The Leading Edge Mar 2011

BRITISH COLUMBIA SPEED SKATING ASSOCIATION!

MARCH 2011

The Leading Edge

The S pe nc e fa m i ly m a d e a b i g im p r e s s io n t h i s ye ar in s pe e d sk at i ng . T o r i an d Jo s i e r o c k e d t h e Canada Winter Games while their younger siblings Eric and Sara set National Records.

Table of Contents

Notes from the Editor

Winter Games................2

It’s quite a thing to have an open forum where I can jot down thoughts and you are my captive audience...hehehe. A dream come true. All kidding aside though, the photo above gives me reason to

CWG results..................3 Icebreakers.....................4 River City Racers..........5 Richmond Rockets.......6 Long Track.....................7 Burnaby Haida..............8 WSBCST Results..........9 Ridge Meadows.............11 History of CWG...........12

pause and remember the contributions of Owen Spence. He was one of a kind and his selﬂess dedication to his family and to speed skating should never be forgotten. He would have been very proud of the family he has carrying on in his name.

Next Issue: June 2011 Sylvia Lindgren

[email protected]

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MARCH 2011

BC SPEED SKATERS ROCK THE WINTER GAMES

BC’s speed skaters enjoyed a tremendous experience at the 2011 Canada Winter Games February 11- 17. TEAM BC skaters achieved their best-ever finish for speed skating with a total of 8 medals including 3 golds, 1 silver and 4 bronze. lead and wanted the win but were just a little slower than Quebec.
8) An opening ceremony that athletes universally loved even though it had one manager plugging his ears trying to limit hearing loss.

Team members were: ST – Courtney Shmyr, Michelle MacKay, Jesse Keca, Jamie Macdonald, Robyn Kempers, Tim Hempsall, Mitch Kupchanko, Thomas McLennan, William McLennan and Jordan Rosborough. LT – Tori Spence, Sarah Pousette, Josie Spence, Alison Banwell, Jamie Inglis, Aedan Giffin, Braden Clouthier and Phillip Shrimpton

Coaches- Nancy Goplen, Debby Fisher Managers – Jacques Thibault, Keith Gordon Apprentice Coach – Chris Acton
9) BC’s delegation being led by a speed skater

as flag bearer– Tori Spence.
10) BC’s short track girls all being, in all events, top 15 of 49 participants!
11) Super 1500’s finals having 2 BC girls in the A and 2 in the B finals.
12) Super 1500’s finals having 2 BC guys in the
B finals.
13) The Spence sisters being interviewed live on TSN by anchor Catriona LeMay-Doan
14) Wonderful support for BC speed skaters from the attentive mission staff – Michelle Collens (a super fan herself who was in charge of BC’s opening ceremonies line up and the pep rally) and Dave Newson.
The games experience included lots of highlights – in no particular order:
1) Universal appreciation for BC’s stylish skin-suits – kudo’s to the creators.
2) Travel that went on schedule !!! (survivors of Whitehorse will be impressed).
3) Luxurious accommodation in a fancy hotel!
– does anyone remember the mud at Corner Brook and the wash trailers?
4) Fantastic LT ice with a refrigerated track that was always in great shape and within walking distance of the Athlete’s village – no venue buses for LT’ers
5) Television coverage of the 500 m short track, the super 1500’s and relay finals
6) The thrill of gold medals by Tori Spence in the 3000 m LT, Courtney Shmyr in the 500 ST and the ladies Team Pursuit.
After the cheers died down the reflections started. What caused our team to win twice as many medals as we won in 1995?

7) BC girls being full value for a silver medal in the ST relay – they challenged for the
Obviously the answer is that the top athletes that BC sent were stronger. They were stronger for several reasons including that their home clubs are

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MARCH 2011

being more effective in mental

I can’t help looking ahead to

and physical preparation. Other Prince George and wondering factors would be that the about all our 10 to 14 year old coaching for Team BC has been skaters (some of whom recently in place for an extended time – several years running camps open to CWG age skaters. did very well in Winnipeg) and what they might be doing in 2015. It seems like we need to
Coaches have built a relationship continue on with better physical with the athletes and with one preparation, high levels of another with a team approach to competition, testing, attending athlete development. A team camps and building relationship built throughout the enthusiasm. All coaches need to years leading up to the Games look beyond the borders of their

Four excited T e am BC members head to Halifax ( Robyn Kempers, Sardis; Miche " e MacKay, Thomas McLennan,

and Wi " iam McLennan, Ridge Meadows ) . allowed the coaches to know the club, continually raise the bar
Calgary based athletes much and be innovative with training. better. Training camps with an In addition, the bridge between emphasis on technique, pursuit Calgary based athletes and CWG training and team building helped coaching staff is very important foster a strong contingent. There for CWG results. And, if clubwas an attitude. The team went there to race, not simply to be a “tourist” athlete. Jacques Thibault was very positive and insisted that the team was going based coaching can be working with the CWG coaching staff on shared goals it will be even stronger.

to be good and made outrageous Congratulations to all the athletes predictions of medal totals that proved well founded. Positive vibes and expectations lead to positive results! that represented BC so well. Keith Gordon

T o ri Spence carried the ﬂag for the BC team at the Canada Winter Games held in Halifax.

