Vote for Dylan Armstrong, as BC’s best athlete in 2011

Vote now for the winner of the Best of BC Award, presented by the Province of British Columbia.

Dylan Armstrong achieved Canada’s first athletics (track and field) gold medal at the XVI Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico in October 2011. At the Pan American Games, his 21.30 meter throw established a new Pan American Games record, secured gold and successfully defended his title.

His 2011 results include No.1 at the Meeting International d’Athlétisme Moulay el Hassan, the Diamond League, and the Samsung Diamond League in Italy and in Qatar. Armstrong also achieved No. 2 at the IAAF World Championships in both Korea and Croatia. At 30 years old, Armstrong has a deserved reputation as a Canadian champion with the London Olympics in sight.

Vote for Dylan here: http://sportbc.com/programs-and-events/athlete-of-the-year-awards/best-of-bc/

Hosting BC Grant

The Province of BC through the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development invests in event hosting and the Hosting BC program to facilitate sport, economic, social, and community development. This builds on the success of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, maintaining BC’s profile and reputation as an exceptional major event host.

Since 2004, over $3.5 million hass been invested in 329 sport events in communities across BC developing a legacy of sport hosting expertise.

The current application deadline is 4:00pm December 15, 2011 for events taking place from March to December 2012.

Apply here: http://www.hostingbc.ca/content/hosting-bc-grant-program

2011 BC Athletics Annual Awards – Cross Country Awards

All awards will be presented at the 2011 BC Athletics Annual Awards Banquet to be held Saturday, December 3, 2011 at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel.  This is a new venue this year and space is limited.  Please visit the website for complete details and ticket registration forms. http://www.bcathletics.org/main/agm.htm#banquet

BANQUET TICKET DEADLINE: NOV 30th 

Stay tuned for more 2011 BC Athletics Annual Award announcements to come!

 

2011 Cross Country Runners of the Year 

Midget 15 Female – Miryam Bassett, Oceanside TFC

Midget 15 Male – Liam McKay, Ocean Athletics

Youth Female – Katrina Allison, Vancouver Thunderbirds

Youth Male – Joel DeSchiffart, Nanaimo TFC

Junior Female – Fiona Benson, Trinity Western University

Junior Male – Blair Johnston, Trinity Western University

Senior Female – Jessica Smith, UN-BC

Senior Male – Cameron Levins, Comox Valley Cougars

Masters Female – Maureen de St. Croix, Ocean Athletics

Masters Male – Mark Bomba, Prairie Inn Harriers Racing Team

2011 BC Athletics Annual Awards Banquet – Jane Swan Award

All award winners will be honoured at the 2011 BC Athletics Annual Awards Banquet to be held Saturday, December 3, 2011 at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel.  This is a new venue this year and space is limited.  Please visit the website for complete details and ticket registration forms. http://www.bcathletics.org/main/agm.htm#banquet

Stay tuned for more 2011 BC Athletics Annual Award announcements to come!

2011 Jane Swan Award

Tom Masich – Prince George TFC

2011 BC Athletics Annual Awards – Coaching Excellence Awards *updated Nov 24/11*

The following Coaches will be honoured at the 2011 BC Athletics Annual Awards Banquet to be held Saturday, December 3, 2011 at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel.  This is a new venue this year and space is limited.  Please visit the website for complete details and ticket registration forms. http://www.bcathletics.org/main/agm.htm#banquet

Stay tuned for more 2011 BC Athletics Annual Award announcements to come!

2011 Excellence in Coaching Awards 

Junior Development Coach – Maureen de St. Croix, Ocean Athletics (*added Nov 24/11)

Junior Development Coach – Len van Ryswyk, South Fraser TFC (*added Nov 24/11)

Senior Coach – Kim Chapdelaine, Langley Mustangs

High Performance Coach – Dr. Anatoliy Bondarchuk, Kamloops TFC

High Performance Coach – Peter Lawless, Unattached (*added Nov 24/11) 

Bondarchuk receives Coaching Excellence Award

Athletics Canada is proud to announce that Dr. Anatoliy Bondarchuk and Jean Laroche were recognized on Friday evening among a group of very deserving coaches with the Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Award. The awards were presented as part of the Coaching Association of Canada’s Sport Leadership conference in Toronto. The Coaching Excellence Awards are presented to coaches whose athletes won medals over the past year at open World Championships, Olympic Games, World Games, or Paralympic Games.

