Athlete Profile: Lori Radke - Women's Wheelchair Basketball.

Location: Calgary, Alberta
Club: Calgary Rocky Mountain Rollers
Occupation: Physiotherapist
Age: 38

Profile
Lori was very active in a number of sports until knee injuries in high school rendered both knees unstable. In spite of several surgical reconstructions on both knees, she was forced to retire from stand-up sports in 1992. Lori discovered wheelchair basketball with the Red Deer Rebels that year. She has since embraced the sport with intensity and passion. Lori was selected to the National team in 1994. She also moved to Calgary in 1994 and has been a member of the Calgary Rocky Mountain Rollers since then. She attended the World Championships with the National team in England that year where they won Gold. The team won its first Gold medal in 1992 at the Barcelona Paralympics and has continued to win Gold at every World Championships and Paralympic Games since then.

Lori continues to find this sport to be an exciting challenge, both personally and as a team player. She feels very fortunate to have been a part of a very special group of people who have been able to set a goal together, work towards it and achieve it repeatedly. The team continues to push each other to be better as individuals and as a team, and aspires to continue their winning ways at the Athens Paralympics this summer.

Accomplishments
Gold Medallist at:
# 2002 Gold Cup World Championships, Japan
# 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games, Australia
# 1998 Gold Cup World Championships, Australia
# 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games

In Conversation
How and when did you get involved in your sport?
I became involved in 1992 in Red Deer, AB after having several knee surgeries. I could not play stand-up sports anymore due to the instability and arthritis in both of my knees.

What is your ultimate goal - in sport and in life?
To know, at the end of the day, that I have done the best I can as an individual and team player, on and off the court, at work and at home, and to be the best role model possible for my 2 year old son!

What changes have you had to make in your lifestyle to become the best you can be?
I spend alot more time training, especially as I get older. There is alot of time away for training and competitions so there is not much time for the other aspects of your life.

How important is the support of your family and friends?
There are a lot of sacrifices with your time, money and energy to compete as an athlete for Canada. There is alot of time spent away from home, friends, family, and work. It takes a very understanding group of people to help make my athletic career happen. I could not do it without their support.

Tell us about your most memorable competition?
Competing in Sydney at the 2000 Paralympics in front of 17,000 people. It was incredible the support the Australian people gave the Paralympics. I wish we had the same support here at home.

What aspect do you enjoy the most about your sport?
The ongoing challenge of the game as it develops and grows...it is very competitive, aggressive and technical. But, most of all, it is the people who make it so much fun!!

What is your philosophy regarding balancing sport, education and social life?
There is not enough hours in the day!! But, it is important for your mental health to keep a balance in all aspects of your life because when one becomes too much, everything suffers!

How and why would you encourage someone to participate in your sport?
It is the greatest team sport in the world. There are competitive and recreational teams across Canada and it is a fully integrated sport so everyone can play, whether you have a disability or not. Get out and try it!!

Coaching Association of Canada to launch new phase of National Coaching Certification Program in April.

OTTAWA – The Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) will launch a new phase of its National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) on April 1, 2004, which will have a significant impact on how volunteer coaches are trained and developed in every community across Canada.

Each year, more than 39,000 coaches take part in an NCCP course in nearly 900 communities in Canada. This newly designed phase of the program will impact approximately 25,000 per year of those coaches by introducing new content and new training methods. The NCCP has been Canada’s recognized coach training and certification program for coaches in over 60 sports since 1974. It has made Canada a world leader in coaching education and training. Since its inception, nearly one million Canadians have taken part in the program.

With the changes, the NCCP is now moving towards a competency-based approach where coaches are trained specifically in job tasks relevant to the participants that they are coaching and can be evaluated on performances to a specified standard.

“This new phase of the program is specifically designed to meet the needs of the volunteer coaches at the community, club, and junior high school levels by teaching them how to plan safe and effective practices, design meaningful season plans, teach appropriate sport skills to athletes, and many other important aspects of coaching,” said John Bales, CAC President. “It will provide them with practical, hands-on information on how to supervise young participants and provide drills and basic coaching skills that coaches can use.” The new program results in a more positive sport experience for the participant. This will help to ensure that they stay in sport longer, thereby helping to combat potential long-term effects of inactivity such as obesity.

Freestyle skiing coach Jay Vaughn and paddling coach Michelle Brown, both based in Calgary, have benefited greatly from the NCCP and are excited about the changes. Both are NCCP Level 3 certified.

“I really like the direction the CAC is going,” said Brown, the head coach at the Calgary Canoe Club for the past three years. “It’ll have a strong impact on future coaches. The courses I’ve gone through have been very helpful as well. But what I liked the most was the opportunity to interact with other coaches from different sports.”

