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OLYMPIC GOLD OR BUST FOR SWIMMER RYAN COCHRANE (5/17/2012)

5/17/2012

As if watching a YouTube moment he can’t erase, Ryan Cochrane (Team BC 2005 Canada Summer Games) smiled with mild embarrassment Tuesday when a reporter asked him about an old story regarding a confrontation the swimmer had years ago with his coach.

“I should have never told that story,” he said, shaking his head. “I called him a hypocrite one time, so he made me swim this disgustingly hard set. I think he was feeling a little sheepish, so he came over to see how I was feeling, and I thought that was the right response at the time.”

The response was a raised middle finger and an otherwise wordless exit from the pool in Victoria. Fourteen-year-olds have done worse.

Cochrane got over it. Apparently, so did his coach, Randy Bennett, the head of Canada’s Olympic swim team that will be headlined by Cochrane this summer in London.

“I have my moments as well,” Bennett said after Tuesday’s news conference in Vancouver to promote B.C.-based Olympians. “Our relationship is much farther down the road that it’s kind of just fun to laugh at it now.

“The strength of character with an athlete like that means you’re going to have flash points all the time. The art of the coach maybe is that you recognize that is as much of a strength as a weakness. I could blow a kid out of swimming in five minutes. To keep them in for 10 years, that’s the challenge.”

Cochrane is 23 now and you may have guessed he is hardwired a little differently than some Olympians.

He has neither the gorilla arms of your average world-class swimmer nor the exceedingly humble reserve of your average Canadian.

Before the Beijing Olympics four years ago, nobody outside the swimming pool knew who Cochrane was, yet he remembers yearning for a leadership role and fuming at Canadian news conferences that more veteran swimmers got asked all the questions.

“I remember sitting at the back of press conferences and not being able to talk,” he said. “Maybe I just like to talk. I remember . . . being jealous that other people were up front as the face of the swim team. But in retrospect, I’m so thankful I wasn’t the face of the team because I don’t think I would have been able to handle that pressure.”

He has no choice anymore.

Cochrane is the face of the national swim team and it’s confident voice, too, four years after winning Canada’s only Olympic medal in the pool. His freestyle bronze at 1,500 metres was our country’s first podium finish in swimming since 2000.

No Canadian swimmer has won an Olympic gold medal since Mark Tewksbury in 1992 and Canada has just a couple of bronze medals from the last three Summer Games — one medal fewer than Victor Davis won by himself in 1984.

So, what was Cochrane’s overriding emotion in Beijing as he stood on the podium while the Tunisian national anthem was played for gold medallist Oussama Mellouli? Euphoria? Pride? Relief?

“I was livid to be on the third step of the podium because I was one step away from the first step of the podium,” Cochrane said. “That is what has really driven me. I should have been happy reaching my goal (of winning a medal), but my goal didn’t seem to be enough at that moment.”

That fire burns even hotter now.

At the world championships in 2009, Cochrane lost to Mellouli again at 1,500 metres and was beaten by China’s Sun Yang at 800 metres.

Yang won both distances at the 2011 worlds in Shanghai, where he broke Australian Grant Hackett’s 10-year-old world record at 1,500, winning in 14:34.14 and beating Cochrane by more than 10 seconds.

Cochrane will swim the 1,500 and 400 freestyle in London.

“I’ve been second so many years now, I need to break that mould,” he said. “I don’t want to be that athlete (remembered) for finishing second. I want to hear O Canada more. I want to hear it in the pool at least once this summer.”

Cochrane said the bar has been raised for Canadian Olympians, that it isn’t good enough just to achieve personal-bests or make it through preliminary rounds.

But he said the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, with the brash Own the Podium program and Canada’s surge up the medal table, changed the Olympic landscape in this country. Cochrane flew home from training in Australia to be in Vancouver for the Games.

Bennett loves that Cochrane is confident and willing to put himself at risk by stating publicly his intention to win in London.

“He expects to do well, but he’s not just talking the talk,” Bennett said. “That was maybe my disappointment in days gone by with the swim team: ‘We’re going to do our best.’ I don’t think people want to here that. I think they want to hear that we’re going to have a go (at winning).”

Said Cochrane: “We as a Canadian nation are a fantastic sporting nation. We don’t have to be the nice guys; we’re not there just to wear our track suit. We’re there to get to the top of the podium. That pressure to win is a lot to deal with, but I feel like I’m ready for it.”