“Each one of these coaches exemplifies what the Coaching Association of Canada stands for,” stated John Bales, Chief Executive Officer for the CAC. “They are dedicated individuals that push themselves harder and harder each day by planning, researching, and actively listening so that they can be better for their athletes. We are truly proud of these award winners.”

Dr. Anatoliy Bondarchuk is the lead coach at the High Performance Training Centre in Kamloops, B.-C., and is the personal coach of Dylan Armstrong. Under Bondarchuk’s close tutelage Armstrong enjoyed the greatest season by a throwing athlete in Canada’s long athletics history. “We use hand signals and broken English, it’s kind of a special thing. When you’ve been with a guy every day for six years you understand each other very well,” Armstrong said of his Ukrainian born coach. Armstrong won silver at the World Championships, took first place in the shot put in the Diamond League, won gold at the Pan American Games setting a new Games record and holds the season’s best performance at 22.21-metres.

Jean Laroche, Lead Coach at the High Performance Centre in Sherbrooke, Que., coached Diane Roy of Sherbrooke, Que., to gold at the IAAF World Championships. Roy took first place in the T54 classification wheelchair 800-metres in a time of 1:50.91 in front of a crowd of close to 70,000 spectators. Roy also won a pair of silver medals at the IPC World Championships in the T54 wheelchair 400-metres and 1500-metres events. At those same championships Laroche coached the men’s T53 wheelchair 4×400-metres relay team to a bronze medal.

Fuelling Athlete and Coaching Excellence Program

Each year 50 Canadian athlete and coach pairings are indentified as part of the Petro-Canada’s Fuelling Athlete and Coaching Excellence (FACE) program. Niki Oudenaarden of St. Albert, Alta., and coach Linda Blade and Sarah White of Montréal Que., and coach Richard Tétreault have been named recipients of the 2011 FACE program which aims to help provide funding to developing Olympic and Paralympic athletes and their coaches.  The duos will each receive $8,000.

2011 BC Athletics Annual Awards Announced *updated Nov 23/11*

The following Athletes and Officials will be honoured at the 2011 BC Athletics Annual Awards Banquet to be held Saturday, December 3, 2011 at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel.  This is a new venue this year and space is limited.  Please visit the website for complete details and ticket registration forms. http://www.bcathletics.org/main/agm.htm#banquet

Stay tuned for more 2011 BC Athletics Annual Award announcements to come!

2011 BC Athletics Track & Field Athletes of the Year

2011 Midget 15 Female Award Recipients

Miryam Bassett – Oceanside TFC

Erica Deschiffart – Nanaimo TFC

Marita Deschiffart – Nanaimo TFC

Sophie Dodd – Vancouver Olympic Club

Jasmine Gill – Universal Athletics Club

Olivia Moriconi – Ridge Rockets TFC

Courtenay Neville-Rutherford – Peninsula TFC

Avneet Nijjar – Universal Athletics Club

Jessica Tan – Langley Mustangs

Keely Watts-Watling – Okanagan Athletics Club

2011 Midget 15 Male Award Recipients

Lucas Bradley – Alberni Valley TFC

Andrew De Visser – Vancouver Thunderbirds

Braden Derker – Kamloops TFC

James Elson – NorWesters TFC

Jacob Gowler – Ridge Rockets TFC

Timothy Hargreaves – Langley Mustangs

James  Hellner –  Langley Mustangs

Benjamin Ingvaldson – Ocean Athletics

Thomas Laurie – Valley Royals TFC

Michael Muniak –  South Fraser TFC

Ahmad Nizamani – New West Spartans

Peter Oxland – Oceanside TFC

Thomas Oxland – Oceanside TFC

Bogdan Pavel – New West Spartans

Mihailo Stefanovic – New West Spartans

Aaron Stroda – Okanagan Athletics Club

Ethan Strome – New West Spartans

Nathan Wadhwani – Golden Ears Athletics

Award winners for the following categories will be announced at the banquet.

