RED DEER OPEN LONG TRACK MASS START OUTDOORS

The following report was gratefully received from Willem Langenberg from Edmonton Alberta:

I am a Master skater from Edmonton, training for the Big Event in Calgary. This is some news for your Masters website:

There were 18 masters at the Red Deer Open LT Mass Start Outdoor meet January 20-21, which is an indication of the excitement that is building here. All masters (men and women) were put together in one group and in heats based on 500m seed times, which produced some interesting racing. Bob Irvine was the fastest in this group, but had some good competition from Rejean Lavoie, Jules Chabot, Richard Hijnen, Lyle Dickeson and Brian Johnston (all training for Calgary).

The highlight of the meet was an open 3000m with 40 participants (busy at the start line). Young Justin Maunder nipped Bob Irvine on the line. An example of how masters can stimulate young skaters.

3000m start photo courtesy of Ken Coutu

Keep up the good work with your website.

See you in Calgary,

Willem Langenberg
Edmonton Master's coach

EVENT SCHEDULE / CALGARY2007

The Calgary Oval website has just published an Event Schedule for the Calgary Games.

See Schedule

SASKATCHEWAN CUP III

Mickey Kupchyk of Regina sent the following report:

The last Saskatchewan Long Track meet of the year, the Sask Cup III, was held in Regina this weekend.

I'd personally like to thank the four Masters skaters from Manitoba that braved driving in near blizzard conditions from Winnipeg to Regina on Friday then travelled back in the same conditions Sunday. Without them, there wouldn't have been a separate Masters Division.

So what did we give them for all their troubles, perfect prairie winter weather. NOT!

Saturday morning started out at -20C with a 20 KM wind. Within 20 minutes of flooding the ice, the frost came out making the ice slightly faster then the carpet in my family room. Perfect conditions to set records. Sunday the temperature soared to -8C and the ice conditions improved but we had a 50 gusting to 60 KM headwind blowing straight into our faces on the home straight. The wind chill was estimated at -28C, absolutely balmy conditions.

Janice Kenworthy and Cheryl Conklin both from Winnipeg skated their hearts out all weekend in the Master Women's Division. They both dug down deep to complete the 3000m. Skating into that 50 KM headwind seven and a half times can only be classified as cruel and unusual punishment.

In the Masters Division, I got to skate with Randy Plett and Bernie Enns both from Winnipeg. Bernie is only in his second year of skating. He did an admirable job all weekend coming very close to his PB's. It's one of the only times I felt sorry for 6 foot 6 person, the wind was a killer for a man his size.

I can only stand in awe of Randy. The power this guy generates is unbelievable. In pretty much every race he left 10-15m behind within 50m of the start. He skated some awesome times given the conditions.

As for myself most of my times were well off my PB's except for the 1500m. In that one race I was able to stay close to Randy at the start (I think he was feeling sorry for me) which helped me to a new Saskatchewan record of 2:22.94.

Once again, thank you to the Manitoba skaters and I'm looking forward to seeing you in Winnipeg this weekend for the North American Long Track meet.

MANITOBA MASS START CHAMPIONSHIPS

Brett Arnason of Winnipeg sent the following report:

The Manitoba Mass Start Championships provided an exciting weekend of racing for Masters in Manitoba. Karla Cybulsky set two new Master's 2 Provincial records. The new 500m record is 50.76 eclipsing the old record of 52.58 and the new 1500m record of 2:46.77 replaces the old record of 2:50.66.

Brett Arnason set new Masters 3 provincial records in the 500m and the 1000m.

