CODA Announces Canadian Olympic Committee's Endorsement of Country's First Centre of Excellence.

CODA has a new partner supporting its vision to create the nation's first Canadian Centre of Sport Excellence. The Canadian Olympic Committee gave its full endorsement to the project planned for southern Alberta, CODA announced on Wednesday.

Combining existing facilities from the 1988 Olympic Winter Games, with much-needed new ones, the Calgary area offers an ideal location, and an immediate cost-effective solution to launch a national initiative in support of Olympic athletes, while working with the Canadian Sport Centre Calgary, University of Calgary, Talisman Centre and numerous national sport organizations that are headquartered in the region.

"The Canadian Olympic Committee sees the development of facility-based sport institutes across Canada as a pillar in its strategy to provide better support for the country's high-performance athletes," said Chris Rudge, chief executive officer, Canadian Olympic Committee, during a media conference prior to CODA's 2004 Annual General Meeting. "We believe the combination of support, research and facilities essential to a world-class sport institute already exists in the Calgary area, and this project is crucial to finally permitting Canadian athletes to compete on a level playing field with athletes from leading sport countries."

A number of Canada's Olympic medallists stood alongside Rudge to collectively voice their support for the first Canadian Centre of Sport Excellence, which is modeled after other world-leading complexes in Australia and the United States. Athletes backing CODA president John Mills and Rudge included: Beckie Scott (cross-country skiing); Kyle Shewfelt (gymnastics); Pierre Leuders (bobsleigh); Clara Hughes (speed skating); and Deidra Dionne (freestyle skiing). Canada's newest Olympic heroes were also joined by Adam van Koeverden (kayak) via telephone in Toronto.

Once completed, the Centre will offer Canada's athletes both short- and long-term access to high-quality nutrition, accommodation, coaching, bio-medical, psychological and research services in combination with advanced training facilities, access to education and state-of-the-art equipment.

"In sports, only hundredths of a second separate first from 30th - there is no room for error and our athletes need to be fully prepared to compete," said Beckie Scott, a gold medallist at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. "Right now we are making do with what we have, but this Centre will propel dozens of more Canadian athletes to international and Olympic podiums in the future."

Since first announcing its project, CODA has consistently said other Centres must also be developed across the country. The Canadian Olympic Committee also supports the position that this concept must be rolled out to other major centres in Canada, including Vancouver/Victoria, Toronto and Montreal, along with athlete centres in other regions to best support high-performance athletes across the country.

"Canada's athletes, coaches and sport organizations have told us what they need to be number one," said John Mills, president, CODA. "Canadian athletes deserve the opportunity to do their best at the Olympics and this plan gives them the much-needed resources to compete and win against the world's best. CODA is committed to urging governments, the corporate sector and Canadians from coast-to-coast to support development of this project."

The first Centre, integral to Canada's goal of becoming a leading Olympic nation by 2010, will directly benefit more than 1,000 elite athletes, engaged in both short- and long-term training. It will also present increased recreational opportunities. Athletes across Canada, and CODA, have officially launched a national call to action for financial support to speed development. On-going funding to support making Canada a dominant sport country would be provided by CODA, the country's largest private funder of winter sport development.

"This Centre is so relevant. If we don't act now, Canada is going to fall behind and lose Olympic medals rather than increase our numbers in the future," said Deidra Dionne, an Olympic bronze medallist in freestyle skiing, who spends more than six months a year training in the United States. "These systems work, and if we want to win, Canada has to make the investment."

During its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, CODA also praised the Alberta government for its contribution of more than $16 million to modernize the Canmore Nordic Centre, outlined future planning, and celebrated the successes of recently added facilities to Canada Olympic Park including the Calgary Gymnastics Centre and National Ice House, which has developed our sliding sport athletes into an international power.

Big tests await Canadian short track speed skaters at upcoming World Cups.
(Canadian Sport News)

OTTAWA- Some of Canada’s top short track speed skaters are on the mend from injuries and face their first competitive test at the season opening World Cup event scheduled for Harbin, China this Friday to Sunday (October 22-24, 2004).

