel giant slalom. "I feel great, everything fell into place today," said Loo, who defeated Michelle Gorgone of the U.S., in the third-place battle.

"With the Olympics around the corner this is a big confidence boost. It was my last World Cup before the Games and it was great to be on the podium and be re-assured that I can compete at that level. I think I can repeat this performance at the Olympics." Loo said it helped to have coach Mark Fawcett back after he had gone home to attend the birth of his first child. "It was great to . . . feel his energy at the starting gate."

Loo has been on the World Cup circuit for a decade, finishing mostly in the 20-40 range. But she has recently begun to find her form in PGS. She was eighth in a World Cup in Sweden last March, won a Nor-Am in Colorado last November and was ninth at a World Cup in Le Relais, Que., in December. Sunday's race was won by Daniela Meuli of Italy, who beat Julie Pomagalski of France in the final.

On the men's side, Swiss riders swept the top four spots, with Philipp Schoch beating his brother, Simon, in the final. Four-time FIS World Cup overall champion Jasey-Jay Anderson of Mont Tremblant, Que., didn't complete his opening run. Anderson was fifth, however, in the men's snowboard cross on Saturday, winning the four-boarder consolation final. "I was pushed in my semifinal [by Marco Huser of Switzerland]," said Anderson. "The race director should have disqualified him. [But] I'm very pleased that I dominated the starts and the runs in the last race before the Olympics."

Anderson will head to Turin, where snowboard cross makes its Olympic debut, second in the World Cup SBX standings. Drew Neilson of North Vancouver, who stands third overall, had the 19th-best qualifying time but placed 31st after not starting in the four-man heats because of a bad case of food poisoning.

The race was most noteworthy, however, for two serious injuries in qualifying, ones that will give Anderson and Neilson clearer shots at the podium in Turin. Xavier Delerue of France, who leads the SBX standings and is one of Neilson's good friends on tour, broke an ankle and will miss the Games.

Also out for the Olympics is American Shaun Palmer, the 37-year-old X Games legend on the comeback trail after a five-year absence from the sport and a near-fatal drug overdose a year ago. Palmer, second to Neilson two weeks ago in a race in Austria, ruptured an achilles tendon in qualifying.

In the women's SBX at Kronplatz, Dominique Maltais of Montreal and Maelle Ricker of Whistler were one-two in the consolation final to finish fifth and sixth overall.

Shannon Kleibrink (CP)

Shannon Kleibrink's Canadian Olympic team struggled to a 3-4 record at the Berner Damen Cup international.

The Calgary-based outfit -- which includes third Amy Nixon, second Glenys Bakker and lead Christine Keshen -- was bounced out of title contention with a 7-3 loss to reigning Canadian champ Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, who went on to claim the title and about $4,550 Cdn with a 6-4 win over Switzerland's Olympics-bound Mirjam Ott in Sunday's final.

Kleibrink faced three other Olympic teams in Bern, beating Russia's Ludmila Privivkova while losing to Dordi Nordby of Norway and Rhona Martin of Great Britain in consolation play. The Kleibrink team is in Turin, Italy, this week checking out the Olympic curling venue before returning home for a training camp next weekend.

Meanwhile, teams skipped by Ken Boulter of Hanna and Darren Moulding of Calgary claimed the last two berths into next weekend's southern Alberta men's championship at the North Hill Club with qualifying wins at the Last Chance Bonspiel.

Beckie Scott and Sara Renner (CP)

CANADIAN NORDIC WOMEN POST UNOFFICIAL FOURTH-PLACE RESULT IN WORLD CUP TEAM RELAY.

Val di Fiemme, ITA-Canada's women's cross-country skiers, who took the nation by storm on their home snow last month, teamed up to post an unofficial fourth-place result in a 4x5 kilometre World Cup team relay on Sunday in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

With their fourth teammate, Chandra Crawford, forced to stay in the hotel room with a sore throat and cold, Canada's Beckie Scott, of Vermilion, Alta., Sara Renner, of Canmore, Alta., and Amanda Ammar, of Onoway, Alta., recruited a Swedish skier to form a relay team to get another high-level race under their belts in preparation for the Olympic Winter Games, which are just three weeks away. The modified Canadian team finished fourth after posting a combined time of 56 minutes 42.3 seconds.

