Christine Nesbitt wins World Cup; New coach, training approach.

The Vancouver Province - Christine Nesbitt wasn’t sure how well things were going to go this season. A new coach, new teammates at a new training facility in a new city and a different approach to training had all left the London, Ont., speed skater a little curious and uncertain.

Well, so far so good. Nesbitt won the 1,000 metres at a World Cup in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, Sunday and is two-for-two at the distance after winning the season opener last week in Berlin.

Kristina Groves was second,after winning Saturday's 1500m race for the second time this season. Nesbitt then teamed with Groves and new training partner Brittany Schussler of Winnipeg to take silver in the team pursuit behind the Dutch. “I didn’t really know what to expect this season because I had a very different summer of training with a new coach,” Nesbitt, who had trained for five years in Calgary with Marcel Lacroix, said Sunday on a conference call.

In the summer Nesbitt moved to the Richmond Olympic Oval to be part of a seven-skater group under Ingrid Paul, the ex-Dutch Olympian who was rehired by Speed Skating Canada this year after coaching in Holland for a number of years.

For Nesbitt, deciding to change wasn’t easy. She enjoyed working with Lacroix but a change of scenery was due, and when Speed Skating Canada asked her if she wanted to join Paul in Richmond, she said yes. “I really like Marcel,” Nesbitt said Sunday. “He’s a really good coach but I was ready to maybe try something new. I thought it was about time [for that] in my career. It was really hard because I like Marcel.”

Training with Paul is different. She had her skaters doing long roller blading and cycling sessions this summer to build endurance and she stresses lots of volume in her workouts.

Then there’s the woman-to-woman thing. Paul is Nesbitt’s first female coach. “I’ve never had a female coach before and being a girl . . . I never thought it would matter, but it’s kind of nice,” Nesbitt said.

Paul said that empathy is more about understanding an athlete than gender. “I’ve been coaching for 15 years and they always ask me that but I’m very good with female and male athletes,” said Paul. “I do agree that I always like to know the person and be able to react to them.”

Both Paul and Lacroix attend World Cup races. Nesbitt said she gets the best of both worlds. “What’s really good about Ingrid is that Marcel and Ingrid have a really good relationship and Marcel really helps me a lot,” she said.

“He’s still on the ice and he’s still yelling all the same things he’s yelled at me for the last five years. He gives me good feedback. We still have a good relationship. It’s the best of both worlds having both of them there.”

“We are here to do this job all together,” said Paul. “It’s great that we help each other.

“It was really new for Christine to work with me. She gave me the trust to work with her and it’s great around races when Marcel is there to tell her things she needs to hear.”

And so much for not knowing how things would work.

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Hotly contested skeleton team named.

The Calgary Herald - Mellisa Hollingsworth is fuelled up for the 2008-09 World Cup season. Over the weekend, the 28-year-old skeleton racer from Eckville, Alta., was named to represent Canada on this year’s circuit following a three-part series of selection races.

Hollingsworth’s two-run time on Sunday was fast enough for first—and boosted her case for inclusion in this year’s World Cup team, a process which will be similar to Canada’s 2010 Olympic team selections. “For me to come out and slide as well as I did today, I’m kind of surprised because I thought I didn’t have enough training under my belt, I thought, to stay on top,” she said Sunday

“It’s a huge accomplishment to make this squad because we’re one of the toughest teams in the world. There’s probably some relief, I know for myself, there’s a sense of relief.”

With points gained from selection races at the Whistler Sliding Centre and Calgary’s Canada Olympic Park, Hollingsworth will also be joined on the team by veteran Michelle Kelly of Fort St. John, B.C., and Sarah Reid of Calgary, who’ll be making her first appearance on Canada’s World Cup team.

After claiming gold at the world junior skeleton championships last year, Reid had raced at the senior world championships and finished eighth.

And Hollingsworth wasn’t surprised that the young athlete now finds herself competing with Canada and the world’s best skeleton racers. “(Reid) is an excellent slider, her push has come a long ways this season,” said Hollingsworth. “Now she just needs some more experience under her belt to carry her to the Olympics.

Kelly, who came second, was followed by Amy Gough of Williams Lake, B.C., in third.

Meanwhile, Canada’s men’s team will consist of Calgarians Jeff Pain and Paul Boehm, and Jon Montgomery of Russell, Man.