He plans to raise another finger skyward from the pool in London.

Source: Vancouver Sun

DISTANCE RUNNER CAM LEVINS ON PACE TO COMPETE AGAINST THE BEST (5/17/2012)

5/17/2012

To say Canadian distance running phenom Cameron Levins (Team BC 2009 Canada Summer Games) has come out of nowhere this spring is a bit of a stretch.

He is, after all, a two-time Canadian cross-country champion.

Yet, there is some literal truth to the old idiom, given that the curly-haired kid with the fastest 10,000-metre time on the track in the world this year was born and raised in tiny, rural Black Creek (pop. 2,000) on Vancouver Island. And he has spent the past five years in the quaint college town of Cedar City, Utah, attending the University of Southern Utah, the smallest of the six NCAA Division I schools in the state.

In the span of two weeks and two races late last month, the 23-year-old Levins went from little-known curiosity to bud-ding star.

"It's been a good one," he said this week of his amazing start to 2012.

He competed in the prestigious Wanamaker Mile in New York in February, then won the 2012 North American, Central American and Caribbean cross-country championships in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in March.

He really got hot in California last month. At the Mt. Sac Relays on April 20, he won the men's 5,000 metres in 13: 18.47, a personal best by a whopping 20 seconds and under the stringent Canadian Olympic A standard of 13: 19.62. It was also the fastest time by a U.S. collegian since 2008.

A week later at Palo Alto, Calif., running his first ever 10,000 metres on the track against a field of 37 pros and top university runners, he delivered a devastating final kick to win in 27: 27.96, well under the Olympic A standard of 27: 45. It was just four seconds off the Canadian record of Simon Bairu, whose father is Ethiopian and mother Eritrean, and the second fastest 10,000 in U.S. collegiate history.

"He's a young guy and to be making the noises he's making - he'll have 10 years now where he could, hopefully, be the best Canadian distance runner that country has ever seen," says his Southern Utah coach Eric Houle. "He's already knocking on that door.

"And what a great example of a Canadian. He's a real gentle-man - polite, hard-working, humble."

Levins, who beat Kenyan pro Samuel Chelanga by two seconds in the 10,000 and Stanford star Chris Derrick by 3.44 seconds, said that based on some of the splits, he knew it was going to be a fast time.

"When I saw the final time, I was really happy. But I wasn't as surprised as the 5K time earlier in the month. I was thinking maybe I might make the 'B' standard there, maybe be in the 13: 20s. It was a really exciting day for me."

Distance running is dominated on the world stage these days by African runners. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele won both the 5,000 (12: 57.82) and 10,000 (27: 01.17) in Olympic record times. In the 10,000, Ethiopians and Kenyans took six of the first seven spots and runners from other African nations filled out the rest of the top 10.

Levins 27: 27.96 would have been good enough for 11th at Beijing. Canada's lone entry in 2008, Guelph, Ont.'s Eric Gillis, who will race the marathon at London, was 33rd in 29: 08.10.

The 5-10, 140-pound Levins says he believes he can compete with the world's best.

"I feel like I have the tools in me and the ability in me to get to that level. There haven't been that many non-African runners that have been that competitive lately, especially out of Canada. I want to show that it is possible. It's not an instant process by any means, but I feel like I can get there."

His original Olympic goal for 2012 was to make the finals of the 5,000.

"I don't want to look too much beyond that. I'm just going to go out there and see what I can do at the end."

Lightly regarded out of Cour-tenay's G. P. Vanier high school - his best finish was third in the 3,000 at the provincial championships - Levins used a recruiting website to help sell himself. Several Division III schools contacted him, but he really wanted to go Division I and eventually attracted the interest of Southern Utah.

"Within a day or two of me finding out about the school, I was pretty set. I felt this is the place."

The fact Cedar City is at nearly 6,000 feet altitude, and the fact he could get to 10,000 feet within a half-hour, was also a big plus.

Levins said the attention he's received in the last few weeks has been "almost overwhelming - a pretty wild ride." He expected the dozens of running websites to find him, but he's also had to handle interview requests from more mainstream media.

And he's attracted a lot more attention from Athletics Canada, with whom he's "talked a lot" the last two weeks.

