Water skier Jaret Llewellyn of Innisfail, Alta., regains world jump record

TAMPA, Florida- Jaret Llewellyn of Innisfail, Alta., added to his water skiing legend on Sunday as he soared an incredible 240 feet to reclaim the world jump record on Sunday at the Holloween Open competition.

Llewellyn, 34 and in his 21st season on the national team, beat the previous mark of 236 feet set by American Freddy Krueger at the very same site just last week. Llewellyn held the world mark before that at 235 feet. Krueger’s best jump on Sunday was 234 feet.

In the jump competition the helmeted water skier reaches top speed before hitting the jump ramp. The event requires great strength and balance in order to hold onto the towline travelling at speeds near 120 kilometres an hour and to also spring off the surface of the ramp while resisting the G-force impact.

‘’I was shocked to hear that I went 240,’’ said Llewellyn who reached the mark on his third and final jump of the final round. ‘’I thought that was a far out number. I thought it was possible but I didn’t think it would happen this year. To break the record by four feet is a pretty substantial margin. But today the conditions were perfect.

‘’Last week Fred predicted I would break his record again. He was pretty upset today that it actually happened. I never let him keep it.’’

In addition Llewellyn beat the world overall record by four points for his combination score for all three water skiing events: jump, tricks and slalom.

Llewellyn is a three-time world jump champion, was the overall world champion in 2001 and has held nine world records. He has numerous pro victories and was Canada’s flag bearer last year at the Pan American Games.

This year’s been one of his best with titles at the Masters, Malibu Open, Moomba Masters in Australia and the Pan Am Championships.

Edmonton’s Brandon O’Neill earns second sixth place finish at gymnastics World Cup.

GLASGOW- Brandon O’Neill of Edmonton finished sixth on men’s vault on Sunday to conclude a World Cup gymnastics competition.

Filip Yanev of Bulgaria won the gold medal averaging 9.600 on his two vaults. Triple Olympic medallist Marian Dragulescu of Romania was second at 9.456 and Tomas Gonzales Sepulveda of Chile was third at 9.443.

O’Neill, sixth on Satuday on floor, registered a 9.112 on his first vault and a 9.237 for a 9.174 score and sixth spot.

‘’It was a good routine,’’ said O’Neill, fourth in event here last year. ‘’All my tumbling runs were good but unfortunately on one of them I took a step out of bounds and that cost me valuable points.’’

Skate escape; injury time off did Klassen good.
(The Calgary Sun)

One of the worst things Cindy Klassen could ever suffer through might, ironically, prove to be a blessing.

It's been a year since the Winnipeg speed skater badly cut her right arm in a training accident at the Olympic Oval. And while she returned to the World Cup circuit at the end of last season, Klassen said the time she was forced to take off did a world of good. "The rest kind of helps sometimes and, coming back, I didn't know what to expect. But there was no pressure at all, so I was just able to enjoy it and that really helped a lot," said the 25-year-old who yesterday qualified for the Canadian women's 3,000 and 5,000m fall World Cup teams.

Despite coming back from the injury, when it looked like her season might be over, Klassen still won four medals at the end of the season. She continued her good form yesterday, winning the women's 3,000 in the fall World Cup qualifer at the Oval.

Klassen's time of four minutes 05.72 seconds was 10 seconds faster than Michelle D'Amours of Quebec. Tara Risling of Medicine Hat finished third in 4:18.47. Both D'Amours and Risling join Klassen, Glen Sutton, Que.'s Clara Hughes and Ottawa's Kristina Groves, who were pre-qualified.

As for Klassen, she is still getting over some flashbacks from the accident."Mentally, sometimes it's hard when we're doing the shorter distances which are a lot quicker. Sometimes in the corner I'll think about it but it's getting a lot better," said Klassen, who won bronze in the 3,000m at the 2002 Olympics. "It was pretty hard at the end of last season but it's pretty good now."

In the men's 5,000m, Calgary's Arne Dankers won in 6:33.00. He pre-qualified and will be joined by 19-year-old Denny Morrison of Fort St. John, B.C. Morrison, a junior skater, finished second in 6:40.29. Finishing third and rounding out the World Cup squad was Calgary-based Jamie Ivey, who had a time of 6:40.49.

Canada wins bronze in men’s relay at short track speed skating World Cup.

BEIJING- Canada won the bronze medal in a heated and fast-paced men’s 5,000-metre relay final on Sunday to conclude the second stop on the short track speed skating World Cup circuit.

