Dale Henwood Inducted Into Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame.

The Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame recognizes those individuals who have made a significant contribution to the game of Hockey in Alberta through regional, national, or international accomplishments. They are also recognized for their contributions to the growth and development of the game in Alberta.

Dale Henwood, President of the CSCC, is being honoured for his contributions to hockey in Alberta, which include guiding Hockey Alberta to be a leader in the area of coaching and player development, and his role as an assistant coach with Canada's National Team and Olympic Hockey Team for 9 years (including three Olympic Games - 1984, 1988, 1992). A special banquet was on June 9th in Red Deer to honour Dale and five other inductees.

The Hall is designed to research, preserve and celebrate Alberta’s Hockey History. It honours former presidents, inductees and members. Items that are on display date back to the beginning, to those first days of Hockey. The Hall displays old jerseys, autographed photographs and shows the highlights of pro and junior Alberta Hockey. The Hall of Fame maintains legacies for people to enjoy forever.

Going for gold again; Calgary-based gymnast Kyle Shewfelt made Canadian history three years ago at the Olympic Games in Athens.
The Toronto Sun

It’s been almost three years since Kyle Shewfelt made history by winning Canada’s first Olympic medal in artistic gymnastics.

And ever since, the 25-year-old Calgarian has been re-enacting the moment on an almost weekly basis. “Every school I go to I play ‘the Olympic gold medal cartwheel contest,’” Shewfelt says with a smile. Shewfelt won Canada’s first gold medal in Athens via a brilliant floor routine. “I get three competitors to come up, each from a different country, and the winner gets the gold medal placed around their neck and everyone sings the national anthem. It’s pretty cool.”

Appropriate, too, given the fact Shewfelt’s love for gymnastics began two decades earlier when his brother taught him the cartwheel. Parlaying his passion for plyometrics into Olympic glory, he’s since made an effort to share his medal with as many people as possible—that is until he heard Marnie McBean’s golden hardware was cracked by a curious student. Thus, the contest. “It was in perfect form after the Olympics but now it’s not shiny at all and the ribbon is tattered and wrinkled—we needed to iron it for a photo shoot,” says Shewfelt, who shows school kids video of him declaring on TV at age nine he’d win Olympic gold.

“Thing is, I think it’s important you share it. It gives it a lot of character. I’d be disappointed if it was still in perfect condition because it would mean I hadn’t shared it with people.”

With hair longer than the crew-cut he sported when grabbing the nation’s attention in Athens, Shewfelt says he’s only occasionally recognized out in the public—an occurrence he says is inevitably followed up with, “I thought you were taller than that.”

But that doesn’t mean his life hasn’t changed. “Before the Olympics, I lived at my parents’ house,” says Shewfelt, sitting in the Calgary office of Agenda Sport marketing, which represents him. “I was 22 years old and I didn’t have too much responsibility. Three years later, I have an agent and an accountant and my own home to take care of. I’m definitely not set for life financially, but I think I’m set for life in terms of opportunities. I can own a home in Calgary—I bought before the boom—and all my needs are being met. I feel fortunate I don’t have to borrow money from my parents.”

Shewfelt took the 2005 season off from competition so he could speak on the rubber chicken circuit and “take every opportunity to experience what it’s like to be an Olympic gold medalist.” He also flew to Hungary to star in a gymnastics movie called White Palms, which he did as a favour for a former coach. “I don’t want to be a movie star—I retired from that,” Shewfelt says of the subtitled film that deals with the abuse of young gymnasts in the communist era.

“It did quite well—it was named best film at the Hungarian film festival. I was actually quite proud of it. I’m planning on having a screening and charging a lot of money so my friends can watch—so I can make some money off it.”

He kids. In the midst of his year off, Shewfelt had to make major life decisions regarding his gymnastics future. Would he continue on in the sport and, if so, would he stay in Calgary or follow coach Kelly Manjak to Mississauga? “Kelly was my coach for 16 years—he’s like my father,” says Shewfelt, who chose to move from the Altadore Gymnastics Club to the University of Calgary where he’s now coached by Tony Smith.