"He certainly was on our radar, but what he's done in the last couple of weeks is beyond what anybody could have predicted," Scott MacDonald, Athletics Canada's national team program director told The Canadian Press.

MacDonald said video of the 5,000 and 10,000 wins showed Levins in complete control and not just "trying to hang on to make a standard. It was pretty decisive."

Next up for Levins is the NCAA championships at Des Moines, Iowa, June 6-9 where he will run both the 5,000 and 10,000.

"Our school has never had a Division I champion [in any event], so I'd really like to give the school that. It would be huge for our program."

There has been some debate on running websites about Levins' busy schedule and his training routine, which usually consists of a logging a whopping 240 kilometres a week, more than even some marathoners.

"Well, I'm not having problems handing it so far," he says. "I've seen very good results from it. I'm competing at a level that a lot of Canadian athletes never have. I feel like I must be doing something right."

Source: Vancouver Sun

GOLFER JISOO KEEL WINS FIRST STOP ON THE CN CANADIAN WOMEN'S TOUR (5/17/2012)

5/17/2012

Jisoo Keel (Team BC 2011 Western Canada Summer Games) of Coquitlam, B.C., a member of Team Canada, carded a final round even-par 72 to capture the season-opening event on the 2012 CN Canadian Women’s Tour at Richmond Country Club in Richmond, B.C.

Keel converted three birdies on her last five holes of the day, including a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to seal the victory with a two-day total of 1-under 143. Keel, 16, bested Vancouver’s So Yeon Park and Renee Skidmore of Everett, Wash. by a single stroke for the win as the pair finished at even-par 144.

With the victory, Keel earned an exemption into the 2012 CN Canadian Women’s Open which will be held at The Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, B.C. from August 20-26. She also took home top amateur honors as well.

“It’s an absolute victory for me because the CN Canadian Women’s Open is right in my hometown this year. It’s just 10 minutes from my high school,” Keel said. “I am so happy to be able to play. I am so honored to play in my hometown in front of friends and family.”

Keel, who plays out of The Vancouver Golf Club, is excited for the opportunity to compete on a course she is already very familiar with.

“It’s one of the best courses I’ve ever played on. Conditions are always great,” Keel said. “I’m really grateful toward the staff and the committee members for letting me play and practice there. I think it’s a huge advantage for me.”
Park and Skidmore, both of whom are professionals, each collected $8,498.18, sharing the first and second place winners’ cheques.

The next CN Canadian Women’s Tour stop takes place June 11-13 at Club de golf Beloeil in Beloeil, Que., while the final Tour event is scheduled for June 25-27 at Legends on the Niagara in Niagara, Ont. Both events feature a $60,000 (CAD) purse, with $10,000 (CAD) awarded to the winner, along with an exemption into the 2012 CN Canadian Women’s Open.

Players competing on the Tour also earn points towards the CN Canadian Women’s Tour Order of Merit. The player with the most points at the end of the season earns the Jocelyne Bourassa Player of the Year Award. The top three players on the CN Canadian Women’s Tour season-ending Order of Merit will be awarded direct entry into Stage 2 of LPGA Qualifying School. All entry fees will be paid for Stage 2 and, if applicable, Stage 3 (up to a value of $4,000 each).

In addition, the top two competitors on the season-ending Order of Merit not otherwise exempt also earn entry into the 2012 CN Canadian Women’s Open.

More information about the CN Canadian Women’s Tour, including a full listing of competitors and post-round results is available on the CN Canadian Women’s Tour website at www.cncanadianwomenstour.com.

DYLAN ARMSTRONG CAPTURES SILVER IN SEOUL (5/17/2012)

5/17/2012

Canada's Dylan Armstrong (Team BC 2001 Canada Summer Games) captured a silver medal in shot put at the Colorful Daegu Meeting on Wednesday in Seoul, continuing his comeback from injuries.

The 31-year-old from Kamloops, B.C., who was ranked No. 1 in the world last season, threw 20.72 metres. American Ryan Whiting won with a throw of 21.14.

Armstrong, who battled injuries over the winter, threw 21.15 last week to win a meet at Cayman Islands — his best throw this season. His Canadian record is 22.21.

