Alberta Sprinters Prepare for Pan Am Games.
The Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON - Angela Whyte is out front, Perdita Felicien closing fast and Priscilla Lopes bringing up the rear.

As Athletics Canada prepares to fill its quota of 29 track and field athletes who will compete at the Pan Am Games in July, that's how the most hotly contested event in this country shapes up.

Lopes came home from two 100-metre hurdles races in Brazil with a best time of 12.82 seconds and an injury that she refuses to disclose publicly. Team Canada head coach Les Gramantik said it required "minor surgery."

With only two Pan Am spots available to Canadian hurdlers, Lopes is the odd woman out this time. "My motto in life is everything happens for a reason," she said earlier this week from her home in Nebraska. "I'm back training and I'm pretty much ready to go."

Edmonton's Whyte and the pride of Pickering, Ont., Felicien, will carry the flag over 10 hurdles and across the finish line in Rio de Janeiro. Chances are both should be in the final.

Though some countries will not send their best athletes to the Pan Ams because the world championships are being staged mere weeks later in Osaka, Japan, Team Canada wants a full contingent in Rio."The Pan Ams are important for us," Gramantik said from his office in Calgary. "There are IAAF ranking points available. It's not a waste of time."

Whyte, 27, finished fourth Friday in a Golden League meet in Oslo, Norway, in a rather pedestrian 12.87. However, she's the quickest of the trio so far, posting a new personal best of 12.63 during a fourth-place finish in a fast final in Carson, Calif. early in the outdoor season. One of the people she beat that day was Felicien, who was sixth in 12.80 and has a best time to date this season of 12.75, well off her personal record of 12.46.

But Felicien is basically still on the comeback trail after injuring herself in a fall at the first hurdle during the Olympic final in Athens in 2004. She was the reigning world champ at the time, and the heel she bruised has taken time to recover.

Felicien is fit and healthy and believes the rivalry between the three Canadian women is due to pay off soon, perhaps as early as the world championships. Each country is allowed as many as three competitors in their event, provided they meet the qualifying standard. "This is the year everybody can make a push," said Felicien. "We're all medal contenders. We can all snag one. It would be amazing if we could sweep an event one day. I think that's possible."

Canadians win three medals at international gymnastics meet.
Canadian Sport News/Nouvelles-sport canadien

NATAL, Brazil – Alyssa Brown of Mississauga, Ont., won the silver medal on uneven bars on Sunday and Marci Bernholtz of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Sydney Sawa of Calgary each added a bronze in the individual event finals at an international women’s gymnastics competition.

On uneven bars, Ana Claudia Silva of Brazil won the gold medal with a 14.300 score followed by Brown at 14.1325 and Rebecca Downey of Britain in third.   Gael Mackie of Coquitlam, B.C., was fourth and Sawa seventh.

On beam, Jade Barbarosa of Brazil earned one of her two wins on the day posting a 15.325 score.  Her compatriot Danielle Hypolito was second at 15.300 and Bernholtz, an Olympic team member in 2004, third at 14.300. Brown was fifth and Sawa eighth.

On vault, Barbarosa won again at 15.400 with Downey second and Sawa third at 14.325.  Brown was fourth at 14.175.

Brazilian gymnasts swept the medals on floor with Sawa fourth, Brown sixth and Mackie seventh.

‘’We are very pleased with the performances’’ said Lise Gosselin Simard, the women’s artistic gymnastics program director for Gymnastics Canada.  ‘’We were measuring ourselves against Britain in particular and our gymnasts performed very well.  Their presentations were strong and they were aggressive. It was a very important competition in our preparations for the world championships.’’

On Saturday, Canada was second in the team competition.

Canadian pair upsets Chinese for gold at diving Grand Prix.

ROME –Canada’s Émilie Heymans and Marie-Ève Marleau upset a Chinese pair to win the gold medal on women’s 10-metre synchro on Sunday to conclude the sixth stop on the Grand Prix diving circuit.

Heymans and Marleau, back together for the first time in four years, totalled 340.68 points with Jingzhen Cao  and Ni Chen of China second at 339.66 and Mary Beth Dunnichay and Haley Ishimatsu of the U.S., third at 315.72.

‘’It’s a big rush to get that win,’’ said Marleau.  ‘’We did really well.  We’re a bit surprised but we just dove like we did in practice.  We have a tougher list than the other competitors and we took advantage of that.  It wasn’t a big risk for us to do those dives because we do them well right now in the individual event.’’

