Get Active.

It is no secret. Childhood obesity is a serious concern here in Canada. According to Steven Stamis of the Heart and Stroke Foundation Canada is one of the top five countries in the world when it comes to Childhood Obesity. According to a report in the Ottawa Citizen 20% of our Canada's adolescents are at risk of coronary woes http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Study+finds+teens+risk+coronary+woes/2150337/story.html

It doesn't end there. According to Stats Can 26 per cent of Canadian children aged 5 to 12 are classified as obese. 46% of Canadian Children are not getting the required activity levels for healthy growth and development. And yet despite the epidemic we face no one seems to be doing anything about it.....from government to families.

Physical Education programs across Canada have been slashed in response to reduced government funding for education. In the 1960's over 40% of kids biked to school. That figure is now reduced to less than 5%. True kids are placed in organized activity in greater numbers today, but unorganized activity seems to be an afterthought for most.

Parks across the country are empty as parents worry about the safety of their children. Schools are afraid to engage in new and interesting activities for fear of litigation. In what was once a normal mode of transportation has almost been lost. In the 1960's over 40% of kids biked to school - today that figure is below 5%. As for kids walking to school. Why walk when you can drive.

Isn't it time we said enough. Lets forget about the excuses as it isn't too cold, too dangerous, too late, too early too whatever. Let's start building our communities once again by getting outside and knowing our neighbors. Let's start using the parks that are there for us and force government to better maintain the ones we do have.

This is a national cause but we can all do our bit. I know that I am going to start today!

Go the Distance

In the movie Field of Dreams, novice farmer Ray Kinsella builds a baseball diamond in his corn field upon hearing the cryptic message "If you build it he will come". Later on, Ray hears another cryptic message urging him "To go the distance". Those messages urge Ray to take action whereupon at the movie's end we discover that those messages have helped Ray reconcile with his dead father.

In the book "Heatstroke - Why Canada's Summer Olympic Program is Failing and How we Can Fix It" the writer recommends the creation of a high ranking sport body that is void of government interference and comprised of high ranking sport officials with no financial interest and no vested interest to manage sport in this country.

On Tuesday May 18, 2010 almost as though he adopted the very idea from the book Heatstroke - Sport Minister Gary Lunn announced the creation of an Own the Podium board comprised of high ranking officials with no financial interest and no vested interest to manage sport. The board headed by VANOC CEO John Furlong and comprised of Cathy Priestner Allinger - Own the Podium founder, Lane MacAdam - a director within Sport Canada, sport broadcaster Keith Pelley, sport medicine specialist Dr. Mike Williamson and others will have the ear of the federal government who from all appearances has the ability to accept and act on the boards decision.http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Vancouver+Games+chair+Podium+board/3042847/story.html

However, not unlike the movie Field of Dreams itself - this blogger urges Canada's Sport Minister - Gary Lunn - to "Go the Distance".

Today, I ask Minister Gary Lunn to separate sport from government all together with the dismantling of Sport Canada. "There is no reason to have Sport Canada.....it is a bureaucracy that presents another set of hurdles that one has to navigate" notes FIBT President Bob Storey.

With the creation of this board - Sport Canada is now just a duplicate agency whose resources could be desperately used by Canada's Amateur Athletes. Yes, Mr. Lunn- Great Work - But please "Go the Distance"

Some Restraint Please

The early indications are that Marcel Aubut's tenure as COC President will be a successful one. Who would dare argue. A parade in Montreal to celebrate the successes of Canada's amateur athletes in Vancouver - a sold out gala dinner later that afternoon and increased political clout for Canada's athletes.

Canada's amateur athletes are singing the man's praises as a result. " I think if the all the athletes had his attitude, we would be the best nation in the Summer Games, Winter Games," said Olympic medallist Caroline Brunet.

However, some restraint might be in order before we knight the man and declare him the savior of our Summer Olympic Program.

In Claude Brochu's book "My turn at Bat" Brochu notes that Aubut was a minority investor with the now-defunct Quebec Nordiques but structured an agreement with his partners to run the NHL Team as he saw fit; he answered to no one and did as he pleased. Brochu later adds that Aubut as managing director of the club demanded help from the government for the construction of a new NHL arena before finding out if the business community would support him. When the government refused Aubut's request he ended up doing the unimaginable, and sold the team to a an investment group from Colorado.

To hear Aubut speak of the matter he did all he can to save the Nordiques but fails to tell anyone of the financial windfall he reaped from the sale.

So, while we applaud the man today, please people a little restraint. History shows that Aubut is in this for himself.

Welcome to the Jungle

Olympic enthusiasts may not know it, but there is a weekly radio program here in Canada that discusses news and events within the world of amateur sport.

A virtual afterthought after the Olympic cauldron has been extinguished Jungle Jim Hunter is trying to make amateur sport important 12 months a year.

An Olympic medalist in Alpine Skiing and one of the original Crazy Canucks, Jungle Jim became disillusioned with the lack of information about amateur sport here in Canada and decided to do something about it. Using his own money, Jungle purchased air-time on the Calgary Sports Radio Station - the Fan 960 - and started up his own radio show.

Every Saturday from 9-11am on the Fan 960 Jungle Jim hits the airwaves and discusses events that matter to amateur sport enthusiasts. If you are outside of the Calgary area you can listen to the show via the internet simply by going to www.fan960.com.

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Real changes are being made within Athletics Canada and while not everyone is pleased this blogger thinks it is about time. For the first time in the history of the National Sport Organization - Athletics Canada is toying around the idea of a National Training Centre. Under the current structure high performance athletes are scattered across the country under the direction of a "Personal Coach".

A National Training Centre would have the nation's best athletes train in 1 locale thus giving the nations best athletes the opportunity to train beside the best. The system has worked wonders in Rowing, Speed Skating, Swimming, Bobsled, Cross-country skiing etc.. and for a sport that has won one a single medal at the past three Olympiads the proposed system will certainly do better than the current one.

Not everyone agrees, however. Gregory Portnoy in a interview with the CBC noted "This system almost eliminates the personal coach. The personal coach is key in track and field.....the national federation is incapable of developing athletes by itself..." Portnoy however, is a coach serving his own personal interests. Portnoy is a personal coach to long and triple jump record holder Tabia Charles.

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Rumors are abound that the COC wants to take full control of the Own the Podium (OTP) program. Qudos to Own the Podium CEO Alex Baumann who noted in an interview that this would in fact be a bad idea. Baumann was quoted as saying that the the program (OTP) has to make difficult decisions to move sport forward and may be unable to do that if it was part of the COC.

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Glad to be back looking into the world of amateur sports once again.

A Hint of Nepotism

Last week Jean Dupre was announced as the CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee. On the surface the selection was a a decent one. After all Dupre has been the Director General of Speed Skating Canada since 1995 and during his tenure the sport has risen to unparalled heights. Since 2006 the sport has won a mind-numbing 22 Olympic medals - and has produced some of Canada's most recognizable athletes; Clara Hughes, Cindy Klassen, Jeremy Wotherspoon to name a few.

And while no one will doubt that Dupre has the qualificaitons and experience to be CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee the fashion in which he became CEO ought to be up for investigation.

In 2009 Marcel Aubut was in a political fight to become President of the COC with Tricia Smith. Smith - a former Olympic medallist in the sport of rowing and a VP with the COC was widely percieved as a front runner for the role. However, Dupre - also a VP within the organization (in addition to being Director General of Speed Skating Canada) lobbied hard on Aubut's behalf. With Dupre and a few other political heavyweights in his corner, Aubut was elected as the President of the Canadian Olympic Committee in the summer of 09.