Canada Winter Games Results

LT: Tori Spence: ꢀꢀ

Gold in the 3,000m, Bronze in the 1000m and 1500m

LT: Josie Spence: ꢀ ꢀ

Bronze in the 3,000m

LT: Ladies Team Pursuit: ꢀ

Gold

ST: Courtney Shmyr:ꢀ

ꢀ

Gold in the 500m and Bronze in the 1,500m

ST: Ladies Relay Team:ꢀ ꢀ

Silver

In addition our skaters earned over 30 top 10 ﬁnishes making these the BEST ever results for BC speed skaters at any CWG! Congratulations to our Athletes and Coaches.

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MARCH 2011

Salmon Arm Ice Breakers

The Salmon Arm Icebreakers are enjoying a fun, exciting season. The club participated in meets in Kamloops and Kelowna in 2010 with some great times posted . Alyssa Skaalid skated in Calgary and earned an invitation to the Canada Winter Games qualifier in Kelowna .
This January a large group of skaters from the
Icebreakers skated at the 5th Annual Long Track Speed Skating Event in Logan Lake on Owen‘s Oval. The club skaters took home many medals and the club won back the cup. Alex Seal also competed in and won the Logan Lake Polarthon skate-run-ski event the same day.
The Icebreakers recently competed in Vernon’s
Interclub competition bringing home many medals ,

Coaches Joanne Keigan and Mike Ha " $ o m the Salmon Arm Icebreakers hold the Loga n Lake Owen’s Oval Cup.

personal bests and racing firsts. The Masters Relay Challenge Cup race was won by the Salmon Arm team of Cherlyn Drew, Alex Seal , Glen Waneck, and Rick Hofmann . Winning the race locks up the win of the cup for Salmon Arm this year.
Alyssa Skaalid posted some great times and placed well in Mackenzie’s Need For Speed Race on Feb 19th . Rick Hofmann is currently in Calgary at the
World Masters meet and sure to skate well.
All season long the club has enjoyed skating in Mini-Meets in Vernon and many club skaters participate in a competitive practice session with Vernon. Many thanks to Pete Kapak. The Salmon Arm Ice breakers are now looking forward to the Handicap 500 Challenge to be skated over two dates along with Vernon and both Clubs from Kamloops . It looks to be a lot of fun .
Cheers Darlene Ogilvie

For more photos of the Logan Lake
Meet see

www.sandesphotos.smugmug.com

Thanks to Sandra deVries .

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MARCH 2011

River City Racers Setting National Records

The Kamloops River City Racers have had great season so far. Our skaters have attended many interclubs which have produced better times for every skaters. We have had a good turn out in our fall learn-toskate and an even greater turn out in the Winter session. interested in participating just ask one of our club members for more information for check out our website.

2011 National Longtrack Champions:

Sara and Eric Spence travelled to Winnipeg where they each skated to win the overall all-round National Champion title. Sara skated to four first place finishes (all new Canadian Records) and a second place finish. Eric skated to three first place finishes (all new

Highlights so far have been:

The Logan Lake LOop (which our

southern longtrack interclub meet) has a ritual of the Points Cup We had a great turnout of competitors and this years winners of the Points Cup were the Salmon Arm Blades. Congratulations! All of our skaters came away with some type of award and there were a lot of smiles on faces. This competition offers great learning exposure to longtrack or even to their first competition.
Canadian Records). We are very proud of these two young skaters and their accomplishments.

The Polarthon saw its largest

registration of competitors ever. The Polarthon consists of running, crosscountry skiiing, skate events. We had teams of 2-4 or individuals who complete the entire circuit. Many prizes were handed out at the end of the competition which were donated from local business around the community of Kamloops. It is a fun event held every year…so if you are

Eric and Sara Spence skated record times to become National Longtrack Champions.

