Brought to you by SSC’s Officials Development Committee GUY CHENARD ED T LAU HTON M RIE HOUG URCH ISO N JIM IE TS GUY R N EN U O CCLEM A IS M CHENARD L H C JACQUES R U GRÉGOIRE M TABLE OF CONTENTS SPEED SKATING’S LEGENDARY OFFICIALS! 2 NATIONAL SPEED SKATING OFFICIALS FORUM 5 2005 SUCCESSFUL UPGRADES 6 2005-2006 COMPETITION ASSIGNMENTS 7 ADVANCEMENT PROCEDURES 8 SPORTS OFFICIALS CANADA CONFERENCE 8 PSYCHOLOGY 101— PART ONE 9 ISU STARTERS COURSE 10 LEVEL 3B REFEREE CLINIC ANNOUNCEMENT 11 PSYCHOLOGY 101 — PART TWO 12 JEUX DU CANADA WINTER GAMES AND THEIR OFFICIALS 13 SPOTLIGHT ON OFFICIALS 14 ODC BULLETIN 2005 1 SPEED SKATINGS’ LEGENDARY OFFICIALS! Take a closer look at three of Speed Skating Canada’s most respected and cherished officials. The article below is reprinted with permission from Saskatoon Star Phoenix Skating Loses a Legend by Ned Powers—Saskatoon Star Phoenix (Saskatoon) Tuesday, September 20, 2005 Canadian speed skating has lost one of its most dedicated contributors. Eugene Hearn, who died [September 16th, 2005] at the age of 76, first laced on a pair of skates when he was 14 and never strayed very far from the ice ovals for the next EUGENE HEARN 62 years. He was a competitor, a coach, a referee and an administrator. 1929—2005 Henrietta Goplen, who also had a long association with the Canadian sport, re- members that she and Hearn were among the first members of the Saskatoon Li- ons speed skating club. "No one was ever a better ambassador for speed skating. He spent many hours in the trenches with the skaters and, as an official, he was among the best starters in Canada," says Goplen. "He was compassionate about the sport and about his job as a starter. He felt that compassion for the youngsters at the starting line because he'd experienced the cold nights, the loneliness that comes with prac- tice, and he'd been through it all. As a starter, he insisted everyone have that fair chance." Goplen recalls that Hearn and Wally Boschuk were longtime friends. "We called them Mutt and Jeff. In the clubhouse or in the hotel rooms after a meet, they would regale the young skaters with their stories of what skating used to be like when they were young fellows. Many of our early trips were by train. The kids loved to listen to them." [At the funeral...Jim McClements talked about the leadership role that Eugene had played recruiting and mentoring so many starters. Jim also shared, while Eugene was acknowledged as a very good international starter, in Jim’s opinion his real strength was when he started young children. “There may be others as good but there is no one better. He was professional, kind fair and caring.”] Hearn began competing in 1942 when Clarence Downey was Saskatoon's premier skating coach. Among Hearn's early teammates were Craig Mackay and Johnny Sands, who both skated for Canada at the Winter Olympics. He became the club coach from 1956 until 1970 and helped another crop of young skaters rise to Canadian championship levels. He was coach of the Saskatchewan team at the first-ever Canada Winter Games in Quebec City in 1967. From 1970, he focused his interests on officiating, working many Canadian meets, some North American and world championship events. His most recent stint at a North American meet in Milwaukee was this past win- ter. He was invited, just eight weeks ago, to officiate at the [2005 Regional Qualifier West] in Prince George, B.C. He was secretary-treasurer and president of the Saskatchewan Association in the 1950s and returned to the provincial executive in 1988 as vice-president of officials. Hearn has been recognized as a SASK Sport Volunteer of the Year and a Dairy Producers Fitness Volunteer of the Year. He has an honorary life membership in the Saskatoon Lions speed skating club and a place in the Saskatoon and Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fames. He received an award of excellence from Speed Skating Canada in 1987. ODC BULLETIN 2005 2 THE OTTAWA CITIZEN MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2005 B5 SPORTS STILL SKATING CIRCLES AROUND COLLECTION skates from former Montreal At age 69, Jean-Marie Leduc Canadiens hockey player Butch is skating hard on the break- Bouchard, a river skate that is a away of a lifetime. He hopes to metre-long wooden clap skate score not once, but twice. (the forerunner to today’s popu- Beginning Jan. 27 and lar shorter long-track speed running until March 4, 2007, skate), the first skate on a boot Leduc will see 71 pairs of from 1843, the first metal blade skates from his exclusive col- on a wood base from 1852, the lection of