All Posts Tagged With: "sports"
Beavers wins silver in 200-metre IM at University Games
Four-time Olympic finalist Brian Johns of Richmond, B.C. settles for fourth place
Olympian Keith Beavers of Orangeville, Ont., gave Canada its second medal of the World University Games on Tuesday, claiming silver in the men’s 200-metre individual medley.
Beavers swam in one minute 59.83 seconds to finish between gold-medal winner Alex Vanderkaay of the United States (1:57.58) and Yuma Kosaya of Japan (2:00.77).
Beavers set the Canadian record of one minute 59.19 seconds at last year’s Olympic Games in Beijing, where he placed seventh in the final.
Four-time Olympic finalist Brian Johns of Richmond, B.C., had to settle for fourth place with a time of 2:01.50 after being second at the midway point of the race. Johns was the defending Universiade champion, setting a University Games mark of 1:59.97 at Bangkok in 2007.
“I felt really good,” Beavers said. “My backstroke was nice and strong, it tends to be best leg of my race.
“I’ve raced against him (Vanderkaay) before, but I’ve never seen him race like this. He had an outstanding swim and there wasn’t much I could do to catch him.”
Katy Murdoch and Hanna Kubas, both from Calgary, qualified for the women’s 100 back final where they will be seeded second and sixth, respectively.
Murdoch broke the Universiade record twice, first in the morning preliminaries with a time of 1:00.87 and then in the semis with a 1:00.67, only to see Shiho Sakai of Japan take it away from her minutes later on both occasions.
Sakai swam a 1:00.74 in the prelims and 1:00.23 in the evening to earn the top seed going into Wednesday.
Matt Rose of Lindsay, Ont., qualified for Wednesday’s men’s 50-metre backstroke final in eighth place. The 2004 Olympian’s time of 25.61 seconds eclipsed the previous Canadian record of 25.72 set by Universiade teammate Callum Ng at the Bangkok Games.
Two more swine flu case detected at University Games
Unidentified athletes are from Argentina and Uganda
Serbian health officials say two more cases of swine flu have been diagnosed at the World University Games.
Officials said Monday the two unidentified athletes are from Argentina and Uganda. Last week, an Australian swimmer was diagnosed with the virus.
Several people who were in contact with the infected athletes are being isolated to prevent the spread of the disease at the multidisciplinary games, which are attended by about 8,500 athletes and officials.
Since last month, 21 swine flu cases have been recorded in Serbia.
- The Canadian Press
Date set for St. Francis Xavier students facing assault charges
Three members of university basketball team will be tried together in court Nov. 26
Three members of a Nova Scotia university men’s basketball team will be tried together on all charges stemming from an altercation.
The charges against the players from St. Francis Xavier University were laid after an incident in Antigonish in February that sent a man to hospital.
In court Monday, Judge John Embree ordered that an additional charge against Tyler Richards, 23, of Dartmouth, N.S., will be heard at a trial tentatively scheduled for Nov. 26.
That’s the same date when all three players will be tried on one count each of assault causing bodily harm.
Richards’ second charge is one count of threatening to use a knife while committing an assault.
Also charged in the case are Eamon Morrissy, 19, of Halifax and William Dunkoh, 19, of Nepean, Ont.
The matter will come back to court July 13, when Morrissy will enter a plea to the charge and the trial date will be confirmed.
Dunkoh and Richards earlier pleaded not guilty to the charges.
- The Canadian Press
Canada sending 307-member team to World University Games
With 212 athletes, 95 coaches plus staff, it’s one of the largest contingents at the games
Canada will be sending a 307-member team to the 25th Summer Universiade, which begins Wednesday in Belgrade, Serbia.
The Canadian delegation of 212 athletes, along with 95 coaches, medical and administration staff, is one of the largest contingents attending the biennial World University Games. Canada is also sending 12 referees and judges to the competition, which ends July 12.
Canada won 16 medals at the 2007 Games in Bangkok. Swimmers led the list with four gold, two silver and four bronze. Canada also won gold in women’s softball, silver in men’s volleyball, a pair of bronze medals in judo, bronze in men’s basketball and one bronze in athletics.
Swimmers will again make up the bulk of this year’s team with 42 student-athletes competing in the pool. Canada will send men’s and women’s teams for soccer, water polo (which is making its Game’s debut), basketball and volleyball.
