1. Alberta Outdoor Long Track
Please be aware that the Alberta Outdoor Long Track meet scheduled for January 9-10, 2009 in Red Deer has been officially canceled. The cancellation is due to construction delays at the Golden Circle Oval. Feel free to contact Shawna Pearman if you need further details.
2. Development Team Camp
The next Development Team Camp will be held in Red Deer, January 16-17, 2009. To confirmation your attendance please contact your coach and the AASSA office. The AASSA coaches selected for the Canadian LT Championships in Regina are Shawna Pearman, Ian Mellors and Jack Walters. They will be the lead coaches at the camp.
Friday January 16
6:00 p.m. Classroom
• Timing of the push and reach
• Direction of the push
• Landing spot of the reaching foot
6:30 p.m. Warm up off ice
7:00 p.m. Ice program – Groups to be assigned based on registrations and PB’s
Saturday January 17
8:30 a.m. Classroom
• Basic Strategy and Tactics for LT Mass Start
• Explanation of morning ice program and technique focus
9:15 a.m. Warm up off ice
10:00 p.m. Ice Program
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. Classroom
2:00 p.m. Ice program
3:30 p.m. Finished
The ice programs will consist of a combination of long and short interval programs with a technique focus on the timing and direction of the push and the placement of the reaching foot on the ice( where, when, in what direction). In addition, we will have some races to try to practice some of the strategy and tactics.
3. Making Dreams Possible
Making Dreams Possible is a program developed by GM in cooperation with the Coaching Association of Canada, the governing body of Canada’s coaching education program and is designed to support coaches of Olympic and Paralympic Sports at the high performance and community levels.
Community Coaching Grants
GM’s Making Dreams Possible program will provide a minimum of 100 grants of $2,000 each annually for coach development in local communities. Applications can be submitted by head coaches, technical directors or the presidents of local sports clubs. These grants will be used to fund special projects that develop the skills and abilities of community level coaches.
High Performance Grants
GM also provides 10 grants of $10,000 each annually to high performance athletes and their coaches. Applications must be submitted by the high performance athletes and their coaches for these elite grants.
For more information please go to www.coach.ca/makingdreamspossible
4. Canadian Official Upgraded to ISU Level
Speed Skating Canada is pleased to announce that Jacques Grégoire has been upgraded to a Level V Referee by the ISU and added to the Championship List. A referee for the past twenty-two years, Jacques is respected by everyone and respectful of everyone. He has refereed internationally, but remains active locally, provincially and nationally, as he believes it is important and necessary to support those starting out just as he did twenty-two years ago. In additional to this, Jacques has been a leader in the education and development of other officials. He is involved in the recent revisions of Officials Manuals, facilitated numerous development clinics and mentored many officials, whether they are local or those involved in the Officials Development Committee (ODC) development program. Jacques is currently the Chair of that committee and has been so for the last eight years. He began his refereeing career with the Pointe-aux-trembles speed skating club in Quebec.
SSC wishes to congratulate Jacques Grégoire on this major accomplishment. Only 25 officials from around the world are on the ISU Championship List, and it is always great to see Canadians being named on this list. This speaks highly to the numerous years of hard work of Jacques Grégoire personally, but also to the high quality of Canadian speed skating officials. He joins two fellow Canadians on the ISU Referees List for short track speed skating: Michel Verrault and John Trowbridge.
5. SSC Staff Addition
SSC welcomes a new addition to its staff team effective immediately. In the lead up to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, SSC will be sharing the services of a Communication Agent with the COC and VANOC on a part-time basis to help with the communications and media requests that are growing exponentially now that the Beijing games are behind us.
Diane St-Denis will therefore act as Communications Agent for SSC starting with the upcoming National Single Distance Championships December 27 to 31 in Richmond. Based in Vancouver, Diane will work on the long track side of speed skating. From now on, she will be the main contact for media requests for our long track team, will help facilitate media interviews on site in Richmond, and will also help coordinate athlete appearances requests with the help of Cara Thibault. Having Diane on site in Vancouver will be a tremendous asset for SSC as we get closer to the Olympic Games.
