SI VOUS LE CONSTRUISEZ, ILS VIENDRONT…

Statut de l’Anneau des Jeux du Canada à Halifax

L’anneau des Jeux du Canada a été établi comme site de compétition provisoire pour le patinage de vitesse sur longue piste aux Jeux d'hiver du Canada de 2011. La municipalité régionale de Halifax (MRH) a fourni de financement majeur pour l'anneau, et est responsable de l’opération de l’anneau en dehors de la période des Jeux. Il y a des programmes gratuites pour le public comprenant des sessions de patinage public, des leçons de patinage, et de patinage pour les écoliers, tout avec la location gratuite des patins et des casques, ainsi que des temps consacrés à patinage de vitesse.

Deux grands événements d'intérêt aux maîtres ont été tenus sur l'ovale, le Marathon sur 'le Common', et le Championnat canadien des maitres.

La réponse publique à l'anneau a été incroyable. Des milliers de patineurs et patineuses sont venus patiner sur l'anneau. Parfois, les portes ont dû être fermées, et les personnes désirant patiner ont dû attendre jusqu'à ce que d'autres partent avant d'être laissé entrer dans le site. Les étagères des entreprises locales ont été vidées de patins, et les affûteurs de lames n’ont pas pu répondre à la demande.

Un groupe local « sauver l’anneau » a organisé une campagne pour faire permanent l’anneau, et a récemment présenté une pétition avec presque 9.000 signatures au Conseil de la MRH. John-Paul Cody-Cox, chef de la direction du Patinage de vitesse Canada (PVC), a assisté à la présentation de la pétition, et a été cité dans le Halifax Herald : « Pour nous, les Olympiens ne commencent pas aux centres de haute performance. Ils ne commencent pas aux anneaux comme à Calgary. Ils commencent sur des étangs. Ils commencent sur des anneaux communautaires comme ceci avec leurs familles. »

Des sponsors se présentent avec des propositions de patronage, y compris une donation de $100.000 de la « World Figure Skating Championships Legacy Fund ».

Pour plus d'information, voir le cet article sur le site Web de PVC, visitez le site Web « Save the Oval », ou juste recherchez « save the oval » sur Google!

SHEILA McGINN & REJEAN LAVOIE JOIN MSS NEWS

To get better coverage of what's happening with masters speed skating all across Canada, Sheila (Halifax NS) and Rejean (Calgary AB) have now joined Anika (Quebec City QC) and Ross (Burlington ON) as contributing authors to Masters Speed Skating News. See recent posts about events in Halifax and Red Deer.

As always, if there's something happening in your area - let us spread the News by sending your stories, reports, photos and results to mss@cogeco.ca.

By working together, we can continue to promote masters speed skating in Canada and around the world.

ARNASON 5th AT WORLD SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIPS

Two Canadians were amongst the 208 masters from 16 nations that converged at the Speed Skating Icehall of the Sportforum in Berlin-Lichtenberg on January 22-23, 2011 for the 3rd Masters International Sprint Games.

Brett Arnason (Winnipeg MAN), skating in the Mens 60+ division, placed a very respectable 5th overall out of 22 competitors with a samalog of 177.020. Julie Houle (Saint John NB) finished 10th in the Ladies +45 class.

Brett Arnason at Milwaukee's Pettit National Ice Centre - January 2011
Photo by Steve Penland

Other North American participants included Andrew Love (1st overall in Men 40+) and Boris Leiken (2nd overall in Men 55+), both from Salt Lake City, UT.

Complete results can be seen here.

IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME…

Status of the Canada Games Oval in Halifax

The Canada Games Oval was built as a temporary venue for the long track speed skating event at the 2011 Canada Winter Games. The Halifax Regional Municipality provided major funding for the oval, and is operating it outside of the Games period. They have provided free public programming including public skates, learn to skate lessons, and school skating programs, with free skate and helmet rentals, as well as dedicated speed skating times.

Two major events of interest to masters have been held on the oval, the Skate the Common Marathon, and the Canadian Masters Open Championships.

Public response to the oval has been overwhelming. Thousands of skaters have come out to skate on the oval. At times, the gates have had to be closed, with people having to wait until others leave before being allowed to enter the venue. Skates are flying off the shelves of local businesses, and skate sharpeners can’t keep up with the demand.

A local “Save the Oval” group has organized a campaign to make the oval permanent, and recently presented a petition with nearly 9,000 signatures to the HRM Council. John-Paul Cody-Cox, the CEO of Speed Skating Canada, attended the presentation of the petition, and was quoted in the Halifax Herald: “For us, Olympians don’t start at high-performance centres. They don’t start in Calgary ovals. They start on ponds. They start on community ovals like this with their families.”

Sponsors are coming forward with proposals for sponsorship funding, including a $100,000 donation from the World Figure Skating Championships Legacy Fund.

For more info, see this article on the SSC website, visit the Save the Oval website, or just Google “save the oval”!

Skate the Common Marathon, Halifax, NS

Peter Steeper Photography

The Canada Games Oval has been all the buzz in the local news in Halifax, and the Skate the Common Marathon on the oval on January 8-9, organized by the Dartmouth Speed Skating Club and the Halifax Regional Municipality, was no exception. A total of 269 competitors completed the 4 races – the 5K “Big Ice Icebreaker”, 10K “Hockey / Speed Skate Challenge”, 25K “Big Ice Challenge” and originally planned 40K “Going the Distance” which became the “One-Hour Blizzard Race” when the weather changed overnight.

Scott Richey Photography

The event was a first for Nova Scotia, and took place on the historic Halifax Common. The Canada Games Oval, built as a temporary venue for the 2011 Canada Winter Games but with a refrigerated ice surface, presented a unique opportunity to introduce the local skating community to long distance racing. Competitors who were not regular members of a speed skating federation were able to participate as festival members under a Festival Sanction from Speed Skate Nova Scotia.

Scott Richey Photography

Competitors were able to compete in any type of skates, and many did very well indeed in hockey or figure skates – but there were lots of inquiries after about speed skating. If you walk around the oval in a speed skating jacket, you’ll be stopped repeatedly to answer the questions “How do I become involved in speed skating?” and “Where can I get speed skates?”.

Peter Steeper Photography

Open to all ages, the vast majority of the competitors fell into the masters age categories. The Dartmouth Speed Skating Club is making plans to respond to this increased interest in speed skating next year, and anticipates having enough demand to have a separate masters hour for the first time.

There are more great pictures of all four races available at the following links:

5K and 10K:

Peter Steeper Photography

25K and One-Hour Blizzard Race:

Scott Richey Photography

Marathon Skating International Report available here.

Results available here.