“I’ve learned a lot on the technical side from the program and I’ve found the theory information very useful,” said Vaughan, who coaches the Alberta provincial team and helps at local training camps. “Level 3 in particular has really influenced my coaching.”

CAC and its partners are in the process of redesigning the NCCP to better meet the needs of coaches across all levels of participation and competition. The next phase of the transition will be launched in October 2004 focusing on the community sport coach at the introductory level.

The Coaching Association of Canada’s mission is to enhance the sport experience of Canadian youth through quality coaching. Proud sponsors of the Coaching Association of Canada and its programs include Investors Group, TSN, and Petro-Canada.

The National Coaching Certification Program is a collaborative program of the government of Canada, provincial/territorial governments, national/ provincial/territorial sport federations, and the Coaching Association of Canada.

For more information please visit www.coach.ca or contact your provincial/territorial coaching coordinator.

World of Fund and Games; It's no secret that Canada has struggled at recent Olympics, but is it a lack of cash or do we need to spend our money more wisely to win gold?
(The Toronto Sun - Jason Paul)
Series: Part 1 of 3

With the Athens Olympics just four months away, the debate over funding for amateur sports in Canada will intensify. In this three-part series, The Sun's Jason Paul looks at Canada's commitment to gold:
---
Two weeks of little glory.
Four years of complaining.
That has become the standard for Canada when it comes to the Olympic Games. One or two athletes break through to become national heroes, the rest go home to face questions about why this country doesn't perform better on the international stage.

It has been almost four years since Canada finished well down the medal standings at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, 24th overall with 14 medals -- 83 podium finishes behind United States.
And when Canada sends its Olympic team to Athens this summer, the issue of government funding is going to be raised again if Canadian athletes don't return with more medals.
"When we came back from the Olympics in Sydney, there was all this talk
about the level we were performing at and the support we get," 2000 Olympic wrestling champion Daniel Igali said. "Four years later and we're talking about the same thing."

The Government of Canada is spending $100 million on amateur sport this
year, which lags behind most industrialized countries in public funding.
Australia spent $275 million in the year leading up to the 2000 Olympics but
has cut back to $119 million annually (almost exclusively on summer sports).
Germany spends $232 million on elite athletes while England spends about
$377 million on sports.
Despite criticism that our government's support is lacklustre, the current
amount has more than doubled from 1995-96 when the budget was $47.2 million.

But when funding dropped to that level eight years ago from a peak of $72.1 million in 1992-93, there was also a corresponding drop in success at the Summer Olympics -- 22 medals in 1996 to 14 medals in 2000 at the Summer Games.
However, Canada still excelled at the Winter Games with 18 medals in 1992,
13 in 1994 and 17 in 1998 (although more events were added during the
1990s).
"Development programs really took a hit at that time and you could see the
effects later on," Canadian Olympic Committee executive director of sport
Mark Lowry said. "Many sports suffered in that area and that's where your
future athletes come from."
Last year's budget was split among 104 sports organizations, sporting
events, special interest groups and sports centres, with the following
breakdown:
- 40% to national sports bodies.
- 22% to event hosting.
- 18% directly into athletes' hands.
- 17% for multi-sport services and grassroots programs.
- 3% to eight sport centres across the country.
"The balance is good because you can't just favour one area over another -- all of them are important," Lowry said. "It's a matter of focusing on
programs that target athletes that have demonstrated they'll be successful
in the long run."

When Australia bottomed out at the 1976 Montreal Olympics (with five
medals), it eventually remodelled its sport structure to target seven sports
deemed to have the best chance of success, and later expanded that as its
Olympic success improved.
Canada has been slow to embrace that concept by stretching limited resources over 54 sports, up from 38 four years ago. Part of Sport Canada's funding formula is based on performance levels, but of those 54 sports organizations only 25 have won medals during the past six Olympics going back to 1992 (15 summer sports, 10 winter sports).
"We can't be all things to all people and go a mile wide and an inch deep,"
COC CEO Chris Rudge said. "I'm not naive that we're going to be able to
solve all the problems in the amateur sports world, I just think there's so
much more that we can do."

If more funds were available Rudge sees three areas that would improve
Canada's sports model:
- The creation of a sports agency with more focused leadership, similar to
Australia, to address the needs of athletes.
- The development of more sports institutes, as in Calgary, to accommodate medical research, services for athletes and sports administration (he points to Downsview Park as an ideal location for a Toronto facility).
- An expansion of the COC's Best Ever Program, of rewarding high-performance athletes for international success.
In a 2001 Decima Research poll of Canadians, 60.6% felt the government
should spend more on amateur sports and 79% felt it was just as important as other government expenditures. But only 5% felt government money should be focused just on developing Olympic champions, compared with spending on increasing general fitness and youth participation and building new sports facilities.
"Success can have a tremendous impact on participation," Alpine Canada
president Ken Read said. "It's not just about getting athletes on to the
podium. That's just one of the pieces you want to deliver because you're not going to have athletes on the podium every day. Otherwise you're setting yourselves up for failure."

