Jaret Llewellyn wins overall title at Pan American water skiing championships.
(Canadian Sport News)

BUJAMA LACUS, Peru- Jaret Llewellyn of Innisfail, Alta., won the men’s open overall title on Sunday to highlight a productive showing for Canada at the Pan American water skiing championships.

Llewellyn earned the crown with gold medal performances in tricks and jump and a fifth place finish in slalom. ‘’I was really in the groove,’’ said Llewellyn, 33, who is off to another flying start in his 21st season on the national team. ‘’It’s still early in the year but the training I’ve put in over the winter has really paid off so far.’’

Canada was also 1-2 in men’s slalom with Doug Ross of Belleville, Ont., earning the gold medal while his brother Drew was the runner-up. Ryan Dodd of Olds, Alta., also enjoyed a strong competition with a bronze medal in jump, fourth in tricks and fourth overall.

‘’I’m equally happy with how I performed in all three events,’’ said Dodd, 19, ninth overall at the world championships last year. ‘’In jump I didn’t go super
far but it felt very smooth. It’s always tough to get comfortable this early in the season.’’

In women’s competition, Karissa Wedd of Port Coquitlam, B.C., was a double medallists placing second in jump and third in tricks. ‘’My jump wasn’t exactly the greatest,’’ said Wedd, 22, the Pan Am Games champion in the event last year. ‘’But we’ve had trouble with training at our base in Orlando this year because of high winds. I was happier with my slalom because I had never medalled internationally and finished ahead some girls that I never dreamed I would beat.’’

No ordinary math teacher. Nordhagen will grapple for Oly gold.
(By IAN BUSBY -- Calgary Sun)

Walking down the hallways of Ernest Manning high school in Calgary, Christine Nordhagen-Vierling commands respect. On a regular school day, she's Ms. Nordhagen, physical education teacher and assistant wrestling coach. Usually, no one is wise to her other life as an Olympic gold-medal favourite in women's freestyle wrestling.

Move over to Manning's wrestling team practice and it soon becomes apparent she's no ordinary math teacher. Once the students realize she'll be competing at the Athens Games, their ears perk up, wanting to hear tales of world-class grappling events. "They think it's cool," said Nordhagen-Vierling, who took a leave of absence to prepare for the Games but still coached the team.

TEND TO LISTEN BETTER
"I usually mention that I'm on the national team because then they tend to listen a bit better. "That makes them think I know what I'm talking about, so I don't get the 'this is how I do it.' Sometimes it's easier to tell them so they trust what you have to say."

Twelve years ago, there was no dream of Olympic glory for the then Christine Nordhagen. The native of a tiny Norwegian community called Valhalla Centre was a University of Alberta student. Only by chance did she discover wrestling. She took a participation class through her physical education courses and was the only woman there. When the class ended, the instructor suggested she join the university club team. Not knowing what to expect, she took a friend along with her and the two were shown the basics of the sport.

A few months later, Nordhagen competed at her first national championships. Two years later, she grappled at the world championships for the first time, losing in the final to a woman with more experience. During the next 10 years, Nordhagen won six world titles, while women's wrestling became a growth sport.

Fast forward to 2001 for another victory, although this one didn't happen on the wrestling mat -- rather, the International Olympic Committee added women's wrestling to the slate for Athens. The announcement came just in time for Nordhagen-Vierling, who is entering the twilight of her career in 2004 and will be 33 at the August Games.

"For me, this is special," she says. "I was a pioneer of women's wrestling in Canada. The very first national championship was in 1992 and I was there.
"I was there at the very beginning. This is neat because I was there at the beginning of the world championships and now the beginning of the Olympics ... It's a good ending to my career."

However, she's not retiring after the 2004 Games. Originally, Athens was to be her swansong but she didn't want the pressure of ending her career on a winning note. "I was going to retire but I had a long talk with one of the coaches and he suggested not doing that," she said. "He said, 'Why don't you just keep wrestling afterward and finish when you want to finish?' I thought that was great advice. "It will be my only Olympics, I know that. But I want to enjoy the whole experience. I know I will be wrestling tough and I'll be training hard. I'm not teaching now, which is great because I have the time to get the training in. I will prepare myself in every possible way to get the gold medal."

It was in that U of A club Nordhagen met Leigh Vierling, a fierce competitor and Greco-Roman wrestling national champion. Vierling became Nordhagen's mentor and partner, while he continued to compete. They were married in 1999.

On the wrestling mat, Vierling is the boss and the athlete in Nordhagen wouldn't want it any other way. "There's no head-butting because he's got a lot of knowledge. Whatever he says to do, I'll do, because it's worked," Nordhagen-Vierling said. "I have the utmost confidence in him because he made me a six-time world champion. "If it wasn't for him, I don't think I would be in this position. He's very diligent and so much of a perfectionist."