Fast forward 8 months. In April of 2010 Aubut is handed the reigns of Canada's Olympic Committee and his first order of business is to hire Dupre as the organizations CEO.

In most circles similar-type announcements would have likely raised eyebrows and may have even warranted an investigation. In the COC it is business and no one really cares.

Perhaps it is true. "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

Confused

Great article in the Toronto Sun from Steve Simmons. In the article he notes that public opinion of Canada's Olympic program is at an all time high, so why is it that everyone in the organization is jumping ship. Gone are CEO - Chris Rudge - President Michael Chambers, COO- Lou Ragagnin & VP David Bedford just to name a few. Also announcing his departure is Roger Jackson CEO of the Own the Podium program. http://www.torontosun.com/sports/columnists/steve_simmons/2010/04/19/13646126.html

A team that is at the pinnacle of success typically does not witness a mass exodus. In fact most teams that experience success strengthen their management core through addition. Witness the New York Yankees. After winning the World Series in 2009 Manager Joe Girardi stayed on in 2010 as did President Randy Levine as did GM Brian Cashman as did the ownership team.

In the case of the Canadian Olympic Committee could it be that senior mangement - after Vancouver has recognized that there is no where to go but down. In two short years it will be our Summer Olympians who compete for the pride of Canada and as we have seen Canada's history at the Summer Games has not been a cause for celebration over the last 10 years.

The goal in London 2012 is a top twelve finish and if history is any indicator Canada will have to win approximately 24 medals to satisfy this lofty goal. Over the course of the last six Olympiads Canada's Summer Athletes have won an average of 15 medals and have shown to finish within +/-3 of this figure for the last decade.

Understanding history and the challenges that await our Summer Olympic Program it appears that Rudge, Chambers, Ragagnin and Jackson left at just the right time.

Catch Up

It has been seven long days since this blogger last published a post and since that time a number of events have transpired. A quick whirlwhind is as follows.

Roger Jackson - CEO of the Own the Podium program announced that he is stepping down from his post once his contract expires on April 15, 2010. Alex Baumann - Executive Director of the Summer Own the Podium program will assume the role of interim CEO. It is unknown who Baumann's replacement will be but speculation suggests that Anne Merklinger will likely be the succesful candidate.

B2Ten the incredibly succesful initiative that raised over $3 million dollars from corporate entities to support athletes at the 2010 Games is being expanded. The goal of the organization is to now raise $20 million dollars and support Canada's athletes through to the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Good article in the Guelph Mercury about how Athletic Canada is changing the way it funds its athletes http://news.guelphmercury.com/Sports/article/620283. Soon an a 18 year old athlete will be subjected to an easier standard for carding purposes than would be a 23 year old athlete and doubly more so than for a 28 year old athlete. No doubt that development initiatives for our younger athletes is important but imagine a professional sports team using the same analogy to select one of its teams. The end result would be a high school team competing against men. If only Athletics Canada saw things this way.

The financial figures for the Vancouver 2010 Games are starting to be released. It is expected that VANOC and its $1.56 Billion dollar operating budget will break even. However, what is not included amongst this figure is the $1 Billion dollar budget for Security and the $600 million dollars spent on sports infastructure. The citizens of Canada are paying this tab. And don't think that the citizens of Vancouver citizens are getting off easy. The City of Vancouver spent close to $4.5Billion to host the Games and the bill for the Province of British-Columbia will be close to $3.0 Billion. After everything is said and done Vancouver residents the citizens of B.C and the Canadian Taxpayer and will end up paying close to $8 billion dollars to host the games.

Randy Starkam on his Olympic Blog reported a figure from Bob Mackin of High Society that Gary Lunn's - the head of Sport Canada - hotel bill from Feb. 4 to March 1 in Vancouver and Whistler totalled $10,213.49, or an average of $392.83 a night. Lunn's predecessor in the role of Sports Minister is the now disgraced Helena Guergis who was asked to leave the Tory Caucus this week.


Yes quite the week.

Summer Envy

This past week Tracy Cobb of WinSport Canada provided the writer with a first hand look at construction of the $231 million athletic and ice complex on Canada Olympic Park. Construction is approximately 60% complete but already one can see the opportunities the facility will provide for the future of Canada's Winter Olympic Athletes.

Upon completion, the 500,000 square foot facility will contain two international size arenas, two NHL size arena's, a national high performance training centre, a public sport development centre, and a public market cafe. A 100,000 square foot office building overlooking the ice surfaces will be the home of Hockey Canada and other national sport organizations. The facility will also include a public school operated by the Calgary Board of Education allowing athletes to attend high school without having to leave the facility. Meeting and banquet rooms serving the needs of sport groups will be on site. And if not enough the entire facility will be built to the highest standard of environmental sustainability - LEED silver.

The athlete and ice complex, however, is just part of WinSport Canada's impact on Winter Sport development here in Canada. Athlete facilities managed by WinSport Canada on Canada Olympic Park include a 22 foot Super Halfpipe that is home to Canada's national snowboard team, a Freestyle Aerials and Moguls Course that is considered the most challenging on the world cup circuit, a Ski Jumping Training Centre - that is dubbed the best facility in North America, an Olympic Bobsleigh, Luge & Skeleton track that plays host to World Cup events on a regular basis, the Bob Niven Training Centre and Cross Country Ski Trails.

Then there are the facilities that WinSport manages away from Canada Olympic Park including the Olympic Oval - home of the world's fastest ice, the Bill Warren Training Centre home to Canada's cross country ski teams in Canmore, Alberta, the Spray Lakes Athlete Village, the Beckie Scott high performance centre on Haig Glacier and Camp Green on Farnhum Glacier.

Canada Olympic Park is a sports haven for our Winter Olympic athletes but after saying good-bye to Ms. Cobb sports envy started to set in. As one who is actively involved in the development of summer athletes here in Canada it became apparent that our athletes are offered little in comparison to what is offered in Calgary, Alberta. Canada's Summer Olympic Programs are scattered across the country, many who don't even provide a national training centre. The result is that the different sports are unable to learn from one another and the supportive services that are required to be successful are sorrily lacking.

Perhaps this explains why Canada won 14 Olympic gold medals in Vancouver, and Canada's Summer Olympic athletes won 12 Olympic gold medals in Beijing, Athens, Sydney and Atlanta......combined. Summer envy indeed

Rudge Resigns

The Canadian Olympic Committee announced today that Chris Rudge has resigned from his position of Chief Executive Officer.

Rudge who has held the role since 2003 will officially step down on April 15, 2010.

Since joining the organization in 2003 the performance of Canada's athletes on the Olympic Scene has improved. Canada's amateur athletes finished the Vancouver 2010 Games with an Olympic record 14 Olympic gold medals and a Canadian record 26 Winter Olympic Medals.


Changing attitudes within the COC, and creating programs to give the athletes the support they need, are two of the achievements Rudge feels the most pride over.


"At one time when I first got here, I think we were trying to be all things to all people," he said. "The COC was trying to do too much without focusing on three or four key priorities or objectives. I think we are a much more focused organization now on what we are about. Success in sport and our contribution to success in sport."


However, not unlike the business world who today is asked to judge a company CEO via the long term profitability of a firm as opposed to its short term share price , Rudge's impact on amateur sport should not be judged today but on where amateur sport is in 2020.


This after all is a man who was once President of Quebecor Printing Canada and precided over the acquistion of World Color Press in 1999 making the company the second largest printing company in the world . Some 9 years later Quebecor filed for Bankruptcy protection from its creditors.