Canadians will also compete in athletics, diving, taekwondo, archery, tennis, fencing, table tennis, judo and rhythmic gymnastics.
The soccer teams will begin play June 30. The women will play host Serbia while the men battle the Czech Republic.
- The Canadian Press
Wildfred Laurier cuts funding for eight varsity teams
Golf, rugby, figure skating, cheerleading and baseball will be pay-to-play
According to The Record, Wilfrid Laurier University has decided to cut funding for eight of the schol’s less-popular varsity teams.
“If they are going to chop our budget, then the team is dead,” says volunteer golf coach Mike Belanger, who says he’s put about $30,000 of his own money into the team to keep it afloat. “We’ve donated our time and money for years to keep our costs down. I just don’t think we’d be able to cover and manage the whole thing on our own.”
Earlier this year, the university’s administration asked all departments to trim spending by five per cent this year and six per cent next year as the university tries to cut its operating budget by about $25.7 million.
Although the athletic programs will still be offered in the fall, golf, men’s and women’s cross-country running, men’s and women’s rugby, figure skating, cheerleading and baseball will be pay-to-play starting in the fall.
According to the school’s athletic director Peter Baxter, those cuts will save the school about $380,000.
For more on this story, click here.
Ontario’s public education needs “renewed vision”
Students are paying for art supplies, sports equipment, and core materials, finds new report
Students are forking over their own money for art supplies, sports equipment and, in some cases, even having to pay for materials in core learning classes such as science or French just to meet their educational needs, a new report suggests.
“You’re almost penalized if you’re not essentially good at basic math,” said Jonathan Scott, 19, for the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association, painting a picture of students’ struggle.
“If you want to be an artist you’re kind of less important to the school system,” said Scott, who represented students at the Simcoe County District School Board during his last year of high school in 2007-08.
Now, an organization committed to improving public education wants the provincial government to address these concerns.
A new report from People for Education is calling for a “renewed vision” for public schools and lists more than a dozen areas where it wants Ontario to take action.
“We seem to be squeezing out the arts and culture,” said Annie Kidder, the group’s executive director.
Kidder said students in high schools are having to fit arts education and sports activities into timetables already packed with basic credit requirements. Many times, students end up paying for these extra opportunities outside of school.
It’s also an issue for children in elementary schools, where fundraising initiatives in affluent neighbourhoods typically mean those schools have more resources. At home, those parents can also offer their kids books and money for recreation programs.
But in poorer neighbourhoods, which lack the ability to fundraise and can’t provide extra-curricular activities at home, children are “doubly disadvantaged,” Kidder said.
“What’s worrying about this to us is the potential for inequity,” she said.
Pantless UOregon ultimate frisbee team gets the boot
Season ends for highly ranked team after five players shed pants and underwear during match
In the world of intercollegiate Ultimate Frisbee, it’s ultimately not cool to go without pants.
So says a student board that governs club sports at the University of Oregon.
The board ended a highly ranked team’s season after five players shed their pants and underwear April 11 during sectional play at Oregon State University in Corvallis.
The squad had already been on probation since November for serving alcohol to minors and making too much noise at a party to end last season, resulting in fines and citations.
Now the team, known as EGO (Eugene Gentlemen’s Organization) is crying foul.
Player Kevin Minderhout says the team feels “the decision to end the team season was pretty heavy.”
“We put on the longest shirts we had,” pleaded Minderhout. “We have some jerseys that are pretty long.”
Ultimate Frisbee, which is akin to flag football and is popular as a club sport at numerous universities and high schools, has rules but no referees. Players are responsible for their own foul calls and are to resolve their own disputes.
The sport is non-contact. Points are scored by completing a catch into the opponents’ end zone on a court measuring about 40 by 70 metres.
The Oregon team was considered No. 3 in the country.
During the April 11 incident, one team went without shirts and five on the other side went without pants and underwear.
Someone complained. The club sports executive committee, a review board of five students, held a hearing Monday. Team members didn’t do themselves any favours by saying there was nothing wrong with playing without pants.
Sandie Hammerly, executive director of the sport’s governing body in the United States, the Ultimate Players Association in Boulder, Colo., said she and the association’s championship director, Will Deaver, support the punishment.
“You have to wear clothing – it’s in the rules,” Hammerly said.