more than 340 pairs skates worn by Canada’s on display at the Museum of Gaetan Boucher when he won Civilization in Gatineau. the gold medal at the 1984 While he’ll show a Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, sampling of his collection of and the first short-track speed hockey, speed, figure and skate — his favourite. short-track skates to thousands He was enthralled by of paying museum visitors, he the short-track skate, which won’t receive any money for was created by Raymond La- his unique avocation. berge of L’Ancienne-Lorette, But he hopes his final Que., because the blade was compensation will be a perma- angled on the boot and could be nent home for his collection, moved forward or backward as such as a museum, and a book well as sideways to handle the about the interesting stories tight turns of the arena oval. behind each pair of blades. “At a certain age, you Called Lace Up, Le- stop spending and accumulat- duc’s museum exhibition will ing,” Leduc added. showcase the evolution of “Technology is moving so rap- skates from blades made from idly. Every two seasons there’s bone to today’s high-tech ver- something new.” sions. The exhibit also will be When asked about the dressed up with historical paint- value of his collection, which is ings, photographs, programs, secured in a bank vault, Leduc videos, audio recordings and doesn’t really know. “No one knows for costumes. PAT MCGRATH, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Since the 11th century, sure. Someone could say $2 skating has been a vital part of Jean-Marie Leduc with skates from his extensive collection, some of which million or $500,000. will be on display at the Museum of Civilization beginning in January. society, whether as a means of There’s no such thing as a skate transportation, recreation or collection in the world. Some- one in Holland has more than sport. Leduc’s quarter-century find a permanent home for the He started collecting obsession with collecting skates 200 pairs of skates, but they’re skates. skates in 1981 and proposed just old skates.” has produced some fascinating “My family is not in- showing his collection, which stories. To Leduc, they’re terested in picking it up, and totalled 18 at the time, during priceless. But he’d like to share Besides the exhibit, I’m not going to be around for- the 100th anniversary celebra- he’ll also give a series of lec- his wealth with the public ever.” tions of Speed Skating Canada through a permanent display tures on the history and evolu- When he has shown in 1986-87. But when he left tion of skates. His first talk will and a book. his skates across Canada, peo- the centennial organizing com- ... be on Jan. 28. ple have asked if he has written mittee because of work com- “I’m very, very lucky, MARTIN CLEARY a book about his collection. mitments, his idea fell between can be reached at in a way,” Because he has stopped collect- the cracks — but not his desire. Leduc said as he spoke with [email protected] ing skates, writing a book may His collection includes m enthusiasm about his hobby. “It become his next passion. the speed skates of a Finnish or 592-4301. might bring a reaction from “But (the information) skater who won the world long- people I wouldn’t suspect a is all in my head and I have no track championship in 1891, a reaction from. It may help me computer,” he said. collection of 64 pairs of hockey ODC BULLETIN 2005 3 After 30 devoted years… Léo Descheneaux takes a well-deserved retirement When he arrived at the Collège Saint-Bernard de Drummondville, Québec in 1975 as a physical education instructor, Léo Descheneaux noted that the other phys ed instruc- tors were already involved with the most popular sports. Since he loved skating, he decided to establish speed skating as one of the sports at the school. Beginning the following autumn, he obtained a few hours of ice time in a local arena, but considered this insufficient. That’s when he decided to build an outdoor skating oval at Collège Saint-Bernard. Léo Descheneaux is truly the father of speed skating in Drummondville. In the summer of 1976, Brother Léo founded the Drummondville speed skating club where he assumed the roles of coach and president until 1984. During this entire pe- riod he also took on the position of regional chair of the Centre-du-Québec region. In 1978-79, he began his training as a referee. During the 1980s, while he was head referee in a competition that was being held in the lower St. Lawrence region, he observed that the competition secretariat was failing utterly in carrying out their duties.