BC Athletics Bulletin

Your source of up-to-date Athletics news in BC. If you came to this page via email link, click here to get to main BCA site.

ISSUE #11-2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008

Highlights from this issue:

BC Athletics office closed for regular business March 26th – April 2nd
Ed Kubek, 1940-2008
2008 Wheelchair Athletics Clinic – Vancouver April 12-13
Tyler Christopher interview with TheFan590
Level 3 Coaching Symposium – Langley April 4-6
Assistant Press Chief application, Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games

FROM THE BCA OFFICE

ATTENTION:

Due to our move, BC Athletics will be closed for regular business Wednesday March 26th until Wednesday April 2nd.

For any urgent matter during this time, please contact sam.collier@bcathletics.org, or 604-737-3177 (until March 31st) and 604-333-3556 (as of April 1st).

Thank you very much for your patience in the matter, and we apologize for any inconvenience.

BC Athletics is moving on March 31st!

As of April 1, 2008 the new address will be:
BC Athletics
190B 3820 Cessna Dr.
Richmond BC
V7B 0A1

Brian McCalder – President/CEO (604) 333-3552
Maurice Wilson – Technical Manager Road & Cross Country Running (604) 333-3553
Thelma Wright – Run Jump Throw Program Coordinator (604) 333-3554
Jessica Olfert – Administrative Assistant, Run Jump Throw Administrator (604) 333-3554
Track and Field Technical Manager (604) 333-3555
Ron Bunting – Coaching Education ron.bunting@bcathletics.org
Sam Collier – Manager Registration and Membership Services (604) 333-3556
Accounting (604) 333-3557

Ed Kubek
December 10, 1940 – March 13, 2008

BC Athletics extends condolences to Alice Kubek and family on the passing of Ed Kubek – husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. Ed was known for his love of sport, particularly rugby and often a helping hand at Track & Field meets in Victoria. Ed lived life to the fullest enjoying gardening, travel and boating. His greatest joy was the time spent with his family especially his grandchildren and great grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations in Ed’s memory may be made to Saanich Peninsula Hospital or the BC Cancer Society. A celebration of Ed’s life will be held at a later date.

2008 WHEELCHAIR ATHLETICS CLINIC

NEW THIS YEAR:

As well as…
Exercise equipment to take home, WC Race
Series Season Overview, Food and Great draw prizes!
***Don’t forget to bring rain gear, water & your helmet!***

REGISTRATION FEE: $25.00
Subsidies are available for out of town coaches/athletes as well as subsidies for those with financial need. Please Pre-Register by April 4, 2008.

For more information or to register:
Contact James at 604-616-7106 or
james@bcwheelchairsports.com
OR
BC Wheelchair Sports at 604-737-3191
(604-333-3525 After April 1, 2008)

Approved Meets for JD Awards and All Time Top 10 Listings

The following meets have been approved by the JD Committee for All Time Top 10 listings and for JD Awards. If any Club would like to have their meet(s) added to this list please submit the name of your meet by APRIL 1, 2008 for approval at the next JD Committee meeting. If a meet is not approved for the above purposes an athlete will not be able to use results obtained for awards or All Time Top 10 listings. Only sanctioned meets may be approved.

BC JD Track and Field Championships
BC JD Pentathlon Championships
BC Summer Games (even years)
BC Midget Event (BCSG alternate meet)
Trevor Craven Memorial Meet, Burnaby.
Jesse Bent Memorial, Coquitlam
Pacific Invitational, Langley
** Track City Classic, Eugene
** Classy Classic, Seattle
Jack Brow Memorial, Kelowna
Spruce Capital, Prince George
Kamloops Centennial, Kamloops
George Dean Meet, Sidney
Eagle Classic, Maple Ridge
Cougars Invitational, Courtenay
Bob Dailey Invitational, Port Alberni
Elwood Wylie Meet, Nanaimo
Dogwood Meet, Victoria
Garriock Invitational, Duncan
Nat. Legion T and F Championships
NorWesters Elementaries Meet, Burnaby.
Junior Olympics, Surrey
BC Elementary Championships, Richmond
BC Interior Championships (provisional)
Island Pentathlon and Throws Meet

** Athletes competing in US Meets must present a certified copy of meet results.

Point Grey Community Track Project

Phase One (the Track) has been completed and we now need to work on phase two: the Long/triple pole vault and high jump facility.

We are looking to fund-raise the capital to cover the cost which is approximately $37,000 dollars which includes two long jump and one pole vault lanes and a high jump apron finished with the same quality material as the track.