2011 Youth Female Award Nominees

Asianna Covington – Kajaks TFC

Georgia Ellenwood – Langley Mustangs

Katelyn Hayward – Pacific Athletics (*added Nov 23/11) 

2011 Youth Male Award Nominees

Deon Clifford – Ocean Athletics

Nicholas Fyffe – Kajaks TFC

Christian Gravel – Vancouver Thunderbirds

Keefer Joyce – Unattached

Brendon Restall – Pacific Athletics (*added Nov 23/11) 

2011 Junior Female Award Nominees

Alycia Butterworth – Oceanside TFC

Katelynn Ramage – Nanaimo TFC

Devan Wiebe – Vancouver Olympic Club

2011 Junior Male Award Nominees

Adam Keenan –Pacific Athletics

Cody Parker – Comox Valley Cougars

Keffri Neal – Kajaks TFC

Benjamin Thorne – Racewalk West

James Turner – Okanagan Athletics Club (*added Nov 23/11) 

2011 Senior Female Award Nominees

Ruky Abdulai – Valley Royals TFC

Helen Crofts – Unattached

Holly Parent – Victoria TFC

2011 Senior Male Award Nominees

Dylan Armstrong – Kamloops TFC

Geoff Martinson – Prince George TFC

2011 BC Athletics Athlete with a Disability Athletes of the Year

2011 Female Athlete with a Disability

Michelle Stilwell – Wheelchair Race Series

2011 Male Athlete with a Disability

Braedon Dolfo – Langley Mustangs

2011 BC Athletics Masters Awards

2011 Master Female Track & Field Athlete of the Year

Christa Bortignon – Tri-City Greyhounds

 

2011 Master Male Track & Field Athlete of the Year

Andy Aadmi – Tri-City Greyhounds

2011 Master Female Road Runner of the Year

Lenore Montgomery- Unattached

2011 Master Male Road Runner of the Year

Kevin O’Connor – Vancouver Falcons

2011 BC Athletics Officials Awards

2011 Ian McNeil Award – Official of the Year

Wayne Elke – Kamloops TFC

2011 Ralph Coates Memorial Award – Long Standing Service

Ken Serl – Kamloops TFC

2011 Mary Temple Award – Novice Official of the Year

Celina Wong – Coquitlam Cheetahs

2011 Dave Coupland Inspirational Award

Ken Christensen – Unattached

Athletics Canada Branch Grants – Applications Now Being Accepted

Following the announcement of the 2012 Athletics Canada Branch Grant structure, the application forms have now been released, and can be submitted for consideration prior to the DEADLINE of DECEMBER 1, 2011.

Again, funding applications can be submitted in three categories (more than one application can be submitted by the same club/group – each in different categories):

1. Run Jump Throw / Hershey’s Track & Field Games

2. Para – Athletics Development

3. Other First Contact Initiatives

All clubs are eligible to apply – please contact Taunya Geelhoed (taunya.geelhoed@bcathletics.org or 604-333-3554)  if you would like to discuss your ideas and eligibility.

Process and Application forms can be found on the BC Athletics Homepage – CLICK HERE (English) and HERE (French) 

Athletics Canada – Branch Grants Update

Following a reorganization of Athletics Canada’s delivery of grassroots programming the organization also undertook a review of branch grants and the way in which they are administered.  The review process of grassroots branch grants actually began last fall during a face to face meeting involving the provincial grassroots coordinators and the process continued through to the spring / summer.

Effective immediately branch grants will be awarded via an application process.  The application forms are being finalized and will be available within the next two weeks.  The application deadline for 2012 grants is December 1, 2011 with successful applicants receiving their funding in January, 2012.  Applications will be accepted in three categories:

1.       Run Jump Throw / Hershey’s Track & Field Games - initiatives for existing or new programming which will support branch / club Run Jump Throw and / or Hershey’s Track & Field Games activities

2.       Para-athletics - looking to support new and pre-existing activities that facilitate ongoing grassroots participation in the para-athletics stream

3.       First contact - new or existing initiatives which will display the sport in varying methods to potential members

Administration of branch grants will be done through Taunya Geelhoed, Athletics Canada First Contact Coordinator, with support from other Athletics Canada staff as needed.  All Branch Grant questions should be communicated to Taunya at taunya.geelhoed@bcathletics.org or 604.333.3554.