The most serious injury occurred to double Olympic medallist Jonathan Guilmette of Montreal. He hurt his back in a crash at the season-ending world championships last March.

‘’Technically on the ice you’d never know that Jonathan was injured,’’ said Canadian national team coach Guy Thibault following a recent practice. ‘’He’s still underweight and doesn’t have his usual strength but within a month or two that should become normal. The question is how he’ll react mentally in the heat of competition.’’

This is a pre-Olympic season on paper, but for Thibault the Games preparations are underway. The Olympic team trials are next September, less than a year away.

‘’The athletes are in Olympic mode,’’ said Thibault, who guided Canada to six medals at the 2002 Olympics ‘’Our training and preparations are based on an 18-month plan to make us the best at the Olympics. The last sprint for the Games has started since this summer.’’

Also battling injuries are Jean-Francois Monette of Pointe-aux-Trembles, Que., (back), Amélie Goulet-Nadon of Laval, Que.,(back) and world championship medallist Alana Kraus of Abbotsford, B.C., (neck). But all will
be on the ice for the first World Cup

On the men’s team with Guilmette and Monette for the first two World Cups are Mathieu Turcotte of Sherbrooke, Que., Charles Hamelin of Ste-Julie, Que., and Steve Robillard of Montreal. On the women’s side it’s Goulet-Nadon, Kraus, Tania Vicent and Anouk Leblanc-Boucher, both of Montreal, and Amanda Overland of Cambridge, Ont.

There are six stop on the World Cup circuit this season including the fourth stop December 3-5 at Saguenay, Que. The world team championships are March 5-6 at Chuncheon, South Korea and the world championships March 11-13 in Beijing. The junior worlds are January 7-9 in Belgrade. The Canadian Open is January 28-30 in Montreal.

Gold medal plates, gold medal attitude: Fundraising event pairs chefs with athletes.
(The Calgary Herald)

Michelle Cameron Coulter has attitude. Not the abrasive kind, but the can-do kind of attitude that sees possibilities everywhere and in everyone. That outlook, coupled with sheer talent and an immense capacity for focused hard work, propelled Cameron Coulter and her equally disciplined partner Carolyn Waldo to earn gold medals in synchronized swimming at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.

It shows up in her life now, as a mother and a motivational speaker, and it is evident in her four kids. And, as Cameron Coulter lines up with her team for the upcoming Gold Medal Plates culinary competition on Oct. 27 at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel, it's clear she still has a winning attitude.

The Calgary competition is one in a series of seven events held across the country. Each event features star athletes teamed up with local culinary luminaries to raise cash for the Canadian Olympic Committee's Excellence Fund in support of athletes. At each event, both chef and "jock" collaborate and present a dish that is served in tasting portions to the attending members of the public, who then cast their votes for the gold medal winner. Each region's winner will travel to Whistler, B.C. for a nation-wide cook-off in early November.

Cameron Coulter is teamed with chef Kevin Turner of Brava Bistro, which is co-owned by her long-time swimming buddy Michelle Paget. But she does not expect to actually cook the lobster gnocchi that Turner is entering in the contest. Other skills will be on the table. "I will sample and cheerlead," she says, decrying any culinary talent to match her aquatic skills. At home, husband Al Coulter, a former national volleyball team member, leads the kitchen brigade, and Cameron Coulter provides sideline support.

Cameron Coulter is a big fan of teamwork. Success as an elite athlete does not simply reflect golden glory on the athlete, she says, referring to the many Olympians who devote countless hours giving back to the community that sent them to their Games.

Chef Duncan Ly of Catch, who is paired with speed skater Jeremy Wotherspoon, concurs. "Like athletes, cooks start young, work hard for years, then hit a certain age where you cannot be in the kitchen working 12 hours. That is when all the knowledge you have accumulated pays off and you can become an executive chef. Athletes become coaches at a similar age, so they too are passing on knowledge and experience."