For complete story see: www.cansport.com/rss/index.php

Source: The Associated Press

DYLAN ARMSTRONG ON TRACK FOR LONDON (5/11/2012)

5/11/2012

Canada's Dylan Armstrong (Team BC 2001 Canada Summer Games) won the men's shot put at the Cayman Invitational on Wednesday with a throw of 21.15 metres.

The native of Kamloops, B.C., who was ranked No. 1 in the world in shot put last season, battled injuries over the winter but appears to be on form heading into the London Olympics.

American-born Justin Rodhe took second place with a throw of 20.36 metres after being cleared by the IAAF to represent Canada in London. Rodhe, who lives and trains in Kamloops, was ineligible to compete for Canada at the World Indoor Championships in March.

Source: Cansport

BASKETBALL ALUMNI STEVE NASH TO MANAGE CANADA'S MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM (5/9/2012)

5/9/2012

Steve Nash (Team BC 1993 Canada Summer Games) has dreamed of managing the Canadian men's basketball team since he was a young point guard running its offence.

He didn't envision that day would come so soon.

Canada's biggest basketball star was named general manager of the Canadian men's senior team Tuesday — accepting the role despite the fact he still has a job in the NBA.

Nash, who will be a highly coveted free agent this NBA off-season, said the opportunity to help what might be the most talented group of young players the country has ever produced was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

"It really is a beautiful thing to see our kids and the game grow and the talent continue to reach new heights, it's amazing," Nash said at a news conference Tuesday at Air Canada Centre. "I have a lot of excitement generated for the young kids in this country, many of which are making a name for themselves already, and many of which are coming up behind them."

Nash's former Canadian teammate Rowan Barrett was named assistant GM.

"We've talked about this since we played for the national team, of how we could impact the program, how we could improve it, how we could hopefully leave it in a better place than when we got involved," Nash said. "I guess it was a long time coming, but I didn't foresee it being this early."

The sport's national governing body has had the two-time NBA MVP from Victoria in its sights for some time to lead a program that hasn't made an Olympic appearance since the 2000 Games in Sydney.

"Steve's basketball IQ and background are unparalleled in the sport, and we are tremendously fortunate to have him," said Wayne Parrish, Canada Basketball's president and CEO. "We have a perfect marriage here of incredible burgeoning talent within our men's program and we feel we have in place the right structure and leadership at this point."

Nash, a 15-year NBA veteran with Phoenix and Dallas, helped Canada to a seventh-place finish — one win away from the medal round — at the Sydney Olympics, with Jay Triano as coach.

"This program has meant so much to me," Nash said, a Canada-red pocket square tucked in his suit jacket. "I owe a lot of my development to the program and feel that the success I've had in my career is in large part due to my time with the national team."

The 38-year-old, who was already a member of Canada Basketball's Council of Excellence, won't be paid for the position.

The men's team has been without a head coach since Leo Rautins resigned in September following Canada's disappointing performance at the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament.

Hiring a coach will be one of Nash's first orders of business, and he said Triano will be definitely be on his list of candidates.

"Obviously I love Jay and if he's interested he'll be an important candidate," Nash said.

With no Olympics for Canada this summer, Nash and Barrett plan to gather 30 or so of Canada's best players to begin training toward the 2016 Games. Likely included in that group of young standouts: Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph, both first-round picks in the 2011 NBA draft, Andrew Nicholson, Robert Sacre, Kevin Pangos, Myck Kabongo and high school sensation Andrew Wiggins.

"I'm really proud of the success we've seen from our players at all levels, and if I can use my experience and whatever wisdom I've accumulated in the game to help them, that's really exciting for me, and I'm passionate about it," said Nash.

It's no secret the Canadian program has long been hamstrung by a lack of money, said Parrish. A last-minute private donor had to cough up the $50,000 for the team's insurance last summer.

Nash's stature among the basketball community, Parrish said, has already improved the program's bank balance.

The team has operated on a budget of between $400,000 and $500,000 a season, while top-10 countries in the world have budgets of between $1 and $2 million. One team boasts a budget of almost $5 million.

Parrish said a group of private donors — known as the "6th Man" — have thrown their financial support behind Nash. The goal is to raise $4 million over the next five years, and Parrish said they're already halfway there.

"It's amazing how powerful Steve getting on a conference call ... how galvanizing that is for these individuals," Parrish said.

Nash, who's spent the past eight seasons with the Phoenix Suns, said because of his new role with Canada Basketball he's barely had time to think about the upcoming free agency period that opens July 1.