Calgarian Keith Loach, who had dropped 30 pounds in an attempt to make the World Cup circuit and spent half a season there last year, came in first Sunday. Although his overall results didn’t qualify for Canada’s World Cup team, the 32-year-old will hit the Intercontinental Cup competition instead.

Pain, a 2006 Olympic silver medalist, didn’t have his best race and finished fourth -- but was thrilled to have made the World Cup team after sled problems cost him a spot last season and demoted him to the Intercontinental Cup circuit. “I was hoping to be contending for the top two (Sunday),” said the 37-year-old. “I just didn’t race my best. I ran over some concrete in the tracks or something . . . but that’s the way it is. “It’s been a long process but it’ll be really nice to get to Europe.”

The Canadian team departs Monday from Montreal to prepare for its first World Cup stop in Winterberg, Germany, on Nov. 24 through Nov. 30.

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Chan, Rochette win gold, dramatic bronze for Duhamel and Buntin at Grand Prix.

PARIS – Patrick Chan of Toronto and Joannie Rochette of Ile Dupas, Que., won their second gold medals this season on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit on Saturday. Chan and Rochette were also victors at Skate Canada two weeks ago and are now assured berths at next month’s Grand Prix final.

They were not the only shining lights in an incredible day for Canadian figure skating on Saturday. Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Craig Buntin of Kelowna, B.C., added a memorable and courageous bronze in pairs while senior level rookies Vanessa Crone of Aurora, Ont., and Paul Poirier of Unionville, Ont., posted the best technical scores for fourth in ice dancing.

In men’s competition, the 17-year-old Chan won both Friday’s short program and Saturday’s free skate. Chan also successfully defended his title at the French stop on the circuit. ‘’It’s great to win this event twice in a row’’ said Chan, in a conference call. ‘’I achieved my goal here to perform better than at Skate Canada. I made a couple mistakes but I kept my head in the game and I was determined not to let go.’’

In women’s competition, Rochette also topped the field in both the short and long programs. World champion Mao Asada of Japan was second. Rochette, who opened her long program with a triple-triple combo, feels she is managing her stress level much better this season. ‘’I felt good and I wasn’t so nervous,’’ said Rochette. ‘’One of my goals at these Grand Prix is simply not to feel so much stress when I compete. Today I was able to come back strong after a mistake and land that second triple Axel near the end of the program. This win is an important step in my career.’’

In pairs, Duhamel and Buntin provided a dramatic moment when they were forced to stop their routine midway through after Duhamel clipped her partner’s right hand on a leg extension. The pair was awarded a three-minute time out and Buntin had his hand bandaged at rinkside.

‘’It was scary,’’ said Duhamel. With the crowd firmly behind them, the pair picked up where they left off and completed a dazzling performance scoring the second best free skate of the day. Buntin’s cut required three stitches but there was no further damage.

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Wotherspoon’s arm worrisome; Albertan may have to sit out Richmond championships.

The Vancouver Province - Canadian world champion speed skater Jeremy Wotherspoon had surgery on his broken left arm last Thursday in Calgary and isn’t certain if he’ll be able to skate at the world single distance championships at the Richmond Olympic Oval March 12-15. Wotherspoon broke the humerus bone in his left arm at the World Cup season opener on Nov. 8 in Berlin. Initially it was thought that he wouldn’t need surgery.

“When I got home I went and saw some doctors right away and they had some different opinions and we had to deal with it right away,” Wotherspoon said Sunday in a telephone interview from his home in Calgary. “I had to have the surgery because they [doctors] weren’t sure how many pieces that it had broken in to and the position of the nerve that went around the bone.

“They put in a plate and some screws so the bone is together now and the nerve is in a good position. “It’s going to take a while before I can do much with it.” The Red Deer, Alta., native said he wasn’t sure when he’d be able to compete or when he’d be able to resume training.

“No, I won’t know that until I have my follow-up meeting in about a week and a half with the surgeon,” he said. “I don’t know. I haven’t even really thought about it because I just want to make sure that it has healed properly and I’m not going to push it too much. If I have to miss a bit of time I don’t think that will affect me too much.” But Wotherspoon will have a difficult time competing in Richmond even if he is fully recovered.