Wotherspoon, a silver medallist in Nagano in 1998, will be working beside Ly
as he creates a typically complex Catch dish -- sea bass with roasted garlic and white bean puree, braised napa cabbage, chanterelle mushrooms and foie gras foam. For Ly, taking the time and trouble to execute extra flourishes are what set a chef's style, and are the clearest indicators that he is doing the best he can. The best thing about high-performance athletes is their commitment and dedication, adds Ly. "They have a lot in common with cooks," he says, not the least of which includes having to train for that one big moment, and then deliver the goods in a pressure-cooker environment.

Chef Dean Kanuit of The Glencoe Club, who is matched with swimmer Joanne Malar in the Golden Plates, goes one step further in the comparison. Athletes and chefs both make their living in challenging circumstances and are only ever as good as their last event, he says. "It is a sad commentary that we have to hold an event like this to fundraise for our athletes," Kanuit says, adding: "I love the competition side of it, and so do the athletes, I suspect, and it's great that the guys in the industry are willing to step up to the plate."

For some of the cooks participating in the Gold Medal Plates, the highlight is the presence of Canadian uber-chef Michael Stadtlander, owner of Eigensinn Farm north of Toronto. Stadtlander, who is serving as a national culinary adviser, is cooking in each of the events in the countrywide series. It is a gruelling schedule; he will be in the kitchen in Montreal on Oct. 26, cooking at the Palliser in Calgary the following night, and is booked for Edmonton the night after that. From there, it is on to Vancouver on Nov. 3, and then to the finale, scheduled for Nov. 6 in Whistler.

In a recent telephone conversation, Stadtlander agreed it is a daunting schedule, but added that such an opportunity to peer into the pots and pans of Canadian cooks doesn't come very often. "I combine what grows in the area with my personal ethic," he says by way of explaining his choice of dishes for the competition.

In Calgary, Stadtlander will prepare braised beef cheeks with pickled leeks Okinawa style in recognition of his Japanese-born wife; and in Montreal, his
dish will be consomme with Georgian Bay whitefish.

Not all the participating chefs are caught up in meeting athletes and developing dishes. Host chef Shaun Desaulniers of the Fairmont Palliser is entangled in the logistical details that must not unravel on the night of the tasting event. He predicts between 6,000 and 7,000 pieces of cutlery will be required for the chefs and an estimated 500 guests. As host, he ensures that supply and service lines flow smoothly for his guest chefs, and that the behind-the-scenes machinery is oiled and ready to flow. He is hoping to sit down with Curtis Myden, the bronze medal swimmer who drew his name. "I want to hear what Curtis likes -- his input will be influential," says Desaulniers. But only to a point, as the busy chef has already decided on lamb, so Myden will have to be content with deciding on the trimmings.

Other participating athletes and chefs include: Ned Bell of Murrieta's, paired with skier Karin Lee-Gartner; Scott Pohorelic of River Cafe and high jumper Greg Joy; and Michael Lyon of Banff's Maple Leaf with Crazy Canuck
Ken Read.

They all are exemplary of what Cameron Coulter calls money well spent. "Think of investing in high performance athletics as a preventative measure in a society where there are so many options to be inactive," she says.

To sample, vote and observe some of Canada's finest athletes and chefs in
action on Oct. 27, call Gold Medal Plates Calgary at 291-9700. Tickets are $350 per person plus GST, or $3,500 plus GST for a table of 10 and are also available online at www.goldmedalplates.com

Canadian Centre for Sport Excellence, a Political Game?
(The Calgary Herald)

If political football were an Olympic sport, Canada would never lose the gold medal. Whether it's spreading political pork on subs, flags or synchronized swimmers, this nation is as serious about issues the way Nicolas Cage is serious about marriage. (Hint: Nick's been married a bunch of times.)

That was demonstrated again Wednesday as the Canadian Olympic Committee and CODA joined forces to announce a Canadian Centre For Sports Excellence in Calgary. On the surface, it's a progressive concept, indispensable if Canada is not to Sabres itself in 2010 at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Gather as many high-performance athletes as possible in one spot, concentrate your available resources within one community.

The COC/CODA had a few of Canada's Olympic heroes assembled on comfy chairs to make the point. Gold medallist from Athens, Kyle Shewfelt, was sporting his best Sunday eyebrow piercing, spreading the good word about the gymnastics high-performance centre now open on the COP grounds.