Some feel that Rudge's impact on amateur sport will follow a similar path as that of Quebecor Printing. Paul Henderson of the IOC says that Rudge has sacrificed the future of amateur sport here in Canada by focusing on short term success as opposed to long term athlete development.


Time will tell. No doubt Canada's athletes were succesful in Vancouver - lets just hope they continue that success into 2020 and beyond. As Pat Fiacco mayor of the City of Regina and a high ranking boxing official notes, we can "Own the Podium" today but who will own it in Rio?"

Tara Who?

Who is Canada's best unknown amateur athlete. That distinction has to go to Tara Whitten.

The 30 year-old former cross country skier turned cyclist is now a two time world champion after taking up the sport only two short years ago. Currently a Ph.D student at the University of Alberta, Tara did what no other Canadian has ever done at the world cycling championships. She became the first Canadian to win two world championship titles in the same year by winning both the individual pursuit race and the soon to be introduced Olympic event - the omnium - a five race discipline consisting of a 200 metre time trial, individual pursuit, scratch race, points race and a 500m time trial. Tara is now only the third Canadian of all time to win world championship gold on a veledrome track. Imagine the possibilities in 2012 when between now and then the amount of time Tara will have spent in the sport will actually double.

Not sure if you heard but Adrian Spracklen is joining his father Mike as a coach with Rowing Canada. Adrian's duties are presently unknown but this blogger feels that Adrian will oversee the Lightweight Men's Program in Victoria, who are currently without a coach since the death of Bent Jensen in 2008. Prior to his arrival in Victoria, Adrian was the head rowing coach of Mercyhurst College - a division II school in the United States where he coaches a number of top lightweight men.

An unknown here in Canada - Adrian is well respected by his athletes. Bethany Brun a former team captain with the Mercyhurst Program called Adrian a "nice guy and wonderful coach." At the very least Adrian and his family will improve the scenery at Elk Lake in Victora. Adrian's adopted son Rowan won the "cutest kid" contest on an nation wide contest on ABC beating out 50,000 kids.

The question that remains within Rowing Canada circles is who will assist Al Morrow at the London Training Centre in London, Ontario. Rowing insiders speculate that Mike Thompson - a development (U23) coach within Rowing Canada will get the post. Another possible name being thrown around is that of Alison Dobbs - currently working with Mike in Victoria. Of course this is just mere speculation.

Change of Face

Never one to come to the defence of the Canadian Olympic Committee, this time around this blogger has no choice.

In today's Vancouver Sun writer John Korobanic talks about the social injustices associated with the bonus program that pays Olympic athletes for medal winning performances but doesn't do the same for Paralympic Athletes. www.vancouversun.com/sports/Funding+Forest+major+concern+after+bringing+home+five+medals/2717097/sto

ry.html

This blogger has the greatest of respect for our Paralympic athletes. They are incredible athletes and should be compensated in the same manner for their Olympic medal winning performances as were our able athletes. However, the basis of their facts and henceforth their anger is completely off base.

The Canadian Olympic Committee is responsible for Canada's participation at the Olympic Games. Meanwhile the Canadian Paralympic Committee is responsible for Canada's participation at the Paralympic Games. The distinction between the two programs is important.

It was the Canadian Olympic Committee who came forward with the bonus program that compensated our Olympic medal winning athletes to the tune of $20,000 for Olympic Gold, $10,000 for Olympic Silver and $5,000 for Olympic Bronze. Meanwhile, when it comes to our Paralympic athletes the decision to implement a bonus program their very own is at the discretion of the Canadian Paralympic Committee who decided to forgo the program all together.

Our Paralympic athletes should not be crying wolf over the perceived injustices of an Olympic bonus program but rather ask their very own Olympic Committee as to why they didn't follow the Canadian Olympic Committee's lead.

And if someone ever says it is on account of money, lets not forget that the Canadian Paralympic Committee was given $10 million dollars in the latest federal budget. The Canadian Olympic Committee's take was $0.

Top Six!

In a recent interview Alex Baumann - Executive Director of the Own the Podium program said that he would like to see Canada finish in the top six at the Summer Olympics. http://www.troymedia.com/?p=9257. This blogger agrees and goes a step further than does Baumann by saying that Canada has the ability to fullfil this lofty goal.

The Secret? Follow the path to success of Canada's Winter Olympic program.

Contrary to the belief of many - Canada's Winter Olympic program has not always been successful. In fact in the 1970's and early 1980's Canada Winter and Summer Olympic programs were following similar paths of futility. In fact at the 1984 Winter Olympics Canada won 3 Olympic medals. Today, Canada's winter athletes are among the most celebrated and recognized in the entire world winning a record 14 Olympic gold medals in Vancouver by following a simple but proven three point plan.

1) Creation of a Sport Institute - Canada may not have won Olympic gold in 1988 but the Calgary Olympics left an indeliable legacy on Canada's Winter Olympic Program. The Games led to the creation of a Winter Sports Institute where all of Canada's Winter Sport Organizations are now based in Calgary. No wonder then that 13 of the 26 Olympic medals that Canada won in Vancouver were won by athletes living and or training in Calgary. Unfortunately, no such facility exists for Canada's Summer Sport Organizations. Today Canada's Summer Sporting bodies are in locales all across this country.

2) Partnerships. Canada's Winter Sport Organizations have created partnerships with a number of agencies in Calgary who have greatly assisted in the success of Canada's Winter Athletes. For example - Speed Skating Canada has partnerships with the Canadian Sport Centre - Calgary who assists in providing the organization with nutritional services, life services, regeneration facilities and so forth. The partnerships don't end there. Speed Skating Canada works hand and hand with the Olympic Oval in Calgary who assists with coaching and development. And then there is the University of Calgary who assists with funding and many other related matters. With the implementation of the Own the Podium program, partnerships within Canada's Summer Sport Organizations are improving - in certain sports - but they still have a long way to go.

3) Be inclusive not exclusive. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Canada's Winter Athletes won medals in 10 of 15 disciplines. In Vancouver our athletes won medals in 9 of 15 Olympic disciplines. Meanwhile when it comes to the Summer Olympics Canada's sporting leaders want to focus on improving medal winning opportunities in a select few sports. The fact is that if Canada wants to finish in the top 6 at a Summer Olympiad it needs to win medals in a number of different Olympic disciplines.

Canada's Winter Sports organizations proved that Canada can finish in the top 6 of a Summer Olympics. Lets just hope they follow their lead.

The Fix

.............."Canada has the second best university sport system in the world. Unfortunately we live right next to the best," notes Swimming Canada CEO Pierre Lafontaine.

Acknowledging the strength of the Canadian University System there is no need to overhaul what is currently in place. What needs to be done is to strengthen the system so that it isn't perceived as the lowly alternative to an American juggernaut. Some minor changes will ensure that this is done.

The first of which is the age. With the exception of football - there isn't an age limit in CIS Sport. Comparatively NCAA Division I sport has an age limit of what is essentially 25 (there are some exceptions). An upper age limit ensures that the CIS system is focused on athlete development as opposed to a sporting alternative for athletes long past their expiry date. Too often in CIS Sport we find athletes who are past their prime but use CIS Sport to live out their playing days. An age restriction of 25 would help create a system that is focused on developing athletes.

Prohibit professional athletes from playing Collegiate Sport. NCAA is often mocked for the restrictions it places on its athletes but there is little argument that it is effective. NCAA Division I sport is seen as a stepping stone into professional sport leagues and Olympic teams. Comparatively, the Canadian system allows professionals and carded amateur athletes to compete in CIS sport. The result is that the focus on athlete development is blurred. Allowing 30 something carded amateur athletes to compete in CIS Sport does nothing to develop 18-22 year athletes in the training to compete stage of the long term athlete development model.