On men’s three-metre synchro, world silver medalists Alexandre Despatie of Laval, Que., and Arturo Miranda of Pointe-Claire were fourth while Reuben Ross of Edmonton and Riley McCormick of Victoria were seventh on men’s 10-metre synchro.

Mandy Moran of Calgary came agonizingly close to reaching the semifinals in the women’s three-metre springboard event on Saturday coming 13th.  The top-12 advanced to the semifinals.  ‘’Mandy dove really well, I was pretty surprised she didn’t advance,’’ said Canadian national team coach Michel Larouche.  ‘’She made an error on her back two and half dive and in the end that’s what probably cost her.  She was doing that dive much better in training.’’

150 Athletes Set to Take Part In The Hbc Run for Canada in Calgary on July 1st. Volunteers Needed.

In 2006, the Hbc Run for Canada raised over $1.5 million, thanks to the many Canadians who participated in our 2006 event by running, walking, volunteering, and fundraising, all in support of our Canadian Athletes.

This year we will continue to focus on our up and coming athletes in need of funding to compete and represent Canada at an international level. There are talented athletes that have incredible potential to succeed at the Paralympic, Commonwealth and Olympic Games. They need our help to make sure they get the training, equipment and opportunities necessary to be recognized as world-class athletes.

To make the Hbc Run for Canada run smoothly, we need the help of many volunteers. Why volunteer? There are lots of reasons. You may want to lend support to your community Hbc store, help our Canadian athletes to achieve their goals to compete on the world stage or you may just enjoy the experience of lending a helping hand. Whatever your reason, we appreciate your help, and to show our gratitude all volunteers will receive a FREE Volunteer shirt, valued at $60.

Click on the links above to learn about the many ways you can participate in the Hbc Run for Canada in Calgary. www.hbcrunforcanada.ca

Alberta Government seeks input from Albertans on proposed Community Spirit Program.

A questionnaire is now available for all Albertans to give their input on the government's proposed Community Spirit Program. The information gathered from the consultation process will assist the MLA Committee in establishing recommendations for parameters of the proposed Community Spirit Program to ensure it operates effectively and is sustainable.

Three questions of importance to the sport community in the survey are:

Question 1: Which type of organization should have access to matching grants under the Community Spirit program? The choices are Registered Charities or Societies incorporated under the Societies Act of Alberta. As most sport organizations do not and can not obtain Registered Charity status, hopefully the sport community will indicate "Societies".

Question 3: Should donations made in the following areas qualify for a matching grant under the Community Spirit Program? .... Sports and recreation (includes amateur sports, fitness and wellness centres, recreation and service clubs, etc.)

Question 9: Should non-profit/voluntary organizations eligible for other Government of Alberta grant funds be eligible to receive additional funding through the Community Spirit Program? [ ] Yes

As many sport organizations qualify for various Alberta Lottery Grants, hopefully the sport community will indicate that those who do qualify for matching grants should be able to take advantage of the Community Spirit Giving Program.
Other ideas to present are:

In Alberta donations, for which receipts for Income Tax purpose can be issued, can be made to eligible Provincial Sport Organizations (PSOs) through the Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks and Wildlife Foundation’s Donation Fund. Donations must be at least $250.

Therefore, hopefully PSOs will benefit through the Community Spirit Program through gifts to the Donation Fund. It is noted that the minimum $250 donation is far in excess of the typical donation ($20 to $50) given by average Albertans and lowering this minimum should be reviewed.

Consideration should be given to matching donations to sponsorship funds and not just for donations for which receipts are given for Income Tax purposes. These sponsorship funds are for the most part currently 100% written off by businesses and corporations as marketing / advertising expense and therefore they have neither the requirement for nor benefit of a receipt for Income Tax purposes.

Consideration of including donations (not tax dollars) to facility operators (including municipalities) for capital expenses associated with the development, redevelopment or maintenance of art, cultural, sport or recreational facilities across Alberta.

A printable questionnaire is available online at www.communityspiritprogram.ca and the survey is available online. They are available at local MLA constituency offices or by mail (call 310-4455 for more information). It will also be available through public libraries by the end of June.

As with previous surveys conducted by the Alberta Government, hopefully the Alberta sport community will respond on mass to the Community Spirit Program.
The questionnaire submission deadline is July 31.