FERBEY RINK WINS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GOLD

BISMARCK, USA(CP)--There was joy mixed with relief in the faces of Randy Ferbey's curling team after winning the world men's curling championship on Sunday.

The Ferbey Rink celebrates with their World Championships trophy. (Reuters/Andy Clark)

After finishing fourth last year at the world championships in Lausanne, Switzerland and getting called for three hog-line violations in the semifinal there, the Edmonton team would not be denied a second time. Canada defeated Olympic gold medallist Pal Trulsen of Norway 10-5 in Sunday's final. "To represent Canada two years in a row and come back and finish the job is an unbelievable feeling right now," said Ferbey. "I'm just happier right now than you can imagine."

The victory marked the second world title for the 42-year-old Ferbey after winning in 1989 as third for Pat Ryan. But for 28-year-old David Nedohin, who throws fourth stones, second Scott Pfeifer, 25, and lead Marcel Rocque, 30, it was their first.

"Last year was so disappointing," said the red-eyed Rocque. "My whole life I have been holding back on celebrating because there's always another step, there's always another step. Now, there's no more steps. It's just incredible to be able to accomplish a life-long dream."

Trulsen had been Canada's nemesis in men's curling for the past year after beating Kevin Martin for Olympic gold in February and defeating Ferbey last year in the bronze-medal match at worlds. 'We lost to a better team today," said Trulsen. "I think that Ferbey's team deserved to win especially with what happened in Lausanne last year when there were maybe a couple of wrong hog-line violations."

The same Canadian and Albertan flag pin that had been planted under the Pengrowth Saddledome ice at the Canadian men's championship in Calgary where Ferbey won last month was under the centre sheet of ice for Sunday's final. Canadian alternate Dan Holowaychuk arranged with the American icemakers to have that done in exchange for a banner signed by the Canadian team.

The 2003 Ford World Curling Championships will be held in Winnipeg.

THREE MEDALS FOR CANADA TO FINISH SHORT TRACK WORLDS

MONTREAL--More than 4,500 spectators filled the Maurice-Richard Arena in Montreal two weekends ago and were treated to some of the most skillful racing ever seen in the sport of short track speed skating.

They nearly blew the roof off for the men's 5,000-metre relay in a race that went down to the wire. Dong-Sung Kim of South Korea edged Francois-Louis Tremblay of Boucherville, Que., by a skate tip at the finish to give South Korea the gold in 7:10.751. The Canadians grabbed the lead with 12 laps to go then with three laps remaining the Koreans had a bad exchange and it appeared Canada was en route for gold. But Kim used his incredible speed to catch Tremblay and the Canadians took silver in 7:10.756. Jonathan Guilmette of Montreal, Eric Bedard of Ste-Thecle, Que., and Mathieu Turcotte of Sherbrooke, Que., were the other Canadians on the relay. China was third in 7:11.330.

Mathieu Turcotte and Eric Bedard celebrate their silver medal in the 5000m relay at the World Championships. (Reuters/Christinne Muschi)

"I saw him coming," said Tremblay about the dying moments of the race. "He has an ability to make very tight turns and gain ground. We always seem to have very tight races. It was great to hear the people go crazy."

In the women's 3,000 relay, South Korea also won the gold clocking 4:18.599. China, the world champion the past four years, was second in 4:19.516 and the Canadians with Marie-Eve Drolet of Chicoutimi, Que., Amelie Goulet-Nadon of Laval, Que., Annie Perreault of Rock Forest, Que., and Tania Vicent of Montreal, third in 4:19.587. The Canadians led with only four laps to go.

"That was one of our best relays," said Vicent, a two-time Olympic bronze medallist in the relay. "We dominated three-quarters of the race but it's very hard to keep the Koreans and Chinese at bay. We've definitely got the speed to keep up with them. We need to improve our exchanges."

Kim compiled a perfect 136 points to reclaim the world crown he won in 1997. Guilmette, a silver medallist Friday in the 1,500, was fourth with 26, Bedard was sixth at 22 and Turcotte seventh.

For the women, Goulet-Nadon, third in the 1,500 Friday, was fifth, Drolet seventh and Alanna Kraus of Abbotsford, B.C., ninth.

The world championships capped a very successful season for the Canadian short track team highlighted by a six-medal performance at the Winter Olympics. "Our objective this year was to peak for the Olympics and we surpassed our goals there," said Canadian national team coach Guy Thibault. "We have more depth than anybody in the world but we're hoping to develop some skaters to be as dominant as Kim and Yang Yang."

CANADIAN RACQUETBALL FINISHES FIRST AFTER RECOUNT

WINNIPEG--Racquetball Canada has been informed that Canada tied for first place in the Overall Team category at the recent Pan Am Games Trials in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

"After the medals were awarded, we requested a clarification," said Racquetball Canada President Usher Barnoff. "We have now been informed that Team Canada and Team USA tied for first place and Canada has been presented with the Combined Team Trophy."