Pooling the resources is the formula that Australia has used to become an Olympic powerhouse. It's such an obvious idea that great minds could only wonder why Canada's sport establishment hasn't done it already. And there's the rub. You see, for all the bells and whistles and videos unfurled Wednesday by the hosts, not one of those funky new 20s with the Haida in a canoe changed hands. There wasn't one cent of new government or corporate money to announce for the project. So far, the centre of excellence is not excellently funded.

All of this seemed mighty peculiar on the same day that federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale rustled through the cushions on the Commons sofa and came up with -- will you look at that? -- nine BILLION smackers. After all the fuss about our athletes getting by on Kraft Dinner and the failures of Athens, you'd think that someone in Paul Martin's new minority fun bunch could shake loose a few piastres for a teeny-weeny sports centre in Calgary.

But while Chris Rudge, the COC's CEO, and John Mills, the prez of CODA, had high-minded things to say about the wonderful progress made of late, it was not financial progress they were referring to. The government had given a one-time $30 million bump to Canada's best athletes, but it hasn't been renewed yet. The rest is the token subsistence level designed to deflect criticism but not spur medal results.

Rudge made it plain where he thought the responsibility lay for the submarine-like efficiency of the sports system in Canada (look, Ma, a dozen whole medals in Greece!) "The Conservatives promised in their election platform to put one per cent of health funding -- that's $300 million -- toward sport," he told the media. "No matter what the government says, their total now is $65 million." "All it would take is for Paul Martin to tell his cabinet that this thing should be done, and it would get done. It's that simple, really. So far he hasn't seen fit to do that." Oh, those wily Liberals.

Of course, Martin loves our glorious Olympic heroes. But he also knows that there aren't enough of them or their friends and family to cost him an election. Getting Martin to sign the cheques means getting Rudge's athletes to the podium more often. According to the COC boss, only 25 per cent of athletes who'd recorded at least two fifth-place finishes the year before got to the medals in Athens. Compare that to the Americans, Aussies and Germans who convert as many as 94 per cent of their hopefuls into heroes. "We have to do better than that," he said, "and that's where the centres of excellence will help. Our athletes have to be convinced that they'll win, not just hope for a medal. And the government needs to be convinced we can convert more of our sevenths and eights into medals."

A cynic might point to Shewfelt and say, Why all the fuss about money? This guy came from a club with a local coach to win a gold medal. That works as well as any system you've devised thus far. So inquiring minds asked Shewfelt -- who's still in judging limbo over a second medal from Athens -- if his stirring triumph didn't just disprove all the centre-of-excellence thing. "It's hard for me, because I'm a special case. But the stress leading up to the Olympics with the foot injury and all the demands, I didn't get all the practice time I needed, didn't get the chance to train with my teammates year-round. I really could've used the centre for that. And I think we'd have won more medals for sure in Athens."

There you go. If it's good enough for Kyle, it should be good enough for Paul. Now, about that $9 billion, Mr. Martin?

COC boss calls on PM to take a stand. Rudge says leadership needed, 'someone's got to say sport is important'
(By JAMES CHRISTIE -The Globe and Mail)

The head of the Canadian Olympic Committee threw down a challenge to Prime Minister Paul Martin yesterday to show leadership to the sport community by making sport a full ministry in the government or setting up a "sport czar" who would direct the country's scattered resources toward a vision of excellence.

"We need leadership from the top," said Chris Rudge, who has been the president and chief executive officer of the COC for 18 months. "Someone's got to say sport is important. "In that time, I've seen three ministers responsible for sport, none of whom had any power or mandate to affect change. The Prime Minister's got to make a statement."

Rudge said he'd discussed the concept of an outside agency with former Toronto Blue Jays executive Paul Beeston. "Paul said you'd never get the Prime Minster to move, but he's got to take charge."

The COC leader's comments came before an awards lunch of Sport Media Canada and a crowd that included several current and former Olympic athletes -- none of whom were impressed with Canada's 12-medal performance at the Athens Games in August.