"It's going to be interesting," Nash said. "I'm obviously going to have to do my research and dig in and see what opportunities fit me best. When the deadline comes, it could be really simple or it could be really complicated."

Asked if the Toronto Raptors could be a potential destination, Nash said he wouldn't "close any options or opportunities."

Despite his success as a pro, Nash says his fondest memories remain with Canadian teammates.

"Playing for Canada at the Olympics was the greatest experience of my career, bar-none," he said. "It's no secret what this country means to me and to be a part of Canada Basketball again is a huge honour and pleasure.

"Now the work starts."

SOCCER'S SUMMER CLARKE AND JASMIN DHANDA SCORE TO GET CANADA TO THE SEMIS (5/7/2012)

5/7/2012

Second-half substitute Valerie Sanderson scored three times in the final 13 minutes as Canada closed out group play at the CONCACAF women’s under-17 championship with a 6-1 victory over host Guatemala.

Summer Clarke (Team BC 2011 Western Canada Summer Games), with two, and Jasmin Dhanda (Team BC 2011 Western Canada Summer Games) also scored for Canada, which finished first in Group A with a 3-0 record while outscoring opponents by a 16-1 margin.

For complete story see: www.cansport.com/rss/index.php

Source: PostMedia News

CANOEIST AARON RUBLEE ONE STEP CLOSER TO LONDON (5/7/2012)

5/7/2012

Aaron Rublee (Team BC 2001 Canada Summer Games) won in a photo finish Sunday to capture the men's C1 200-metre race at the Canadian canoe/kayak national trials.

The paddler from Kamloops, B.C., finished in a time of 41.07 seconds. The result was good enough for a spot on the World Cup tour and for one of two wins needed for selection to the Canadian Olympic team.

Rublee won the race by 0.051 seconds over Jason McCoombs of Dartmouth, N.S. Richard Dalton of Halifax, who qualified the quota spot for Canada last October at the Pan American Games, was third in 41.37.

“I don't think I could have done much better,” Rublee said.

For complete story see: www.cansport.com/rss/index.php

Source:Globe and Mail

DIVER RILEY MCCORMICK ADVANCES TO CANADA CUP FINAL (5/4/2012)

5/4/2012

Riley McCormick (Team BC 2001 and 2005 Canada Summer Games) of Victoria was third in his semifinal to advance to Saturday's men's 10-metre final at the Canada Cup international diving meet in Montreal, where key Olympic qualifying points for London are up for grabs. "It was very important for me to step up today and have a good performance after a disappointing World Cup [in February],'' said the Beijing Olympian, in a release. "I was feeling a lot of pressure and want to gain some momentum heading into the [Canadian Olympic trials later this month]."

Source: Victoria Times Colonist

CYCLIST GILLIAN CARLETON QUALIFIES FOR OLYMPIC SELECTION POOL (5/4/2012)

5/4/2012

Two-time world champion Tara Whitten headlines the list of Canadian athletes who have qualified for the Olympic selection pool in track cycling.

The Canadian Cycling Association unveiled the list of 11 cyclists on Thursday. The athletes are eligible to be nominated to the track cycling team for the London Games.

Canada has qualified in the men's and women's omnium events, the women's team pursuit, women's team sprint and men's and women's keirin events.

Whitten, from Edmonton, was joined on the women's pool list by Laura Brown and Stephanie Roorda of Vancouver, Gillian Carleton (Team BC 2009 Canada Summer Games) of Victoria, Jasmin Glaesser of Coquitlam, B.C., and Monique Sullivan of Calgary.

The men's pool list includes Hugo Barrette of Sherbrooke, Que., Cameron MacKinnon of Dieppe, N.B., Travis Smith of Calgary, Joseph Veloce of Fonthill, Ont., and Zach Bell of Watson Lake, Yukon.

Members of the CCA's high performance advisory committee will select the track cyclists to be nominated to the Olympic team. The list will be announced June 15.

Source: Cansport.com

FIELD HOCKEY'S KAITLIYN WILLIAMS RETURNS TO CAMPUS FOR CANADA-USA SERIES (5/4/2012)

5/4/2012

Former UVic Vikes women's field hockey players Danielle Hennig (Kelowna, BC) and Kaitlyn Williams (Team BC 2007 Western Canada Summer Games - White Rock, BC) will return to their home pitch at the University of Victoria from May 19-23 but this time they will be sporting red and white for Canada. The Canadian national women's field hockey team is set to play a four-game series against 2011 Pan American champions, the United States of America.