- The Canadian Press
UBC not joining the NCAA — yet
Plan to become the first Canadian university in the main U.S. college sports league is delayed for at least a year
The University of British Columbia will wait until at least next year before deciding if it will join the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division II in the United States.
The NCAA, the main U.S. college sports league, opened membership beyond the U.S. for the first time in January 2009 as a pilot project with Canadian schools. UBC is currently a member of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).
A report by a UBC committee did not recommend for or against a UBC application to join the NCAA.
“A lack of answers to critical questions means deferral until at least 2010 of a decision on whether or not to apply for membership,” the university said in a release Thursday.
One of the reports co-authors said respondents to surveys and open houses were divided on the benefits of joining the NCAA. David Farrar, the UBC’s vice-president academic, also said there remains insufficient information to allow the university to determine NCAA suitability before a June 2009 window for application.
“There are some critical unanswered questions that leave open options as to whether or not NCAA participation is the appropriate way to go for the university and its student athletes,” Farrar said.
Among the questions is whether or not UBC could receive an exemption from the NCAA for its academic accreditation requirement.
Further unresolved issues revolve around discussions about the level of competitive opportunities and financial support for student athletes that UBC and other universities are having with CIS, the main body in which most UBC athletes currently compete.
It is also unlikely to be clear until after the June NCAA deadline whether or not CIS will allow universities to compete in both the CIS and the NCAA.
- The Canadian Press
Olympic gold medallist, top swimmer up for a university sport award
$10,000 award goes to top female and male athletes from Canadian universities
An Olympic gold medallist and a world-record swimmer are among this year’s nominees for the top honours in Canadian university athletics.
McGill goaltender Charline Labonte, who helped the Canadian women’s hockey team to gold at the 2006 Olympics, and UBC’s Annamay Pierse, who broke a short-course world record in the women’s 200-metre breaststroke last month, are the BLG award female nominees from their respective conferences.
The BLG awards recognize the top female and male athletes from Canadian universities. They will be handed out in Toronto on April 27. Each winner will receive a $10,000 post-secondary grant.
Other female nominees announced Tuesday are Ghislaine Landry of the St. Francis Xavier women’s rugby team and University of Guelph runner Lindsay Carson.
Marc Rancourt of the Saint Marys hockey team, Laval football lineman Etienne Legare, York soccer player Francesco Bruno and Joel Schmuland of the Alberta volleyball team were nominated on the men’s side.
Labonte led her team to its second straight Canadian university hockey title as well as a 36-0 record against CIS opponents this season.
It’s already been a busy year for Labonte, who is currently in Finland playing at the women’s world championship as Canada continues its preparation for the 2010 Olympics.
The physical education student from Boisbriand, Que., says McGill has always accommodated her national team commitments.
“McGill is a very understanding school,” Labonte said during a conference call. “Our athletic program is really supportive. They understood the situation.”
She’ll be away for a month in the middle of exam time.
“It’s not easy,” she said. “It’s really not an easy thing for them as well but they’re really helping me to be successful at school.”
She says her national team experience is among the assets she brings to the Martlets.
“Being on the national team obviously gives me a lot of experiences that are extremely enjoyable as a hockey player and as a person,” she said. “That’s the kind of confidence I’m trying to provide to my teammates.”
Pierse has also had a few balls in the air this season. She swept all the breaststroke events at the 2009 CIS swimming championships, setting Canadian records in the 100-and 200-metre races. A few weeks later, the Edmonton native broke the short-course world record in the 200 at the Canadian spring nationals.
Having an understanding university behind her has made all the difference, says Pierse.
“It’s great being part of a university program that understands not only that you want to represent your university but you do have the higher goals at representing yourself and your country at the international level,” she said. “It’s a balance that you do with your coaches and with your school.”
Landry, from Toronto, is a the reigning two-time CIS women’s rugby MVP while Cambridge, Ont., native Carson was named the CIS female track athlete of the year after winning three gold medals at the nationals. She also captured bronze at the national cross-country championships.
Schmuland was named CIS men’s volleyball player of the year as the Golden Bears claimed their third title in five seasons.
“I’m riding an unbelievable high right now,” said the Calgary native. “I don’t think I actually fully understand what has all happened so far. Hopefully over the summer I’ll be able to reflect and think about what a great team season that I was able to be a part of.”
Rancourt, the reigning CIS men’s hockey MVP and scoring champion from Ottawa, led the Huskies to their first University Cup championship appearance since 2002.