1ST ANNUAL MASTERS ICE RACING CHALLENGE

Ian Mellors, meet coordinator and President of the Banff/Canmore Speed Skating Club sent the following report about this event held December 29 to 30, 2006 in Canmore Alberta:

The first annual Masters Ice Racing Challenge provided a weekend of fast and exciting racing. Nine skaters lined up for the event, including Master 2 skater Alex Seal of Salmon Arm, B.C., and Master 4 skater Gary Link of Vernon, B.C. The racing started with the 1000m taking place Friday night. The 1000m A Final foreshadowed the racing for the weekend, as Tim Cooney, Master 2, edged Ian Mellors, Master 1, by .12 sec, in a time of 1:42.56. By the end of the weekend, three of the four 4 finals would see a combined margin of victory of .44 seconds. Only in the 500m final was there a clear margin of victory, as Tim stormed his way to a time of 47.96 sec and a new Master 2 Canadian Record. Master 3 skater Alan McNutt of Rocky Mountain House, Ab, complete with his own cheering section, made his competitive debut in the 1000m.

After the racing Friday night, some of the skaters and officials headed out to Bandoleers Restaurant to celebrate the event. While all enjoyed fine food and good music, everyone headed home early in preparation for Saturday's racing.

Saturday's racing was combined with the Canmore Ice Racing Challenge, the annual short track ability meet hosted by the Banff/Canmore Speed Skating Club. The Masters though enjoyed skating on the fresh ice immediately after the floods, ensuring that the skating remained fast and safe.

As racing resumed Saturday, the Masters said good by to Joey O’Brien, Master 3, Canmore, AB., who was feeling somewhat under the weather, but did manage to take 5 seconds off of his 1000m time Friday night, enroute to a 4th in the A final. Ian Sutherland, Master 2, from Lethbridge, AB., arrived for racing on Saturday, and like Alan, Ian was making his competitive debut. Ian battled hard with fellow Lethbridge skater Tom Copps, Master 3, edging Tom in the 777m and 500m finals, with Tom prevailing in the 1500m final.

Alex and Gary continued their battle for third all day Saturday. Gary avenged his 5th place in the 1000m to take 3rd in both the 777m and 500m, setting up a battle for the Bronze in the 1500m final. Ian and Tim continued their season long battle with Ian edging Tim in the 777m final, before Tim rocketed to the 500m win.

As the skaters lined up for the 1500m final, the Gold and Bronze medals were still up for grabs. When the gun went off, someone forgot to tell Alex that this was a strategic endurance event. Alex took off at a furious pace, dragging Ian and Tim around behind him. With 6 laps to go Ian made his move on Alex in an attempt to get the jump on Tim. Tim was not to be caught napping, and although Ian pulled a small gap, Tim was able to close in, before taking the lead with 3 laps to go. Tim held off Ian’s desperate last lap attacks to take the win, the Gold medal and establish a new Master 2 Canadian 1500m record at 2:35.50. Alex maintained his hot pace to solo home in 2:42.01 to take 3rd place and the Bronze medal.

#2 Alex Seal (Salmon Arm, B.C.), leads # 72 Ian Mellors (Canmore, Ab), and #96 Tim Cooney (Lethbridge, Ab), during the 1500m A Final.

Before the end of the weekend, Tim would also be recognized as the Canmore Ice Racing Challenge Overall Meet Champion, for being the fastest skater at the competition.

As the Masters cleaned up to head home, everyone was in great spirits; both Alex and Gary promised to return for next year’s event.

For both the skaters and organizers the event was great success. I would personally like to thank those whose support and encouragement made the event go from an idea to reality, Paul Shoebridge, Ross Hanham, Guy Bushell, Norine Hori and the executive of the Banff/Canmore SSC. We are looking forward to a bigger and better event next year.

Ian Mellors
Meet Coordinator
President – Banff/Canmore SSC

MILWAUKEE MASTERS MEET - ENTRY FORM

Meet information and entry form were received by snail-mail today.

Scanned copies can be found at
Info-Page 1
Info-Page 2
Entry Form-Pg 1
Entry Form-Pg 2

COMPETITOR’S LIST / CALGARY2007

The Calgary Oval website has just released the names of all skaters per category and country registered for the Calgary Games.

See List

SYLVAN LAKE MARATHON

Trevor Nelson, of Prince George BC, recently sent the following message:

Hi Ross,

Thanks for all the Masters info you pass along.