Canadian Olympic Committee Calls for Applications for the 2008 Carol Anne Letheren Leadership and Sport Scholarship

VANCOUVER, February 19, 2008 – The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) is now accepting applications for the 2008 Carol Anne Letheren Leadership and Sport Scholarship.

The scholarship is a national, three-year, $1,500 per year, university award presented to one outstanding female high school graduate. The award is named in honour of the late Carol Anne Letheren (1942-2001), former chief executive officer of the COC.

The Carol Anne Letheren Leadership and Sport Scholarship is given to a female student (Canadian citizen or permanent resident) presently enrolled at a Canadian high school or CEGEP (private or public) in her graduating year and applying to a Canadian university or college in business, sport management, marketing, physical education or related fields. In addition to demonstrating qualities and personal values that personify the Olympic values, the eligible candidate will have a minimum grade average of 85% in her final year of high school. She will also be an accomplished athlete in high school, community or provincial level competitive sport(s). Please note that athletes competing at the national level (junior and senior) will be given preference.

To learn more on how to apply please visit www.olympic.ca/EN/funding/letheren_award.shtml. Applications must be received at the COC Vancouver office by mail by 5:00 p.m. PST, April 11, 2008. Selections will be made shortly thereafter and the successful candidate(s) will be notified by May 23, 2008.

For more information:
Steve Keogh
Manager, Communications
Canadian Olympic Committee
Phone: (416) 324-4146
Cell: (416) 806-3949
Email: skeogh@olympic.ca

2008 Track & Field Results - ACDirect Results Management System

Beginning in 2008 all Track & Field results will be centralized through the ACDirect Results Management Systems. The document found at the link below is a draft of how the system will work and what the procedures will be. This is not a final document but will give Meet Directors and idea of how results will be handled.

With this system a national results program will be developed assisting greatly in provincial and national rankings, archiving results etc. There will be more information available in the near future and this information will be circulated as soon as the BC Athletics office receives it.

Once you have had a chance to look the draft document over please get back to the BC Athletics office with any comments you may have on the procedures.

If you have any comments or questions please contact:
Sam Collier
sam.collier@bcathletics.org
Ph: (604) 737-3177

BC Athletics 2008 Club Memberships

The club membership period runs from January 1st to December 31st each year. There is a 3 month grace period provided because of the various times that clubs have for their members renew. The grace period ensures that the club's liability policy is in place as the club gets organized for the upcoming year. Club Membership applications and renewals must be received in the BC Athletics office no later than March 31st.

The forms are available at the following link (Club memberships can not be renewed through ACDirect at this time):
www.bcathletics.org/main/clubs.htm

**IMPORTANT: 2008 Track & Field, Cross-Country Fixtures**

Please submit all 2008 Track and Field and Cross-Country Fixtures AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Athletics Canada

Listen to Tyler Christopher interview with TheFan590

Tyler Christopher appeared on TheFan 590 on Wednesday March12th to talk about his gold medal won in the 400 metres at the World Indoor Championships.

Athletics Canada names Olympic Games staff

OTTAWA – Athletics Canada announced today the staff which will accompany the athletics team to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

While Chief High Performance Officer Martin Goulet will oversee the project, the team will be led in Beijing by Head Coach Les Gramantik. Gramantik was an event coach in Athens at the last Olympic Games (in 2004), more recently he led the Canadian athletics team to 12 medals at the 2007 Pan American Games, 2 medals at the 2007 World Championships and 1 medal this past weekend at the World Indoor Championships.

Athletics Canada’s Olympic Trials will take place in Windsor, Ontario, July 3 to 6. The team will then be officially announced on the morning of July 7.

Members from BC

Selection Criteria

The declaration deadline for this event is June 15th, 2008. Please note that a new online Athlete Declaration Form will be available soon.

The Gold Standard

Results from around the Track (and Field)

Track and Field

MASTERS WORLD RELAY RECORD

On March 11, four BC Athletics and Tri City Greyhounds track and field club members broke the Masters indoor world record for the 4x400 metre relay in the men's 60 year-old age group. Tony Badowski, age 65 of Port Coquitlam, John Winfield, age 61 of Tsawwassen, Sewa Birring, age 62 of Surrey and Harold Morioka, age 65 of Surrey, set a new indoor world record for the 1600 metre relay race in 4:13.30. The previous record was 4:14.76 set by the USA in 2005.

None of the team members had ever run in an indoor relay race before. For John and Sewa, it was their first ever race indoors. Tony had his first indoor race only a month earlier, also in Kamloops. Harold has raced indoors many times but never on a relay team. In 2003, at the World Masters Championships, Tony and Harold ran on the Canadian M60 4x400 metre relay team that won the gold medal in the outdoor championships in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Their time of 4:07.74 stands as the Canadian M60 4x400 metre outdoor relay record.