Legare, a St-Raymond, Que., native who was named CIS lineman of the year, guided the Rouge et Or to their second Vanier Cup victory in three years and is one of the top prospects going into the 2009 CFL Canadian college draft.
Bruno, a Toronto native, was named the CIS men’s soccer MVP after leading led the Lions to their first national title since 1977.
The BLG awards are based on athletic accomplishments, outstanding sportsmanship and leadership. Each of 52 CIS schools selects one female and one male athlete of the year. From these nominees, one female and one male athlete are chosen within each of the four regional associations.
The awards have traditionally been handed out in Calgary but the ceremony has been moved to Toronto this year.
“It was felt that it was a great national award and we should give it national exposure,” said Doug Mitchell, national co-chairman of BLG LLP, the law firm that sponsors the awards. “We’re having it in Toronto this year, it will be back in Calgary next year and then the following year it will be in Vancouver.”
- The Canadian Press
UManitoba set to get new 30,000-seat football stadium
In winter, stadium will have a bubble dome covering the field for soccer and other activities
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are on their way to a new stadium and private ownership under media mogul David Asper.
Asper, along with representatives of the federal, provincial and municipal governments, announced a deal Thursday to build a 30,000-seat stadium by the summer of 2011 on the University of Manitoba campus in the city’s south end. It will replace the 55-year-old Canad Inns stadium west of downtown.
The deal will see the community-owned club taken over by Asper’s real estate company, Creswin Properties Limited – a move that Asper admits has some fans worried.
“Their concern is that somehow their asset will be violated and I’m not in it do to that,” said Asper, who is also executive vice-president of CanWest Global Communications Corp. “I’m in it to turn it into something bigger and better.
“When I’ve gone back and forth with fans who are critical of that, I’ve said to them ‘Give me a chance, let me prove myself … cause I think you’re going to like what you’re going to see’.”
For the Bombers’ board, which guided the club out of debt over the past decade with help from the Manitoba government, the transition to private ownership is the logical next step. The agreement requires the football club to remain in Winnipeg “in perpetuity” and reverts ownership to a community board in the event of financial failure.
“We as a board are very satisfied that the financial mechanisms are in place to ensure that professional football in Winnipeg … will continue,” said Ken Hildahl, chairman of the Bombers board of directors.
Asper has been pitching proposals for a new stadium since 2007. His first two ideas – a facility on the existing site and one in a crowded area near downtown – were rejected largely because they required most of the funding to come from various governments.
The new agreement is a complex financial arrangement that will see Asper pay “fair market value” for the current stadium site, which lies in the heart of a major shopping area, and use it for retail development. In exchange, Asper will contribute $100 million to the stadium, which will also be used for amateur sports, and gain ownership of the team.
Stanford set to cut athletic department amid downturn
With endowments suffering, 13 percent of admin and service staff will be cut
Stanford University has announced it will cut 21 positions in its athletic department because of the economic downturn, while keeping all 35 of its varsity teams and its coaches.
Stanford has one of the biggest athletic departments in the nation, but said the 13 per cent staff reduction from administrative and service areas was necessary because of decline in endowment value and fewer contributions during the recession.
The cuts will take effect this week.
Last month, Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby said he expected layoffs to deal with a projected $5 million in lost revenue over the next three years.
Bowlsby said Wednesday that $1.5 million has already been eliminated from the current budget, primarily in administrative areas.
The school has also identified $2.5 million in potential savings from reduced maintenance and travel and by freezing open positions.
In total, the department is cutting $5.4 million, about nine per cent of its operating budget excluding scholarship costs. Bowlsby didn’t rule out future cuts that include eliminating teams or coaches if necessary.
“We are making every effort possible to preserve opportunity for our student-athletes and to protect the quality of our programs,” Bowlsby said in a statement.
“As is the circumstance throughout the Stanford campus, we will continue to assess our budget projections and will make further adjustments as needed which may include programmatic, staff and sports reductions.”
Last year, Stanford captured its 14th consecutive Division I U.S. Sports Academy Directors’ Cup. The recognition is presented annually to the best overall program in each athletic division in the country.
In December, Stanford announced senior administrators would take salary cuts because of the U.S. financial crisis. The university is anticipating a 20 per cent to 30 per cent decline in endowment value this year.
- The Canadian Press