Vierling is the Canadian Olympic team's head coach, so he'll be at his wife's side every step of this journey. There will be 12 women competing in Nordhagen's 72-kg weight class at Athens, so she'll need to win two matches to get out of her pool, then two more for gold. The margin for error is small at the Olympics but she says she's confident because she's beaten each of the major contenders at one point or another. Still, Athens is going to be her only shot at gold.

"I'm trying to say, 'Go out there and try your best.' I really want to win but it's not all about the winning," she said. "This has been a great ride and I'm very fortunate to be in this situation."

TRAILBLAZER
Nordhagen-Vierling is an Olympic gold-medal favourite in women's freestyle wrestling.
- April 31-May 1: Canadian senior nationals, Fredericton, N.B.
- June 9-19: European Tour event in Austria and Germany
- July 8-18: Canada Cup and pre-Games training camp, Guelph, Ont.
- August 12-13: Depart for Greece to attend opening ceremonies
- August 14-19: Relocate to Thessalonniki for final preparations
- August 20-23: Return to Olympic Village day before competition

Olympic medallists Karen Cockburn and Mathieu Turgeon win Canada Cup trampoline competition.
(Canadian Sport News)

CALGARY-Olympic medallists Karen Cockburn and Mathieu Turgeon, both of Toronto, earned confidence-building wins in Saturday’s trampoline finals at the Canada Cup trampoline and tumbling competition which served as the first part of the national team trials.

Rosie MacLennan of Toronto was second and Sarah Charles of Kelowna, B.C., third. Heather McManus of Ottawa, ranked fifth in the world, struggled in the preliminaries and inished fifth.

Cockburn was coming off a disappointing performance at the pre-Olympic event in Athens last month where she suffered a face injury executing one of her tricks. On Saturday, she did the manoeuvre successfully in what was the same routine that earned her the world title last year. “I was kind of scared because I’ve only been back training for two weeks since the injury,” said Cockburn, third in trampoline at the Sydney Games in 2000. “But I feel I really got my confidence back tonight and solidified my position on the national team.”

In men’s trampoline, Turgeon took the gold with Bryan Milonja of St-Bruno, Que., second and David Sabourin of Montreal third. Turgeon is in a heated battle for the only available men’s spot on the Olympic team which will be decided at nationals next month. “This was a great preparation for me for the nationals,” said Turgeon, also third at the Sydney Games four years ago. “I did my new routine and I was particularly pleased with the execution. That’s where you earn your big points.”

In women’s double mini trampoline, Charles, the world champion in the event, was the winner with Jane Bickerstaffe of Langley, B.C., second and Rose James of Burlington, Ont., third. In men’s double mini trampoline, Jonathon Keon of Ottawa took the gold, Jaime Lang of Calgary was second and Denis Vachon of Burlington, third.

In women’s tumbling, Andree Matte of Burlington was the winner, Emily Smith of Burlington second and Lyndsay Hebert of Calgary third. In men’s tumbling, Cole Roycroft of Calgary was first, Anton Minayev of Calgary was second and Chris Donaldson of Ontario third.

Canadian Freestyle Ski Association Announces New CEO.

The Board of Directors of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association announced the hiring of Peter Judge as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Association effective May 1, 2004.

"We are delighted that Peter has accepted the position," said Chair of the Board Donna Hateley. "This was an extensive search for the right person to lead our sport towards 2010 and beyond. Peter's passion for and knowledge of freestyle skiing, in Canada and internationally is almost unprecedented. His vision for our sport, and commitment to our athletes, is exactly what we were looking for."

Judge has a wide ranging record of success within the sport of Freestyle skiing; from World Cup champion as an athlete, to coach of the Canadian team for 14 years, as well as coach and consultant to the US, Australian, Chinese and Korean ski associations. He has coached eight Olympic medallists and held various positions with the International Ski Federation. His broad experience brings an immense understanding of freestyle skiing and amateur sport to the position.

"There's no doubt that my passion for the sport serves as great motivation to lead this organization into 2006 and through to 2010," said Judge from his home in Whistler, BC. "This team has a great track record. Now the challenge is to insure that we increase our medal count in 2006 and 2010 in a sport that's become increasingly competitive."

Judge will be based in the Association's new offices in Vancouver. The Board also took the opportunity to formally thank and congratulate outgoing interim CEO Pat Smith. Smith stepped off the Board two years ago in order to run the organization and establish sound administrative practices for the CFSA.