Proponents of amateur sports offer many reasons funding should be increased:Olympic success increases patriotism; success inspires youth participation and subsequently a healthier lifestyle; athletes are role models for children; event-hosting boosts the local economy.
On the flip side, skeptics feel core issues such as education and health
care are more deserving of extra government money; athletes shouldn't expect taxpayers' money to fulfil their dreams; some Canadians don't care about most low-profile amateur sports.
"I feel sport has done a poor job of selling its reason for existence,"
three-time Olympic cycling medallist Curt Harnett said. "Why should we
support high-performance sport?
"The argument has not been justified well enough."

Stan Keyes, the new minister of state for sport, was able to get an extra
$10 million for amateur sports at last week's federal budget but was
noncommittal on any future funding increases until he completes a series of
round-table discussions with sports officials over the next month.
"I want to learn what they need and take that to the cabinet table to show
what money is needed," he said. "We don't have to reinvent the wheel. I'm
going to listen to those who have been there because there are a lot of
great ideas out there."

If there is a cap on what's available for sport, many are beginning to look
at what may be the only solution -- corporate sponsorship. Government money covers about 10% to 50% of a sports organizations's budget, depending on the sport's popularity.
"Government funding is nice," said Read, a former Crazy Canuck skier, "and I
still believe government has a significant role in Olympic sport to act as a
catalyst.
"It's a piece of the puzzle, but this is a business and you have to run
(sports bodies) as a business."
It hasn't helped that there has been a spate of drug scandals over the years in amateur sports, such as Ben Johnson in 1988 or snowboarder Ross
Rebagliati in 1998, that have scared away potential corporate sponsors.

'SOME TREPIDATION'
"I'm sure there is some trepidation but you don't see problems with NFL
sponsorships and they have (image issues)," said Keith McIntyre of
Mississauga-based K.Mac & Associates Marketing, a company that helps broker deals with companies and athletes.
"If a client has cold feet they shouldn't get in. You have to have a plan
and ask tough questions if you want an arrangement to work."
---

Next Week - Part 2: SELLING SUCCESS
Week After - Park 3: WHERE THE MONEY GOES

IOC has new hope Olympic delays will be overcome.
(Associated Press / The Globe and Mail)

Athens — A top IOC executive inspected one of the most troubled construction sites Wednesday and expressed fresh hope that Olympic delays will be overcome. "It looks like they will be able to keep the deadlines," said Denis Oswald, the IOC official overseeing preparations for the Athens Games. Oswald stood in a cloud of dust at the main Olympic stadium complex. He examined a roof placed on the velodrome where the cycling will be held. "I must say I am now very optimistic," Oswald said. "There has been in the last four to five weeks a number of very positive elements."

Oswald was alluding to the change in government March 7, when Premier Costas Caramanlis' conservatives ousted the Socialists from power after 11 years. Caramanlis has since taken personal charge of the Olympics and the government has scaled down some projects and speeded up others.

They include canceling a roof for the main swimming pool — next to the velodrome — curtailing the length of a tram line serving seaside Olympic venues, and scaling back a delayed project to widen the marathon route. "Now we are in a very positive phase, with very good progress in different projects," a grinning Oswald said as he looked up the velodrome roof designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. "I am sure that you are as impressed as I am when you look at this wonderful roof. It is a very important step forward in the preparation of the games," he said.

Workers managed in two days to maneuver the 4,000-ton roof into position over the oval-shaped stadium by pushing it 443 feet along two tracks. As he stood under the skeletal-looking steel roof, resembling a spiky humpbacked dome, trucks full of dirt drove by and bulldozers roared in the distance — a surprise for Oswald and other officials given that Greece's labor unions had declared a one-day nationwide strike. It is extremely rare for workers in Greece to ignore a strike call.

As he stood under the roof, Oswald could not help but look across a dirt-strewn field to the one project that has caused grief for the IOC: the delayed roof of the main Olympic stadium. "The fact that this challenge has been mastered in such a fantastic way is a big encouragement for the other roof, which has always been a challenge. It gives full confidence that it will be completed perfectly well and on time," he said.

Oswald, however, again warned the government that the steel-and-glass dome roof designed by Calatrava for the main Olympic stadium must be ready by the end of June — weeks ahead of its promised July 20 delivery date. The government has promised to meet the new deadline, which will overlap with vital inspections and competitions by track and field's governing body. The IAAF has said a final check of the new track surface is planned for May 16 and pre-Olympic test events will take place on June 10.