South Korea took the gold medal clocking six minutes and 45.627 seconds with the U.S., second in 6:46.668 and the Canadians, silver medallists last weekend, third in 6:46.761. Skating for Canada was Jean-Francois Monette of Pointe-aux-Trembles, Que., Jonathan Guilmette of Montreal, Charles Hamelin of Ste-Julie, Que., and Mathieu Turcotte of Sherbrooke, Que.

‘’We made some mistakes and some bad exchanges cost us,’’ said Canadian national team coach Guy Thibault of Le Gardeur, Que. ‘’It was very close. We’re still fine-tuning the relay, we have guys who haven’t skated together all that much but we’re confident that as they gain more and more experience and polish their skills it should get interesting. We’re certainly better than what we’ve showed so far.’’

It was a great weekend for South Korean world champion Hyun-Soo Ahn. In addition to the relay win he swept gold in all four individual races including Sunday’s 1,000 and 3,000 metres.

Turcotte earned a third fourth place finish this weekend in the 3,000 and was eliminated in the 1,000 semifinal for fifth. Steve Robillard of Montreal and Hamelin were 10th and 11th in the 1,000 after being eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Tania Vicent of Montreal, third in the 500 Saturday, reached the women’s 3,000 final and was fifth as Eun-Kyung Choi led South Korea to a clean medal sweep. In the 1,000, Choi also won gold while Amanda Overland of Cambridge, Ont., and Anouk Leblanc-Boucher of Montreal were eliminated in the semis for sixth and seventh respectively. Vicent was 17th.

Canada ends the first two World Cup stops with five medals - two silver and three bronze. Several Canadians are coming back from injuries and this weekend Amélie Goulet-Nadon of Laval, Que., a triple World Cup champion two seasons ago missed the competition due a groin injury.

‘’It’s hard to say that we’re totally satisfied with our performances so far,’’ said Thibault. ‘’But with all the injuries we’re simply not 100 percent. It’s going to do us a lot of good to get home, train some more and then have some World Cups in our back yard.’’

The third stop on the World Cup is November 26-28 at Madison, Wisconsin and the fourth stop December 3-5 at Saguenay, Que.

Premier Ralph Klein dropped the election writ to launch the provincial election campaign last week. This is an opportunity to keep Albertans’ issues and priorities in front of all candidates as they campaign for your vote. Continually, Albertans’ endorse increased funding for sport and rebuilding/expanding Alberta’s recreational/sport infrastructure.

It's Your Future survey (2004) Some 155,000 responses in the "other" category (those being ideas not already presented in the survey) included “advice to the government that it not go into debt again and calls for increased funding to arts and sports.” (Government of Alberta News Release October 19, 2004). This is significant given investment in art or sport was not predetermined priority within the survey.

Additionally, a new Government of Alberta brochure entitled Today's Opportunities - Tomorrow's Promise which outlines a long-range plan for the province, presents the vision: “A vibrant and prosperous province where Albertans enjoy a superior quality of life and are confident about the future for themselves and their children.”

Highlights of "Making Alberta the best place to live, work and visit,"
include:
• Support vibrant, strong, safe communities.
• Promote arts and culture, sports and recreation, history, parks and the natural beauty of Alberta as a great place to live and a wonderful place to visit.

Alberta Future Summit 2002: A Report to the Government of Alberta Within Bold Steps, Communities Albertans expressed the desire for the province to “provide adequate funding for local initiatives that enhance quality of life” including “Increase infrastructure facility grants,” and “Increase provincial funding for the arts, libraries, sports and recreation, heritage and culture.” Albertans also identified that they “were concerned about safety in their communities.

Their suggestions for addressing this issue included” … “implementing arts and sports programs for youth.” Within Bold Steps, Planning, Development and Infrastructure, Albertans stated “They felt that community facilities should support active living and provide affordable sports and recreation opportunities for citizens of all ages.” Within Bold Steps, Viability, “Some Albertans, particularly rural Albertans, expressed concern about the long-term viability of their communities and the challenges of attracting and retaining residents. Responses typically centered around access to government services or increased funding for amenities in the areas of sports, recreation, arts and culture."

Their suggestions included "establishing multi-purpose recreation centres” and “designing communities to encourage active living.” Within Bold Steps, Health and Wellness – Active Living, “Albertans recognized the relationship between active living and preventing illness and disease. They felt that exercise, recreation, physical activity and sport were important for maintaining overall wellness and health.”

What you need to do:
- Ask your candidates when they're at your door or while they're participating or watching their kids or grand children participate at the arena, in the pool, or any other sport activity, as to their commitment to increased funding for sport along with rebuilding and expanding Alberta's recreational/sport infrastructure, given what so many Albertans have indicated is a priority.