ATHLETE RESULTS
CANADIAN
JUNIOR WOMEN WRESTLERS HAVE HUGE BREAKTHROUGH
(Report by Head coach, Leigh Vierling)
MARTIGNY, Switzerland--The Canadian
junior women's wrestling team competed at the World Junior Championships
in Martigny, Switzerland on August 19 and had a huge breakthrough.
 |
While the Senior National
team has been highly regarded for some time, the Juniors
were struggling a bit at the World Championships. This year,
six athletes (out of eight weight classes) won their pools
and qualified for medal matches. In the history of our Junior
Women's Program we had only won one world medal (Breanne
Graham in 1998, won a bronze). This year we had five
world medals, Including a Junior World Champion! |
Tara Hedican from Guelph, Ontario
claimed Canada's first ever-gold medal in the 63-kilogram weight
division. Audrey Carrasco from Brampton, Ontario claimed a silver
medal at 43 kilograms. Three other athletes claimed bronze medals
at the event, Lindsay Rushton from St. Catharine's, Ontario
at 50 kilograms, Graham, from Calgary, Alberta at 58
kilograms, and Pamela Wilson from Hamilton, Ontario at 75 kilograms.
Graham defeated Sylwia
Bilenska from Poland by a fall, Suellyn Hayes from Australia
(10-0) and Brandy Rosenbuck from the United States (5-4) to
claim her pool before losing a close semi-final match to Lubov
Volossova from Russia, 3-2. She then defeated Karisson Ida-Theres
from Sweden by a decision, 5-0 to claim her second bronze medal
at this level of competition.
Brittanee Laverdure, who
wrestles with the University of Calgary Wrestling Club at 54
kilograms, lost matches to Katarzyna Gorczynska from Poland
and Viktoria Zatchainova from Russia by falls in her pool and
did not place.
Canada finished in third place
overall behind the first place team from Russia and the second
place team from Japan. There were 25 countries in attendance
with 107 athletes competing in 8 weight divisions.
CANADIAN
SKI-JUMPERS SOAR AT CONTINENTAL CUP
CALGARY, AB(Lauren MacGillivray)--The
Continental Cup Ski Jumping competition, held at Canada Olympic
Park (COP) over the weekend, served as proof ski jumping is
alive and well in Canada. In fact, it's rising from the dead.
"We're re-developing our ski-jumping
in this country," said Ron Read, chairman for Ski Jumping
Canada. "We're to the point where we've done really well in
North America, but now we've got to get these athletes in the
world scene."
| When Thunder Bay, Ont.'s Big
Thunder ski jumping facility was closed four years ago,
that left Calgary as the nation's sole training site. Canada
hasn't had a ski jumping athlete represent the nation since
Horst Bulau at the 1988 Olympic Winter Games. But CODA and
Ski Jumping Canada are hoping Canadian ski jumping will
return to the Games by 2006, a goal riding on Ski Jumping
Canada's National Development Team which trains at COP.
"We've got strong, young jumpers on the team," said Read.
|
Summer jumping at COP(Nordic Combined
Canada) |
The Continental Cup showcased
40 athletes from Canada, Austria, Finland, Great Britain, Japan,
The Netherlands, Slovakia and Slovenia, who competed at COP's
K89 (70-metre) jump. It came as no surprise the Europeans dominated.
But what stood out was that Canada gained ground. Calgary's
Chris Holland, 21, grabbed Canada's top rank, finishing
13th.
"I did well for only having less
than 100 jumps this summer," said Holland. "Most of the
athletes here have had hundreds." Holland grabbed his
standing after soaring 80.5 metres.
If Canadian athletes were judged
by international standards, nine of the 13 members on the development
team would have made enough points at the Cup to make the Olympic
standard. But entry here isn't so easy. "Canadian standards
are much tougher," explained Read. "Canadian athletes have to
make the top 16 at a world cup, four times. Whereas, for the
international standard, athletes only need one point at a Continental
Cup." (Reprinted courtesy of the Calgary Herald)
TOUGH
START FOR MEN'S WATER POLO TEAM AT
FISU GAMES
BEIJING, China--The Canadian men's
water polo team dropped their third straight loss in the opening
round of play at the World University Games in Beijing, China
over the weekend. Canada lost 8-5 to an Australian squad that
was looking for its first win of the tournament.
In the opening game of round-robin
competition, Canada faced a team from China that played far
above expectations. After early foul trouble forced Canadian
coach John Csikos to shift his line-up, Canada gradually
fell behind the Chinese team, losing by a final score of 12-10.
After the game, Canada's assistant coach, Wing Wong --
who played water polo for China in the 1984 Olympics -- offered
praise for both teams, noting China's spirited play, and Canada's
patience that replaced early nervousness.
 |
In the second game of the
fourteen-team tournament, Canada rallied from a three-goal
deficit in the final quarter, tying Japan late in the game.
On a controversial call with seven seconds left in the game,
Japan was handed a clear breakaway and buried the ball behind
netminder Robin Randall, winning 11 - 10. Coach Csikos
commented, "the call hurt us, but we need to take care of
the little things earlier in the game to avoid being in
that kind of a situation." |
Canada missed a four-metre penalty
shot midway through the fourth quarter. After today's loss to
Australia, Coach Csikos said, "I feel bad for our guys
because they are working so hard and just not getting the breaks."
He added that Canada's level of play showed periods of excellent
teamwork and strong moves. "It's not that we're making so many
mistakes and losing games. It's that we run into teams that
are putting up great performances against us."
Montreal's Alexandre Thibeault
was in the net for Canada. Strong performances came from several
members of the Canadian squad including Adam Sidky (Vancouver),
Michael Gordon (Montreal), Adam Deffett (Toronto),
Dusan Lazarevic (Toronto), and Noah Miller (Regina).