The game marks the beginning of Canada's campaign towards the 2016 Summer Olympics after the young squad failed to qualify both at the Pan American games this past October and the Olympic Qualification tournament in February. For the USA, the series will provide an opportunity for the London-bound squad to finalize rosters and gain momentum leading up to the 2012 games.

This will be the first time Canada has played the USA since the semifinals of the Pan American games, hosted in Guadalajara, Mexico. The strong American side defeated Canada 4-2 before going on to upsetting the undefeated Leonas of Argentina to win the Pan American berth to London.

The Canadian contingency will centralize for a four day training camp in Vancouver, May 15-18, prior to the island-hosted series. A long list squad of 23 athletes has been named including defender Hennig and goalkeeper Williams. Both Hennig and Williams were members of the 2008 CIS national championship UVic team. Williams capped off her five-year career competing in four games during the 2011 season with the Vikes in between national team commitments. For her efforts, the White Rock native was named a 2011 CIS second-team All-star and the Canada West goalkeeper of the year.

Team Canada is currently undergoing new leadership strategies with this series being led by project lead coach Peter Milkovich and assistant coaches Paul Bundy and UVic Vikes assistant coach Krista Thompson . Thompson recently head coached the Under-17 women's national squad that competed against an equivalent-aged USA team in Surrey, B.C in early April.

Senior members expected to provide some experience for the young squad include captain and midfielder Katie Baker (Argyle Shore, PEI), forward Kate Gillis (Kingston, Ont.) and midfielder Kristine Wishart (Hamilton, Ont.). Baker, Gillis and forward Marian Dickinson are the only members of the existing squad who competed for Canada in 2008 at the UVi-hosted Olympic Qualifier tournament. Islanders Mary Nielson (Cowichan, B.C.) and Maddie Secco (Victoria, B.C.) will also make appearances for the squad.

LONG DISTANCE RUNNER, CAM LEVINS, RUNS FASTED 10,000 IN WORLD THIS SEASON (5/4/2012)

5/4/2012

As the laps churned by one after another, Cam Levins (Team BC 2009 Canada Summer Games) did the math in his head and knew he was on a fast pace.

But he'd never run 10,000 metres on the track and had no idea what to expect in the final few lung-busting laps. He certainly never could have guessed the outcome. The little-known Canadian distance runner recorded this season's fastest 10,000 in the world last weekend at the Payton Jordan Invitational. In his rookie race, he easily met the Olympic standard with the second-fastest time in Canadian history.

"It was pretty crazy," Levins said, during a break from training at the University of Southern Utah. "I knew we were going to get a good time but I honestly had no idea what we were actually at, all I was hearing was lap splits. I was thinking, 'I think we're going along quick.' But I had no clue how quick the finishing time was going to be.

For complete story see: www.ctvolympics.ca/athletics/news/article/levins-bursts-onto-running-scene.html

Source: ctvolympics.ca

VETERAN BASKETBALL PLAYER TERESA GABRIELE (NEE KLEINDHIENST) LEADS CANADA CLOSER TO LONDON (5/3/2012)

5/3/2012

Each morning, with pitch darkness as her reality and the pending dawn still nothing more than a rumour, one of the most accomplished players in the world of women’s basketball awakens to the sound of an alarm clock in her Mission home.

For over a decade, Teresa Gabriele (Nee Kleindhienst - Team BC 1997 Canada Summer Games) has been playing point guard for Canada’s senior women’s national team, helping lead her country to the 2000 Olympics and a pair of World Championships. And while defining the playmaking and leadership skills of her position, she has brought the kind of daily dedication and work ethic that fellow countryman and point guard Steve Nash would applaud.

But does the alarm clock really have to ring at 3:45 a.m.?

Hey, when you work in the family bread business because amateur sports funding alone can’t make ends meet, you learn to rise each day with the dough.

