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Sport Performance Weekly
October 22nd, 2007
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OTTAWA - Canadian Paralympians won three of five prestigious 2007 Paralympic Sports Awards to be given out by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) on November 24 in Seoul, Korea, the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) announced today.
The awards, presented following each Paralympic Games, honour the best athletes at each set of Paralympic Games.
Cross-country skier Brian McKeever, of Canmore, AB, was named Best Male Athlete, Alpine skier Lauren Woolstencroft, of Calgary, AB, was recognized as the Best Female Athlete, and Canada’s national ice sledge hockey team won for Best Team Performance.
”We congratulate Brian McKeever, Lauren Woolstencroft and the men’s ice sledge hockey team for being recognized by the International Paralympic Committee for their excellent performances in the highly competitive world of Paralympic sport. They are among the many Paralympic heroes who are inspiring Canadians with a physical disability to become involved in sport,” said CPC President Carla Qualtrough.
McKeever won gold at the Turin 2006 Paralympic Games in the 10km Freestyle and the 5km Freestyle along with a silver in the 20km Classic in cross-country skiing and a bronze in the men’s 7.5km in biathlon. Classified as a B3 visually-impaired athlete, McKeever’s current goal is to compete at both the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
”I don’t compete for recognition, but because cross-country is a sport I love. But it’s still really exciting and an honour to be recognized in this way by the International Paralympic Committee,” said McKeever.
Woolstencroft raced to gold in the Giant Slalom and to silver in the Super G at the Turin 2006 Paralympic Games. Born without legs below the knees and her left arm below the elbow, she has been skiing since the age of four. She started ski racing at age 14 when a friend convinced her to join the Alberta Disabled Ski Team. She has been a member of Canada’s Para-Alpine Ski Team since 1998.
”It’s an honour to receive this prestigious award, and particularly exciting to win alongside Canadians Brian McKeever and the men’s sledge hockey team. This is a true testament of Canada’s leadership in Paralympic Sport,” said Woolstencroft.
The Canadian sledge hockey team won gold at the Turin 2006 Paralympic Games, after finishing out of the medals at the Salt Lake City 2002 Paralympic Games. The team is not only the defending Paralympic gold medalist, but also topped the inaugural World Sledge Hockey Challenge, which was held in Kelowna, BC in March.
Todd Nicholson, captain of Canada’s 2006 sledge hockey team, said, “It’s definitely an honour. The gold (in Turin) was for a couple players, like myself, a long time coming. We had a great team on and off the ice in Turin, with the coaching and support staff playing a large role in our success.”
The 2006 Paralympic ice sledge hockey team consisted of Jeremy Booker (Ajax, ON), Bradley Bowden (Mississauga, ON), Billy Bridges (Summerside, PEI), Marc Dorion (Ottawa, ON), Raymond Grassi (Carp, ON), Jean Labonte (Gatineau, QC), Herve Lord (Ottawa, ON), Shawn Matheson (Carp, ON), Graeme Murray (Ottawa, ON), Todd Nicholson (Ottawa, ON), Mark Noot (Winterbourne, ON), Paul Rosen (Toronto, ON), Benoit St-Amand (Montreal, QC), Dany Verner (Mascouche, QC) and Greg Westlake (Oakville, ON).
The two remaining IPC Sport Awards went to Switzerland’s Thomas Pfyl for Best Games Debut and to Germany’s Karl Quade for Exemplary Games Official.
The IPC will also be giving out Paralympic Media and Scientific Awards at IPC Awards Gala, held as part of the 2007 IPC General Assembly in Seoul, Korea on November 24.
The winners were selected by three Awards committees, composed of members of the Paralympic Movement and experts in the relevant areas. All award recipients will be presented with a trophy designed and produced by the Italian company, GDE Bertoni. |
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Calgary—Serge Despres, who piloted the Canada 2 sled at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, captured his second straight national title in as many nights, claiming the four-man bobsleigh race at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary on Sunday.
The 29-year-old Cocagne, N.B. native, who claimed the two-man title on Saturday, teamed up with Stephen Larsen, Dan Humphries and Justin Kripps to hold off hard-charging Canadian pilots, Pierre Lueders and Lyndon Rush in the four-man event. The Canadian quartet posted a winning two-run time of one minute 50.0 seconds on the Olympic Track which winds its way down the Calgary foothills.