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MARCH 2011

T h e R i c h m o n d R o c k e t s

On the Anniversary of the 2010 Winter Olympic group that sparked the start of something Games, the City of Richmond and Richmond bigger than even they had imagined. The Oval hosted celebrations to honour our Richmond Rockets have a new dream; to grow Canadian athletes for their accomplishments. and live on at the Richmond Olympic Oval! Some lucky skaters from around the lower The Rockets have been fortunate to be skating mainland were able to share in this celebration out of the Oval this season. With much hard

with Kristina Groves and Denny Morrison!

work and a good look at the program offered to

our skaters in the past, our next season promises to better address the needs of all skaters and the community.
As Kristina and Denny relived some of their memories from the 2010 Olympics, the group of young skaters were able to meet and skate with them. It was a wonderful event for all The Richmond Rockets and the Richmond those involved and we thank Kristina, Denny, Olympic Oval were also host to the High the City of Richmond and the Richmond Oval Performance group run by Ailsa Le May & the

for making this possible.

Winterfest 2011 Vancouver Speed Skating Club this past

followed on the weekend of Feb 12-13 at the season and will continue to offer this program Richmond Oval with lots of fun, skating and this fall. other activities.
Our skaters have watched as the Canadian

athletes came to BC for a chance at their Olympic dream, now our skaters can dream their dreams...... who knows how far they will go.

This has been a great season for the Richmond Rockets, starting out in 2006 at the beginning of the quadrennial knowing that Vancouver would be in the spotlight for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. The Richmond Olympic Oval was home to the Long Track Speed Skating event and what better place to embark on a new dream! It was the vision of that founding

Danesh, Denny, and Pete r .

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MARCH 2011

Report from the Canadian Age Class Long Track

Winnipeg, Feb. 5-6, 2011

I had the privilege of being one of the BC Coaches for the Canadian Long Track Championships last month, along with my awesome coaching partner Ariana Van Der Starre.

BC can be very proud of its skaters who participated in the CACLT this year. Wow! Not only did we have an amazing medal count of 45…but every skater raced like a champion. Every skater, in every race, gave it his or her all, and skated with heart.

My thought following this event is that we have the ability to be an untouchable powerhouse in long track in Canada. We have an incredible training facility in Ft St John, as well as excellent outdoor ovals elsewhere in the North. We have no excuse but to improve and grow. BCSSA needs to recognize the real value of long track speed skating and try our best to nurture and promote this sport within our own province. We need to promote and showcase the oval in Ft St John and show the world what an amazing facility we have. Speed skating people from other provinces are saying that the FSJ oval is not safe and cannot hold competitions. We need to disprove that myth.

Being outside in Winnipeg also reminded us of the importance of training outdoors for long track. It’s wonderful to skate in ideal conditions all the time, but since some of our competitions take place in less than ideal conditions, it’s very important that our skaters train for both. So with the oval in Ft St John, we can’t lose sight of the importance of our outdoor ovals as well.

Our kids were awesome in every way, and I’m very happy to have been there with them. A big thanks to Ariadne Hiller for being our team manager who did a wonderful job of looking after all the little details.

Sandi Vyse

Condolences to the Sulyma Family

The BCSSA has lost another valued member with the sudden passing of Randy Sulyma in January. Randy, a well respected skater coach with the Fort St. James Falcons, is survived by his wife Sandra and children Joel and Emily. The entire association extends condolences to Randy’s family and friends. He will be remembered for his contributions to the northern speed skating community; his enthusiasm, his encouragement and of course that great laugh. Randy had intended to attend the
Canadian Age Class Long Track in Winnipeg as BC’s coach.

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MARCH 2011

Burnaby Haida Goes Viral

It was cameras, coffee, skin suits and action at
Kensington Arena in Burnaby on Feb.15 when Burnaby Haida assistant coach Sophie Beriault got CityTV’s Live Eye host Greg Harper geared up and on-ice for an Introduction to Speed Skating segment during the live 6 - 9 a.m. Breakfast Television program.
Anna Bonga, to compete Feb 5 - 6, 2011 at the Canadian Age Class Long Track Championships at the Cindy Klassen Recreation Complex in Winnipeg. Kiersten’s best result was an 8^thin the 2400 m Olympic Style event, but she enjoyed being a part of Team BC’s great showing at the CACLT. The open 5000, held in minus 25 degree conditions, was fun! Really!
The biggest crowd of Burnaby Haida skaters – all

ages and all levels – to ever take
As well, we can report strong participation in the Feb. 24 - 27, 20^thInternational Masters All Round Games in Calgary with six masters skaters participating plus Coach Ariana van der Starre. Representing Burnaby Haida were: Agatha van der Starre, Mike Hagen, Gordon Beriault, Yoko Beriault, Andy Wong and Harvey Russell. advantage of our Tuesday morning ice session, made short work of the set-up and skated as background for almost 2.5 hours while Sophie and some of our

Greg Harper of Breakfast T e levision.

youngest skaters taught Greg what he needs to know to be a speed skater.

Check it out at: http://video.citytv.com/video/detail/ 791267482001.000000/greg-learns-to-speed-skate--

sort-of/ Greg tried racing our youngest and oldest skaters – you can imagine how that turned out!

