Canadian Sport Centre Calgary

ATHLETE RESULTS

Women's Hockey: The United States defeated Canada for the second time this season by a score of 4-1 in San Jose, California on October 23.

The Canadian team is now competing at the Three Nations Cup in Finland where they are currently standing at 2 and 0 after defeating the host nation Finland and Sweden earlier in the week. The United States is not competing at this competition due to the terrorist attacks.

Badminton: The Canadian team finished second to the United States at the Pan American Badminton Championships on October 24 by a score of 3-2. Canada had defeated Panama and Gautemala earlier in the week to advance to the finals.

Milaine Cloutier went on to win two individual gold medals in women's doubles and mixed doubles. Cloutier and partner Helen Nichol defeated Charmaine Reid and Jody Patrick in women's doubles, while Cloutier teamed with Keith Chan to defeat an American team. Reid and Patrick each won bronze medals in women's singles.

Alberta athletes also fared well at the Yonex Winnipeg Open held this past weekend. Cloutier won another gold in women's doubles - this time with partner Robbyn Hermitage. The pair defeated Denyse Julien and Tammy Sun. Patrick and Reid finished third.

In mixed doubles, William Milroy and Julien defeated Chan and Cloutier. Bryan Moody and Brent Olynyk were victorious in men's doubles defeating a pair from Montreal. Chan and Milroy were third.

Figure Skating: Edmonton based athletes Jamie Sale and David Pelletier rewrote the record books at Skate America by winning the pairs title for the third straight year on October 23.

The pair went on to win gold again at Skate Canada held this past weekend in Saskatoon - extending their winning streak to seven.

Luge: Canadian sliders performed well at their first major competition of the year at the North American Luge Championships held in Park City, Utah on October 21.

Chris Moffat was the headliner, winning a silver medal in men's singles. Jeff Christie and Kyle Connelly placed fourth and fifth respectively in singles followed by Tyler Seitz in 12th. Regan Lauscher finished 4th in women's singles. Chris Moffat and partner Eric Pothier finished fourth in men's doubles followed by Grant Albrecht and Mike Moffat in fifth.

Albrecht and Mike Moffat out slid Pothier and Chris Moffat however this past weekend at the Canadian Luge Championships held at Canada Olympic Park. Lauscher was the top female followed by Abbie Lovatt and Lindsay Danforth. Seitz was back on form at this competition taking home first place, followed by Mike Moffat and Jorgen Krause.

CHECK OUT THE LUGE WORLD CUP AT COP THIS WEEKEND

Speed Skating - Short Track: Canada will be sending a full compliment of skaters to the Salt Lake City Winter OIympic Games, thanks to their strong results on October 27 in Salt Lake City at the Olympic qualifying meet.

The Olympic individual distances are the 500, 1,000 and the 1,500. Canada needed to place its four skaters in the top-32 overall. Eric Bedard of Ste-Thecle, Que., was fifth and Marc Gagnon of Montreal seventh for the men. For the women, Alanna Kraus of Abbotsford, B.C., was fifth and Olympic champion Annie Perreault of Rock Forest, Que., seventh.

That means Canada could send as many as 12 skaters to the Games next February. Canadian skaters will battle each other for Olympic berths at team trials November 15-25 in Abbotsford, B.C.

Alpine Skiing: Allison Forsyth opened the 2001-02 World Cup season in close to top form with a fourth place finish in the women's giant slalom (GS) in Sölden, Austria on October 27.

"It's a very good start to the season for me. I crashed here last year and the year before so of course I'm happy to finish strong and to retain my position in the top five," she said. "But I keep trying to get on that podium. I really want to win this year, and I think that it's a very realistic expectation."

The men's World Cup season started the following day with Thomas Grandi and Ryan Oughtred falling victim to a very competitive field as they failed to qualify for the second run, both missing the cut by a mere four-tenths of a second. Grandi clocked the 43rd best time just behind his young counterpart Oughtred, but the Canadian veteran still feels confident.

"We trained well and I'll need some time to make the best out of it," he said. "I'm happy to be totally healthy now, there's no pain as there was in the past." "I believe I'll move up," Grandi continued. "We have a good group in the technical events and it's nice to train all together. It's nice to share the pressure with other teammates now. We all push us up which is good."

Judo: Keith Morgan took home gold in the 90kg division from the 19-country Rendez-Vous Canada judo competition in Montreal.

Morgan competed despite a severe thumb sprain suffered while mountain biking earlier this week. He is off to Europe to compete in a professional judo league for his German club team against a squad from the Netherlands. Then he travels to Argentina for the Pan Am championships in three weeks where Canada can earn team spots for the Olympics.

Nordic Skiing: The Canadian women's team took four of the top five spots in the 10-kilometre classic style event at the season-opening Continental Cup on Sunday.