Now that the search for a CEO has been finalized, Smith leaves saying, "I'm so happy for Peter and for our athletes… I'm also confident that the team and Association are heading in the right direction and will go on to even greater successes."

Fund and Games: Are We Willing to Pay for Success? Still searching for Captain Canada.
(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:
---
See You in Athens executive director Jane Roos is looking for Captain Canada. Frustrated at hearing too many stories of athletes' hardships, Roos, a former track and field competitor, organized a non-profit group in 1997 to raise money that would go directly to support athletes' training.

More than one-quarter of the Canadian Olympians (78) who went to the Sydney Games got money from her foundation (which gets renamed for the next Olympics).

Several hundred athletes have received packages ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. Roos' tireless efforts raised $1.3 million by the end of 2003 but she's still looking for that home run.

"If we could find someone, our Captain Canada, to step up and make a donation that would get us to our goal of $5 million that would be our dream," she said.

More than 75% of amateur athletes in this country live below the poverty line, according Roos' research. The StatsCan poverty line is $18,371 and, according to the Ontario Ministry of Labour, a full-time worker at minimum wage will earn $14,248.

Many athletes, though, elect not to work part-time or seasonal jobs to offset the financial burden. "I think some of the stories of athletes struggling are a bit sensationalized," Canadian cross-country skiing coach Dave Wood said. "But it takes a lot of time and resources to reach that competitive level and you don't want to have to live just above the poverty to line to do it."

Most of the See You in Athens donations have ranged from $25 to $75,000, but two major corporations have stepped up to the plate. MasterCard Canada pledged $500,000 last August and Molson announced in February it would kick in $500,000 annually for the next six years.

"We were hoping other corporations would follow our move and see it's just a good thing to do, a good thing for athletes and a good thing for Canada," MasterCard Canada president Walt Macnee said. "The return for us is associating our brand with something that is good and not necessarily getting any kind of financial payback."

Athlete demand has been overwhelming. At the fund's deadline date in late-November, there was a lineup of applicants all the way out the door at Roos' office. More than 300 athletes applied. "Too many people don't know there's a problem and if you don't know there's a problem how can you help?" Roos said.

Ontario and Quebec win national goalball title, players now battle for Paralympic berths.
(Canadian Sport News)

SASKATOON- Ontario successfully defended its men’s title while Quebec was a surprise winner in women’s play as both gold medal matches necessitated overtime this weekend at the Cameco Canadian Blind Sports Association Goalball Nationals.

In the women’s championship game, Quebec needed double overtime to edge Prince Edward Island 6-5 to finish the tournament undefeated. Sally Chartrand scored four goals for Quebec while Nancy Morin scored twice including the winner. Contessa Scott notch all five goals for PEI.

Saskatchewan, the defending champions, won the bronze with a 2-1 victory over Alberta. In the semifinal, Saskatchewan was upset by PEI 2-1 as the islanders scored twice in the final 90 seconds.‘’It was heartbreaker for us,’’ said Saskatchewan’s Amy Alsop, who helped the Canadian women’s national team to Paralympic gold in 2000. ‘’The tournament showed there’s a lot of depth in the sport right now for the women.’’

Alsop is now battling for a spot on the Canadian team that is scheduled to play the U.S., in a series of games at the Défi Sportif in Montreal later this month. Those matches will be used to make the final cuts for the Paralympic team. ‘’There are only six spots on the team so nothing is assured,’’ said Alsop, 25. ‘’A lot of new stars emerged from the nationals.’’

In the men’s championship game, Dean Kozak scored all three goals including the winner in overtime as Ontario defeated Alberta 3-2. Trent Fairbrother and Kevin Kaminsky replied for Alberta. In the bronze medal game, Quebec defeated Nova Scotia 5-3.

The men’s tournament will also influence decisions for the Paralympic squad. At the 2000 Games, the Canadian men placed 10th.

Goalball is a sport for the visually impaired and has been included on the official program of every Paralympic Games since 1976. The game is played in a gymnasium by two teams of three players with a maximum of three substitutes on each team. Using a ball with a bell inside, each team tries to roll the ball across the opponent's goal line.

Athletes after increased funding, Round Table discussions with Minister of Sport a good start.
(Leader-Post)

Stanley Keyes, the Canadian Minister of State (sport), was in Regina on
Tuesday armed with questions.

Keyes and 11 other representatives from Saskatchewan's sports community were participating in the first of a series of roundtable discussions about the future of high-performance funding for Canadian athletes at the Radisson Plaza Hotel Saskatchewan.

The roundtables, which will be held through April 16 across the country, started with three questions:
What does an athlete need to succeed?
What is the best way to target new funding for high-performance sport to ensure the success of Canada's athletes on the international stage?
What can all funding partners to do achieve Canada's high-performance goals?