It was fun for all and congratulations to Sophie who did weeks of work organizing with the TV crew and coaching our youngest skaters to skate in trains.

The club was thrilled to send skater Kiersten Hagen, accompanied by Coach Ariana van der Starre, and Kiersten’s mother and fellow skater,

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MARCH 2011

WorkSafeBC Speed Skating Short Track Championship

March 5^th& 6^th,2011.

T2T Girls 11

T2T Boys 14

Gold: Connie Kapak-Vernon

Gold: Ethan Wilson- Matsqui

Silver: Chris Neykov- Kelowna Bronze: Mitchell McCullough- Kelowna Iron: Christopher Poljer-So- Burnaby
Silver: Sarah Graham-Dawson Creek Bronze: Dallas Hawkes-Sardis Iron: Madison Karpes-Matsqui

T2T Girls 12

T2T Boys 15

Gold: Callie Swan- Prince George Silver: Cara Maltese- POCO Bronze: Kadeja White- Prince George Iron: Quinn MacKay- Sardis
Gold: Trenton Chard- Matsqui Silver: Jun Bae- Langley Bronze: Lucas Hiller- Prince George Iron: Bernie Tse- Vancouver

T2T Boys 12

Open Female

Gold: Cormac Chui- Burnaby Silver: Eric Spence- River City Racers Bronze: Ben Maxfield- Fort St. John Iron: Alexander Chizawsky- Matsqui
Gold: Josie Spence- River City Racers Silver: Morgan Swan- Prince George Bronze: Carley Budac- Prince George Iron: Hilary Desmarais- Nechako Lakes

T2T Girls 13

Master Female 40-44

Gold: Carolina Hiller- Prince George Silver: Alison Desmarais- Nechako Lakes Bronze: Pauline Sutherland- Dawson Creek Iron: Annie Russell- Ridge Meadows
Gold: Brenda Keutzer- Chetwynd Master Female 45-49: Gold: Anna Bono- Burnaby

T2T Boys 13

Master Female 50-54

Gold: Nico Hiller- Prince George Silver: Shota Inoda- Burnaby Bronze: Connor Meeks- Langley Iron: Justin Cross- Ridge Meadows
Gold: Kathy Kealy- Burnaby Silver: Yoko Beriault- Burnaby

Master Male 30-34 Gold: Abbas Mohammed- Vancouver
T2T Girls 14 Gold: Sara Spence- River City Racers Silver: Anneke Pederson- River City Racers Bronze: Emilie Medland-Marchen- Kelowna Iron: Alyssa Skaalid - Salmon Arm
Master Male 35-39 Gold: Andy Wong- Burnaby Silver: Jeff Thiel- POCO

Master Male 40-44 Gold: Stephen Bau- Matsqui Silver:Michael Mortensen- Vancouver

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MARCH 2011

EX EA COMMODO CONSEQUAT DUIS.

Master Male 45-49 Gold: Duane Swan- Prince George

Master Male 50-54 Gold: Mike Hagen- Burnaby Silver: Rick Hofmann- Salmon Arm Bronze: Gordon Beriault- Burnaby

Master Male 60-64 Gold: Herman Bosman- Burnaby

Special Olympics Gold: Chris Nicholls- Vancouver

Spence

Sara

Anneke Emilie Alyssa Kaitlin Cormac Eric
Kamloops River City Kamloops River City
Kelowna
Pederson
Medland-Marchen

Skaalid

Salmon Arm

Mission

Holtby

Chui

Burnaby

TEAM BC for CANADA

Spence

Kamloops River City

Fort St John
Matsqui

WEST

Maxfield

Ben

Chizawsky Daigneault
Alex Willie Shota
Pacific Blades
Burnaby
Kapak Hawkes Graham Karpes
Connie Dallas Sarah
Vernon Sardis
Inoda

Hiller

Nico

Prince George

Ridge Meadows
Langley
Dawson Creek
Matsqui

Cross

Justin

Connor Jordan Ethan Jacob Chris
Madison Andrea Callie
Meeks
Stewart Swan
Port Coquitlam Prince George Prince George Port Coquitlam
Sardis
Fournier Wilson Graham Neykov Poljer-So Villeneuve
Chard
Mission Matsqui

White

Kadeja

Cara
Dawson Creek
Kelowna
Maltese Clemons Mackay Hiller
Bekky

Christopher

Burnaby

Quinn

Sardis

Dominic Kamloops Long Blades
Carolina Annie
Prince George Ridge Meadows Nechako Lake Port Coquitlam Dawson Creek
Trenton Jun
Matsqui

Langley

Russell

Bae

Desmarais Rasche Sutherland
Alison Teagan Pauline