“I still have a bit of work to do,” said Despres, who clocked run times of 54.78 and 55.22. “The push needs to be optimal and I need to clean up my driving mistakes, but the equipment is running really well.”
After sitting the two-man race out, legendary bobsleigh pilot, Pierre Lueders, and his crew of David Bissett, Lascelles Brown, and Brian Gray finished second behind Despres in Sunday’s four-man competition with a combined time of 1:50.26. Lyndon Rush, of Humboldt, Sask., was on Lueders’ heels after driving into third spot. Rush and his crew, which included Chris LeBihan, Jermaine Buckner, and Nathan Cross finished at 1:50.36.
“The great thing about this weekend is it is starting to show we are increasing the depth on our men’s teams with very competitive races,” said Nick Ward, director of high-performance, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton. “With Serge (Despres) and Lyndon (Rush) developing well, there creates more competition for Pierre, and also gives him a better sense of where he is at before the World Cup season. We’ve seen that we now have three high-quality pushes at the start in both events, and that makes it a successful weekend.”
Helen Upperton captured the women's national title on Saturday evening. Upperton, who now calls Calgary home after being born in Kuwait and travelling the world with her parents’ career in the oil industry, teamed up with brakeman Jenny Ciochetti, of Edmonton, to put down the fastest two-run combined time of the evening in the women’s race at one minute 54.70 seconds.
With Ciochetti and Jaime Cruickshank splitting time on the brakes in the Canada 1 sled last season, Upperton drove to three World Cup podium finishes en route to finishing fourth overall in the 2006-07 World Cup standings.
“It is always fun to race at home, and we have a good group of women racing in Canada which makes the competition strong,” said Upperton, who is pre-selected for the national team. “I think it is important to race in these events. It gives us an extra couple of runs early in the season, and allows us to test different equipment before the World Cup begins.”
Upperton had a breakout season during the 2006 Olympic year where she became the first Canadian woman to win a World Cup gold medal in bobsleigh, and narrowly missed the podium at the 2006 Olympics where she finished fourth.
Calgary’s Kaillie Humphries continued her development into a World Cup pilot when she teamed up with Shelley-Ann Brown, of Pickering, Ont., to finish second at 1:55.23. Humphries, who is a 2006 Olympian, spent her first four years in the sport as a brakeman for the national team. She turned her trade to driving on the Europa Cup last season where she finished first in the overall standings. Rounding out the top-three was Lisa Szabon and Jenni Hucui, who stopped the clock at 1:56.00. |
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Panel Presentation on Media and Sport, Wednesday, October 31st from 2:00-3:30 pm.
The panel will be open to the public with the following panelists already confirmed:
Jermaine Franklin from TSN, Bruce Dowbiggin from the Calgary Herald, Jock Wilson from QR77, Eric Francis from the Calgary Sun and Jack FM, Chris Dornan from CODA and Joslin Green, Publisher of True Player Magazine.
Potential Questions could include:
- Is there a potential of social networking websites to take value out of sports?
- How do changing tastes and media consumption habits impact the audience for sport and, consequently, the business models and revenue streams of media and marketing organisations?
- How does the emergence of sites including YouTube where the users by-pass the established sports media value chain by posting content which can be viewed free by audiences anywhere in the world have an impact?
- Can can sport retain and build its value and relevance as content in a digital media world?
- How will developing technologies impact business models and advertising opportunities around sport?
- Who will hold the balance of power in sports media?
- What’s the role of public broadcasters in the future of sport?
- Is new media a lifeline or concrete boots for ‘minority’ sports?
- Will new media mean new competition and further inflation in sports rights fees?
- How has the industry evolved and changed; what are the pros and cons? |
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The Vancouver Sun - Vancouver Olympics sponsor Rona is making a $5-million value-in-kind contribution to the now $46-million athletes’ centre in Whistler. Vanoc executive vice-president for construction, Dan Doyle, said the contribution will be in the form of materials—from pipes to plywood—to help build the centre, which will have temporary accommodations for 800 athletes and officials during the Games as well as an athletes high-performance centre. The high-performance centre will remain after the 2010 Olympics as a legacy of the event. Originally budgeted at $16 million, additional requirements for the centre and construction inflation pushed the centre’s cost up, requiring a draw-down of contingency funds from its venue-development fund. |
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Canmore, Alta.—Four Canadian nordic ski clubs have been targeted across the country to receive $10,000 each as part of Cross Country Canada’s AltaGas Club Incentive and Coach Mentoring Program, the governing body for cross-country skiing in Canada announced on Monday.