Compete - too often athletes are lured south by a big American media glamorizing U.S collegiate athletics as being a far superior product. The facts are that aside from Basketball and Football - Canadian universities have shown themselves capable of competing against their American counterpart time and time again. Increased cross border competition would emphasize to our athletes that you don't necessarily have to go south to find strong competition.

Scholarships - Another reason athletes go south is the glamour of a big U.S Scholarship. Athletes, however may be surprised to hear that Canadian Universities offer scholarships that cover the cost of tuition and books. There is no doubt that Canadian universities must offer more in terms of scholarship opportunities but educating athletes of the scholarship incentives offered here Canadian may reduce the exodus south.

Market - Market - Market. As opposed to staging the CIS Basketball championship on the same weekend as the NCAA Tournament why not have a CIS Championship weekend in one locale in early March. Having a CIS Championship weekend where the national championships for Basketball, Volleyball, Track & Field, Wrestling, Hockey, Swimming and Gymnastics are all contested in the same weekend in the same city would create a buzz that is seriously lacking in CIS sport today.

There are of course other changes that could be implemented but these small changes would go along way to restoring the CIS Sporting System.......

Canadian University Sport - Anyone Care?

What a weekend of Basketball. St,Mary's a 10 seed beat #2 seed Villanova today and a 9 seed from Northern Iowa shocked #1 seed Kansas. Then there were the buzzer beaters that seemed to be commonplace throughout the weekend. Or how about the braket buster victories from the likes of #11 seed Old Dominion on day 1 of the tounnament. The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament has begun!

And if the over 50 hours of television coverage on CBS, the 13 hour days on the Score, the NBA on ABC and TSN wasn't enough - somewhere through all of this on TSN2 there was the CIS Basketball Championship. Not to worry though if you didn't know because you aren't alone, because truthfully who really cares when even the CIS itself doesn't seem to.

How else can one explain that the pinnacle of men's basketball - the CIS Championship would be held on the same weekend as the start of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Wouldn't this be akin to planning a stag party for New Years Day, a movie release the night of the oscars or a hockey game on Game #7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Logistics aside, outside of football does anyone really care about CIS Sports anymore.

The fact is, Collegiate sports in Canada has become a haven for the over-aged athlete looking for that one last chance at competition. Case in point Mike Danton. Danton, a 29 year-old former NHL Hockey Player and felon after serving 5 years in prison for attempted murder, showed the flaws in the CIS system this past year when he played university hockey for St. Mary's Huskies.

Danton is the norm not the exception. In hockey, the majority of players are Canadian Hockey League rejects returning to university as 20+ athletes making it difficult for a 17 year old to compete. Meanwhile in the States the majority of players are up and coming pro's.

In football - the Hec Creighton Winner - Erik Glavic is a relatively young 23 years old but with 2 more years of eligibility and looking to return to school he won`t be finished his collegiate days until he is 25. Meanwhile in the States 22 year old Heisman Winner Sam Bradford is trying his hand at the NFL.

The facts are that CIS Sport is no longer relevant. Many of the nations best athletes leave Canada for the opportunity to compete in the high glamour world of NCAA Athletics. In a recent Globe & Mail article it is estimated that over 100 of our best basketball players have taken the skills south of the border. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/basketball/making-a-run-for-the-border/article1493032/. It is no different in other sports. In rowing, this blogger estimates that over 66% of the Canadian Olympic winning 8+ and Silver medal winning pair consisted of athletes from U.S Schools. Further those athletes that that are seen as the future in the sport (Colin & McCabe) attend school in the States. In Track & field the lone medallist from the 2008 Olympics attended school south of the border.


So how do we fix it........................

General Musings

Some General Thoughts......

Hard to believe that the Vancouver 2010 Games have been over for two weeks now. Despite the euphoria we all felt for our amateur athletes in Vancouver, things have certainly returned to normal in the sports media. Eric Guay wins the World Cup in the Giant Slalom, Kristina Groves is the World Cup Winner in Long Track Speed Skating, Jen Heil is the World Cup Champion in Moguls and the news barely makes it on to the back pages of the sports papers.


You may not have heard but arguably Canada's most dominant amateur athlete of all time retired this past weekend. Jeremy Wotherspoon, winner of 67 World Cup Races and the most dominant figure the sport has seen for the past decade is calling it quits. Some unfortunate instances at the Olympic Games may make Jeremy Canada's most under-appreciated athletes, but this man is a Canadian legend who should be inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame....immediately. Congratulations Jeremy on an outstanding career.


B2Ten. Likely haven't heard of them but their impact at the 2010 Games was incredible. Of the 14 Olympic Gold Medals that Canada won in Vancouver - 7 of them were impacted by this little unknown organization. B2Ten was founded by a group of private financiers looking to give our Winter Olympians the resources they needed in their drive to Vancouver - Sound familiar? The impact was profound. 50% of Canada's Olympic gold medallists were funded in part by this organization.


Own the Podium CEO - Dr. Roger Jackson is expected to step down from his post once his contract expires in June of 2010. His replacement is expected to be Alex Baumann.


How good are Alberta's Curlers. Not only were Canada's 2 Olympic Curling Teams from Alberta Alberta Teams have won the Brier - The Canadian Championship in the sport of Curling - 8 of the past 10 years. To give an example as to Alberta's true dominance in the sport after Kevin Martin and his Alberta Team decided to forgo this years Brier, Kevin Koe and his Alberta Team stepped right up. They ended up taking the 2010 Championship.

Political or Sport

It is no secret. Alex Baumann is expected to take over as CEO of the Own the Podium program shortly after the Paralympic Games. Dr. Roger Jackson who is the current CEO of the program is expected to step down when his contract expires in June 2010.

If the rumors are true and Alex Baumann is promoted to the role he has a tough decision to make in quick order. He has to decide if the Own the Podium program is a political program or a sports program.

Own the Podium is an enhanced form of sport funding - over and above a sports core funding - that rewards sports for success on the international stage. With a focus on excellence the one sport that has benefited the most from Own the Podium type funding is Alpine Skiing. However, Alpine Skiing has not produced a single Olympic medallist since 1993. Every other winter sport - aside from Ski Jumping and Luge - has had Canadian athletes stand on the Olympic podium since this time.

If Own the Podium is a sport program, why is it then that a sport like Biathlon (2 Olympic medals since 1993) receives little by way of Own the Podium funding while Alpine Skiing has benefited enormously ($10 million dollars in the last five years).

How about a sport like track & field. Following the 1996 Olympic Games the sport has seen but a single Canadian athlete stand on the podium but yet benefits enormously from Own the Podium type financing. Meanwhile, Canada men's wrestling program has been equally as successful as track & field in the course of the past 14 years but receives little.

The facts are that Alpine Skiing and Track & Field are sports that have a strong political presence. Meanwhile wrestling, and biathlon have limited presence in political forums. However, if the Own the Podium program is true to its mandate and it recognizes excellence -political importance should have little impact in determining funding.

We shall find out.

The Pressure is On

On Thursday the Federal Budget gave Canada's Summer Olympic Community what it has long been asking for. The resources to be succesful in London 2012. With $42 million dollars per annum now flowing into the Summer Own the Podium Program Canadians expect from their summer athletes what we witnessed from our Winter Athletes. Medals and lots of them.

Canada's sport officials have long stated that with the funds at its disposal Canada can expect a 12th place finish in the overall medal haul in London. After all we finished 14th in Beijing. Canada's athletes now have the funds and we expect our athletes to produce the results. However, the quesion this blogger has to ask...How?