“But I’m a born and raised Calgarian and I love this city. All my family and friends are here. I wanted to take a chance and stay in the city and still be successful. The change has opened up some new motivation in me. If I was still at Altadore training with Kelly sometimes I think it wouldn’t have been enough to keep me going. It was that new change that inspired me to continue.”

While the move took time to adjust to, being surrounded by more national team teammates has helped shape his goals for Beijing. “Athens was such a great experience and I did accomplish my dream, but I had a whole team there supporting me,” says Shewfelt who stole the spotlight.

“The team has so much talent and potential and I really want to be a part of that because I feel we can make historic performances as a team heading into Beijing—that has totally become a reality for us. At last year’s worlds, we came fifth in team qualifying and sixth in team final and we surprised a lot of people. I like to think that what I did in Athens showed my teammates that Canada can be on top on the world stage.”

Gymnastic Canada president and CEO Jean-Paul Caron agrees. “Kyle’s gold medal had a huge impact on the sport in Canada,” says Caron, who calls Shewfelt the perfect ambassador for a sport that has 200,000 participants in Canada. “Our men’s team has been doing better every year and I think Kyle’s result started that. He has raised the bar and created another level of expectations with the entire team. The other athletes with talent at that level, their mindset has changed—they’re now going in to win instead of just trying to make the final.”

Finishing ninth as a team in Athens, the Canadian men’s squad continued to move up the ranks with a sixth-place finish at the worlds last year. Suddenly, traditional powerhouses like Russia and Romania are within Canada’s sight. “The bronze (in Beijing) may be a little out of reach, but who knows what could happen,” Shewfelt says with a shrug. “We don’t have the highest level of difficulty, but we are so consistent. On days I don’t want to train I have to now because of the performance I need to give for the team.”

That doesn’t mean Shewfelt won’t be a threat to defend his gold medal or challenge in the vault, where a judging scandal cost him the bronze in Athens. However, he might not go in as Sports Illustrated’s favourite again given significant changes to the judging system that might hurt him.

“The code of points has totally changed from Athens because of all the judging problems there,” Shewfelt says, unhappy with the new system introduced after four judges were sanctioned for robbing him of Olympic bronze.

“Now we’re scored out of 10 for execution and they add difficulty to the score. I’ve had to totally revamp my floor routine—it’s the hardest routine I’ve ever done in my whole career. I’ve developed a routine that is a 6.6 difficulty, but the highest guys are 6.7, 6.8 and 6.9. They’re doing absolutely insane things. I know I could not do those things on a daily basis and not break my legs.”

As it is, Shewfelt is being plagued by Achilles injuries on both heels, prohibiting him from competing so far in 2007. His next scheduled competition is the world championships in September, which also doubles as an Olympic qualifier.“My legs are hating me lately but as long as I have the prep behind me I trust myself when I’m competing,” says Shewfelt, a two-time gold medalist at the 2006 Commonwealth Games who is confident he’ll be ready for the worlds by way of several mock meets.

“I’ve always been known in the sport for my artistry and style and performance factor and I’m trying to keep those little things in my routine that sets me apart. I want to go out that way and that to be my legacy.”

In the minds of many Calgary kids, his legacy has already been cemented, in the form of a cartwheel.

Wearing ski boots at home; Alison Forsyth suffered a serious knee injury about 15 months ago.
The Vancouver Sun

At her home in Calgary, Alison Forsyth usually slides around softly in bare feet or socks. In early May, however, she was tromping around in a pair of Rossignol boots.

Having been off skis for most of the previous 15 months while recovering from three knee surgeries, Forsyth figured a little “footwork” was in order before Alpine Canada’s spring camp at Whistler. “It was going to be a bit of a foreign experience, your body’s not used to it,” Forsyth said last week of the return to the slopes. “So I prepared myself by wearing my skis boots around the house. I knew my feet were going to kill me, so I figured I’d start a week before. I’d put them on and watch a ski video or something. “My dog was staring at me like ‘What the . . . .”