Diane has worked with Speed Skating Canada many years ago, which gives her a good understanding of our sport. She can be reached at Diane_St-Denis@vancouver2010.com or via phone at 604-403-1893.
6. ING Speed Skating Challenge
Dear Friends of Speed Skating,
With the holiday season just around the corner, I’m in a giving mood...
I have decided to award $500 CASH to one lucky skater who submits their video story to the ING Speed Skating Challenge before January 4, 2009. Entries received before 11:59:59 MST will automatically be entered into the draw for the cash prize... no skate guards attached!
The holiday season will be a really great time for skaters to get out in their community and into the rink to capture footage for their video stories.
What would you do with an extra $500? Get your video story together for a chance to find out!
I'll reveal the name of the big winner on Wednesday January 7, 2009. I'm looking forward to watching your video stories.
Sincerely,
Catriona Le May Doan
*The ING Speed Skating Challenge (the "Contest") is open to all legal residents of Canada. The Contest will commence October 22, 2008 and the deadline for submissions will be January 18, 2009. Numerous prizes, ranging in value from $100 to $5,000, are available to be won. No purchase is necessary. The chances of winning a prize are proportional to the number of entries received. Full Contest Rules and Regulations are available here; http://www.ingspeedskatingchallenge.com/rules.php
7. How Did Canada Do?
Nagano – Canada opened the last stop of the Asia World Cups with three medals in Nagano. In the women’s 1000m, Christine Nesbitt (London, ON) stepped on the second step of the podium, winning her third medal of the season after participating in as many races for this distance. Kristina Groves (Ottawa, ON) finished in third place behind Nesbitt for the bronze medal. American Jennifer Rodriguez took the gold in 1:16.34, 0,05 seconds before Nesbitt. In the men’s 1000m, Denny Morrison (Fort St. John, BC) clinched the silver medal.
“I am very satisfied of my results today. I have improved every time I raced since the beginning of the season. Last year, I was performing at my best in the 1500m. This year, it is seems to be in the 1000m. There is room for improvement, like for example, increasing my speed. One thing is certain, I want to improve and win races. But I have to be patient and disciplined to maintain the intensity throughout the season and not burn out,” explained Nesbitt to reporters.
Still in the women’s 1000m, Shannon Rempel (Winnipeg, MB) finished in 5th place. In Division B, Justine L'Heureux (St-Tite, QC) also took the 5th position. This was a return to skating the 1000m for L’Heureux following a small injury last week that kept her from racing. Tamara Oudenaarden (St-Albert, AB) finished 8th in Group B.
“I was able to remain constant for every race so far this season. I am happy of that. But I will have to work on my starts if I want to stay at the top. With the return of other skaters later during the season, I know the competition will get tougher. I am looking forward to that as it will make things even more exciting. In the end, if I am skating with such determination it is because I enjoy what I am doing and am having fun,” said Kristina Groves after her race.
In the men’s 1000m, Morrison was second in 1:09.40, second only to American Shani Davis who took the gold in 1:09.21. François-Olivier Roberge (St-Nicolas, QC) finished in 5th place with a time of 1:10.33. Muncef Ouardi (Montréal, QC) placed 15th while Philippe Riopel (Lachenaie, QC) and Kyle Parrott (St. Albert, AB) came in 17th and 19th respectively. It was the first time of his career that Parrott raced in the A group.
“It feels really good to win a medal. The start of the season was slow because I had to adjust myself to new skates. But I believe to have found the right balance in equipment performance to match my technique” said a very satisfied Morrison “I think things are going to improve from now on”.
In the 500m race, speed skater Jamie Gregg (Edmonton, AB) raced to his career best with an 11th place. His teammate Muncef Ouardi finished 15th. In Group B, Denny Morrison and Kyle Parrott finished 3rd and 4th while François-Olivier Roberge finished 9th.
In the women’s 500m, Christine Nesbitt took 13th place and Shannon Rempel 15th place.
In group B, Danielle Wotherspoon (Red Deer, Alberta) was 8th to cross the finish line. Canadian teammates Tamara Oudenaarden and Kerry Dankers (Melville, SK) took the 12th and 15th positions.
