2. Speed Skating Coach on to New Adventures
Speed Skating Canada is sad to announce the departure of Neal Marshall as Long Track Speed Skating Coach, effective immediately. Neal has been employed by Speed Skating Canada since 2002 when he was hired following a great speed skating career as an athlete. During his work with Speed Skating Canada he coached several athletes to Olympic and World Championship medals. He is most known for having coached Cindy Klassen at the Torino Olympic Winter Games in 2006. He was named Coach of the Year at the 2007 Canadian Sport Awards.
A former member of the National Speed Skating Team, he represented Canada at several international competitions in long track speed skating, including three Olympic Games (1992, 1994 and 1998). He was the World Cup Champion in the 1500m in 1995, and is a former World Record holder in both the 1500m and 3000m.
“We thank Neal for his long dedication to the sport of Speed Skating and our National Team program”, says Jean R. Dupré, Director General of Speed Skating Canada. “We all wish him the best for the future in his new projects”.
Speed Skating Canada is currently searching for a replacement to complete its long track coaching team, and an announcement will be made as soon as the right person is in place.
3. Canada Games FAST Track Grant
The Canada Games Council (CGC) and the Foundation for Athletes Sport Training (FAST) is extending the Canada Games FAST Track athlete grant program registration deadline to June 9th, 2008.
This grant is designed to fill a gap in Canada’s sport system and support Canada Games-level athletes who are targeted and on the pathway to excellence at the national, international and Olympic team level. In 2008, a minimum of 40 Canada Games FAST Track grants will be awarded, each worth $2,000. In 2007, the Canada Games Council and FAST received over 1,300 applications for the athlete grants.
For the first time grants will be awarded to athletes who compete in any one of the 20 sports on the program for the 2011 Canada Winter Games. Only competitive athletes from sports on the winter Canada Games program are eligible for a grant in 2008. This is a change from previous years and is a result of consultation with National Sport Organizations on how to better support more of Canada’s next generation of national team athletes.
Competitive athletes from sports on the summer Canada Games program will be eligible for a grant in 2009. The grant program will continue to alternate summer/winter in the future.
Full details about the FAST Track grant can be found by visiting the Canada Games Council’s website at; http://www.canadagames.ca/content/welcome.asp.
4. Living a Healthy Future
On June 7-8 several Canadian speed skaters will once again participate in the MS Bike Tour, a two-day 180-km trip from Airdrie to Olds and back, to help build more awareness of Multiple Sclerosis and to raise as much money as possible for MS research. They will do so as members of Team Tazza, consisting of speed skaters as well as other athletes. Captain of this team is 22-year-old speed skater Crystal Phillips, who was diagnosed with MS herself a little over two years ago.
Crystal Phillips looks back on some life-changing years. After she had her first ‘attack’ in June 2005, at the young age of 19, she was officially diagnosed with MS in February 2006. MS is a disease of the central nervous system that affects vision, hearing, memory, balance and mobility. Since November 2006 Phillips has been in remission, but despite the fact that she had no more relapses since that time, she is still forced to always take her condition into consideration: “Since my last relapse, I have made many dietary changes and continue to take an injection every day. Besides that, I still deal with symptoms that come and go on a day-to-day basis, like fatigue, sensory changes, muscle spasms and numbness in my legs. The more tired or stressed I am, the more predominant the symptoms are.”
It is obvious that, even though it may not always be easy, Phillips seems to have found a way to balance her life and MS. In fact, she realizes that to some extent MS has even had a positive influence on her life: “I am thankful for the mental strengths that I have gained through coping with MS, because I have learned how to use them in every area of my life. I really do believe that things happen for a reason. I have learned a lot about myself and embrace and learn from, rather than fight the challenges that MS brings.”
One way of embracing these challenges was to get involved in organizing a team for the MS Bike Tour in 2006, only a couple of months after she was diagnosed with MS herself. And even though it was the first time she organized a team for the Bike Tour, that team (called MS Helia) was able to raise $56,000, which is the most a rookie team has ever raised. As a result, the MS Helia team won the title of Top Fundraising Rookie Team of the year 2006. Moreover, with 80 members, that team was the second-largest team in Canada. In 2007, the MS Helia team was even more successful, with 90 members and $65,000 being raised. With this continuous improvement, it should come as no surprise that this year the bar will be raised even higher. Phillips: “I think a goal of 100 members and $75,000 is achievable.”
In this effort, Phillips is supported by family members, co-workers and friends, including several speed skaters. Among them will be long track speed skater Jay Morrison, who was a member of the first MS Helia team in 2006, but was in hospital for the duration of the 2007 Tour: “I never knew what MS was until Crystal contracted the autoimmune condition. When I heard about the MS Bike Tour I thought it was a great idea. I got involved because the goal is to raise money to go towards research into this highly unexplainable disorder. Hopefully this type of research and learning can one day lead to answers about prevention, treatment... cure!?”
This year, Phillips is looking forward to several novelties when it comes to her team for the MS Bike Tour. Not only did she change the name of the team from ‘MS Helia’ to ‘Team Tazza’ (due to a new sponsor), she also decided on a team quote: ‘Living a healthy future’. But maybe most importantly, this year she is looking forward to getting people involved in other ways than just participating in the Bike Tour itself: “I am excited about starting an organizing committee to help me out with planning fundraising events leading up to the Tour. I see it as another form of team building and involving my team members at an organizational level as well as participating.” This new aspect of the Bike Tour gives people who will not be able to participate in the Tour itself, an opportunity to help out in other ways.
One of these people is Olympic silver- and bronze-medalist short track speed skater Alanna Kraus: “I am going to be helping out Crystal by being a part of the organizing committee. Basically this involves anything she needs me to do! Plus, any media requests she has to help bring awareness to the Bike Tour.” Like Morrison, Kraus also got involved in the Bike Tour when Phillips organized a team for the first time: “Two years ago Crystal asked me if I would like to participate and I jumped on the opportunity. I think the Bike Tour is important because it is a very small way in which I can show Crystal my support. Moreover, it brings awareness and raises money for the MS Society. Plus it's an amazing team building event and it is so much fun!”
Besides the fact that the Bike Tour is an event that is much enjoyed by its participants, for the athletes involved it is also a fun way to get some training under their belt, as Kraus explains: “For many of us, we can use the MS Bike Tour as training, but it is not just for high performance athletes. Anyone can participate, young and old, any fitness level, and every shape and size!” So even though Team Tazza consists of some of the fastest Canadian speed skaters, these athletes will be riding side by side with people of all ages and all fitness levels, as Phillips emphasizes when she talks about some of the people that have already signed up for this year’s Tour: “I am excited to have three generations in my family participating: my grandma, mom and me, as well as my two sisters and dad!”
Still, despite the good food and great fun, most important is the money that is needed for MS research and this Bike Tour is a great way to get people to donate and make them more aware of MS. Phillips: “Calgary is one of the top research centers in the world for MS and needs funds to continue to build off all the discoveries. They have made discoveries in the past couple of years like when a scientist at the University of Calgary discovered a hormone in pregnant women that stops the progression in MS.” Since 90% of the money for researching MS comes from pledges and donations in events such as the MS Bike Tour, it is important that people continue to donate to events like this.
Interested in helping Team Tazza reach its goal of raising $75,000? See: https://msofs.mssociety.ca/2008Bike/SponsorTeam.aspx?PID=1019949&L=2&G=700175.
For more information on MS, see: www.mscalgary.org.
For more information on Team Tazza, see: www.myspace.com/teamtazza.
For more information on Team Tazza’s sponsor, see: www.tazzafresh.com.
