ROAD TO 2010: Battling beijing: Canadian scientists are on a mission to give our athletes an edge.
The Vancouver Sun

VICTORIA—During a mid-August visit to Beijing, environmental physiologist Jon Kolb toured the outdoor venues for the 2008 Olympics with a knapsack full of fancy thermometers and state-of-the-art gas analyzers.

The collected data—in all its scientific, hieroglyphics-to-the-rest-of-us form—will be collated and then used in the integration of an overall plan for Canadian athletes in two years time. But if you want a quick layman’s language summary of the findings, Kolb, a University of Calgary professor, will oblige.“Basically,” he says with one of those state-the-obvious grins, “it’s bloody hot and really polluted.”

Now, you might ask, did the Canadian Olympic Committee really need an environmental physiologist to reach that conclusion? The answer, it seems, is yes, particularly if Canada is determined to be something other than a Summer Games also-ran.

The COC has, of course, sent preparation teams over early to previous Olympic Games. But when Gord Sleivert of the Pacific Sport Centre in Victoria was included as part of the team in Athens in 2004, he looked at what other countries were doing and found that top nations such as the U.S. and Germany were much more pro-active in understanding performance environment.

It helped spark a seed change at the COC.“We’ve moved from what we used to call comfort and care to performance partnership,” says Alex Gardiner, senior director of Olympic planning for the COC. “This was probably some fresh thinking that was required years ago and just launched now.”

When Gardiner and other COC executives visited Beijing from Aug. 14-24, the same period in which the 2008 Games will be held, they were joined by Kolb and meteorologist Doug Charko. They were there at the same time as the women’s softball and water polo teams and the world junior track and field squad.

In addition to air quality and temperature and humidity tests, Kolb also looked at sleep patterns and the effect of extended travel. What he found—and what he thinks will help athletes overcome some of the issues—will be presented to coaches in November when the COC meets with national sport organizations to go over planning for 2008.“Certainly one of the things that’s going to impact all of the athletes regardless of their sport is the heat, the humidity, the pollution and the cultural stuff,” said Kolb during an interview this week at a sports innovation and technology conference in Victoria.

“This stuff isn’t rocket science, but if you don’t plan for it, you’re not going to get to the finish line, let alone the semifinals.”“We’ll be helping them understand what the problems are from a physiological point of view, what types of strategies they can implement into their YTP (yearly training program), helping them identify when they can actually ergogenically assist their training to better help athletes prepare for the heat load that is inevitable.”

Kolb said two-thirds of the athletes on the world junior track team got sick in Beijing because of the effects of the heat. The ambient temperature during that period ranged from 30C to 36C, with a relative humidity of about 80 per cent.“I was on the warmup field for athletics, just standing there taking different types of measurements, and I was soaked, just dripping wet. There are a lot of strategies that are going to be very important in Beijing—pre-event cooling, mid-event cooling, post-event cooling and regeneration. There’s this accumulative heat load that is just staggering.”

That raises one of the many logistical issues Kolb and the team discovered. It is difficult to find ice in China. The COC is looking at putting its own ice-making machine in the athletes’ village and securing dozens of freezers to store cooling vests.

Another more delicate issue Kolb discovered was that toilets at some venues were still of the squat variety and, in his words, “not a very pleasant place to go to the bathroom.” When some of the female athletes were reluctant to use them, “it kind of threw them off their schedule.”

Beijing organizers have promised to have western toilets at all venues by 2010, but who knows?“We can’t make any assumptions or take anything for granted,” says Gardiner, who will have Kolb and the others return to Beijing in August 2007. “We are ignorant of their culture and ignorant of what is available. We are on a reconnaissance mission more than anything else.”

While some Canadian teams spent time in various parts of Europe immediately prior to the 2004 Athens Games, the COC plans to bring as many teams as possible together in Singapore for the three or four weeks prior to the 2008 Beijing Games as part of pre-Games preparation.“I don’t know if you can adapt to Beijing,” says Gardiner. “We’ve talked to Canadians who’ve been there for years. You don’t adapt to Beijing, you try to learn it, you try to tolerate it, but it is a vastly different culture than we’ve been used to.”