For complete story see: blogs.theprovince.com/2012/05/02/captain-canada-gabrieles-sacrifice-and-grit-help-carry-country-closer-to-london-2012-berth/

Source: Vancouver Province

THE NAME OF THE SHERBROOKE 2013 HUMMINGBIRD IS. ZIGZAG! (5/3/2012)

5/3/2012

On the occasion of Québec Sports and Physical Activity Day, the Host Society of the Canada Summer Games–Sherbrooke 2013 is proud to announce the name of its mascot, a ruby-throated hummingbird: ZigZag. Congratulations to contest winner, Alexandre Corriveau, a nine-year-old athlete from Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire school in Sherbrooke,who came up with this great name!

More than 1150 names were submitted via the mascot’s microsite. A committee led by Tom Allen, Chair of the Board and Executive Committee for the Sherbrooke Games, selected the name Zigzag. “I suggested this name because hummingbirds make zigzags when they fly,” explained Alexandre. In addition to depicting such movement, the name Zigzag is dynamic, easy to remember, and means the same thing in English and French. The winner and members of his family are recipients of a VIP pass for the opening and closing ceremonies and for all competitions taking place during the Games, from August 2 to 17, 2013. Alexandre also wins sports apparel bearing the Canada Summer Games–Sherbrooke 2013 logo.

After its introduction at the 500-day countdown to the Games event on March 20, the hummingbird mascot toured the region’s schools, introducing itself to young people, encouraging them to participate in the contest, and giving them the chance to learn more about the multi-sport competition known as the Canada Summer Games. More than 10 000 students from 45 elementary and high schools had a chance to meet Zigzag. “Our hummingbird is loved by both young and old. It shares its joy for life with everyone it meets and is a real unifying force as are the Games, which are getting the community involved!” said Mireille Roberge, Coordinator – Community Relations.

The ruby-throated hummingbird was chosen to represent the Games because it’s a true athlete that moves at incredible speeds. It’s a great traveller, capable of migrating some 1000 km without stopping! A true symbol of freedom, the hummingbird is always striving to go higher and farther – just like an athlete!

SOFTBALL'S KELSEY HABERL NAMED PLAYER OF THE YEAR (5/2/2012)

5/2/2012

Simon Fraser University softball first baseman Kelsey Haberl (Team BC 2009 Canada Summer Games - Burnaby, BC) has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year while Cara Lukawesky (Coquitlam, BC) has been named the GNAC’s Pitcher of the Year.

Both were named to the conference’s first team of all stars while a total of six athletes from SFU were named to the All-Conference team.

Haberl ranked first in the GNAC with a batting average of .465, an on base percentage of .496 and walks with 38 while finishing second in slugging percentage at .740 and doubles with 17.

She was just as strong on the defensive side of the ball, boasting a .995 fielding percentage, making only two errors during the 2012 season.

“It's definitely nice to be recognized but it's really been about having great support from the team and being able to trust and rely on each other,” said Haberl. “This is a great honour to receive as I leave the program and the GNAC. I think between this award and the success the team had this year, we’ve shown we can compete in the NCAA.”

Haberl will be attending the Canadian National Women’s Team camp in June.

HIGH JUMPER MIKE MASON HITS OLYMPIC STANDARD IN GUADELOUPE (5/2/2012)

5/2/2012

After taking a year off to give birth and in her first outdoor race since the Diamond League Final in September 2010, Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of Markham, Ont., finished third in the 100-metre hurdles at the Meeting International de Guadeloupe in an Olympic A standard time of 12.95 seconds.

Mike Mason (Team BC 2005 Canada Summer Games) of Nanoose Bay, B.C., won the men’s high jump in a new personal best of 2.31 metres. Mason’s performance surpassed Athletics Canada’s Olympic Games A+ standard. Lopes-Schliep and Mason now need to finish top three at the Track and Field Trials June 27 to 30 in Calgary, Alta., to secure their spot on the London 2012 Olympic team.

“I’m very happy with today’s performance. I’ve never run this fast here and am looking forward to racing in Jamaica next week.” Amazingly this was Lopes-Schliep’s fastest opening performance in Guadeloupe, where she’s opened her last four outdoor seasons. “Each race will bring me closer to my dream of making the Olympic team and representing Canada.” Lopes-Schliep’s next race is scheduled for May 5 in Jamaica.

Jared Connaughton of New Haven, PEI., Phylicia George of Markham, Ont., and Nikkita Holder of Pickering, Ont., all hit Olympic B standards at the Meeting International de Guadeloupe. Connaughton raced to a third place finish in the men’s 200-metres in a time of 20.60 seconds. In the 100-metre hurdles Holder finished fourth in 13.00 seconds while George was fifth in 13.11 seconds.