I'm wondering how many masters are going to attend the Sylvan Lake Marathon after the World Masters in Calgary? The distances are 50 km and 100 km and the event is Sat. March 3rd this year. A few of us in Prince George are putting in the miles in preparation for the marathon. This is always a great event.

Do you think all Masters know that it takes place the week after the big event in Calgary?

Cheers,

Trevor Nelson

Prince George BC

Thanks to Trevor for this information.

Complete details can be seen here

PATRICK KELLY IN DAVOS

Canadian master skater and Olympian, Patrick Kelly participated in the 8th Masters International Speed Skating Davos Meeting in Switzerland during January 13 to 14, 2007.

Competing with 19 men and 2 women from 7 nations, Patrick dominated the results placing:

- 1st overall in the 500m at 39.87 sec

- 1st overall in the 1500m at 2:06.90

- 1st overall in the 1000m at 1:19.10

- 2nd overall in the 3000m at 4:51.01

See details at
Day 1 Results
Day 2 Results

CHRONICLES OF THE TRAVELING SKATES - 1

During the Christmas holidays, I’ve decided to travel and visit the area of Lake Placid/New-York and its well known oval. I have discovered that it is not only a very nice place but also very friendly. Small town, but big with the Olympic spirit of the Olympic Games held in 1932 and 1980 (remember Eric Heiden with his 5 medals).

The oval is located right downtown, along the main street where every one can see it. In the distance, you can see the white snowy peaks of the Adirondacks. The temperature was also fantastic, blue sky and a hot -1C.

I met by chance a few masters skaters that I knew from Quebec and Ontario. Some skaters were taking part in a training camp, some just came down to practice and prepare for the Games in Calgary (these Games are a hot topic these days) and finally some just came down for the pleasure of trying out a new ice. When I was putting my skates in the small changing room, squashed together like sardines, I realized it was the best place to meet the local skaters. After a warm bladeshake, we exchanged on our skating experiences and on the Calgary Games (again!).

On the ice, we could easily find someone to do laps with or discuss some technical points of the complex art of speed skating. Here is a picture of some of the skaters I met there.

From left to right: Anika Bedard, Ross Hanham and his son Tom, Alain Meilleur, Jean-Luc Malo, Julie Robert, ? and Youri Juteau. Lake Placid, December 2006

Best regards,
S. Kates

13 CANADIAN MASTERS INDOOR MASS START RECORDS BROKEN!

Mickey Kupchyk, of Regina, sent the following account of this event:

Twenty three Masters competed this weekend at the Alberta Indoor Long Track Championship in Calgary, and what a weekend it was. 13 Canadian Master Indoor Mass Start records were broken.

Where does one begin? Why not with the “Doc”, Jo-Ann Johnson. I met Jo-Ann this past summer at the Masters camp in Calgary. She told me that before she turned fifty she intended to try 50 new things in her life. Well, does breaking 4 Canadian records in one weekend count as 1 or 4 things? That’s right, Jo-Ann broke the Master Female 2 records in the 500m, 1000m, 1500m, and 3000m with times of 47.42, 1:35.13, 2:26.60 and 5:17.98 respectively. By the way, she lead from start to finish in all four races. Well done Jo-Ann!

For some people breaking records is old hat. Not to be outdone, Ron Johnston broke all 4 Master Male 4 records. In both the 500m and 1500m races Ron finished less then half a second behind me. I’m 16 years younger then him, when’s this guy going to start acting his age and take up lawn bowling? Ron posted times of 43.89, 1:28.92, 2:14.21 and 4:49.04 in the 500m, 1000m, 1500m, and 3000m respectively. Congratulations Ron!

Two Calgary skaters in the Master Male 1 category had great weekends. Rejean Lavoie broke the 1000m record with a time of 1:23.09 while Marco Lebrasseur broke the 3000m record with a time of 4:32.60. Great job gentlemen!