In Beijing Cuba, placed 12th in the overall medal count with 24 medals. Canada won 18 medals. Canada has never finished a non-boycotted games with more than 22 medals, and over the course of the past two decades has averaged 15 Olympic medals per games.

To achieve its desired results Canada will rely heavily on the sports of Track & Field, Swimming, Woman's Wrestling, Trampoline, Diving, Rowing and Canoe Kayak to bring home the lions share of medals. But can these sports exceed on their performances in London?

Lets not forget that Rowing won 4 medals in Beijing - expecting more in London is a challenge. Woman's wrestling won 2 medals in 3 events. Our trampolinists won 2 medals in the sports only 2 events at the games. Our Canoe-Kayakers won 2 medals in Beijing. They have never won more than 3 medals at a non-boycotted games. Track & Field won a medal in Beijing, the sports first at an Olympic Games in over 12 years - is it fair to ask for more in London.

True, our swimmers are getting better but lets not forget that Canada won 2 medals in equestrian in 2008. A horse doesn't stay in his/her athletic prime for long and the hope here is that our swimmers can pick up the slack from our four legged friends in London.

In Thursday's budget Canada's Summer Olympic Community got what it wished for. There are no more excuses. Here is hoping that this prognositator is missing something and our athletes can deliver. Time will tell.

A Political Play

With a record setting performance at the 2010 Olympics still in the back of most Canadian minds, it is expected that Steven Harper will announce a two fold increase in government funding towards the Winter Own the Podium Program in tomorrow's budget.

Amateur sport enthusiasts applaud the move, however, this political play appears to be nothing more than a way for the Tory government to garner votes in an upcoming federal election.

For the past seven years Canada's amateur sport system has devoted almost every available resource towards Canada's Winter Sport system. From the construction of high performance facilities in Vancouver, increased sponsorship opportunities for our winter athletes, and of course the Own the Podium program - when Canada's winter sport system asks they recieve. And so when Canada's winter sports community asks for $22 million, the federal government steps up and delivers in a matter of days.

Comparatively, on the summer side of the equation the opportunities don't exist. It took two and 1/2 years of intense lobbying for the federal government to buy into the summer verson of the Own the Podium program. In 2008, it's first year of operation the federal government finaced the Summer Own the Podium program to the tune of $8 million dollars - less than 10% of what was initially requested. Some two years later Canada's Summer Own the Podium Plan is still underfunded. Financing for the program today is less than 50% of what was originally recommended back in 2006.

Meanwhile when the Own the Podium idea was still in its infancy Canada's winter sports community sought $110 million back in 2005. It recieved $120 million.

No one is suggesting that funding to the Winter Own the Podium program be reduced, however with the 2010 Games now complete shouldn't the focus be on providing our summer athletes with the necessary funds to be succesful in London.

Unfortunatly, Summer Olympians don't garner many votes these days. Hot off a record setting Olympics where Canadians rallied around their heroes it makes political sense to give our winter athletes what they want. For everyone else in Canada's amateur sports sytem.....get used to it.

Team of the Games

With all the talk of Olympic medals, Own the Podium, Ice Hockey Gold, and patriotism the one thing that might be lost amongst all of us is the performance of the Canadian Men's Cross Country Ski Team at the 2010 Olympics.

In Vancouver Canada's foursome of Ivan Babikov, Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey and George Grey set a series of national records the likes of which was totally unexpected. Consider:

• In the team sprint Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey narrowly missed the podium with a 4th place finish. Canada's best ever result in this race.

• In the 30km pursuit Canada had three men finish in the top ten - More than any other country in the world.

• Canada's 4 x 10km relay team finished in 7th place. Canada's best ever result in this race.

• In the 50km mass start - Canada's Devon Kershaw finished in fifth place less than 2 seconds behind the winner. Canada's previous best in this event was a 44th place finish.
  

If one were to evaluate a teams performance in terms of best ever finishes and national records the cross country team of Babikov, Kershaw, Harvey and Grey would have ranked ahead of every other Canadian sport and team at these games. However, in a Olympics where the Canadian public seemed fixated on Olympic medals the performance of this team seemed to fly under the radar.

Although they may have not won an Olympic medal this foursome certainly showed that Canada can compete with Scandanavian and Eastern European nations in nordic sports. Own the Podium may not care, but this blogger was truly impressed.

Congratulations!!!

Canada is in a festive mood today. Mens' Ice Hockey Gold, to complete the 2010 Winter Olympic Games with an all time record of 14 gold medals. Not bad for a country that had never won Olympic gold on home soil. Canada's athletes should be proud of themselves. We are certainly proud of them.


With the Games now complete the focus will soon turn to our Summer athletes and they have some big shoes to fill. In fact, let the results in Vancouver show that the disparity between our summer and winter athletes has never been as great as it is today. Consider that Canada has won 12 gold medals at the past four Olympiads in summer sports - fewer than what Canada won in Vancouver. Canada has won 50 Olympic medals at the past two winter Olympiads. At the past three Summer Olympiads Canada has won 44 medals. Canada won over 10% of all available medals awarded in Vancouver. At the past three summer games Canada has won fewer than 1.5% of medals awarded.

Lets enjoy Canada's success in Vancouver, but recognize that there are two groups of athletes in this country. Our Summer athletes deserve the same opportunities our winter athletes have received.

Let the Review Begin

Canada will finish the 2010 Winter Games with 26 medals - 13 of which are guaranteed to be gold and this number could still increase to 14 dependant upon the results of the Men's ice hockey final on Sunday. Let the results show that Canada has had a very succesful Winter Games.

In reviewing the results by sport we see that many sports have increased their medal count from four years earlier in Torino. The results by sport are as follows:

2 (1 maybe 2 gold) medals in ice hockey
2 (1 gold) medals in curling
5 (1 gold) medals in long track speed skating
5 (2 gold )medals in short track speed skating
2 (1 gold) medals in moguls
3 (1 gold) medals in bobsled
1 (1 gold) in skeleton
2 ( 1 gold) medals in snowboard cross
1 (1 gold) in ski cross
1 (1 gold) in snowboard slalom
2 (1 gold) in figure skating

Many sports improved on their medal count from Torino including ice hockey, moguls, bobsled, snowboard cross, moguls, figure skating and snowboard slalom. Those that fell include cross country skiing, skeleton and long track speed skating.

In the years to follow much will be made of these results. The Own the Podium program will be scrutinized and or celebrated for Canada's success.

But after all the facts are analyzed and the pundits have put away their pens the following synopsis should be made.

1) The results from Vancouver confirm that Own the Podium program was succesful in turning potential silver and bronze medal performances into gold. How else can one explain a record 13 (and counting ) Olympic gold medals in Vancouver nearly doubling the number of gold from four years earlier. However, the Own the Podium program failed to turn potential fourth and fifth place performances into podium finishes. Canada failed in its goal of being the #1 medal winning nation in Vancouver despite having the games on home soil, access to venues earlier & more often than any other nation, and countless other advantages.

2) Alberta based athletes won 14 of Canada's 26 medals in Vancouver, down from 16 medals in Torino. The biggest fall was in Canada's long track speed skating program where Canada won 3 fewer medals in Vancouver than it did in 2006. The fall in medal productivity can be attributed in part to the financial woes experienced by WinSport Canada in 2009 which resulted in budget cuts and long term staff being terminated from their duties with the Olympic Oval. Should Canada wish to continue with its medal superority in Succhi it is imperative that WinSport Canada have the financial resources it needs to operate on a go forward basis.