Keyes said the answers to most of the questions after Tuesday's discussion appear to be targeting sports and athletes who will be successful at the 2010 Winter Olympics and beyond. "I have quickly learned that if we want performance in 2010, we have to target,'' Keyes said. "That's what they're telling me here. I could go out East next week and it might be different. I find that hard because I'm a Liberal and I believe that everyone should have a chance and it be fair.''

The reason for targeting athletes is the Canadian budget for sports. A total of $30 million was invested in the sports system after the 2004 federal budget, increasing the federal contribution to $100 million for 2004-05. There are 1,400 high-performance athletes participating in 73 sports in Canada. While $100 million may seem like a lot, it doesn't go that far.

"You need to achieve a balance to make sure their funds are available so some athletes can get to the next level,'' said Moose Jaw product Lisa Franks, who won five medals (four gold and a silver) in wheelchair athletics at the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney, Australia. "I know that I wouldn't have been keyed on because no one had ever heard of me before Sydney. It might pay off but it sounds risky.''

There are concerns about the returns Canada receives for its financial investments in athletes. A top-carded athlete like Franks receives $1,100 tax-free to assist in training and competing while developing athletes receive $500 a month. Keyes has been told that isn't enough but he would like to know what the proper amount would be.

Karen Purdy, a competitive curler, provided Keyes with some fodder on the costs. Purdy suggested that funds paid to high-performance athletes be increased to $2,000 for the top card and $800 for developing athletes That would work out to approximately $12.5 million a year in additional funding for high-performance athletes.

"That's the first hard number that I have heard,'' Keyes said. "That is the reason for this. When I have to ask cabinet in May for money, I have to put together a package that says we need X million dollars for amateur sport. I have to be able to say the money will be used for these issues and it will be decided by these people. The money will also be used to target these sports. It has to be that specific and I have to have answers for these questions.

"I also have to have a consensus. I want the sports world behind me.'' Tuesday's roundtable featured athletic representation from speedskating, cycling, wrestling, gymnastics, volleyball, aboriginal sports and the Canadian Sport Centre along with John Mills, the president of Calgary Olympic Development Association.

Coming Olympics prompt Greek treasure hunt.
(Prince George Citizen)

ATHENS (AP) -- A cloud of white dust drifts over the former international airport as a crew using heavy equipment builds athletic facilities for this summer's Olympics. A few paces away, another team brandishing brushes and garden tools carefully digs into the past.

The Summer Games have been a boon for archeologists, bringing the biggest single antiquities treasure hunt ever in Athens and surrounding areas. Experts rushed in, trying to beat the bulldozers at dozens of Olympic-related sites -- from sports venues to highways. The finds so far range from prehistoric settlements to 2,500-year-old cemeteries to ruins from the Roman period, when Emperor Theodosius abolished the Olympics in AD 394. Christianity had taken root, and he deemed the games to be pagan.

"I don't believe there was ever such a large-scale archeological excavation in Athens," said Dina Kaza, who heads the dig at the old seaside airport. Extra archeologists and specialized researchers have been hired so crews can work round-the-clock to keep pace with Olympic construction, which is now moving at a breakneck pace to compensate for years of delays. The Olympics begin Aug. 13.

Kaza, who oversees excavations at five Olympic-related sites, says the finds so far have not been headline-making -- like the back-to-back discoveries in 1997 of sites believed to be the school of Aristotle and an ancient cemetery mentioned as the burial place of the statesman Pericles. But the quantity of finds adds important details and richness to the understanding of how Athens developed over the centuries, Kaza said. "We never know what the ground is hiding from us," she said. One excavation -- at the site of a new tram line storage shed -- found 150 graves as old as the seventh century BC.

Another archeologist, Maria Platonos, uncovered a ceramic vessel depicting a victorious javelin thrower at a cemetery from the Classical period, 500-323 BC, on a road to the Olympic Village north of central Athens. The athlete is being crowned with ribbons by two messengers from Nike, the goddess of victory in Greek mythology, said Platonos, who heads excavations at the Olympic Village and two other Olympic sites. She said the artifact, which has been dated to 470 BC, had been used at a victory ceremony and was later placed on the grave of the young man awarded the prize. "Finding this in the area of the Olympic Village was truly something unexpected and very fortunate," she said.

Some antiquities are too big to be moved. At the Olympic Village, Platonos' team discovered an extensive system of underground pipes put in during the Roman period to supply Athens with water from nearby Parnitha Mountain. The system was in use until the 19th century. "This pipe was excavated and cleaned, and now there are plans to make this monument more visible along the zone of greenery at the Olympic Village,"