Tolerating Beijing, however, should be easier given the work of Kolb and others. “What I’m doing we should have started a year or two ago,” he says. “Other countries are way ahead, but we’re catching up. I’m just tickled pink to be involved."

Olympic fire burns on: The legacy of the ‘88 Winter Games will continue.
The Calgary Herald

Lindsay Alcock loves playing tour guide when she brings visitors to Canada Olympic Park. The national team skeleton athlete has an intimate connection with the facility. She was a tour guide at COP before taking up the sport of skeleton, in which she’s established herself among the world’s best.

Now, thanks to her vibrant personality and a decade’s worth of training, she’s often called upon to show off the place to visiting dignitaries, including politicians who are being urged to get on board with a massive expansion project to keep COP a top-tier winter sports facility.

Make no mistake, says Alcock, the upgrades are vital.“I think it’s just a matter of staying on top of it. I think it’s worth looking at the question—are we falling behind?” says Alcock. “CODA (the Calgary Olympic Development Association), for sure, is being proactive in saying: ‘This is what we need to do, and it is important for our high-performance athletes to have these upgrades.’

“I believe the upgrades are very important. We haven’t really had many major upgrades to the park, except for the building of the Ice House (an indoor facility to practise starts in bobsled, luge and skeleton). . . . And we also require upgraded facilities for training, like the weight room, the gymnasium—all of it needs to be expanded.”

CODA, which operates the park with the legacy funds from the 1988 Winter Olympics, has been pushing the expansion project for more than five years. The Canadian Centre of Sport Excellence would upgrade existing facilities and add new ones, such as expanded (and possibly lit) cross-country ski trails, an athlete development centre with indoor training facilities, and an ice complex featuring four to six sheets for hockey, figure skating and short-track speed skating, as well as a curling rink.

In fact, the expansion has begun. CODA was involved in upgrades at the Canmore Nordic Centre as well as a pair of high-altitude glacier training areas for the cross-country and alpine ski teams. CODA’s new president, Bob Nicolay, is pushing for both corporate and government assistance to get the expansion underway so athletes can train here in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver-Whistler.“I’d like it sooner rather than later,” says Nicolay. “Is that fair?”

The underlying threat is that Vancouver may supplant Calgary as a winter sports training centre, although Nicolay prefers to stress the positives from having the 2010 Games staged one province over.“I think Vancouver will be very good for us,” he says.

A major reason for that optimism is that once those 2010 Games are done, Vancouver won’t have the same facility legacy. For instance, the speed-skating oval in Richmond is a one-time-use project: the building will be converted to an indoor field house with hockey and short-track speed skating facilities. As well, the COP sliding facility will likely remain the choice of national teams because of the adjacent Ice House.

“They’re not building an Ice House (in Whistler) and because that will still be the only facility of its kind available to Canadian athletes, and actually the only indoor facility in the world, that will keep a lot of sliding athletes in Calgary,” predicts Alcock. “This will remain a huge sports hub.”

Still, challenges remain. For instance, the Olympic Oval at the University of Calgary, still considered one of the fastest long-track speed skating tracks on the planet, badly needs a new roof.“Our facilities out here are outstanding, but the standards the world uses to benchmark its competitions are evolving all the time, and you have to keep up with it,” says Nicolay.

Long a focal point for Canadian winter sports, Nicolay believes the future remains bright for Calgary and its landmark Olympic facilities.“Every time an Albertan was featured (during the 2006 Turin Olympics), every time a Canadian was featured, it was a source of national pride, it was a source of provincial pride, and it was a source of pride for Calgarians,” he says. “Seventy-five per cent of those athletes, at one time or another, found their way through these facilities for training.