Finley, the yellow lab, might have been puzzled, but the plan worked. “I felt comfortable instantly. I was a little nervous with my knee . . . but I didn’t feel like I missed a beat,” said Forsyth, a Nanaimo native who now splits her time between Calgary and a cabin on Hornby Island. “I don’t foresee myself having any difficulties getting back into competitive mode. I’m not going to take a whole year to come back. I want to be competitive right away and I think can do that. I have the right mental set.”

Forsyth, the high-energy, emotional leader of the women’s alpine team, suffered a devastating blow in February, 2006, when she fell during a downhill training run for the Turin Olympics, tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee. It happened a day before her mom, Marion, who was battling cancer, was to fly to Italy to watch her daughter compete. As Forsyth fought back tears on a conference call with reporters before leaving Turin, she vowed to make it back for the 2006-07 season and to stay through the 2010 Olympics.

After a rigorous rehab, an overly optimistic August return was aborted. She tried again last November, but couldn’t shake the pain after just a couple of days on snow. Turns out that not only had she shredded her ACL, but also had extensive bruising to her tibia and femur, something that can take up to two years to heal. Last December, she had micro-fracture surgery where doctors drilled into her femur bone, which had no cartilage left for cushioning to create an anti-inflammatory response.

She spent 2 ½ months on crutches, unable to use her leg at all. There would be no exercising, no squash, none of the things she loved to do. She retreated to Hornby—“took the chance to live a totally different life”—and made occasional trips to Nanaimo to visit her mom. To stay involved in ski racing, she made one trip to Kimberley to work with the Canadian disabled ski team at a World Cup. “The first day, I show up on crutches and they say ‘there’s no pity party around her for you Forsyth.’ But it was awesome. I learned so much from them. Hopefully, there’s things they learned from me. They’ve got such great attitudes and they’re just as hard core as our team.”

After the mid-May camp in Whistler, joined several other teammates—women and men—for an 800-kilometre, nine-day bike ride from Lake Louise, Alta., the traditional opener for the World Cup speed events, to Whistler. Along the way, the team stopped for potluck dinner, fundraising events with ski clubs in Jasper and Kamloops. “It was great fun, but very challenging physically and emotionally,” said Forsyth. “We had a little bit of everything weatherwise, from snow in Lake Louise to sunshine to 40 degree temperatures on the last day. “Lillooet to Whistler on the Duffy Lake Road, it was a good two hours of horrid climbing at the start. Through the last hour and a half, the air temperature was 40 degrees. We were pouring ice water over our heads.”

Forsyth, 28, has three World Cup podium finishes in her career and was third in the giant slalom at the 2003 world championships. Always one of the most driven and focussed athletes on the Alpine Canada team, she is learning to bring more balance to her life, but still retains a bull-headed competitiveness. “I’m going to wait and see what transpires with my knee,” she says when asked about goals for the 2007-08 season. “But I want to be back in the top 30 right away. I don’t want to waste time floundering in the back of the pack.”

The one tough thing as she moves forward, however, is that she won’t have her mom to share her triumphs with. Marion, after a nearly three-year battle with cancer, passed away two months ago. “It’s going to change me as a person, completely,” says Forsyth. “Being off, I had that time with her. I was there at the end. When you lose someone close to you, it’s a wake-up call on your own mortality. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow, so live for today. “I love to train and ski race and I’m going to go at it as hard as I can until I don’t enjoy it any more.

Peter Smith to coach Canadian women’s team.
Montreal Gazette

McGill’s Peter Smith has been named head coach of the national women’s hockey team for next season. “It’s a thrill and a real honour to accept this position,” said Smith, a 54-year-old Lachine native who served as an assistant coach to Melody Davidson for three years, including Canada’s gold-medal performance at the 2006 winter Olympics in Turin and the 2007 world championships in Winnipeg.

Davidson will focus on her responsibilities as general manager of the national-team programs. She will also serve as head coach of the first national women’s under-18 team.

Smith has distinguished himself at McGill, guiding the Martlets to the CIS women’s championship tournament seven of the past eight seasons, including a silver medal in 2007. He will remain as head coach of the Martlets next season while handling Team Canada duties.