Along with finalized application forms, Taunya will be distributing to all members and clubs a general overview of the process including category details, application instructions and post-funding requirements.

http://athletics.ca/display_news.asp?newsid=1261

The Investors Group Community Coaching Conferences Grants

Calling all organizations, big and small! Are you hosting an event that will educate and develop coaches in your community? The Investors Group Community Coaching Conferences program has grants available for organizations that bring coaches of community-based sports together under one roof to learn, train, and network with each other.

CLICK HERE to read more about the eligible coaching initiatives. NCCP Courses qualify!

Devin Rajala, first recipient of the Frank Reynolds Memorial Bursary

The Whistler Spirit Run, presented by Rio Tinto Alcan, set for September 24, 2011 is pleased to announce that the first recipient to receive the Frank Reynolds Memorial Bursary is North Vancouver’s Devin Rajala.

The Frank Reynolds Memorial Bursary is awarded each fall to a graduating student athlete who plans to continue their athletic career and education.  The Whistler Spirit Run administers and funds the Bursary.  Candidates should submit their applications to the Whistler Spirit Run before December 1^st each year.  Criteria for selection and application forms can be found on the Whistler Spirit Run website www.whistlerspiritrun.com.

“Devin is a recent grade 12 graduating student from Argyle Secondary School and has repeatedly shown all of the characteristics and leadership qualities for our selection committee to make this decision”, stated Barry Adams, Board Member of The Whistler Spirit Run.  “Our goal with this Bursary is to recognize an outstanding athlete and young individual that has continually displayed these qualities in all aspects of life and recognizes what hard work and commitment can mean overall.”

The Whistler Spirit Run, part of the Lower Mainland Cross Country Series and the Vancouver Sun Run Series, is a Cross Country and Trail running event featuring something for everyone at Whistler Olympic Park. It is the realization of the late coach Frank Reynolds’ vision to have a mass participation cross country event while encouraging and supporting British Columbia high school and University athletes through charitable donations and scholarship programs.

Devin Rajala said, “I am both honoured and thankful for this award.  Frank Reynolds was an inspirational coach who was respected by everyone that knew him. One of my favorite quotes from Frank, ‘Focus on the process not the outcome’, demonstrated his knowledgeable approach to the sport.  He really propelled his athletes to success on and off the track.”

The criteria for this Award are posted for review on the Whistler Spirit Run website at www.whistlerspiritrun.com – where submission and deadline information is also available.  All athletes and coaches are encouraged to submit an application by the deadline of December 1^st, 2011.

2011 ACE Coach Awards – Call for Athlete Nominations

ATHLETES – NOMINATE YOUR COACH TODAY! 

Once again BC Athletes will have the opportunity to nominate and recognize the tremendous work their Coaches contribute to the community through the ACE Coach Awards. Athletes from around the province can nominate their Coach online for these special awards which will be presented during BC Coaches Week in September. Great Athletes do not happen without great Coaches and this is the opportunity for Athletes to step up and recognize their Coaches for all that they do, for sport and for their communities.

BC Athlete Voice, and the Coaches Association of BC have joined forces to continue this initiative and are excited about this provincial award that will centre around BC Athletes nominating BC Coaches. The ACE (Athlete Community Excellence) Award was originally presented only to BC Athletes; however BC Athletes have led a revolution to involve BC Coaches in this award in a slightly different sense – Achieving Community Excellence (ACE) Coach Awards. The ACE Coach Awards will be presented during BC Coaches Week, Sept 17-24th.

The ACE Coach Awards celebrate the importance of sport and physical activity in the community and honours the successes BC Coaches have achieved through their work as leaders and role models; and encourages future and former athletes and coaches to stay connected to their community and to make a difference. BC Athletes and Coaches play a crucial role in building healthy, productive and engaging communities for people young and old. Let a BC Coach know their efforts are making a difference, that they are an ACE Coach. BC Athletes, make sure you recognize, thank and nominate your Coach today at www.bcathletevoice.ca

You can nominate a coach by following a few easy steps on the BC Athlete Voice Website
Nominations will be accepted through the BC Athlete Voice Website until Sept. 9th 2011.