"It was a really strong race for us today and a good test because we haven't skied a relay in a long time," said Sara Renner. "We were first after Beckie and I completed our laps, and Amanda skied terrific. It bodes well for the Olympic relay for sure."

Renner was the lone Canadian woman to ski in Saturday's 15 kilometre mass start skate event as the remainder of the Canadian squad rested from the long haul to Europe. Renner has been training in Europe since New Year's Eve with husband, and alpine skier, Thomas Grandi. "The girls raced really way today and were strong all the way through," said Dave Wood, head coach of the Canucks. "The team is still getting over some jet lag, but it was important for them to get back to the start line and test themselves against a strong field."

Meanwhile, the Canadian men did not get off to a strong start in their first World Cup of the new year in Europe. The team of Drew Goldsack, of Red Deer, Alta., Devon Kershaw, of Sudbury, Ont., George Grey, of Rossland, B.C., and Chris Jeffries, of Chelsea, Que., struggled from start-to-finish in the men's 4x10 kilometre relay event, trailing the field to finish 20th.

Regan Lauscher (CP)

CANADA'S REGAN LAUSCHER FALLS JUST SHORT OF TOP-10 FINISH IN WORLD CUP LUGE ACTION.

Igls, AUT-Two days after claiming the bronze medal versus the world's elite female luge athletes in the Suzuki Challenge Cup, Canada's Regan Lauscher was admittedly disappointed the triumph didn't carry over into a top-10 finish in World Cup action on Sunday. "I thought it was a no-brainer to be able to make the top-10 today," said Lauscher, 25, who last season won Canada's first ever World Cup silver medal in luge. "Obviously after winning that medal on Friday, and more importantly, putting down two solid runs, it was a little frustrating today."

Lauscher, a native of Red Deer, Alta., wound up in 13th-place when the dust settled on the two sliding heats. Closely following Lauscher among the final finishers was a pair of teenaged teammates in Alex Gough and Meaghan Simister. Both turned in some of their finest performances of the season, with Gough taking 15th place. Simister, a 19-year-old native of Regina, wasn't far behind after sledding to 17th place.

For Gough, her first season on the international senior circuit has proven profitable, considering the 18-year-old Calgary native was one of 10 athletes named to Canada's Olympic Luge Team last month. Along with Sunday's strong result, the youngster posted an impressive 11th-place finish during World Cup action last month on her home track at Canada Olympic Park, bettering the previous Canadian track record in the process. "It's getting used to the World Cup experience," said Gough. "Things went pretty well today. I made a couple mistakes on my second run that cost me a bit, but overall I was pretty happy with the result."

Canada's doubles teams also fell short of cracking the top-10 during Sunday's races, with the Calgary brotherly tandem of Chris and Mike Moffat sledding into 14th spot. Grant Albrecht, of Red Deer, and Eric Pothier, of Airdrie, Alta., finished two spots back of their comrades at 16th place.

Canada Ranks Second Overall In Total World Cup Medals One Month Prior To Turin.

TORONTO, January 10, 2006 – With just one month to go before the start of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, the updated results from the 2005-06 winter World Cup events indicate that Canada continues to remain on track to achieve its goal of being one of the top three nations in Turin, Italy.

From the start of the season, through last weekend’s competitions, Canada ranks second overall in the number of total 2005-06 World Cup medals won with 107 (accomplished in a nation-leading 39 events and nine sports).  Germany continues to lead all nations with 120 podium finishes (36 events and 11 sports) followed by Canada, the United States of America with 100 (36 events and 10 sports), Russia with 66 (28 events and eight sports) and Austria with 60 (19 events and six sports).

Overall, Canada’s current medal haul of 107 in 2005-06 is 22 ahead of the pace set in 2004-05 and 33 ahead of the pace set in 2003-04.

The Canadian Olympic Committee’s (COC) findings were compiled using the results of the 73 events on the 2006 Olympic Winter Games program which have been contested on the World Cup or Grand Prix circuit to date.  The 2006 Games in Turin will feature a total of 84 events in 15 disciplines.