The Canadian Women's Team had already been named as the Winner in the women's category, following the first place finish by the doubles team Lori Jane Powell (Calgary) and Karina Odegard (Saskatoon), the second place singles finish by Josee Grand'maitre (Longueuil) and the fourth place singles finish by Jennifer Saunders (Winnipeg).

Canada's Men's Team finished second to the Americans, with Kane Waselenchuk (Edmonton) winning the gold in singles, the men's doubles team of Tom O'Brien and Mike Green (both of Burlington) finishing third, and Brian Istace (Calgary) finishing sixth in singles.

All these players will compete at the 2002 Canadian National Championships, to be held May 20-25 in Brossard, Quebec. Based on those National Championships, a Team to represent Canada at the World Championships in August will be named.

IN THE NEWS.....

CCES LAUNCHES "BE TRUE TO YOURSELF. BE TRUE TO YOUR SPORT" CAMPAIGN

OTTAWA - 4 Hours in the Gym, 5 Minutes Online is the message that the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) is sending to athletes. Presented as a series of creative advertisements, CCES wants Canadian athletes who are subject to doping control to make www.cces.ca a part of their everyday training program.

The recently revamped CCES website contains a wealth of regularly updated information, news, resources, and services on ethics in sport, fair play, and competing drug-free. CCES is inviting the sport community to use these ads, at no cost, as a means of encouraging athletes to make www.cces.ca a part of their everyday training program. Available in electronic and camera ready formats, these ads are easily incorporated in electronic and print newsletters as well as print publications.

"The 'Be true to yourself. Be true to your sport.' campaign is designed to inform athletes that the CCES website is an excellent source of information on how to make an informed, personal decision to compete clean and fair, and to avoid substances that can inadvertently result in a positive doping test," says Paul Melia, Chief Operating Officer. "By encouraging sport organizations to use these ads in their communications to athletes, we can increase the awareness of our website. We want athletes to know that our website is easy to use and that pertinent information can be found easily through the quick links or search function."

In addition to the complete IOC-WADA List of Prohibited Classes of Substances and Methods, the CCES website provides detailed information on doping control procedures, CCES advisories, banned and restricted substances, and athletes rights and responsibilities.

For more information about this campaign and on how to obtain use of the ads, please contact Claire Buffone, Campaign Coordinator at 613.521.3340 x 3210 or cbuffone@cces.ca.

ATHLETE IN PROFILE:
Jody Patrick - Badminton
By CSCC Practicum student - Kristy Brown

Badminton - it's the second most popular sport in the world (next to Soccer) - yet most Canadians wouldn't know a shuttlecock if it hit them in the eye. Unfortunately for Jody Patrick, this makes her one of the most unknown names in Canadian sport today.

Currently ranked second in Canada among ladies singles players, Jody has spent most of her competitive career attempting to make a name for herself in this forgotten sport. At the age of six, her parents - members of the Calgary Winter Club - put her in lessons. Although she had tried many other sports, Jody chose to pursue badminton, and at age 10 she competed in her first tournament. In 1996, she traveled to Denmark for the World Junior Tournament - her first outside of Canada. Excellence in sport seems to run in her family. Jody's brother Russell swam on the national team and competed at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

This May, Jody will try to become the second member of her family to compete in a major international competition, when she travels to the nationals in Sherbrooke, Quebec where she will vie for one of only 5 spots on the badminton team that will compete in this year's edition of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England.

Unlike many European countries and most of Asia - where badminton courts replace basketball nets in school courtyards, Canada has yet to embrace the sport. There is a shortage of funds for badminton players in this country, so most rely on sponsorship (Yonex is Jody's sponsor) and minimal prize money won at tournaments. In most cases the majority of the cash comes from their own or their parents' pockets. Players must fund their own way to tournaments around the world in order to remain competitive on the international stage.

If playing badminton is such a financial struggle, why does Jody continue to play?

"It's challenging," she says. "It's a game that you can continually develop in, so you're always getting better. It requires you to think. In badminton, you don't really ever hit a set peak age for competition. One of the top players in Canada is 41, and she's still playing."

Physical and mental challenges aside, the high cost of badminton puts the sport in a somewhat unreachable class bracket (along with tennis and golf), creating concern for its future in Canada. If children can't afford to play, how will Canada be able to develop world-class talent? As program coordinator for Badminton Alberta, this is one of Jody's primary concerns. She organizes summer development camps and coordinates the Alberta Summer Games teams, in addition to coaching. Through her work, she attempts to bring the game to all ages and all skill levels.

Although her ultimate goal is to play in the Athens Olympics in 2004, she tries to keep herself on the right track for life after badminton. "You definitely have to have something to fall back on," she says. And Jody has done just that - she graduated with a bachelor of science degreee from the University of Calgary last year, and is currently preparing to write the MCAT exam in order to apply for medical school this fall.

With her education and career goals in check, Jody plans to spend more time exploring her artistic side when the sun has set on her badminton career. As a pediatrician with a flare for pottery and painting, Jody will surely be set up for life away from the court. Not too shabby for one of Canada's best unknown athletes.