Childs wins Run Ottawa Scholarship

Cliff Childs has been named as the 2011 Ottawa Race Weekend Athletic Scholarship recipient, a $4,000 award.

The 21 year old currently attends the University of Victoria where he is working towards a BA in economics.

Cliff has been running track and cross country since elementary school and last summer he lowered his 1500m personal best to 3:46.

Cliff’s goal is to improve his personal best to reach the national carding standard in 2011.

Congratulations Cliff.

Dan Crockett – 2010 Kelowna Athlete of the Year

Dan Crockett, of the Kelowna Running Club, was the recipient of the 2010 Kelowna Male Athlete of the Year Award. The award is presented to the Kelowna athlete (amateur or professional) who brought the greatest amount of recognition to Kelowna in 2010. In winning the award, Dan beat out James Turner of the Kelowna Track & Field Club, who set a Canadian Youth Decathlon record last summer.

After running his first marathon in 1993 Dan Crockett quit running for four years before lacing up his runners again and deciding to do a marathon clinic in 1997. After that he was hooked and has competed and won his age group every year since then in the IRA road series as well as received the Iron Legs award.

Dan’s passion is trail running, and to be more specific, ridiculously long trail runs. To date the 64 year old has run 40 marathons and ultras including the Cascade Crest Classic 100 miler and the Eagle 100 miler. He’s the co-director of the annual Scorched Sole race which last year raised $4000 for Juvenile Diabetes research, and has lead the Trail Club for 9 years.

Dan also competes in Track and Field. At the 2010 World Masters Indoor championship, he made it to the finals in five events and won silver in the 400 meters. He also placed 7^th in his age group in October at the Victoria marathon and first overall in the inaugural Fat Dog 100k trail ultra in June. In January 2011, he finished 4^th overall in a 6 day 233k Rainforest Run in Costa Rica.

 

Gomez, Gleadle win major award at Big Block Banquet

Eleven different teams were represented among the winners Wednesday night at the 90th annual UBC Big Block Club Awards and Sports Hall of Fame Banquet, with volleyball and track & field sweeping the major individual awards.

Collecting the top graduating athletes awards were Blair Bann (men’s volleyball) with the Bobby Gaul Memorial Trophy while Jen Hinze (women’s volleyball) and Liz Gleadle (women’s track & field) shared the May Brown Trophy.

Athlete of the year awards went to Inaki Gomez (men’s track & field) with the Bus Phillips Memorial Trophy and Shanice Marcelle (women’s volleyball) took home the Marilyn Pomfret Award.

Gleadle won four straight NAIA national titles in the women’s javelin during her UBC career, bettering the NAIA record countless times during her dominance of the event. During her four-year career, she was also a two-time Canadian national champion and twice took home gold at the NACAC Championships. She owns the Canadian youth, junior, and senior national records in this event.

Gomez collected gold in the five kilometre race-walk at the NAIA national championship for the third consecutive season, helping UBC to their best-ever finish of third overall. He set a BC senior record in the same event during the SFU Spring Open and finished fifth at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India in the 20 kilometre race-walk.

Also enshrined into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame were Doug Kyle (Track); and one team (1971-1973 women’s cross country and track & field).

SFU Clan Athletics: Crofts, Hibberd named SFU Athletes of the Year

Crofts, Hibberd win Athletes of the Year awards
(from athletics.sfu.ca)
March 29, 2011

Burnaby, B.C. – Simon Fraser University Clan student-athletes Helen Crofts (West Vancouver, B.C.) and David Hibberd (Calgary, AB) were named the 2011 Lorne Davies Female and Male Athletes of the Year respectively by the Simon Fraser Athletic department at the annual Athletics Gala on Tuesday evening.

Crofts, in her junior season with the Clan’s track and field team, recently broke the NAIA Indoor 800m record with a blistering time of 2:04.94, three seconds faster than the previous mark, to earn an NAIA title. Crofts also took home 2011 NAIA Championships in the distance medley relay as well as the 4x800m relay, and won the 2010 NAIA 800m Outdoor Championship. The Biological Sciences major posted an amazing grade point average of 4.08, and also was named both an NAIA All-American in cross-country and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Female Athlete of the Year. Danielle Lappage from women’s wrestling and Lauren Lachlan from women’s soccer were also nominated…

Read the Full story on the SFU Clan WEBSITE HERE.