Rudge said the federal government's egalitarian policies toward sport, a sport-for-all model, have resulted in talent and resources being spread "a mile wide and an inch deep." The athletes -- and public -- demand more resources be focused on excellence when it comes to the Olympics, he said.

"There's no kid in this country who goes to bed at night and dreams of finishing 14th in the Olympics and listening to the Ukrainian national anthem being played," he said. "When the Games started and the writ was dropped, it was about winning and the questions being asked were "Why are we not winning,' " he said. The COC deserves some of the blame for poor performance at Athens and needs to change the way it operates in the Canadian sport system. "We can't abdicate our responsibility to lead," he said, noting the COC has focused its athlete funds on sports that have demonstrated medal potential.

Canada will need 35 medals, more than double its best-ever total of 17 at
the Salt Lake Games, to be No. 1 at the 2010 Vancouver Games. To get there, he said more of Sport Canada's $120-million budget has to get to athletes. Second, he called for a series of sport institutes across Canada, and third, a government commitment to be a sport leader.

It's debatable whether the fed government will give full endorsement to a focus on elite sport. Last night, in an interview on The Fan 590, a Toronto radio station, the Minister of State for sport, Stephen Owen, suggested recent federal contributions to coaching and new sports equipment might spell the difference between Canada's 2004 top-12 finishes in Athens and a bushel of medals.

At the same time, he retreated from the idea of sport institutes that focus on medal performances, such as Australia has established. He said while in Athens he spoke with Australian sports officials and came away with the idea that the Australians "went really overboard" in their identification of young talent and streaming athletes very early. "In many ways, they buy medals," he said. "Parents [in Australia] were upset that their kids are getting obese while the government was putting money into eight Olympic summer sports."

Reversing a trend, Ottawa sinks money into elite coaching.
(By JAMES CHRISTIE - The Globe and Mail)

The federal government took a step yesterday toward keeping some of the country's top coaches from dropping out of the profession or fleeing the country when it targeted them to receive more than half of a $19.1-million grant in sport funding, according to Andy Higgins, director of the National Coaching Institute Ontario.

Higgins said too many good instructors have disappeared from the Canadian system because coaching is the most poorly funded and least appreciated building block of Canadian sport.

Minister of State for Sport Stephen Owen unveiled the coaching money among details of the extra $30-million Ottawa set aside earlier this year for high-performance athletes. Owen announced last month that top-level amateur athletes would receive an extra $400 each month, boosting their monthly stipend to $1,500 from $1,100.

Yesterday, he said national sport organizations will get $10.21-million for coaching, salaries, training and competition needs to help senior national teams. An additional $1-million will go into the National Coaching Certification program to certify more coaches. "The day Sport Canada and the Canadian Track and Field Association started pulling funding out of coaching, we lost good, qualified, rising coaches [such as] Jamie Hamilton [jumps], Peter Pimm [middle distance] and Bogdan Poprawski [throws], people who'd trained Olympic-calibre athletes but had to do something else to pay the mortgage. They have to live in the real world,"
Higgins said. "In the intervening years, they have been selling real estate
or teaching high school or working in the fitness industry. Track and field
lost them, to its detriment."

Things haven't improved over the past 10 years for amateur sport coaches in Canada, and top coaches can be lured away by other countries. Canadian Martin Barras last week was given a second four-year contract as Australia's head track cycling coach. Australian cyclists left the Olympics with a record haul of six golds, two silver and two bronze -- twice the tally of nearest cycling rival Russia. Alex Baumann, double gold medalist in Los Angeles in 1984, runs swimming in Queensland, Australia.

"Anything we can do to make life more decent for hired coaches, and to keep them, is a good step forward," Higgins said. "If you have to pay a six-figure salary to keep a top coach like Michel Larouche, who trains [world champion diver] Alexandre Despatie, you pay it -- or someone else
will.

"You can throw all kinds of money at athletes and it won't make them any
better if there's not good coaching to advise them how to spend it best." Canada came away from the Athens Olympics with only 12 medals, down from 14 at Sydney in 2000 and 22 at Atlanta in 1996.