The team raced in the Tournament Capital Centre, the new sports complex in Kamloops, BC, which just won the bid to host the next World Masters indoors track and field championships in 2010. They ran in a special invitational race which was a preview for the Kamloops Elementary Schools relay meet. With 600 screaming students cheering them on, the team was able to break the indoor world record by 1.46 seconds. Originally they were going to attempt to break this record a month earlier in Kamloops, in the first ever indoor track and field meet to be held in British Columbia. However due to an injury and sickness to team members, this attempt was cancelled.

Kamloops then invited the team to race just prior to the elementary students’ relays. Several Kamloops newspapers and the local television station covered the race.

Given a second chance to break the world record, the team didn’t disappoint the race organizers nor the very loud and supporting students. However it wasn’t easy for the team. Tony had strained a calf muscle preparing for this race and told his teammates he wasn’t sure if he could finish his leg of the relay. Despite the pain he ran a great opening leg. John ran the second leg and put the team in position for the record. John was in Mexico a few weeks earlier and had scraped his legs when he fell on slippery rocks at the beach. Sewa who had no sleep all night because of hiccups wasn’t sure if he had the strength to run a strong race. He did. His hiccups stopped on the ride up to Kamloops, only three hours before the race. Finally Harold, who had pulled a hamstring muscle six weeks earlier, took the baton for the final leg. With the support of the cheering students, Harold crossed the finish line and the clock stopped with a new Masters Indoor World Record for the M60 4x400 metres relay.

Road Running

Results Round-up

Comox Valley Half Marathon, Courtenay

The River's Spring Run Off 10K, Kamloops

Divas Only 8K, Vancouver

Spirit of the Marathon

Spirit of the Marathon is the first ever non-fiction feature film to capture the drama and essence of the famed 26.2 mile running event. Filmed on four continents, the movie brings together a diverse cast of amateur athletes and marathon luminaries.

As six unique stories unfold, each runner prepares for and ultimately faces the challenge of the Chicago Marathon. More than a sports movie, Spirit of the Marathon is an inspirational journey of perseverance and personal triumph; a spectacle that will be embraced by runners and non-runners alike.

Spirit of the Marathon will be showing in 52 theaters across Canada for one night only, on April 9th at 7:00 PM, including 8 in British Columbia. Tickets will go on sale on March 21st. To find out where the movie is playing, and to purchase tickets, go to www.cineplex.com.

ING New York City Marathon

Flight Centre Active is proud to be an Official International Travel Partner for the ING New York City Marathon. They have 75 entry packages available and welcome you individually or with your entire running groups.

Prices from $2,195 includes roundtrip airfare from Vancouver, airport transfers, 3 nights accommodation at the 4-star deluxe Hilton Times Square, guaranteed entry to the ING New York City Marathon, souvenir running shirt, transfers to the race start, marathon eve dinner, post-race party, and much more.

Other city departures and non-runner packages available. Contact Jim Silva on 1-866-352-8286 or nycmarathon@flightcentre.ca.

Canadian Marathon Stories

Canadian Marathon Stories is a book of 31 stories sent in from regular Canadians all across the country. They each tell one persons story of running their own personal marathon and how it affected them.

The 138 page book retails for $20, with $10 from each sale going to help sponsor Canadian athletes in training for the Olympics, through the Canadian Athletes Now fund.

In the News

Invitation to elite runners: Sunshine Coast April Fool's Run, April 6

Organizers of the Sunshine Coast April Fool's Run Half Marathon would like to invite elite runners to the 31st edition of this event, to be held Sunday April 6th. This is an accurately measured point to point course from Gibsons to Sechelt with a net downhill (and some challenging uphill in the middle to keep it interesting). Course will be certified for 2008. Men's event record is 1:09:58 (Nik Southwell, 2004), 1:18:31 for the women (Katrina Driver, 2007, also winner in 2006). Graeme Wilson is the defending men's champion for the past 2 years.

Elite runners (open and masters) are invited to apply for complimentary entry. Cash prizing totalling $1200 is offered for the top 3 overall men and women and top masters men and women (40+), plus age group prizes from New Balance and unique awards from a local artisan. In addition, the first person and first woman at the 1 mile mark each win $50 cash from Gleukos.

BC Athletics 2008 8K Road Running Championship

The BC Athletics 2008 8K Road Running Championship will be held in conjunction with the Running Room Shaughnessy 8K, hosted by the Lions Gate Road Runners in Vancouver on Sunday, May 25.