As Oswald toured the velodrome he was joined by Prince Albert of Monaco, who happened to be taking his own private tour of the construction site. He was in Athens to take part in the Olympic flame relay. "It's in the interest of everyone, it's in the interest of the Olympics that everything goes as smoothly as possible and that everything gets finished," said the prince, an IOC member. "I think there is no doubt in my mind that things will get done."

Two cities aim to ensure facilities help future athletes. Vancouver-Whistler working with Alberta to figure out uses of rinks, jumps, tracks.
(By DAWN WALTON - The Globe and Mail)

CALGARY – An Olympic legacy of training facilities in Western Canada will help winter athletes churn out medals and serve as the backbone of a competitive North American circuit, according to Canadian sports officials.

As they gear up for the 2010 Winter Olympics, organizers of the Vancouver-Whistler Games are already working with officials in Alberta to figure out the future of all the yet-to-be-built ice rinks, ski jumps and tracks for sliding, as well as those left over from the 1988 Calgary Games. “The goal at the end of the day is how do we take the legacy of Calgary, the legacy of Vancouver and make it better for Canada’s athletes,” said John Mills, president of the Calgary Olympic Development Association or CODA.“Competition in sport is good, but we don’t want to set up a competitive environment on a facility basis. We prefer the competition to be on the ice and snow rather than between organizations.”

Calgary’s Olympic venues were built on budget and on time. And unlike many Olympic cities, the facilities have been maintained for the long run. Canada Olympic Park, home to a series of ski jumps and the track for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton, will be 19 years old next year, but it’s not antiquated. The facility will be the site for the 2005 world championships in the sliding sports.

Calgary’s Olympic Oval was the first covered speed-skating oval in North America and is home to record-setting ice and the launching pad for a number of Canadian superstars, such as Catriona Le May Doan. Indeed, half the Canadian athletes who competed in the 2002 Salt Lake City Games either were from Calgary or trained in the city. Having good facilities has been credited with improved performance. Canada jumped from 13th place in the medal count in 1988 (five medals) to fourth in Nagano in 1998 (15 medals) and fifth in 2002 in Salt Lake (17 medals). Chris Rudge, the chief executive officer of the Canadian Olympic Committee, said Canada should be No. 1 by 2010.

Construction and renovations to 12 facilities in Vancouver and Whistler – including ilome events, ski jumping, ice rinks and tracks – is expected to improve that score. Already, CODA has sunk a pile of cash into a summer training facility for downhill skiers and snowboarders at the Farnham Glacier in B.C., with an eye to cutting costs, keeping training at home and putting athletes on the podium in 2010.

Frank King, chairman of the Calgary Games and adviser to Vancouver in the bidding process, envisions a “powerhouse” training and competition circuit involving Calgary, Vancouver, Salt Lake and perhaps Lakes Placid, N.Y., home of the 1980 Winter Games. “If you want superb athletes, you have to have superb facilities and you need to have some basis that athletes ilometer from around the world can make it worthwhile,” King said. He pointed to the Farnham Glacier initiative as an example of the co-operation between cities and hope for the future. “In 2010, remember this conversation,” he said. “I can assure you will see podium placements in Vancouver.”

VANOC is born!
(IOC News)

VANOC has been chosen as the acronym for the "Organising Committee for the XXI Olympic Winter Games", which will take place in six years, in 2010, in Vancouver. This announcement was made by John Furlong, CEO of Vancouver 2010, at the end of the first visit of the Coordination Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to Vancouver.

Tour of Olympic sites in Vancouver and Whistler Mountain During their three-day stay, which combined a series of meetings with tours of Vancouver and the mountain resort of Whistler, Commission membersworked
in partnership with the Vancouver 2010 Organising Committee and the public authorities to lay the foundations for preparations over the years ahead. At the end of the visit the Coordination Commission – a 11 person body tasked with assisting the Canadian organisers with preparations – was encouraged to see organisers moving forward on Games planning.

"Foundations are put in place"
"This was the first trip to Vancouver for the full Coordination Commission", explained its Chairman, René Fasel. "Thanks to three very constructive days, we are leaving secure in the knowledge that the foundations are being put in place in terms of the talent of the organisers and the support from authorities and stakeholders necessary for success in 2010”, he concluded.

Important knowledge transfer
Vancouver 2010 CEO John Furlong said: With the IOC's continued support and knowledge, we are ready for our next tasks – building the organisation and venues, raising revenue and working towards other key milestones. "Since Vancouver won the right to host the XXI Olympic Winter Games at the IOC Session in Prague last year, the city has enjoyed preliminary meetings with the IOC ahead of this first Coordination Commission meeting, in particular with its Olympic Games Knowledge Services, in order to benefit from the IOC's experience of past Olympic Games. "The IOC has developed comprehensive tools for transferring the lessons learned from past Games", explained Fasel.