Berths at world championships are determined by the number of points a skater earns at the nine World Cup events. Selection is also possible if a skater meets a time standard at the World Cup Final in Salt Lake City March 6-8, but a minimum number of points are needed to qualify for that event.

“That will be tough,” Wotherspoon said of reaching Richmond. “It depends how early I can get back for other World Cups. It’s not looking that good for qualifying on points. It’s hard to say. It’ll be pretty tricky.” Wotherspoon dominated in the 500 metres last season, winning every race he skated except one, when he finished second.

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Battle of the sexes ; Friendly rivalry has Cowboys, Speed Queens soaring to new heights.

The Calgary Sun - Everyone seemed to be getting along just fine at the Canadian Alpine Ski Team’s season-opening media mixer yesterday until Jan Hudec set the record straight on the rivalry between the men’s and women’s team. “Oh yeah, there’s (bad) blood—we hate each other,” said the Calgary downhiller before bursting into a hearty laugh. “Ah, it’s no different than guys competing against the girls in elementary school. Hey, when the women’s team does well, it’s good for the men’s program, and vice versa.”

Over the last two years, the dueling squads have done wonders to resurrect the good name of ski racing in a country formerly know for its Crazy Canucks.

In 2006-07, after a decade of relative drought on the World Cup scene, the men broke through with 12 of a team-record 14 circuit medals, not mention a world championship silver hauled in by Hudec. Thus, the Canadian Cowboys were born, complete with t-shirts worn every time the two teams met.

Tired of the rhetoric and constant jabs brought on by the men’s success, the women responded last year with seven of the team’s 10 podium finishes. And from that evolved Canada’s Speed Queens.

“We did kind of start it,” admitted Guay of the playful infighting he credits with helping elevate Canada from 12th in the world standings to sixth. “Actually I like having that rivalry. I think it’s healthy. It’s not like we want to destroy each other. They rub our faces in it when they get more medals and I think it’s rightly deserved.

Held to just three podiums last year following their breakthrough season, the young men’s squad still posted the type of results that have the ski world watching every time they leave the start gate. “It was a good season, but we were just getting too many fourths and fifths,” said Manny Osborne-Paradis, who improved his downhill rank from 10th to sixth.

The women were led by long overdue World Cup wins by Fernie’s Emily Brydon and Whistler’s Britt Janyk, as a well as a pair of seconds for 25-year-old Kelly VanderBeek. All three are ranked top-5 in either downhill or super-G. “I came into the season with confidence but to have that first race confirm that what I did in training that summer was good enough to be the best and then to win the next weekend ... I really carried it through the season,” said Janyk, 28, whose brother, Mike, is on the men's team.

“There’s a great rivalry going between the guys and girls because we push one another. I want to see both perform at the same level this winter with lots of podiums.”

With the Whistler Olympics around the corner chief athletic officer Max Gartner has set the bar high again, pushing for another 14 World Cup podiums and three wins this season. He also wants two medals at the world championships, which is well within reach given the newfound depth both sides have developed.

“We’d like it all to come together where the men and women are performing at the podium level,” said Gartner, who is gunning for four Olympic medals in Whistler next February. “Last year was a good season, but we’re now hoping to continue building momentum as we get closer to 2010.”

Maybe then everybody could finally just get along.

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Hayley Wickenheiser out at least six weeks with a knee injury.

The Canadian Press - Canadian women’s hockey team captain Hayley Wickenheiser is sidelined for a minimum of six weeks with a right knee injury and doesn’t know if her Swedish men’s pro team Eskilstuna will want her back. Wickenheiser wouldn’t reveal the nature of the injury she suffered in the Four Nations Cup final Sunday in Lake Placid, N.Y., because she felt her employer Eskilstuna should do that. She said she doesn’t require surgery.

Wickenheiser collided with a U.S. player late in the first period and did not return to the game, which the Canadian women lost 3-2 in a shootout. While the 30-year-old from Shaunavon, Sask., said she felt positive Eskilstuna would want her back, she says hockey is a business.

Eskilstuna signed her to a one-year contract in the off-season and might decide not to invest in her lengthy rehabilitation, because Wickenheiser won’t play for the club next season while she prepares with the Canadian women for the 2010 Olympics. “It they cut me loose, I have to be prepared for that,” Wickenheiser said Wednesday from London, Ont., where she is receiving treatment from Canadian women’s team therapist Doug Stacey.