The Big Thunder Nordic Ski Club in Thunder Bay, Ont., Commission Nordique Skibec, in Quebec City, Foothills Nordic Ski Club in Calgary, and Nakkertok Nordic Ski Club in Ottawa were all selected amongst applications from top Canadian nordic clubs who bid to benefit from the AltaGas grants.
The AltaGas Club Incentive and Coach Mentoring program is a new Cross Country Canada initiative aimed at supporting Canada’s high-performance clubs and coaches by optimizing high-performance coaches’ ongoing and practical education and training. The financial support will also aim at improving the outlook for more full-time professional club coaching positions.
“We believe by initiating this club incentive program we will help strengthen the national ski team talent pool, improve the career path for our club coaches and retain them within the system while increase the financial resources available to them,” said Al Maddox, executive director, Cross Country Canada. “This pilot project will help enhance the quality of coaching from the grassroots to high-performance level across the country. It is our goal this program will be a success, and continue to benefit Canadian cross-country ski coaches and clubs well into the future.” |
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Montréal, October 11, 2007 – Saputo Inc. awarded today $60,000 in bursaries to 14 high‑level athletes as part of the Saputo Bursary Program run by the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence.
With the Beijing Olympic Games fast approaching in August 2008, and the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, it is important for Saputo to support athletes in their efforts to reach new levels of performance. Now, as these athletes’ dreams are fuelled by inspiration and a thirst for self-betterment, Saputo is pleased to have been able to increase the amount of money to be awarded to a few of the bursary recipients this year.
Dasha Gaïazova |
Cross-country skiing |
$5,000 |
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Montréal/ Canmore
(Russia) |
40th in the 30 km classic and 46th in the 15 km pursuit at the 2007 World Championships |
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The Calgary Sport Council is pleased to present a series of seminars and workshops designed to provide coaches, parents, volunteers and sport administrators with current information from experts involved in various aspects of sport. Your participation in these seminars and in creating dialogue and discussion will help elevate sport in Calgary.
If you have any suggestions for seminar or workshop topics please email us with your suggestions to info@calgarysportcouncil.ca or call us at 403-387-7772.
SEMINAR SERIES FALL 2007
Parents role in sport
Dr. Natasha Kutlesa
Although the coach is considered to have a major impact on a child’s enjoyment and continued involvement in sport, the parent also plays a significant role. A child’s experience in sport is often determined by the role and support offered by the parents. This session focuses on how parents can contribute to a positive growth experience through sport and the role they play in ensuring their child remains active and involved.
Thursday, October 18 6:30 – 8 pm
Talisman Centre for Sport & Wellness Riverview Room
Officiating & Refereeing
Sheri Wilson
This seminar will be a discussion of dealing with parents/coaches/athletes, game/match control and the shared responsibility and working dynamics of competitions.
Tuesday, October 23 6:30 – 8 pm
Talisman Centre for Sport & Wellness Riverview Room
Recruitment, Retention and Recognition
Trudy Gahlinger
Volunteer management has become an increasingly complex component of non-profit operations. Discover the 3 R’s of working effectively with volunteers.
Tuesday, November 6 6:30 – 8 pm
Talisman Centre for Sport & Wellness Riverview Room
Nutritional Needs for the Female Athlete
Kelly Anne Erdman
Sport requires athletes to place careful attention to their nutritional needs. This seminar will explore nutritional needs for female athletes including gender differences and unique concerns such as eating disorders among athletes. Seminar is lead by Kelly Anne Erdman 1992 Cycling Olympian and Registered Dietician.
Thursday, November 15 6:30 – 8 pm
Canada Olympic Park - Olympic Hall of Fame Theatre
Long term athlete development
Dr. Stephen Norris
Dr. Norris will discuss the new Canadian model of long term athlete development, a training, competition and recovery program based on developmental age – the maturation level of the individual – rather than chronological age. This new framework focuses on growth, maturation and development, trainability and sport system alignment and integration.
Saturday, November 24 9:00 am - Noon
Location to be Determined
Physical Preparation of Young Athletes
This session will be a general discussion about strength training basics for developing athletes.
Tuesday, December 4 6:30 – 8 pm
Family Leisure Centre - Multi-Purpose Room 8 |
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