Summer Sports - Razzie Awards

"Sport organizations are often the last refuge of the incompetent."

Pierre Lafontaine CEO of Swimming Canada

Each year the Golden Rasberry Award Foundation recognizes the worst that Hollywood has to offer in the Motion Picture Industry. Unfortunately this recognition doesn't extend into amateur sports but if it did here would be my recommendations for this decade's Worst Performance in a Leadership Role with a Summer Sport Organization. The nominees are:



Les Gramantik - Athletics Canada - At the 1996 Olympics Gramantik recommends that world champion decathlete Mike Smith, be given an I.V to help offest the extreme heat in Atlanta. The Olympic favorite is later treated for overhydration and struggles just to finish the competition. Gramantik goes on to coach Canada's track & field teams at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics. The result - A single bronze medal. Gramantik is now an assistant in the organization overseeing the sport’s high performance centre in Calgary, Alberta.



Martin Goulet - From the late 1990's through to 2006 Martin Goulet led Canada's middle distance program in the province of Quebec. Unfortunately, those within the sport can't remember Canada's last middle distance runner to hail from the province. No matter. Goulet was recently promoted to the position of chief high-performance officer for Athletics Canada.



Fred Nykamp - Nykamp was appointed Executive Director and CEO of Basketball Canada in 2004. During his tenure corporate sponsorship dropped, membership numbers fell and Canada failed to qualify a men's team at the 2006 World Championships for the first time in nearly 40 years. Recognizing how bad things were Nykamp jumped ship in May 2007 to oversee matters with the Canadian Soccer Association. One problem, however, the Canadian Soccer Association failed to ratify his contract before he quit his post with Basketball Canada. Nykamp was terminated from his duties with the CSA in September 2007.



Dave Johnson - Remember the disaster surrounding the Canadian Swim Program at the 2004 Olympics. Johnson oversaw the program...enough said.

Canadian Cycling Association Board of Directors - Canada's cycling program used to be the envy of the amateur sports world here in Canada. No more. Financial woes, 4 CEO's in the last 6 years, and 0 Olympic medals at the 2008 Olympics for the first time in 20 years have many wondering....what happened?

And the winner is...........

John O' Shea - President of Canada's Amateur Boxing Association - The sport at one time produced some of Canada's most memorable athletes of all time. Oh how times have changed. At the 2008 Olympics Canada had 1 athlete representative in the sport - Adam Trupish. O'Shea blames a lack of funding on the sport's woes saying, "Our facilities and coaching are second to none, what is lacking is the backing." Undeniably cutbacks in federal funding have affected the sport, but the sports woes run much deeper than just money.


Other individuals considered for nomination were

Alan Roaf - Rowing - Two years Canada's rowers would like to forget. However, Canada's summer athletes aren't so fortunate. Roaf was a contritubor in the development of the Summer Own the Podium plan back in 2005

John Paul Cody Cox - Executive Director - Volleyball Canada - A Career administrator - John Paul Cody Cox was appointed to the position of executive director in 2007. Since then Volleyball Canada has had to quit the World Volleyball League. And as for Canada's National Teams. Canada hasn't had a men's or woman's team compete at the Olympic Games since 1996.