3) Canadian athletes had a phenomenal games but there is evidence that the system is starting to show cracks. The facilities in Calgary that are used to produce Olympic athletes are getting older, WinSport Canada is facing some tough financial times and should this continue there is a possibility that Canada's medal haul could decline - I.E think Long Track Speed Skating.

This blogger's recommendation going into 2014 is to scrap the Own the Podium program and utilize the savings to invest into the infastructure and operations of WinSport Canada. Doing so would create a legacy of success into 2014, 2018 and beyond.

Unanswered Questions

Weren't these the games in which Canada's athletes would no longer question the lack of resources that were available to them? After all we were told that the $110 million dollar Own the Podium program would take care of external issues and allow our athletes to focus on the task at hand. "Own the Podium is giving Canadian winter athletes the tools and the resources so that we too can deliver the performance of a life-time in 2010," noted cross country skier Brian McKeever.

Why is it then that Mike Douglas was eliminated from the Skeleton competition after he failed to have his sled ready for competition in the alloted time. After hearing about the news he questioned his coach saying "We should have checks in place. I think the head coach should be there to help with that. That didn't happen."

Why is it that after Denny Morrison failed to live up to expectations in the 1,500m in long track speed skating he questioned the training program. "It wasn't that I just got tired and started going slower. It was that I got tired and started skating worse. Is it something with my training program?"

There are others. The facts are that while Canadian athletes are performing admirably in Vancouver the Own the Podium program is not performing as expected. In fact, Canadian athletes showed in Torino that they can perform beyond expectations largely without an Own the Podium program.

Perhaps it is time to scrap the Own the Podium program and start investing into facilities that have a proven history of producing Olympic Medalists. Perhaps it is time that we used the monies from the Own the Podium program and restored the Calgary Olympic Facilities that have proven their ability to produce Olympic medalists. Just a thought.

Stand up and cheer Calgary

Today marks the half -way point of the 2010 Olympics and like we expected Canadian athletes are excelling. 8 Olympic medals to date, 4 of which are Olympic Gold. Canadians from coast to coast are rejoicing as a result.

Olympic Officials, journalists, and athletes credit the Own the Podium program for Canada's success in Vancouver. However, as reported in previous blog posts Canadians have been excelling at the Winter Olympic Games since 1998. In those Games Canada finished 5th in the overall medal count. In Salt Lake City we were fourth, four years later Canada finished 3rd in the medal count and in Vancouver we currently sit 5th.

Pull the veil a little further back and one will see an all too familiar trend emerging in Vancouver. Virtually all of Canada's medal winning athletes live and train in Alberta. Consider the following:

Jenn Heil - 2nd in the moguls is from Spruce Grove, Alberta

Michael Robertson - Silver in Snow Board Cross - Lives and trains in Canmore, Alberta

Christine Nesbitt - Gold in Long Track Speed Skating - Lives in Calgary

Jon Montgomery - Gold in Skeleton - Lives in Calgary

Kristina Groves - Bronze in the Woman's 3,000 in Long Track Speed Skating - Lives in Calgary

As for the other three medalists - two of them Alexandre Bilodeau and Maelle Ricker frequent the athletic facilities in and around Calgary regularly. And the company that manages these facilities is WinSport Canada.

As the rest of the country applauds the Own the Podium program isn't it time we recognized who is truly responsible for Canada's success at these Games. Stand up and Cheer Calgary! It is you and your Olympic Legacy who is truly responsible for Canada's success at these Olympic Games.

Setting the Record Straight

It is still early but Canadian athletes are excelling at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. After only Day 5 at the Games Canadian athletes have already broken a curse that has dogged the Canadian Olympic team since 1976, Olympic gold on Canadian Soil.

Up until these Games Canada had the dubious distinction of hosting 2 Olympic Games and never having won Olympic Gold on home soil. Alexandre Bilodeau and his performance in the moguls ensured that there would not be a 3rd time. And Canadian athletes are just getting started. Maille Ricker won gold in snowboarding on Tuesday and many more are to come.

However don't think that the performance of our athletes at the 2010 Games are the exception. For the past decade it has been the norm to see Canadian Athletes on the podium. Yet every time Canada wins a medal at these Games, journalists seem intent on reporting that there has been a change in attitude amongst our athletes.

In the past the typical Canadian attitude towards international competition aside from hockey was "we hope not to embarass ourselves," notes Stephen Brunt of the Globe & Mail. Note to Brunt, at the past three Winter Olympiads Canada has been recognized as the most dominant nation in the world in the sports of speed-skating and curling - not hockey.

Bob McCown of the fan 590 in Toronto reported on his show yesterday that there is a fundamental shift in the attitude of Canadian athletes at these games. He went on to add that the Own the Podium program has installed a winning attitude in our athletes. McCown - did you forget that Canada finished fourth in the overall medal count at the 2002 Olympic Games and 3rd in the medal count in 2006. Canada currently sits 5th at these Games.

Canada is having a great games and lets all hope that this continues, but lets just all remember that Canada has been winning medals at the Olympic Games for the past 14 years. 2010 is not an anomaly. It is just the first time that most journalists have taken the time to notice.

Owning the Podium

We've read all about it. Canada's winter athletes are poised to win more medals than ever before on account of a $120 million dollar Own the Podium program.

"Everyone recognizes that that has been an incredible success," says Roger Jackson, CEO of Own the Podium, the centrepiece of the new Canadian system.

"It would be fair to say that this will be a seminal moment in sport leadership in this country," adds Chris Rudge CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

However, is the Own the Podium the root cause of this success? Let's not forget that Canada's athletes have improved on their Winter Olympic Medal count at each successive Olympiad for the past 25 years. Further Canada finished third in the Winter Olympic medal count - 1 medal behind the United States - with 24 medals in Torino largely without an Own the Podium type program.

If Canada can win 24 medals at a Winter Olympiad without an Own the Podium type program is $110 million dollars a good use of funds to win an additional 6 projected medals in Vancouver? Is it possible to think that Canada could win 30 medals without an Own the Podium type program, after all Canada's success has steadily improved at each Olympiad? One would think that home soil should certainly assist in turning some of those near misses into medal winning performances.

Maybe just maybe the Own the Podium program isn't the driving force we have been led to believe regardless of how many medals we win in Vancouver.

Roger Jackson and Chris Rudge will certainly tell us otherwise.

Good Luck

A quick send out to all our Winter Olympic athletes who are presently putting the finishing touches on preparations.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

We as Canadians are proud of your courage to get this far and over the course of the next two weeks will certainly inspire millions of Canadians with your efforts.

Compete hard, but most of all enjoy yourself.

Excellence Redefined

At the recent Rowing Canada Coaches Conference, Alex Baumann - Chief Technical Officer and Sean Scott - High Performance Advisor of the Own the Podium Program spoke to conference delegates about the future of sport in Canada.

Baumman and Scott laid out a model for the future that focuses on sports excellence and delegates seemed to appreciate the new found approach after years of the "status quo". However, how one defines excellence is another matter in itself.

In the last decade Athletics Canada and Swimming Canada have seen two athletes, men or woman - Perdita Felicien and Brent Hayden - ranked #1 in the world. Meanwhile boxing has had four different men (Lucien Bute, Steve Molitor, Arturo Gatti and Jean Pascal ) who have been ranked at the very top of their sport.

But when one examines as to who benefits from the Own the Podium funding model we see that Athletics Canada and Swimming Canada are the beneficiaries at the expense of boxing. In 2009-2010 Athletics Canada and Swimming Canada are slated to receive $2,811,000 and $3,314,000 respectively in Own the Podium funding. Meanwhile, Boxing's take from the Own the Podium program is $0.

Basketball Canada produced arguably Canada's most dominant and successful athlete over the course of the last decade in Steve Nash. Meanwhile the Canadian Fencing Federation has never had an athlete stand on the Olympic podium and the sport while improving is a virtual after-thought of the Canadian public. However, it is the Canadian Fencing Federation who is the beneficiary of the Own the Podium funding model not Basketball. The Canadian Fencing Federation will receive $860,000 in sport funding in 2009-2010. Basketball $0.

Justin Morneau - became the second Canadian to win the MVP Award in Major League Baseball in 2006. Trampoline has never had a Canadian ranked higher than second in the world. No matter, it is trampoline that receives $960,000 in annual funding from the Own the Podium program . Baseball Canada gets nothing.

Perhaps it is time for the Own the Podium program to re-evaluate its definition of excellence.

"Giving Summer Their Due"

Canadian amateur athlete fans were bombarded this morning with reports about the apparent demise of our winter sports system following the conclusion of the Winter Olympic Games http://thestar.blogs.com/olympics/2010/02/roger-jackson-who-heads-own-the-podium-the-organization-designed-to-help-canada-win-the-medals-race-at-the-2010-winter-olym.html

Roger Jackson of the Own the Podium program notes in the article that the federal government will only commit to $11 million per annum towards the program following the games. The current level of funding is $29 million. However, what Jackson fails to note is that the Own the Podium program as originally designed should have only received $11 million in funding from the federal government. All remaining funds were to come from private donations. With the games now over, the federal government is being asked to make up the shortfall from private donations as opposed to the program finding corporate support.

Meanwhile on the summer side of the equation, the Summer Own the Podium program as designed requested $84 million dollars in federal funding. They however, currently only receive $8 million dollars in federal funding with a bump to $16 million next year.

Rather than have Canada's winter sport bodies lobby for more than what they were originally intended to receive shouldn't we first look at the shortfall faced on the summer side of the equation. Our winter athletes have received more than their fare share in funding for the last five years. It is time that our government started recognizing that there our summer athletes equally deserving.

The Colbert Factor

Anyone following US Speed Skating as of late. The organization has found itself a partner in Steven Colbert - host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report - and in the process has become a media darling heading into Vancouver. The lesson is one that Canadian Sport Organizations should emulate

In October of 2009 with the Vancouver 2010 Games still four months away US SpeedSkating was in dire need of cash after its biggest sponsor Dutch Bank DSB went under. With $300,000 in corporate sponsorship suddenly gone - US Speedskating was in need of a white knight and Colbert was happy to fill that role....but not in a financial sort of way.

Colbert agreed to promote the sport on his show and encourage viewers to donate money to the team. In return US SpeedSkaters would wear Colbert Nation logos on their skinsuits. Without any other plan in place US Speedskating jumped at the opportunity and donors have responded. More than 9,000 individuals have donated money (average donation is $30) and the organization has raised close to $300,000. Further, traffic on the sports website has increased two fold and the skaters are garnering huge amounts of media attention.

The success of the Colbert initiative gives light to Canadian Sport Organizations as to how they can raise money. Instead of relying on handouts from traditional sources sport organizations have to start appealing to their fan base. Post video of athletes looking for money on the organizations webpage. Show video from recent competitions. Get athletes to write blogs about their daily trials. Get the fan base involved!. Today the webpage of most sporting organizations here in Canada is bland and boring. Start appealing to the base of your sport.

By interacting with the sports base not only will interest increase but so to will corporate donations.

Nothing Changes

Great article the other day in the Vancouver Sun about how Canada's politicians are queue jumping and using tax payers money to secure tickets to Olympic events. http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Politicians+score+seats+events+before+public/2480201/story.html

While extremely disturbing to not only the tax paying public the aforementioned article goes to show how all levels of government are using amateur sport. In 2002 federal ministers spent over $397,000 at the 2002 Winter Olympics, which exceeded the budget of many of Canada's National Sport Orgranizations. The article shows that nothing has changed regardless of which political party is in office.

Wouldn't it be nice if all levels of government invested public monies on our amateur athletes, rather than try to fatten their egos. This blogger thinks so.

Finance for Dummies

Imagine what $104.9 million could do for Canada's Summer Athletes. It would provide the Summer Own the Podium program with resources it requires for the next four years. It would give Canada's amateur athletes a five fold increase in sport funding. The interest alone would give Canada's Summer Sport Organizations an across the board 50% increase in sport funding.

Needless to say Canada's Summer Sport Organizations won't be recieving these monies but this amount of money is exactly what VANOC invested in creating the state of the art Whister Sliding Centre on Whistler-Blackcomb. Following the conclusion of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics the center was to be operated by by the Whistler Legacies Society and help in the future development of all sliding sports in and around the local area. That was the hope.

Unfortunately, the $104.9 million dollar investment was utilized to create a facility on lands owned by Intrawest; a company whose assests are in the process of being foreclosed upon. Presently Intrawest is in default of a $524 million dollar debt payment prompting lenders to seek buyers for the company's assets including the $104.9 million dollar sliding center.

Currently the assets are scheduled to be auctioned off on Feb 19, 2010 which would certainly be an unwelcome disruption to the Winter Olympics. The likelihood of the auction affecting the games themselves is minimal. However, the taxpaying citizens of Canada, British Columbia and Canada's amateur athletes should be questioning VANOC. Anyone in finance will tell you that investing money on property owned by an independant third property is not a sound financial decision. Why was this lost on VANOC?

After the games are over, VANOC's responsabilities will be over, but the impact of this will be felt for a long time. $104.9 million is alot of money in Canada's amateur sporting system and could certainly be put to use. Unfortunately, these monies will be left to the control of Wall Street and they will determine what use it will be to them.

Fat Nation

For the last decade Canada's Sporting Officials have been lobbying the federal government for increased funding on the premise that increased funding will lead to more medals which in turn will motivate Canadians to get involved in sport.

"I think they understand what we're saying. The critical point is to link the health of Canadians with active lifestyles - it would take a burden off the health budget if more Canadians were involved in sport. And one of the links that accomplishes that is the link of high-performance athletes getting on the podium. Every time that happens, the number of kids involved in physical activity goes up." notes Alex Baumann Executive Director of the Own the Podium Program.

For this blogger the link between Olympic medals and a healthy society was always a poorly contrived theory. Think about it. Using the logic of Canada's Sporting Leaders, municipalities and provinces should pump millions into the CFL or NHL because a championship run, after all, would get kids active. However, despite how irrational the theory was, the federal government seeminly bought it, until maybe now.

A couple of weeks ago, the Canadian Press reported that all Canadians were fatter than they were in 1981. The report went on to add that there was a three fold increase in child obesity since 1981. http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gVB3NH3D7S2U3Qn-1e2OvnCCVDcA.

The logic of which wouldn't make much sense if you listened to Canada's Sporting Officials. In 1981 Canada boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, and won only 2 medals at the Winter Olympics that very same year. Some 30 years later Canada is poised to win a record number of medals at the 2010 Olympics and returned home from the 2008 Summer Olympics with 18 medals. And yet despite Canada's success at the Olympics, Canadians are fatter, less active and we as a nation are facing a health epidemic as a result.

Here is a thought. Maybe it is time that we as a nation invested in opportunities for our youth. Like Recreation Centres. Just a thought.

Dirty Dick Pound

Richard Pound is at it once again. Speaking to a business conference in B.C. on Monday January 10, 2010, Richard Pound called figure skating a "nightmare sport" and said figure skaters can't be sure that their sport is immune from judging scandals.

"I don't see much improvement," Pound told the Vancouver Sun, "You don't know what's going through (the judges') minds. It's so corrupt that the judging is anonymous."

While it isn't surprising that Pound would make another ridiculous comment without any real evidence before him, what has become tiresome is Pound's manner for seeking out publicity. Has anyone noticed that Pound reserves his comments until the press actually cares about amateur sports so his image can make front page headlines across the country.

Think about it. In early 2004 - a few short months before the onset of the Athens Games and at the height of Lance Armstrong's popularity here in North America Pound remarked that "the public knows that riders in the Tour de France are doping". Just before the cauldron was lit at the 2004 Games in Athens Pound accused USA Track of being "largely responsible" for doping. In January of 2006 - a few short weeks before the onset of the Olympic Games Pound noted that a third of NHL hockey players were on performance enhacing drugs. And in 2008, on the second day of competition at the Beijing Games when asked about China's human rights record Pound remarked that "Canada was a land of savages".

However, while Pound sits and passes out accusations he should look at himself first. In an article written by Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post she notes the following, "Pound was vice president of the IOC and a representative of the Canadian delegation in 1988 when his countryman, Ben Johnson, was stripped of his gold medal for testing positive for steroid use. Pound was a public defender of Johnson's, arguing that he was essentially innocent, had been manipulated into taking an illegal drug unwittingly. "I'm certain he didn't know," Pound said. "I don't think he has the faintest idea what it's all about." He also said that Johnson had a "guilty body" but not the guilty intent that would have convicted him in a court of law. Johnson later confessed he had used steroids since 1981."

Some time thereafter, Pound became known as an outspoken critic of corruption within the IOC, while at the same time supporting the leadership of IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch.


Later as President of the World Anti Doping Agency Pound's agency was a benefector of his board and the Canadian tax-payer. In 2002, Hon Paul Devillers, the then Minister of Sport to Paul Martin, sat as a member on the board of directors of the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA). As a board member with WADA, Devillers was quoted as saying that anti-doping in sport was part of his mandate. In that year, Sport Canada approved a $1.5 million grant to the World Anti Doping Agency to move their head office to Montreal, Quebec - Pound's home town at the time. This was in addition to $315,000 in operation funding that very same year.






Perhaps it is time that Pound kept his mouth shut and he focused on cleaning up his own act.
Just a thought.

Hiring Process

In professional sports, the general manager is the most influential and scrutinized individual as he decides how the owner's money is spent. It is the General Manager who is often the difference between a succesful franchise and an abysmal one. In amateur sport, the executive director is often the individual faced with making the difficult decisions and is equally as important to the well fare of the organization as is the general manager in professional sports. Recognizing this, one would hope that the quality of individuals hired for an executive director role in amateur sports would be equally impressive as that of a general manager in professional sports. You decide for yourself.

In 2009, the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Brian Burke to be it's general manager. A former hockey player and Harvard Law Graduate, Burke was first hired by the Vancouver Canucks in 1987 as their Director of Player Operations. In 1992, Burke accepted a position with the NHL front office as Senior Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations. In 1998, Burke left the NHL Head Office to accept a position with the Vancouver Canucks as the team's President and General Manager. Following a six year stint in Vancouver, Burke accepted the General Manager's job in Anaheim where he won a Stanley Cup in in 2007. In 2008, he was recognized by his peers as the league's most outstanding GM before departing for greener pastures in Toronto in 2009. In addition to his role with the Toronto Maple Leafs Burke is also, the Executive Director of USA Hockey.

In 2009, the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association hired Tamara Medwidsky as it's executive director. Tamara was a Collegiate Wrestler with Concordia University winning two national titles in 2000 & 2001. Following graduation, Tamara made an attempt to represent her country at the 2004 Olympics. However, after a dispute in which she filed a legal challenge with the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Asscoation over the selection process of a World Cup Team in 2003, Tamara left the sport in 2004 and accepted a role with Football Canada as a Program Coordinator. Following a three year stint with Football Canada, Tamara returned to Wrestling Canada as a Team Manager. After two years as a Team Manager - Tamara was promoted to the role of Executive Director in 2009.

In 2009 Hockey Canada hired Steve Yzerman to be Executive Director of Canada's Men's Olympic Hockey Team. A 22 year career with the Detroit Red Wings - where he served as the team's captain for 20 of those years - Yzerman retired in 2006 after winning three Stanley Cups and an Olympic Gold Medal at the 2002 Olympics. In 2007, Yzerman was named to the role of Vice-President of the Detroit Red Wings where in 2007-2008 he helped guide the team to it's fourth Stanley Cup in 15 years. In addition to his role with the Red Wings, Yzerman was General Manager of Hockey Canada at the 2007 IIHF World Championships where the Men's team won gold. Yzerman was appointed executive director of Hockey Canada's Men's Olympic Team in September 2008.

Perhaps these decisions show why some amateur sports organizations in Canada fail while others aspire to greatness. You be the judge.

VANOC's Lead!

Congrats to VANOC with their latest initiative. As part of it's Northern Outreach Project VANOC in association with the Canadian Forces and the United Nations Association of Canada, helped see the distribution of sporting goods equipment to 20 northern communties across Canada today.

The sports gear — donated by Nike as well as the NHL's Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames teams will hopefully foster more play in northern communities, which in turn will lead to increased participation in sport.

This blogger is ecstatic with the initiative and can only hope that sport organizations, their athletes and professional sporting teams here in Canada follow VANOC's lead and get involved with projects of this nature going forward. As we are aware, physical inactivity is a serious concern here in Canada. It is widely acknowledged that Canadians are increasingly struggling with obesity and other health complications associated with inactivity , which is taxing our national healthcare system to a serious degree. The Conference Board of Canada states that healthcare spending because of physical inactivity ranges from $2.1 billion to $5.3 billion annually.

Situations are equally as dire in the United States, which is why the National Football League, and it's players have launched a multi million dollar national campaign titled "Play 60" encourgaging children of all ages to be actively engaged in sport for 60 minutes a day.

While only small in comparison to the NFL's "Play 60" program, the VANOC initiative is a start, and with time the hope here is that a small step today encourages all Canadians to actively promote sport. I know that VANOC has encourged me. Tonight I am going to flood the community rink. What can you do?

Own the Podium

Own the Podium, introduced in 2005, was designed to get Canada's winter athletes on the Olympic and Paralympic podium more often than had ever been seen before. This would be achieved by prioritizing sport funding based on a sport's potential for success; those sports with a high opportunity of success would be given additional resoucres at the expense of other sports. The initiative at the time was seen as radical for a country whose system for funding amateur sports was seen as largely egalitarian.





In Vancouver, Canada's Winter Olympic and Paralympic Athletes are projected to win more medals than ever before, and for some this level of success is attributed to the Own the Podium program itself. Detractors say that the benefits and failures of the program won't be known until the 2014 and more likely the 2018 Winter Games.





Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with Own the Podium initiative, after reading a splendid article - The Games of our Lives by Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated -
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1163721/index.htm - should the Own the Podium program be applied to Paralympic Sport. This blogger says no.





Not to suggest that our Paralympians don't deserve the same opportunity to succeed as our able body athletes; they do. However, after reading the aforementioned article it is apparent that the Paralympics are more than just winning medals and medal counts and as such the athletes deserve a sport funding program their very own. Our Paralympians deserve a sports program that recognizes the challenges they face just to reach the starting line as opposed to a funding program that examines an athletes placing at the finish line.



Disagree.....read the article.