“(Interest in COP) definitely peaks during those times, but come out here during any winter day or any summer day and watch the kids in Calgary coming out here: that’s a healthy lifestyle, people getting active. “It means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, and that’s positive.”

Canada’s dominance to be challenged.
Kirkland Lake Northern News (ON)

A lot of people thought it was a fluke, a once in a decade thing. But when Sweden upset the Americans in the women’s Olympic hockey semifinal in Turin last February, it showed an increasingly skeptical audience that it’s not written into international law that women’s hockey must always conclude with a Canada-U.S. showdown.

“It was perfect timing,’ Canadian star Hayley Wickenheiser says of Sweden’s win. “In listening to the general comments there was that buzz around Turin that maybe women’s hockey shouldn’t be in the Olympics. But as the games went on exciting things started to happen. Sweden showed they could compete. It was a real paradigm shift. To me it was the most significant moment in the history of women’s hockey.’

The hope is that Finland, China, Russia and other countries will continue to improve and pose even greater threats to the North American monopoly.“It shows how far women’s hockey has come and it’s only going to get better,’ says Gillian Apps, who scored for Canada in the 4-1 gold medal win over the surprising Swedes.

“It’s turned from a two-team tournament to a three-team tournament and I think we’re going to see it grow to become a six or seven team tournament just like the men’s tournament.’

Which, of course, means that Canada can’t sit still.“There’s a sense of urgency this year,’ says Wickenheiser, the tower of strength who’ll be front and centre when Canada hosts the Four Nations Cup Nov. 7-11 in Kitchener, Ont. Canada also hosts the 2007 world championships this April in Winnipeg.

“We know we are the best team in the world and we may not be at the end of this season after world championships if we don’t continue to raise the bar,’ she says. “As an athlete you feel that every single day. You feel that responsibility for Canada so we can stay on top of the world.

“The games get tougher every year so that only makes it tougher for us to be No. 1. When we continue to do it people think it looks easy but it’s not. There’s a lot of work that goes into it.’

CANADIAN LUGE ATHLETES BEGIN PRE-SEASON JOURNEY TO 2006-07 WORLD CUP CAMPAIGN WITH ANNUAL START COMPETITION.

Calgary - A track record fell in Canada Olympic Park’s Ice House Friday morning when the Canadian Luge Association held its third annual Edworthy pre-season start competition - the first critical test for sliding hopefuls aiming to earn a berth on the Canadian team entry for the 2006-07 World Cup campaign.

A quartet of senior team veterans and 2006 Olympians continued their dominance of the event for the second consecutive year, with Jeff Christie, Meaghan Simister and the duo of Chris and Mike Moffat all earning their second straight titles in the men’s singles, women’s singles and doubles disciplines, respectively.

“Throughout the team there were numerous personal bests recorded, which is very exciting for this time of year as we look ahead to the 2006-07 season,” said Walter Corey, head coach of the Canadian Luge Team. “The overall team performance was very good, which I think is a reflection of the athletes’ solid preparation through the summer months.”

The Moffat brothers set a new Ice House record in doubles competition, with the sliding siblings and two-time Olympians concluded the competition with a two-start combined total of 5.856. Another duo of two-time Olympians, Grant Albrecht and Eric Pothier, slid into the second-place position, while the pairing of Marshall Savill and Aaron Christensen took third-place honours.

With 17 athletes vying for start supremacy in men’s singles, and eight in the women’s category, the annual competition featured a number of junior and development youngsters anxious to earn a berth on the senior circuit. Nick Olson, 19, a three-year member of the national junior team, impressed coaches with a third-place performance in the men’s singles discipline that pitted him against three 2006 Olympians, as well as other senior-level athletes from the 2005-06 World Cup squad.

“Nick Olson had an excellent competition,” said Corey. “As a group, the young athletes performed very well.”