“I’m kind of in limbo right now.”

Instead of returning to Sweden on Monday, Wickenheiser was evaluated in Toronto by orthopedic surgeon Christine Young. “I’d like to think I could come back faster than six weeks, but I have to be 100 per cent to play with men,” Wickenheiser said. “I can’t risk another injury that would keep me out of the Olympics.”

It’s ironic that Wickenheiser was injured playing women’s hockey, in which there is body contact, but not body checking, because the risk was greater playing Swedish men’s hockey in which there is body checking. “Before I left (Eskilstuna) my coach joking said ‘don’t get hurt,”” Wickenheiser said. “So the first thought that went through my head (after getting injured) was how ridiculous this was.”

Wickenheiser is the all-time leading scorer on the Canadian women’s team with 136 goals and 152 assists in 194 games. The five-foot-10, 171-pound forward has a goal and two assists for Eskilstuna, which plays in the third-tier of the Swedish men’s pro hockey.

Wickenheiser is playing European men’s hockey for a second time in her career. She spent parts of two seasons with Finland’s Kirkkonummi Salamat in Finland in 2003. She had three goals and 16 assists in 40 games there.

Sports Illustrated rated Wickenheiser No. 20 in its list of the 25 toughest athletes earlier this year and she was one of only two women on that list.

Wickenheiser was the most valuable player of the 2006 Olympic women’s hockey tournament in Turin, Italy, and she was the leading scorer in it with 17 points despite playing with a broken bone in her wrist.

She’s played in three Olympics Games and eight world championships. She did not play in the 2001 world championship because of a knee injury.

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Pierse breaks pool records.

The Calgary Herald - Despite finishing off the podium at the Beijing Olympics this summer, Annamay Pierse cashed in at Calgary’s Talisman Centre over the weekend. The 24-year-old from Edmonton claimed two events and broke two Canadian records at the 2008 Slingshot Speed Meet.

Pierse shattered her own record in the 100-m breast, which she set at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships in February. The previous 50-m record was held by Calgarian Erica Morningstar. “I had a lot of residual fitness coming off the Olympics; I was in the best shape of my life,” said Pierse. “I did take a month off, but I didn’t lose as much as I normally would have.

“I am pretty pumped that I am going that fast this early in the season . . . it shows that I am still getting better and my hard work is worth it.”

At her Olympic debut, Pierse finished sixth in the 200-m, 10th in the 100-m and seventh in the four-by-100-m relay. In January, she’ll suit up for a fourth year with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in CIS competition.

Meanwhile, Morningstar, who’ll join the University of Calgary Dinos when the CIS season starts, posted winning times in the 100-m and 200-m freestyle and won the 200-m individual medley.

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Most Olympic tickets go to lottery system; hockey finals are hot.

MetroValley Newspaper Group - Olympics fans have applied for $345 million worth of tickets to the 2010 Winter Games. More than a third of the total - $135 million - was submitted on Nov. 7, the final day for the first phase of ticket requests.

VANOC officials say 70% of the sessions in Vancouver and Whistler are oversubscribed and tickets will be allocated by lottery. The most popular event is the men’s gold medal hockey game, which drew 140, 000 ticket requests.

Other popular events include the opening ceremonies (84,000 tickets requested), the women’s hockey gold medal game (41,000 ticket requests) and short track speed skating (34,000 ticket requests.) Also in high demand were tickets to the men’s halfpipe snowboard competition, gold-medal curling finals, and the men’s four-man bobsled final.

VANOC says the total ticket requests are now four and a half times what had been committed in the initial ticket sales phase for the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics.

Tickets that weren’t bought in the initial request period will be re- released for sale in December to people who made requests and have an account with the Games. All remaining unsold tickets after that will be offered up to the general public on a first-come first-served basis in 2009.

Paralympic tickets will go on sale May 6.

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Golf, baseball, softball and rugby present their reasons to join the Olympics to the IOC.

The Vancouver Sun - LAUSANNE, Switzerland—Golf, baseball and rugby were among several sports to make their case for a spot on the Olympic schedule last week with presentations before the International Olympic Committee. With two available slots on the 2016 schedule, leaders of softball, karate, roller sports and squash also were on hand to promote their sports.