Smith will oversee a national-team training camp in the fall as Team Canada prepares for the Four Nations Cup in Sweden in November. The other major international challenge is the 2008 women’s world championship in April in Harbin, China.

Smith and his wife recently returned from a vacation in China, which he denied was a cleverly disguised scouting mission. “No, we weren’t there to visit hockey rinks in Harbin,” he said with a laugh, “but it will be fun to go back there next April.”

Canada reigns supreme in women’s hockey, having won nine of 10 world championships and two Olympic gold medals. “Obviously, it’s a wonderful experience to coach Canada because the program has been so successful,” Smith said. “But Hockey Canada is a real process-oriented organization and this is one more step for the program as it moves toward Vancouver 2010.”

Smith, who guided Team Quebec to a gold medal at the nationals in 2002, has been coaching women’s hockey for 15 years. “It’s been an exciting time to be on the cutting edge of the growth of women’s hockey,” he said.

Rounding out the national-team coaching staff are Lisa Jordan, head coach at St. Mary’s University, and Nancy Wilson, an associate coach at the University of British Columbia. Smith becomes the first male coach of the Canadian women’s team since Concordia’s Les Lawton in 1994.

Clara Hughes a class act; Olympic champion spends a day with schoolkids in Toledo.
Brockville Recorder and Times

Taylor Bradbury’s eyes were as big around as the Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals dangling from her neck Monday morning.

The St. Joseph Catholic School Grade 1 student was one of several students feeling like a champion after wearing the medals, as the school celebrated its own day on the podium with one of Canada’s greatest Olympians, Clara Hughes.
“I was excited, she’s a fantastic athlete,” said Bradbury after meeting the medal-winning speed skater and cyclist.

As to how it felt wearing something millions of athletes around the world dream of one day winning, the youngster said, “They were heavy.”

Hughes spent the entire morning getting to know the students in a visit the school won in a draw after competing in a milk consumption contest sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Canada. If the kids (and staff and parents) were thrilled to be in the presence of the only athlete ever to win multiple medals in both the Summer and Winter Games, Hughes said she was blown away by the reception.

Students decorated the walls of the gymnasium with photographs of her triumphs and her work with the international organization Right To Play as well as their own inspirational thoughts about hope and peace and the value of sport. “I’m just so impressed by everything the school has put into this and the kids have put into it,” she said in an interview later.

After showing a moving video about her win in the 5,000-metre speed skating event in the 2006 Games, Hughes spoke to the students about believing in themselves and tuning out the doubters in the world. She noted it wasn’t until she was a 16-year-old girl in Winnipeg that she’d even heard of the Olympics. “I didn’t listen to the people who said people from your part of town don’t go to the Olympics,” said Hughes, adding she also faced discouragement from those who said she’d started too late in sports.

Five medals and four Olympics later, Hughes said she’s proof “you can really, really do anything.” Above all, though, she told them to always have fun. In fact, Hughes said she forces herself to remember the pure joy she felt as a kid playing soccer or skating on a lake when the pressure of a big race threatens to overwhelm her.

Hughes told The Recorder and Times later that it’s important for athletes and celebrities to be more than the larger-than-life personas they appear on television. “Me being here, they see I’m just this tall girl with red hair,” she smiled. “But I’ve done these things, I’ve gone to all corners of the world and competed for Canada.”

Hughes also said she can relate to the youngsters growing up unsure what life holds for them. “I remember what it’s like being young and not having direction, not even knowing what dreaming or hope was. Sport is something that really changed my life and showed me how to dream and strive for something,” explained Hughes. “There’s no choice but to bring it back to the kids.”

After her speech, Hughes spent the morning taking part in a variety of activities with the students, tirelessly posing for pictures, signing autographs and chatting with them about their lives. Principal Brian Peters, who also donned Hughes’ gold medal, said she exemplifies the values Canadians hold most dear. “Isn’t she what we would all like to be in terms of a Canadian?” he said, referring to her work ethic, compassion and ability to face challenges with a smile.