Bob Irvine, the lean mean fighting machine from Calgary, pushed his own Master 3 500m record deeper with a time of 42.38. Way to go Bob!

That leaves two more records to account for. I wonder who broke those? Give up? Why it’s that short linebacker from the frozen tundra of Saskatchewan – Mickey Kupchyk. I managed a 1:24.02 in the Master 3 1000m and 4:30.86 in the 3000m. Thank you to all the guys in the Division 1 Masters who pushed me to my limit.

Tim Clooney of Lethbridge won the gold medal in Division 1 Male Masters. Laurits Skjolingstad of Calgary won the gold medal in Division 2 Male Masters. Jo-Ann Johnson won gold and Holly Gerke won silver in the Female Masters Division.

After seeing the improvement in all of us Master skaters, there’s only one thing left to say: “Look out World, the Canadian Masters are coming”!

Mickey Kupchyk

LOGAN LAKE LONG TRACK

Mike Hagen of the Burnaby Speed Skating Club competed in this event on January 6, 2007 and sent the following report:

The first long track competition ever held in southern British Columbia happened at Logan Lake on January 6, 2007. While four outdoor ovals are normally constructed each winter in northern BC (at Fort St John, Fort St James, Dawson Creek, and Prince George), this was a great opportunity for southern BC skaters to experience long track without traveling a huge distance. Logan Lake is 50 km southwest of Kamloops; only 300 km northeast of Vancouver. The host club, River City Racers of Kamloops, did a great job initiating, organizing, and running the event.

62 skaters were greeted by fresh snow and sunshine, with temperatures of -10 rising to -3 by afternoon. Winds were light, and clouds gathered later in the day. The 300 m oval was constructed on natural lake ice. The Logan Lake ATV club helped prepare and maintain the surface and assure the success of the event. The ice was good, albeit a bit bumpy compared to artificial ice, which is to be expected, and the few cracks were of no consequence.

15 masters were among the racers, 9 men and 6 women. Some fast times were registered, though this was an unsanctioned meet and no records were set. M4 Gary Link of Vernon was under club mate Peter Blokker's BC mass start records in the 500 (48.74), 1000 (1:35.64), and 1500 (2:35.96) while finishing among the top three men overall. M5 Blokker was faster than his BC records in the 1000 (1:57.51) and 1500 (3:07.71).

Masters had a great time kibitzing and talking about the upcoming Calgary Games. It is hoped that the Logan Lake event can become a fixture on the BC speed skating calendar.

See Master Results

SASK CUP I - LONG TRACK SASKATOON

Mickey Kupchyk of Regina recently competed in this event during January 6 to 7, 2007 and sent the following report:

Long track season in Saskatchewan officially launched this past weekend in Saskatoon with the Sask Cup I mass start event.

Saturday morning was perfect. Temperature was -5 C with absolutely no wind. The event organizers had brought in a zamboni 3 days before the meet to prepare the ice - and what a job! The Calgary Oval has nothing on Saskatoon, OK I take that back, Calgary has a roof.

Everyone was knocking off PB's Saturday morning.

As lunch time rolled around the weather took a turn for the worse. A light skiff of snow turned into near blizzard conditions by early afternoon. (Remember that roof thing in Calgary) The hardy Saskatchewan skaters just sucked it up, put on an extra layer of clothes and continued to skate hard.

There were only three Masters skaters at this meet: Terry Livingston and Bruce Hope (both Masters 2) and me. Terry did personal bests in all four of his distances. Big kudos have to go out to Bruce. In his very first meet he managed to break the one minute mark in the 500m with a time of 54 seconds. I'm sure he'll be in to the 40's before the end of the season.

As far as myself it was a great weekend on a couple of accounts. First off, my son Evan who is eleven broke the minute mark in the 500m for the first time (cookies for all the Regina speed skating club Tuesday night). Secondly, I managed to break all four of the Provincial records as well as unofficially breaking the Masters 3 Canadian 1000m record with a time of 1:30.70 (unofficial because they had me skating in Group 1 with the kids. Just for the record, I lead from start to finish, no drafting).