Canada returns to the water Monday,
for an afternoon game against Italy. The round-robin play concludes
with games against Russia and the Netherlands on Tuesday and
Wednesday, respectively.
ROWERS
IMPRESS AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
LUCERNE, Switzerland--Canada had
three top-six finishes on the final day of the FISA World Rowing
Championships on the Rotsee regatta course in Lucerne (Aug.
19 to 26).
"It's a pleasing start to the
four-year program," said Canadian National Team head coach
Brian Richardson. "We've probably done a bit better than
we thought over the year. Finishing fourth, fifth and sixth
today was tough to take, but to be in the top six in the world
is positive."
|
In the men's eight final, Canada was sixth in a time
of 5:33:85. The men's eight is Brian Price (cox) of Belleville,
Ont., Kevin Light, of Sidney, B.C., Henry Hering of Montreal,
Que., Andrew Hoskins of Edmonton, Alta., Lawrence
Varga of Nanoose Bay, B.C., Tom Herschmiller of Comox,
B.C., Joe Stankevicius of Dundas, Ont., Jeff Powell of
Winnipeg, Man. and Matt Swick of St. Catharines, Ont.
"It was a good experience," said stroke of the men's
eight, Kevin Light, 22, who rowed in his first senior
World Championship final today. "It took this Worlds to
realize that we're doing the right thing - we just need
to do more of it."
|
 |
The Canadian women's eight, that
includes Calgarian Marilyn Taylor, rowed in a two-boat
B final earlier in the day, and beat the Netherlands to finish
seventh overall.
"Canada has had an excellent year
in rowing," said Rowing Canada Aviron's vice president of high
performance, Bill Donegan. "We have won 10 medals in international
competition. The program is focused on development and rebuilding
for the next Olympics. We have won medals in World Cup, World
Championship, Junior World and under age 23 competition. Our
results at all levels of international competition reflect our
dedication to a system of development that will result in more
success in the future. Canadians should be proud of their rowers."
DOAN DOMINATES
AT FISU BASKETBALL TOURNEY
BEIJING, China--The Canadian student
women's basketball team finished round one of the World University
Games with a 3-0 record after defeating South Africa on Sunday,
93-31.
Leighann Doan |
With only 18 hours to rest after upsetting
the USA, the Canadian squad jumped out and established
their presence taking a 52-15 lead into the half. South
Africa scored the opening basket, but that was the only
lead they would enjoy during this game. Canada was able
to score easily - on transition as well as on penetration.
Leighann Doan (Halkirk, AB) led Canada with 17
points. Canada begins medal round play against the Netherlands
on August 27, 2001.
|
CANADIANS
PERFORM AT CANOE/KAYAK WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
POZNAN, Poland--Kamini Jain
of Calgary and her teammates placed fifth in the K-4 200m and
eighth in the K-4 500 at the World Canoe and Kayak Championships
held last week in Poland.
|
Canada reached 13 finals
over the weekend and posted six top-five finishes. "We
expected to win more medals," said Karen Furneaux, who
took home Gold in the K-1 200-metres. "But we're not disappointed
or down. It was a very rough course and we didn't handle
that as well as the other racers. It was a challenge at
times just to stay in the boat."
The waves were accentuated
by barricades on the course which were actually in place
to calm the waters.
|
Kamini Jain |
IN
THE NEWS....
UNDER-22
WOMEN HOCKEY PLAYERS
TRAINING IN CALGARY
CALGARY, AB - Twenty-eight of
Canada's top young women's hockey players have been in Calgary
for a week with the NIKE Under 22 Team Development Camp which
has been taking place at the Father David Bauer Olympic Arena.
The camp wraps up on Friday.
The twenty-two players selected
to Canada's National Women's Under 22 Team will face Sweden
during a 3-game series in Langley and North Delta, BC in October,
2001.
Dana Pretty |
The Canadian Hockey Association
launched the National NIKE Under 22 Program during the
1998-1999 season. The program gives younger players an
opportunity to experience international competition, on
the international ice surface and to experience everything
that international hockey encompasses such as international
travel, different playing styles and international officiating.
|
The following players from Calgary
are attending the camp: Carla MacLeod, Dana Pretty, Navada
Russell, Becky Klein Swomink, and Meagan Walton.
The
group will be playing an intersquad game at Father David Bauer
arena on Thursday at 4pm.
WOMEN IN
COACHING PROGRAM UNVEILS 'NEW' WEBSITE
OTTAWA, ON--"It's hard to
build a great Web site and even harder to keep it on the cutting
edge" says Cyndie Flett, Director of the Coaching Association
of Canada's Women in Coaching program.
| In a major effort to continue
to put quality resources and pertinent information directly
into the hands of coaches, the Women in Coaching program
unveiled its "new" web site today. The Web site, designed
by Susan Dodge of Dodge Ink., features a significant redesign
that incorporates a sleek user interface, a comprehensive
search engine, and a user-friendly pull-down menu for easier
navigation and improved functionality. |
 |
The purpose of the redesign is
to improve services to women coaches and to increase general
awareness of the various programs and services offered by the
Women in Coaching program. The redesigned site is comprehensive
and combines fundamental information for women coaches such
as access to scholarships and a list of coaching resources along
with a variety of interactive services such as the sections,
where coaches can solicit advice from sport psychologists, sport
nutritionists and expert coaches and the Online Mentor Program,
designed for women coaches at all levels who want an opportunity
to receive feedback from and exchange ideas with an experienced
coach.
Visit
the Web site at and find out for yourself!