RUNJUMPTHROW AND THE AFTER SCHOOL SPORT INITIATIVE – THANKS TO THE PROVINCE OF BC

RICHMOND – BC Athletics’ RunJumpThrow (RJT) Program was recently endorsed by the Provincial Government as one of the fundamental movement skills teaching tools for its $1-million After School Sport Initiative, funded through the 2010 Sport Legacy.

The Province’s investment in the RunJumpThrow (RJT) Program has made it possible for more kids to receive quality sport programming from a grassroots athletics program that teaches the skills of running, jumping, and throwing as a basis for all land based sports. The initiative is designed to provide better access to sport for those children and youth who typically don’t have opportunities to participate.

Funding through the Province’s 2010 Sport Legacy, to increase participation and excellence in sport,gave over 89 Elementary schools in five launch communities the opportunity to be involved in the active delivery of RunJumpThrow along with other sports programs to their students.  They are now being provided with the basic skills needed for the development of physical literacy and to help foster life-long involvement in sport and physical activity.

The After School Sport Initiative is now actively running in five launch communities: Surrey, Vancouver, Victoria, Prince George and Haida Gwaii.  Over 4000 students in these communities are now involved in the Initiative, and are participating in RJT…

View the full release on the RJT Webpage HERE

Celebration of Women in Sport: Award Nominees Named

Congratulations to all the Nominees for the Inaugural Women in Sport Awards (WinS). The awards will be presented on April 3rd at the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence (PISE) in Victoria. Among the nominees in the ‘Athlete’ category is the 2010 BC Athletics Junior Female Track and Field Athlete of the Year Winner, Holly Parent.

Winners for each award (Volunteer, Sport Builder & Athlete) will be announced at the Women in Sport Celebration on April 3rd. To buy tickets or to purchase a club table, please contact Mikyla Cleal at 250.220.2585 or events@piseworld.com

Read the press release with the full list of nominees HERE

Congratulations David McKay, Sport BC High School Male Athlete of the Year

BC’s sport community gathered last night at the River Rock Show Theatre to honour the best in amateur sport at the 45^th Annual Athlete of the Year Awards presented by TELUS. Athletes, coaches, and officials from across the province were recognized with awards from 17 distinct categories, celebrating the recipients’ achievements over the past year and their dedication to sport.

Victoria Pole Vaulter David McKay was the recipient of the High School Male Athlete of the Year award.

Congratulations to David, and to the other BC Athletics nominees – Braedon Dolfo (Athlete with a Disability), Dr. Anatoliy Bondarchuk (Coach), Tanya Homeniuk (High School Female Athlete), Justin Kent (High School Male Athlete), Gwen McFarlan (Master Athlete), and Judy Armstrong (Official).

Congratulations also to the BC Athletics Presidents’ Award recipient, Anne Lansdell.

For a complete list of Sport BC Athlete of the Year Award winners: http://sportbc.com/uncategorized/2011/02/24/best-in-amateur-sport-recognized-with-sport-bc%e2%80%99s-athlete-of-the-year-awards/

Armstrong honoured to be going into Hall

By The Kamloops Daily News

When a member of the Armstrong family is in the news these days, it’s usually Dylan, who is one of the world’s best when it comes to the shot put.

However, the family matriarch, Judy, is in the headlines these days with the announcement that she will be inducted into the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame later this year.

The hall’s selection committee has announced that Judy, the president of the Kamloops Track and Field Club, is the first of four individuals who will be announced as inductees.

Armstrong, a single mom, got involved with track and field when she started taking her children to practices. One thing led to another and she stopped just dropping them off and became involved as a volunteer. Over the past 20 years, she has held down at least five different positions with KTFC. And that doesn’t include her work as an official at such events as the Canada Summer Games, World championships, B.C. championships and Canadian championships.

Read more: http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/article/20110223/KAMLOOPS0201/110229931/-1/kamloops02/armstrong-honoured-to-be-going-into-hall