Skating with the kids was a riot, problem is they learn too fast. After I blew them off the ice in the first 1000m race they realized that maybe it'd be a geat idea to draft behind the big old guy. So for the rest of the weekend race after race I dragged a train of kids around the ice until the final corner when they'd all pull out and pass me, little buggers. Actually it was great, seeing the smiles on their faces and their parents faces after they knocked down huge PB's was priceless.

Next meet is the Provincials in Moose Jaw this weekend followed by the Western Regionals in Regina January 27 and 28. I hear there's some great seat sales, so don't be shy about coming to Regina, we'd love to have you!

MASTERS SKATERS AT CANADA CUP #1

Brett Arnason of Winnipeg sent the following report regarding this competition held last weekend January 5 to 7, 2007:

This event had a record number of Masters skating.

Thanks to the excitement of the Master's Games coming to Calgary and the ability of your newsletter to reach so many of the participants we had at least 15 Masters skating in this event.

I am best acquainted with the Master's 3 group. Lynn Sugden and Bob Irvine provided us with an entertaining weekend. It was a see-saw friendly rivalry that lasted all weekend long. Final time for the 500 m for Lynn was 42.0 followed by Bob with 42.47. Cliff Morrison posted a time of 43.26 and Brett Arnason skated 43.65. For the 1000 m on the first round Lynn was 1:23.98 and Bob was 1:23.85. Lynn responded in the 1500 with a time of 2:08.56 to Bob's time of 2:10.89. The battle continued in the 5000 with Bob and Lynn in separate pairs but in the same quartet. Lynn and Bob both posted personal bests but Bob prevailed with a time of 7:54.25 compared to Lynn at 7:57.98. This is an entertaining friendly rivalry that is pushing these guys to new levels. Nice skating guys!

Brad Hudey is a Master's 2 who skated a 40.04 in his 500 and had to withdraw due to an injury.

Ron Johnson is a Master's 4 who posted a 500 m time of 44.58 to show he is ready for the Games.

Sean Mauw skated a 41.79 in the 500, crashed in the 1500, 1:21.94 in the 1000.

Darren Lind also skated well posting a very nice time of 7:39.99 in the 5000.

Master's 5 skater Roy Whitney showed he will be a force in his division.

Sorry if I missed anyone in the review but I am just getting to know everyone.

All participants had a good time.

I know there were some ladies present but I do not know their names or their divisions. Perhaps when they read this they could send an update.

See complete Results

COMPÉTITION PROVINCIALE TOUTES DISTANCES STYLE OLYMPIQUE

Alain Meilleur, of Montreal, competed in this event in Ste-Foy, QC during December 16 to 17, 2006 and provided his impressions of the competition:

A really good week-end.

My best results so far (December 2006). For the first time in Québec City, weather conditions were with us at the Gaétan Boucher Oval helping skaters to reach performance worthy of the name. Good results, for sure. I improved my best times on all distances. Even Robert Tremblay, one coach of the national team, helped me in my 5000m with surprising and helpful advice not to forget.

In short, a good competition with a lot of masters including Benoît Lamarche, a former olympian with outstanding performances. What drives me, is the fact that all these old skaters will be part of the IMSSC in Calgary. This competition will permit for the first time in Canada, so I guess, to bring together more than 100 Canadian master speed skaters on the same oval. This will be a special occasion to skate and share our experiences during this championship. It will be important to emphasize the importance of this meeting.

For our foreign readers, it probably seems quite strange but in a large country like Canada, we only have two artificial olympic ovals, this situation is somewhat delirious but it is our reality. I cannot wait to meet these other crazy Canadian skaters, I know about 25 of them, and all other proud skaters from all around the world. On these words, we have a rendezvous in Calgary at the end of February 2007.

If only I could have my own ice oval in my room ... maybe my girlfriend would understand how wonderful is the passion of skating.

Alain Meilleur,
January 2007

See complete Results