Peters said the school’s 175 JK to Grade 8 students had been preparing for her visit for about a month. Among those in the audience Monday were several area dairy farmers and members of the Leeds County milk committee. They beamed as Hughes revealed chocolate milk is her secret to recovering after a hard day of training.

The committee’s secretary/treasurer Ruth Vogel snagged an autograph and said she was as excited as the kids. “It was an honour for us to meet her,” said Vogel, adding, “It’s something that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.”

Now living in Quebec, Hughes has hung up her racing wheels, but still cycles for training as she prepares to skate in the 2010 Games in Vancouver. “I was bawling my eyes out when I heard that Canada had won the bid,” she said in an interview. “It’s a dream to represent your country, but to represent your country on home soil and be defending Olympic champion is beyond anything I’ve ever thought possible.”

Panorama back on Alpine Skiing World Cup schedule.
The Calgary Herald

The World Cup alpine skiing circuit will make a long-awaited return to a pair of British Columbia resorts during the 2007-08 season. Panorama, which last saw World Cup skiing in 1992, will play host to women’s slalom and giant slalom races Nov. 24 and 25.

Meanwhile, Whistler—co-host of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games with Vancouver, and most recently a stop on the World Cup’s travelling road show in 1995 -- will be the site of women’s races in downhill and super combined, and men’s events in giant slalom and super-G, from Feb. 21 to 24, 2008.

Alberta’s Lake Louise, which has continuously hosted World Cup action since 1989, will welcome downhill daredevils and super-G specialists to open the speed season—the Bombardier Lake Louise Winterstart for men on Nov. 24 and 25, women on Dec. 1 and 2.

“The World Cup race events returning to Panorama and Whistler this season represent a major step toward Canada’s goal of being a world-leading alpine ski racing nation by 2010,” said Ken Read, president of Alpine Canada. “The exceptional work of the race committee and hundreds of volunteers has established the event in Lake Louise as a special race within the World Cup calendar and, as a result, FIS has chosen it as the opening event of the speed season. “A lot of people are already in place working very hard to ensure these race events are the best in the world.”

The Federation Internationale de Ski confirmed the ‘07-08 World Cup schedule following council meetings in Portoroz, Slovenia, late last month. While ending a 13-year absence, February’s races will be the last World Cup events in Whistler prior to the 2010 Games.

Career Posting – Head Coach Calgary Speed Skating Association.

Calgary, AB - - Head coach short-track and long-track skating
Description: Calgary Speed Skating Association is looking for an individual to run its leading Short Track and Long Track skating programs at Calgary’s Olympic Oval, the ‘fastest ice in the world’.

The Club trains 250 skating members, ranging in age from Cradles to Masters 5. Skaters from Calgary regularly compete at the highest levels in provincial, national and international competitions. These elite skaters, including a strong recreational component, are coached by over 25 paid coaches, many of whom are themselves highperformance skaters in training programs at the Olympic Oval.

The Head Coach of Calgary Speed Skating Association will be a leader in the sport, who will in conjunction with an experienced and dedicated Board of Directors, set and implement the vision and direction for a growing and dynamic Club.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and energetic individual interested in making a multiyear commitment with professional coaching as a career choice. In this regard, the ideal candidate will:

-Be an experienced athlete with demonstrated technical skill in speed skating,
including experience in racing strategy, tactics and skills;
-Have supervisory skills in managing and motivating others in a team based
environment;
-Possess a level 3 or equivalent coaching certification; and
-Have the requisite skills to balance the needs of individuals while satisfying the
needs of the larger organization

This career opportunity represents a multi-year full-time situation and as a result compensation therefore will be commensurate. All applications will be treated on a strictly confidential basis. For more information on the Calgary Speed Skating Association, please visit our website at www.calgaryspeedskating.com or contact us by email at calspeed@ucalgary.ca.

All applications may be sent to the Calgary Speed Skating Association, c/o Nicole Deering, Olympic Oval, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB. T2N 1N4; or via email calspeed@ucalgary.ca .