Certified 8K through undulating historic residential streets of Shaughnessy and Kerrisdale. Start and finish at Kerrisdale Arena, 41st and East Blvd., Vancouver. Race starts at 8:30am.

Road Race Measurement Seminar

Paul Adams, an AIMS/IAAF Grade “A” Measurer, will be conducting a Course Measurement Seminar in Port Coquitlam, BC on May 10-11.

Topics to be covered include: The general principals of measurement – simple calculation exercises – layout of a calibration course – introduction to the Jones Counter and mounting it on a bike – riding techniques – bicycle calibration – measurement of a test course.

Cost of the seminar is $50.00, plus BCA Officials membership if applicable. Participants must provide their own bike and Jones Counter (contact below for details).

For more information on road race measurement in Canada, please refer to: www.coursemeasurement.ca.

Run Jump Throw

Developed by Athletics Canada and presented by BC Athletics, RJT is the grassroots development program for our sport. This FUNdamentals program teaches the skills of running, jumping and throwing and the technical skill progressions for track and field events. It is designed for boys and girls ages 6-12, has progressions for older athletes, and can be adapted for special needs.

RJT Instructor Workshop

Dates:
Friday April 11 6-9pm
Saturday April 12 9am-5pm
Sunday April 13 9am-1pm AT APPLE BOWL
(Teachers may attend Friday and Saturday only, but are also welcome on Sunday)

Location:
Okanagan Boys and Girls Club/Martin Ave CC
1434 Graham Rd.
Kelowna, BC

Coaches

LEVEL 3 COACHING SYMPOSIUM ~ Langley

Upcoming NCCP Level 3 Theory Course – Abbotsford

PacificSport Fraser Valley will be hosting an NCCP Level 3 Theory course in Abbotsford March 29-30 and April 19-20.

Interested participants can call 604 557 4019 for more information, or go to www.pacificsport.com and look at our upcoming events for both information and online registration.

CABC’s member E-News - March 2008 edition

USOC OLYMPIC COACH E-MAGAZINE - Winter 2008

officials

NEWS FOR OFFICIALS

IAAF Handbooks are now in stock. If you are a Level 2+ official with a 2008 BC Athletics Membership, you will receive one from your Regional Contact. Memberships must be renewed before March 31, to receive this benefit.

Level 1 Officials Workshop

Tuesday April 1, 2008
7:00-8:30pm
Semiahmoo Secondary School Library
1785-148 Street, Surrey, B.C.
Hosted By : Ocean Athletics
Course Conductor: Sue Kydd

Job / Volunteer opportunities

Assistant Press Chief Position

The Canadian Paralympic is seeking a highly motivated individual for the volunteer position of Assistant Press Chief for the 2008 Paralympic Summer Games in Beijing, China.

As the Assistant Press Chief, you will be responsible for logistical preparations for the Communication Team during the Games, as well as the management of one of the CPC's media offices, act as a media attaché for designated sports and any other duties as assigned by the Press Chief.

Interested candidates should e-mail their resume, a detailed description of how your experience, knowledge and skills relate to the qualifications listed above, and a cover letter in MS Word format to:

We thank all candidates who apply, but only those to be interviewed will be contacted.

JOB DESCRIPTION

For job opportunities with specific BC Athletics member clubs, please see the BC Athletics home page under "What's Happening."

Resources

BC Wheelchair Sports December Newsletter

SIRC Newsletter – March 2008

Aboriginal Sport and Fitness

SIRC is pleased to be collecting articles related to Aboriginal sport and fitness. This past year we identified over 1,200 articles related to sport and various aboriginal topics. The most prominent subjects included sport and social aspects, history, health, culture, games/competitions, women and biographies.

New Sport Science articles are posted to the Canadian Athletics Coaching Centre website every Wednesday. Access can be found at www.athleticscoaching.ca either through the "Sport Science Articles" link on the main page or through the sport science page. You can also access the articles listed above through the weekly "Top Stories" link.

REMINDERS and Quick Links

Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Association of BC Press Releases

To find ASRA News such as Press Releases, Employment Opportunities and Important Reminders, visit www.asra.ca

PODIUM - Canadian Olympic Committee's Newsletter Vol. 5, Issue 5 is now available.

Managing Risk - Keeping our Sport Safe

In the continuing effort to provide information and tools to assist member clubs in managing risk and providing a safe environment for children, youth and adults to train, participate and compete in Athletics (Road Running, Track & Field, Race Walking, Cross Country Running, Marathons, Ultras, Trail and Mtn Running), please find below the link to the Sport BC website and information on: