September 28/98 11:54 am - Award, CCA News, CCSD, Ontario

Posted by Editor on 09/28/98
 

We Have Been Recognized

We were very pleased to receive an e-mail stating that Canadian Cyclist has been chosen as a Website of the Week by Yahoo! Canada. Whomever nominated us, thank you - we are appreciative. You will see a link to Yahoo! Canada at the top of our site.


1999 Mountain Nationals Up for Grabs

We have in our possesion a fax stating that the `99 Mountain Bike Nationals, previously slated for Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, have been pulled from that site, and that the Canadian Cycling Association is "requesting submissions ... for the 1999 National Mountain Bike Championships.

The letter goes on to say: "The CCA is looking for submissions from a "major metropolitan centre" or more commonly defined as an "A" market, to host the 1999 Mountain Bike Championships."

The scuttlebutt is that the CCA wants the nationals to be in Ontario - either Toronto area or the National Capital Region - to meet the wishes of their major sponsor. If you are interested in bidding, you have until Friday (October 2nd) to get your "expression of interest" into the CCA.

In other CCA developments: it looks like there is a movement afoot to create an Events Department within the CCA, which would take venue selection approval away from the Development Committee. The Events Department would be created by the Executive of the Board (which is also about to get smaller, we hear). The Board (as a whole) would not have a say in the creation of this Department, and the Department would select events based on its own criteria. Can you say consolidation of power...?

P.S. There are cheap tickets going for Charlottetown, PEI - book now if you want to be at the CCA AGM!


ROGER SKILLINGS NAMED NEW PRESIDENT OF COMMONWEALTH CENTRE FOR SPORT DEVELOPMENT

VICTORIA (Monday, September 28, 1998) - Roger Skillings of Victoria, a lifelong British Columbia resident, veteran sports administrator and community leader, has been named President of the Commonwealth Centre for Sport Development, the multi-sport athlete training centre and sports institute created out of the legacy of the XV Commonwealth Games held in Victoria in 1994.

Skillings, who holds a Master of Science in Sport & Recreation Administration from the University of Oregon and has contributed to the community as a school board trustee, teacher, physical education department head, recreation manager and sport consultant, is best-known as the current Chief Executive Officer of the B.C. Games Society, the provincial event management group which serves five multi-sport games, including the B.C. Summer Games and B.C. Winter Games.

The 48-year-old Bachelor of Education graduate from the University of Victoria follows in the footsteps of Ken Shields, who served as the inaugural President of the Commonwealth Centre for Sport Development from December of 1994 to June of 1998. Shields, the former seven-time CIAU national champion coach of the U.Vic. Vikes and national team coach, resigned earlier this year to return to coaching with Tokyo Daiwa Securities of the Japanese Basketball League (JBL).

"In Roger Skillings, we have a new President who is recognized as a dynamic leader with solid credentials and significant accomplishments at all levels of the sport development system in British Columbia," said Terry Farmer, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Commonwealth Centre for Sport Development. "We believe his wide-ranging experience and leadership expertise is the perfect complement to the vision of our organization in athlete services and sport development. He‚s the right candidate to take us into the new millennium and we‚re absolutely delighted with his appointment."

Farmer indicated Skillings is busy preparing for the proper transition in leadership at the B.C. Games Society and will join the Commonwealth Centre for Sport Development on October 19th, 1998.

"I‚m very pleased to have the opportunity to serve the Greater Victoria community and the provincial and national sport systems as President of the Commonwealth Centre for Sport Development," said Skillings. "Given the comprehensive vision and ambitions of the organization and its stakeholders at the local, provincial and national levels, along with our coaches and athletes, this is a tremendous and exciting challenge."

Farmer and Skillings said the overall mission of the Commonwealth Centre for Sport Development -- to provide world-class programs and services to leading Canadian athletes residing and training in Greater Victoria while working with its local, provincial and national partners in the area of long-term sport development -- will remain unchanged. However, with four National "Line" Centres, two national training groups and five Regional "Line" Centres established in a total of 11 major sports, an increasing focus will be placed on local public-private sector partnerships designed to support both new and upgraded facilities.

The new President expects a fifth National "Line" Centre to be announced sometime this fall. In the meantime, the priorities include expansion of highly-touted athlete programs such as SPORTGRAD athlete education, CAREERGOAL athlete employment & career management, SPORTHOUSE athlete accommodation, TOOLKIT professional & personal development services and GYMWORKS, the athletes training network made possible through the support of 22 local gymnasiums, community centres and health clubs.

Skillings joins the multi-sport centre after 10 highly successful years as CEO of the B.C. Games Society, where he was responsible for the generation of up to $2 million annually in cash and services and the supervision of all aspects of event management, including planning, budgeting, financial administration, operations and corporate sponsorship. During his time, the B.C. Games Society established meaningful linkages with dozens of communities throughout the province and earned a reputation for volunteer empowerment and mentorship. His previous career highlights include sport administration with the Recreation & Sport Branch of the Government of British Columbia, his time as recreation manager for Oak Bay Parks & Recreation, serving as a school board trustee in Greater Victoria and teaching at George Bonner Junior Secondary School.

The Commonwealth Centre for Sport Development was created out of the legacy of the XV Commonwealth Games held in 1994 in Victoria. Two-thirds of its $2.3 million annual budget results from public and private partnership funds -- including corporate sponsorship and national, provincial and local sport partners -- while the balance is generated through the Canada Commonwealth Legacy Fund (CCLF). The CCLF was created out of a seed grant of $10 million from Sport Canada and an additional $5 million in surplus from the highly-successful Commonwealth Games.


Haliburton Forest MTB Festival - September 26-27
(courtesy Mike Badyk)

Once again the Haliburton Forest attracted a large crowd of riders for a weekend full of trail fun. Saturday morning saw the events begin with a Hill Climb up the Redstone Vista, a nasty piece of trail by all accounts. Dave Tomsic (Schwinn/Toyota) pulled off the fastest time with a spectacular 4 minutes and 40 seconds. Other Saturday events were the Weight Pull, Plank Ride and Bike Toss, but the real highlight was the infamous Haliburton Puddle Jump. Riders sacrificed themselves, but mainly their clothing, to try and see who could get the farthest. The overall winner was Brady Edworthy with a distance of 35 feet. Check out the Photos Page on the W.O.W. website (www.wowmtb.com) for a bunch of pictures.

Saturday's Night Ride was cancelled due to a thunderstorm that produced tons of rain, knocked down trees and knocked out the power for 10 hours. Just surviving the storm was an adventure! The excellent trail conditions of Saturday obviously took a turn for the worse. Due to this, the Sunday route was shortened to 44km from 50km. The Enduro and Poker Ride crowd of just under 200 was fortunate enough to be greeted with sunny skies, a refreshing breeze and warm temperatures. The first trail encountered, the infamous Normac Trail, a challenge in the best of weather, became a true test of determination, with some riders taking over an hour to cover this 5km stretch. Most of the route was in great shape, despite the rain, thanks to the hard work of the Haliburton Forest trail crew. Riders emerged from the woods over the next 6 hours to a warm welcome at Base Camp.

Overall Enduro champ, and winner of $500, for the men was Dave Tomsic in 2:16, with Howard Knapp in 2nd at 2:25:11, just ahead of Yens Thalenhorsh in 3rd at 2:25:25. In a very close race for the $500 first prize, the Women's victor was Melanie Hill at 3:33, with Amy Plint in 2nd at 3:37 and Debbie Bruce at 3:39. The Poker Ride winner was John Hochfellner who drew a Flush to walk away with $500 in cash. Full results are available on the W.O.W. website.

If you're looking for a place to ride real wilderness trails, then Haliburton Forest is the place. Thanks to all of the staff at the Haliburton Forest for running a great event. Thanks also to the volunteers from Hocking College (Ohio) Eco-Tourism program for staffing the check points. See you next year!