1000 DAYS OUT MILESTONE APPROACHING FOR 2015 WINTER GAMES (5/2/2012)

5/2/2012

May 19, 2012 marks 1000 days until Prince George and Northern British Columbia play host to 3600 athletes, coaches and officials, up to 6000 volunteers, plus hundreds of media and medical professionals, and thousands of visitors at the 2015 Canada Winter Games.

To help celebrate this key date, the 2015 Canada Winter Games Host Society, in partnership with Canfor and the City of Prince George, will be planting 1000 seedlings in various locations of the community that have been impacted by the Pine Beetle epidemic.

The 2015 Canada Winter Games Host Society is inviting all local youth sport organizations to apply to participate in the planting of 1000 seedlings that have been generously donated by Canfor. Sport organizations will have until May 9, 2012 at 5:00pm to formally apply at 2015info@canadagames2015.ca.

Each organization must provide 10 members and 1 adult team leader to be eligible to participate. 10 organizations will be randomly drawn and notified with event details on May 10, 2012. At the conclusion of the “1000 Days” out community planting event, each organization that has participated will receive a financial contribution to their fundraising efforts courtesy of the 2015 Canada Winter Games Host Society.

“We are proud that Canfor has taken such an interest in this initiative, as we both share a passion for community sustainability,” said 2015 Canada Winter Games CEO Stuart Ballantyne. “Engaging our local athletes in this process is highly important to the Canada Games movement and provides a great opportunity for team building and civic pride. We are delighted to provide some financial support that can be used to help inspire dreams and build champions right in our own community.”

The 2015 Canada Winter Games will be the largest multi-sport and cultural event to ever be held in Prince George and Northern British Columbia and is forecasted to generate an economic impact of $70- $90 million while building champions and inspiring dreams amongst Canadian youth. Athletes from 10 Provinces and 3 Territories will compete in 21 sports with the dream of becoming Canada’s next champions. In 2015, choose your path, leave your tracks, and journey with the 2015 Canada Winter Games as we host the nation and share a northern story with all of Canada.

SOFTBALL'S KELSEY HABERL'S GRAND SLAM HELPS SFU OVERCOME A NINE-RUN DEFICIT (5/1/2012)

5/1/2012

It was a dramatic way for the home turf collegiate careers of four seniors, including two from Burnaby, on the Simon Fraser University women's softball squad to come to an end.

The Clan swept a doubleheader with the Western Oregon Wolves in walkoff fashion. In the opener, SFU came from behind to win 4-3 in the first game and then overcame a nine-run deficit to win 10-9 in the second game thanks in part to a grand slam from Burnaby Mountain grad Kelsey Haberl (Team BC 2009 Canada Summer Games).

www.burnabynewsleader.com/sports/149260615.html

Source: Burnaby NewsLeader

CANADIAN FREESTYLE TEAM GIVES NOD TO ANDI NAUDE (5/1/2012)

5/1/2012

An outstanding season with the Whistler Academy mogul team has helped Andi Naude (Team BC 2011 Canada Winter Games) reach her goal.

Entering the 2011-12 season, the Okanagan Falls resident wanted to make Canada’s national freestyle team. The 16-year-old received the good news by email from her Whistler coach Bobby Aldighieri.

“I was so excited. It’s so cool,” said Naude, who will be part of Group B, which competes in World Cup events. “It’s such an honour to be on such a strong team.”

For complete story see: www.pentictonwesternnews.com/sports/148773255.html

Source: Penticton Western News

DECATHALETE JAMES TURNER NAMED TO CANADIAN TEAM FOR WORLD JUNIORS (5/1/2012)

5/1/2012

Kelowna's James Turner (Team BC 2011 Western Canada Summer Games) has qualified for this summer's world junior track and fiield championships in Barcelona, Spain.

Turner, the 2011 Canadian junior decathlon champ and national record holder for the youth octathlon, was also recently named to Canada's Olympic development team.

Turner, a product of the Okanagan Athletics Club, attends the University of Texas at Arlington on a full athletic scholarship.

For complete story see: www.kelownacapnews.com/sports/148750465.html

Source: Kelowna Capital News