Christie, 23, was just fractions away from bettering the previous men’s singles start record in the Ice House. He finished with a two-start total of 5.692 seconds to claim the men’s singles crown. Rounding out the top-three men’s singles finishers was Sam Edney, a teammate of Christie’s on the 2006 Canadian Olympic Luge Team, who finished second.

Simister slid to her second consecutive start championship in women’s competition, she was joined in the top-three by fellow Olympians Regan Lauscher and Alex Gough, who earned the second and third-place spots, respectively.

The critical Edworthy luge start competition is the first phase of a pre-season training camp to determine which athletes will carry the Canadian flag as national luge team members for the 2006-07 World Cup campaign. In addition to ongoing dry land training, all prospective team members will compete in a series of on-track race-offs at Canada Olympic Park, October 15, 22 and 25.

The CODA track crew has worked diligently in recent weeks installing ice on the Olympic Track, with the world-class training and competition facility for Canada’s luge, bobsleigh and skeleton athletes set to open Tuesday, October 10.

National Recruitment for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games kicks-off at workopolis.com.

Toronto, ON (October 3, 2006) - Workopolis, Canada’s leading provider of Internet recruiting, career and job search solutions, today announced it has been selected as the exclusive Official Supplier of Online Recruitment for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC).  VANOC’s team is growing quickly and over the next three years all postings for 1,200 full-time, 3,500 temporary and 25,000 volunteer positions will appear on workopolis.com. Officials from Workopolis and VANOC unveiled the exclusive integration of VANOC jobs on the site today in Toronto.

”We’re searching for Canada’s best ‘corporate athletes’ who are looking for an experience of a lifetime,” said VANOC CEO John Furlong. “The 2010 Winter Games are Canada’s Games and Workopolis’ unparalleled national reach will help us recruit professionals who, like our Canadians athletes, are talented and passionate and will help us prepare to host the world in 2010.”

”VANOC is building a huge enterprise, expanding its team from the 275 employees to more than 30,000 paid and volunteer positions in the space of just over three years. That’s a unique and demanding recruitment challenge, one which we’re excited and honoured to tackle,” commented Patrick Sullivan, President of Workopolis. “As the number one online career and job search resource in Canada, we can provide VANOC with unsurpassed reach to potential candidates in every region of the country. Plus, they can access our extensive database of more than one million searchable resumes and search directly for qualified candidates.”

Working or volunteering for the Games offers a unique career opportunity. As a one-stop site for all Games-related work opportunities, visitors to workopolis.com are encouraged to apply online for all available positions, and to take advantage of the site’s job search tools including online resume posting and CareerAlerts, which provide email notification of relevant positions as they are posted.

Paid positions at VANOC will range from entry-level to senior management and will be filled across eight divisions: CEO’s Office; Sport, Paralympic Games, Venue Management and Technology & Systems; Games Services Operations & Ceremonies; Venue Development; Revenue, Marketing and Communications; Human Resources and Sustainability; Finance and Legal.

”There will be many exciting opportunities to be part of the Vancouver 2010 team,” continued Furlong. “Be it a transport systems manager, an accountant, a medal ceremonies assistant, a food services manager or a venue construction inspector, partnering with Workopolis will ensure we have access to the very best candidates from across the country.”

Workopolis was selected because of its wide reach to Canadians in both official languages, and sophisticated recruitment expertise. As the official online recruitment supplier, Workopolis will be providing, as of today, online job posting services on workopolis.com. Workopolis will integrate with VANOC’s existing HR management software and will provide enhanced branding including a dedicated VANOC FastTrack area on the site and prominent on-site banner advertising. This new partnership will give VANOC the ability to search the large database of quality Canadian resumes in the workopolis.com and workopoliscampus.com databases.

Sherraine MacKay finishes disappointing 17th at world fencing championships.
CP Wire

TURIN, Italy (CP-AP) _ Sherraine MacKay of Brooks, Alta., a bronze medallist a year ago, finished a disappointing 17th in the women’s epee at the world fencing championships Tuesday.