Beckie Scott skied to a second straight victory with a time of 31:15. Scott took home gold the previous day in the sprint event. Amanda Fortier finished third in the classic event followed by Sara Renner in fourth and Milaine Theriault in fifth.

"We were all neck and neck during the race, which is a good sign for the team," said Fortier.

Robin McKeever was the top Canadian in the men's classic event, finishing in sixth place.

Bobsleigh: Yannik Morin piloted the Canada 3 sled with brakeman Guilio Zardo to the best Canadian finish in the 2-man bobsleigh event of the Visa Men's World Cup at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary on Friday - the first of seven World Cup events prior to the 2002 Salt Lake Games.

Finishing sixth after two heats, Morin's combined time of 1:52.44 bettered Pierre Lueders by a full tenth of a second. Lueders ended the night in eighth spot.

Lueders placed 8th in the 4-man event (CREW: Ben and Matt Hindle and Pascal Caron) held the following evening, meeting his goal for the first 4-man event of the season.

Tom Samuel, piloting the Canada 3 sled, finished 19th with a combined time of 1:50.66. Brian Zarsky and his Canada 2 sled finished 23rd with a combined time of 1:51.29.

The next major bobsleigh events at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary are the seventh and eighth Women's World Cup races on December 15 and 16, 2001.

Water Polo: Club teams from Vancouver and Calgary, bolstered by national team members, are entered for the U.S. Open men's water polo championships November 2-4 in Los Angeles.

This is the first big tournament for Canadian players since the world championships this past July in Japan. "We've been training for six weeks and this is a great opportunity to get some quality games in," said Canada's national men's team coach John Csikos of Calgary. "It's a big test for the guys."

IN THE NEWS...

FUTURE SUMMIT 2002 - HAVE YOUR SAY!

The Province of Alberta has recently announced a process to define what a debt-free Alberta will look like. Through a variety of ways, Albertans will provide input into what the priorities for Government should be, once the debt is retired.

This is our opportunity to encourage the Province to reinvest in Sport and Recreation. There are tremendous benefits to the Province to view participation in healthy lifestyles as an investment in Albertans as opposed to a simple expenditure. READ MORE.....

COME AND MEET YOUR CANADIAN ALPINE SKI TEAM

Calgary Ski racing fans are welcome to come out and support the Canadian Alpine Ski Team as they attend an autograph session. The team will be in town to officially launch their 2001-2002 World Cup season and their participation in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

This will mark the last opportunity to catch the men's team prior to their visit to Salt Lake City in February, while fans still have the chance to catch the women at the Lake Louise Winterstart World Cup in late November.

More than 25 members of CAST will attend the session, including Olympic qualifying athletes Dave Anderson, Sara-Maude Boucher, Emily Brydon, Allison Forsyth, Thomas Grandi, Darin McBeath, Jean-Philippe Roy & Edi Podivinsky (athlete availability subject to change).

When: Wednesday, November 7, 2001 4:30 - 6 p.m.
Where: Willow Park Wines and Spirits, Willow Park Village
10801 Bonaventure Dr SE (just off McLeod Trail, north of Anderson) Calgary AB

ATHLETE PROFILE
CHRISTINA SMITH - Bobsleigh
By CSCC Practicum Student- Kristie Pletsch

Christina Smith has seen the sport of bobsleigh change in many ways.

At the first Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France in 1924, bobsledding was voted "too dangerous" for females. Now, nearly 80 years later, approaching the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, females will be racing down the icy 1500m track at speeds reaching 120km/h in pursuit of gold for the first time in the history of the Games.

The Canadian team will be lead by Smith who is currently ranked 5th in the world. Smith, born Christmas day, 1968 in Montreal, Quebec, had her first introduction to bobsledding on the tourist run at Canada Olympic Park where she worked as a ski instructor. She took up the sport seriously in 1992, initially as a brakeman - moving to the driver's seat the following year. She has had much international success since then, including her 5th place finish at the World Championships held in Calgary this past February with brakeman Cherie Whelan.

Smith has been a pioneer for women in the sport of bobsleigh. "It has been an uphill struggle, but downhill all the way," she says.

Breaking into the "old boys club" of bobsleigh proved difficult, but with the 1999 announcement that women's bobsleigh would be an official Olympic event for the 2002 Games, the attitude towards women in the sport changed. Smith feels that the women no longer need to struggle to prove themselves or justify their abilities. "We are no longer a joke," she says.

The Olympic label changed everything for her sport - from the attitudes towards it, to the encouragement and support received, to the physical abilities and attention of the athletes themselves. Even the fan base has seen a drastic increase - Smith even has her own fan club following.

Christina Smith has indeed seen the sport of bobsleigh change in many ways, but she says, "I wouldn't have changed a thing in my involvement in the development of the sport. It has been a privilege to be a part of the growth of female bobsledding. We have a foundation that is so strong, and there is such a bond between the women - way more than the bond between the men."