Golf, which last appeared at an Olympics in St. Louis in 1904, was represented by Ty Votaw of the PGA, and Peter Dawson of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club—both members of the Olympic Golf Initiative which was launched by the International Golf Federation in July.

They presented a video in which the men’s and women’s top-ranked players, Tiger Woods and Lorena Ochoa, spoke in support of playing golf at the Olympics—and also brought along the original trophy from 1904.

“Golf truly is an international sport, with 60 million people playing the game in nearly 120 countries,” Dawson said. “And it continues to grow with new initiatives being implemented all over the world to teach the game to both young and old. We believe the time is right for golf to be brought back to the Olympic Games.”

Bernard Lapasset, chairman of the International Rugby Board, led a delegation to campaign for rugby’s return to the schedule for the first time since 1924. The IRB wants the game to return in the Rugby Sevens format. Among the others in his party were former Argentina captain Agustin Pichot and leading women’s player Anastassiya Khamova of Kazakhstan.

Baseball and softball were both played at the Beijing Games this summer, but have been voted off the 2012 schedule. The IOC has long been unhappy with the sport due to Major League Baseball’s refusal to alter its schedule to accommodate the Olympics, meaning the game’s biggest names remain in the United States playing for their clubs rather than representing their countries. Another concern was the sport’s attitude towards suspensions for the use of performance-enhancing substances.

The game has made a major push in recent years, following several years in which some of the game’s biggest names were dogged by steroid allegations, but the game remains some way off the Olympic standard.

A final decision on which sports will be included will be made by the IOC at its congress in Copenhagen next year.

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Furlong calls on business community to step up to welcome the world in 2010.

VANCOUVER, Nov. 13 /CNW/ - In a call to action today in his annual address to the Vancouver Board of Trade, John Furlong, CEO for VANOC challenged the local business community to embrace the true spirit of the Games. Strong leadership from the community, changes to business operations, a warm welcome to visitors and support for Canada’s athletes were among the Business Top Ten List shared by Furlong to ensure successful and unforgettable Winter Games in 2010.

“The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be the biggest event ever staged in this country and will require the support, collaboration and contribution of all businesses and citizens if we are to have extraordinary success for Vancouver, British Columbia and Canada,” said Furlong. “If these Games are to live up to their full promise, then a selfless spirit of contribution must prevail throughout the 2010 Games theatre and beyond. These Games are not about a few of us but about all of us.”

The following “TOP TEN LIST FOR BUSINESS” was released today as Furlong encouraged local businesses to play a part in the successful staging of the 2010 Winter Games on behalf of all Canadians:

1.         Leadership... Appoint a company ‘Games Champion’; a person or team of people to generate ideas, stay informed on Games news, liaise with VANOC and its partners and coordinate all company activities and initiatives.

2.         Heroes... Thousands of local citizens have volunteered to work at the Games - they are and will be the heart and soul of the Games. Generously support them by giving them the necessary time off to
volunteer, particularly in the Sea to Sky corridor where more volunteers and accommodations for them are needed.

3.         More heroes... A uniquely talented temporary workforce is required at Games time. By generously lending paid staff to VANOC, give your people a remarkable working experience and help the Games achieve great success.

4.         The work day... Consider shifting your daily hours of business during the Games, thereby reducing traffic in and out of the city as it fills up with guests and helping to make the city and region even more liveable, welcoming and fun.

5.         Time off... Encourage - or even mandate - vacations at Games time to help make it possible for employees to fully enjoy the Games and reduce traffic. Consider if it’s feasible for your business to close entirely to celebrate the Games.

6.         Fewer cars... Embrace the concept of a coordinated reduction in company related vehicle traffic every day of the Games by encouraging the use of public transit, carpooling, walking and early morning
truck deliveries.

7.         Work from home... Consider offering a work-at-home program during the Games to help significantly reduce traffic on the roads.

8.         Embrace the spirit... Learn as much as you can about the Games, the athletes, the teams and especially the Canadian team. Put language skills to good use to welcome and assist visitors. Stage in-house Games celebrations. Adopt a country; be a good host. After all, the world is coming!

9.         Support the athletes... Support a Canadian athlete or two by contributing to Own the Podium 2010 or by sponsoring a team. Buy tickets to attend the many international winter sport events being staged to get ready for the Games.

10.         Spread the joy... Fundraise within your organization to help ensure that those with extremely limited financial means will get a chance to experience the Games.

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