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RACQUETBALL
NATIONAL TEAMS NAMED
WINNIPEG, MB - Canada's national racquetball teams for
2002-2003 have been announced by Ron Brown, Director
of Coaching.
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Brian Istace of Calgary is
named to the national team.
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Four
of the members are the World Champion Men's Team,
namely Mike Ceresia (Burlington), current Canadian
singles champion Michael Green (Burlington), Brian
Istace (Calgary) and Kane Waselenchuk (Edmonton).
They are joined by Tom O'Brien (Burlington) and
Corey Osborne (Penetanguishene).
The
women named to the National Team include World
Championship Finalists Josee Grand'Maitre (Longueuil),
Amanda MacDonald (Prince Albert), Karina Odegard
(Saskatoon) and Jennifer Saunders (Winnipeg),
who is also the current Canadian singles champion.
Veteran national team member Lori Jane Powell
(Calgary) and Quebec's Chantal Turgeon (Rock
Forest) complete the women's contingent.
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Also
named this week are the members of the Espoir
Team. Espoir Team coach Michel Gagnon (Longueuil)
named Véronique Guillemette (Deauville),
Julie Neubauer (Calgary), Genevieve Brodeur (Ste-Rosalie),
Vincent Gagnon (Longueuil), Françis Guillemette
(Deauville), Bill Shepley (Calgary), Kris Odegard
(Saskatoon), Ryan Powell (Saskatoon), Kam Barteski
(Saskatoon), and François Viens (Rock Forest).
All
these players are currently in training, and several
have already begun their 2002-2003 season by competing
on the professional racquetball tournament circuit.
All these players will be in Saskatoon January
23-26, in St Catherines March 7-9, and at the
2003 National Championships in Vancouver May 19-26
in order to compete for spots to represent Canada
at the Tournament of the Americas (April 2003)
and the Pan Am Games (August 2003).
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Lori
Jane Powell, a veteran national team member, remains
with the team. |
MAELLE
RICKER WINS SECOND GOLD AT SNOWBOARD WORLD CUP
VALLE
NEVADO, Chile - Maelle Ricker of Vancouver beat the
Olympic champion to earn Canada's second gold medal
in two days Friday placing first in the women's halfpipe
at the season opening World Cup snowboard competition.
Maelle
Ricker (in yellow jersey) on the podium at the Snowboard
World Cup. |
On
Thursday Drew Neilson of North Vancouver took
gold in the men's snowboard cross.
In
the women's halfpipe final, Ricker earned the
gold on her first run scoring 41.1 points. The
best score of two runs counts as the final mark.
Gretchen
Bleiler of the U.S., was second at 39.4 and 2002
Olympic champion Kelly Clark of the U.S., third
at 37.1.
"The
key for me was to have a clean run," said
Ricker, who used a new brand of equipment for
the first time in seven years. "Everyone
else seemed to have a bobble here and there and
the judges hit you hard when you make a mistake."
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Last
season Ricker, 23, was Canada's top female performer
in the halfpipe registering four top-five finishes on
the World Cup including one silver medal to place fifth
overall. It was her first World Cup win since December
1999 at Whistler, B.C.
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Drew Neilson (in yellow jersery) also takes home
number one hardware.
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"I
just came here to basically get some September
snowboarding in and have some fun," she said.
"This is a bonus for me, especially against
such a strong field."
Ricker was the only Canadian competitor on Friday.
Competition
ends Saturday with the men's and women's parallel
giant slalom.
World
Cup champion Jasey-Jay Anderson of Mont-Tremblant,
Que., suffered a concussion in Thursday's snowboard
cross and won't race Saturday. Olympic finalist
Jérôme Sylvestre will be in competition.
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CANADA
FOURTH IN TEAM EVENT AT FINA SYNCHRO WORLD CUP
ZURICH
- Canada placed fourth in the team event Sunday at the
FINA synchronized swimming World Cup in what was the
final performance for seven-year national team member
Claire Carver-Dias of Mississauga, Ont.
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Claire
Carver-Dias
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Russia,
the world champions, took the gold medal posting
two perfect 10 marks for 99.000 points. Japan
was second at 98.000 and the U.S., placed third
at 96.833.
Canada,
which trailed the U.S., by .001 points after Saturday's
preliminaries, remained fourth with 96.167 points.
Joining Carver-Dias on the squad were Jessica
Chase, Catherine Garceau and Marie-Pierre Gagné
of Montreal, Amy Caskey of Peterborough, Ont.,
Erin Chan of Calgary, Lynn Johnson of Ancaster,
Ont., and Fanny Létourneau of Deux-Montagnes,
Que.
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Canada,
third at the world championships last year, executed
a new team routine that had a circus theme and
was performed to a piece of music called Cirque
Ingénue.
Carver-Dias,
25, ends her career with Pan Am Games and Commonwealth
Games titles, and a bronze medal in the team event
at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. She's optimistic
that Canada can remain a power at the international
level.
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The
duo of Carver-Dias and Létourneau was seen
for the last time, taking a bronze medal. |
"We're
in a rebuilding phase right now and we're still in the
medals," said Carver-Dias. "We're doing the
most demanding routines ever seen in Canadian synchronized
swimming.
"I've
seen a big change in the sport internationally in my
career with Russia and Japan now powers and other countries
such as Spain and France quickly improving. This is
great for the sport. But Canada has the ability and
talent to be number-one once again."
Carver-Dias
also won a bronze Saturday in duet with her partner
Létourneau and was seventh in solo on Friday.
Canada also placed fourth in the nations points rankings.
IN
THE NEWS.....
WADA
RECEIVES MORE THAN 120 OFFICIAL COMMENTS ON NEW CODE
MONTREAL
(CNW) - The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) received
more than 120 comments from stakeholders by the deadline
of September 10 in regards to the first draft of the
World Anti-Doping Code, the agency announced today.
Sports
federations, public authorities, national sports agencies,
athletes, and many others contributed comments, which
will now be reviewed and incorporated into a second
draft of the Code.
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WADA
President Dick Pound
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"I'm
pleased that we have had such a good response
from all our partners," said Richard Pound,
WADA's president.
"The
Code is the single most important tool in the
fight against doping and it is crucial that every
stakeholder, whether in sports or in government,
contribute to its drafting and eventual implementation.
This is a continuing process and further dialogue
with our stakeholders is crucial in making the
Code a success."
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The
World Anti-Doping Code is the first document to standardize
rules regarding doping across different countries and
different sports. The initial draft of the Code was
distributed mid-June to nearly 1,000 interested parties
and posted on WADA's website. Of the comments received
by the deadline, 63 were from sports authorities, such
as the International Olympic Committee, international
sports federations, and national Olympic committees.
Fifty-three of the submitted comments came from government
authorities and national anti- doping agencies.
The
second draft of the Code will be made available for
comment by mid-
October. The final document will be presented for adoption
at the World Conference on Doping in Sport, which will
be hosted by WADA in Copenhagen from March 3-5 2003.
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