MacKay, who was fighting illness and a groin injury, lost 15-13 to Tiffany Geroudet of Switzerland in the second round. MacKay won Canada’s first ever medal at the championships last year.

On Monday, Igor Tikhomirov of Toronto became Canada’s first ever male medallist at the event, earning a bronze in the men’s epee. Two-time Olympic champion Timea Nagy of Hungary beat Irina Embrich of Estonia 15-11 for the women’s epee gold. The 36-year-old Nagy took time off after the Athens Olympic to have her second child.

Catherine Dunnette of Calgary was 38th while Ainsley Switzer of Ajax, Ont., was 42nd and Julie Leprohon of Montreal was 59th.

Hamilton’s Josh McGuire was the top Canadian, finishing 30th. Nicolas Teisseire of Montreal was 89th and Marek Wojcik of Montreal was 108th. Tikhomirov competed for the Soviet Union at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He also won a world championship team bronze with the Soviets. He moved to Canada in the early 1990’s and came out a retirement in 1998.

Calls for health passports, whistleblowing hot line in anti-doping fight.
CP Wire

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) _ Health passports for athletes, a whistleblowing hot line and quicker sample testing could soon find a role in the fight against doping.

At the end of a three-day anti-doping symposium organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations, officials and competitors agreed on the need for medical profiles to keep track of individual athletes’ physiological makeup. They also backed a worldwide data base storing and evaluating the information.“It’s not that we suspect individual athletes but we wish to protect the vast majority who aren’t doing anything wrong from those who try to cheat you, rob you and steal your glory,” WADA executive committee member Arne Ljungqvist said. “That’s why we need to profile all athletes individually.”

Health passports _ or medical profiles _ could help anti-doping agencies identify abnormalities or detect sudden changes in an athlete’s blood. WADA first championed the idea in 2001 but it has recently gained momentum.

Currently, testers measure athletes’ samples against predetermined average levels for substances naturally occurring in the body _ such as EPO and testosterone. But this potentially allows athletes with naturally low levels to cheat without being detected. This individual approach would also resolve the problem of physiological differences among various populations and ethnic groups.

The IAAF’s medical and anti-doping commission hopes to launch the project before the world championships at Osaka next August. Athletes and officials also want shorter times between testing A and B samples, arguing that sample deterioration has allowed cheaters to evade punishment.“We want B samples tested as soon as possible because otherwise you run the risk of not being able to confirm the ‘A’ sample,” said Christiane Ayotte, head of the WADA-accredited doping control laboratory in Montreal.

WADA used to allow two to three weeks for the request of a B-sample analysis, but have begun putting pressure on athletes to be quicker about it.“Now, even before we notify an athlete of an adverse finding, at the point we’re going to issue the letter to him for the first time, we’ve already contacted the laboratory to determine the date of B sample test,” IAAF legal council Huw Roberts said. “That will hopefully cut down on delays.”

A possible hot line for whistleblowers also generated enthusiasm. “Many people just don’t know who to call, who to talk to,” Bahamian sprinter Debbie Ferguson said. “In my career, I don’t know of any athlete taking a doping substance but if I ever had any hard evidence I would make the call.”

IAAF officials are also considering a “no-start rule” for athletes with inexplicably high blood values, already used in some sports like cycling. When unable to prove illegal blood manipulation, some sports suspend athletes with abnormal blood parameters for a few days or weeks “for health reasons,” to act as a deterrent. “It is called a health test but that is an excuse or a pretext,” Ljungqvist said. “The real idea behind it is to prevent doped athletes from competing.

The symposium comes at a time when athletics has seen several high-profile doping cases, such as Justin Gatlin, the 100-metre world co-record holder with Asafa Powell. Other topics discussed were designer drugs; new forms of EPO; conditions influencing blood parameters such as exercise, environment, hydration and the storage and transport of samples; the need for more cooperation between sports federations, anti-doping agencies and governments.“The cheaters are a small minority and mostly at the top of our sport,” Ferguson said.