“Canada’s consistent and unprecedented podium success during the 2005-06 World Cup season is extremely encouraging as we stand 31 days out from the opening ceremony,” said COC Director of International Performance, Alex Gardiner.  “The Canadian Olympic Committee is extremely pleased with the increasing number of Canadian athletes achieving podium performances this winter and we remain focused on achieving a top-three finish in Turin.”

Last season, World Championship podium performances indicated that Canada was on target for a top-three finish at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games after ranking third overall in terms of total medals won at 2005 World Championship events.

Canada’s 2005 World Championship medal tally of 28 trailed only Norway and Germany which captured 33 and 32 medals respectively. The United States ranked fourth with 25 while Russia finished fifth with 20.

In 2002, Canada finished fourth at the Olympic Winter Games with 17 total medals after garnering a fifth-best total of 18 medals in 2001 World Championship events.

Ontario lottery to help fund high-level athletes: $2.5-million expected by end of March.
(By JAMES CHRISTIE - THE GLOBE AND MAIL)

A new Ontario government lottery promises millions of dollars in direct financial aid to 1,300 high-performance athletes in the hopes of keeping them from fleeing to other provinces or U.S. colleges. Now, the athletes need sport venues in which to practise their skills.

The Quest for Gold scratch-and-win tickets, five in a $20 package, will provide $2.5-million for Ontario athletes by the end of March, Ontario Minister of Health Promotion Jim Watson said yesterday. That works out to about $1,900 in the pocket of each athlete -- not a sum that dramatically alters an athlete's world, but at least a start, provincial sport officials said.

A second round of the lottery, scheduled for the summer, will provide between $5-million and $12-million, depending on sales. The existence of the ticket beyond that depends on its success, officials of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation said.

The new game is a much-needed contribution to the sport community, which was ignored or savaged by budget cuts in the late 1980s and 1990s, Watson said. Sport was the victim at all government levels. "I was the mayor of Ottawa, and though you knew you had to find money to repair sewers, sport was always the orphan," he said. "Now there's a recognized connection between health and wellness and physical activity. You can build a pool and it's an investment. Twenty years ago, it was a frill."

Ontario's athletic presence had decayed badly over the past two decades, he noted. He pledged Ontario to do more to strengthen and increase the number of its athletes on national teams. "At the 1984 Winter Olympics, 52 per cent of Canada's team were Ontarians," he said. "By 2002, it was down to 22 per cent. At the 1984 Summer Olympics, 52 per cent of the team was from Ontario. In 2004, that was down to 38 per cent. "Politicians are always proud of their province's athletes on national teams. We're always quick to rush up to the podium to congratulate them. But, sadly, we let them down in Ontario."

While amateurs had faced diminishing finances in an affluent province, they'd watched the province recently kick in $8-million toward an Exhibition Place stadium for a professional soccer team to be operated by the wealthy Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. "Beyond money, it's the sense of recognition that's important," said Peter Fonseca, an Olympic marathoner at Atlanta in 1996 and now a member of the provincial legislature. "We can't just celebrate athletes when they succeed. We have to help them prepare."

"I totally support this," said former International Olympic Committee member Paul Henderson, a long-time advocate for a sports lottery for amateur athletes. He noted lotteries are the main way amateur sport is supported in Britain. Where the athletes can prepare is a larger and more expensive question. Quebec has a legacy of amateur sport support and infrastructure from staging the 1976 Olympics and numerous world sports events.

Calgary has had state-of-the-art facilities and sport scientists in residence at a Canadian Sport Centre since the 1988 Winter Games. Vancouver is getting its own set of facilities for the Winter Games of 2010. Even smaller games have left legacies in Edmonton (University and Commonwealth Games) and Winnipeg (Pan American Games).

Ontario has lagged badly, Watson said. "You look at a city like Sydney, with 20 Olympic-size swimming pools, then look at Toronto, where there are two and one of those leaks."

Canadian Olympic Committee chief executive officer Chris Rudge said the "next push" for the sport community would be to get good facilities for the athletes. "There's a dramatic shortfall here [in Ontario]. The most needed facilities are 50-metre pools, upgraded facilities for track and field, more sophisticated training centres and access to sport science and testing."

Lottery officials said there would be 10 top prizes of $1-million. Ironically, a large percentage of the province's amateurs won't have a crack at the big money: It is a provincial offence, punishable by fines, to sell OLGC lottery tickets to anyone under 18 years of age.