VERSATILITY - Sport Nova Scotia

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8 hort-Track Skating gets Long-Term Boost here has been plenty of attention fixed on the long-track speed kating oval erected on the Halifax ommon for the Canada Winter ames. But no matter what happens ith the oval, the Games will leave ehind a long-term legacy for speed kating across the province. Padding and other equipment urchased for the Games will evitalize two short-track clubs and elp a third get up and running ext fall. Of the 84 new pads brought in or the Games, 56 will remain at the efurbished St. Margaret’s Centre, here the Dartmouth Speed Skating lub will make its new home to ake advantage of the expanded ice urface. Another 28 pads went to the orthside Blades Club in Sydney ines. And the Dartmouth club’s old padding was sent to the new Tri- County Skating Club in Yarmouth, which will launch next season. New padding may not sound like a big thing, but it’s a huge deal to the clubs, says Speed Skate Nova Scotia president Terri Dixon. Safety pads placed along the edges of the track are an integral part of training and competition in a sport where skaters reach high speeds. “Skaters’ skin suits are made of very thin material and everything is meant to be aerodynamic, so skaters don’t wear a lot of padding,” Dixon says. “Those safety pads are very important.” And they’re also costly – between $500-$600 each. Factor in that a rink needs as many as 50 pads or more, and that’s a hefty bill for non-profit sport organizations to bear. “This legacy for us, it puts equipment in a rink that otherwise we wouldn’t have,” says Laurolea Crane of the Northside Blades Club. “A lot of the pads we have now have been in use almost 20 years. It’s important that we meet the (safety) criteria that are set out. It wouldn’t be too far of a reach to say that if we were required to upgrade (on our own), we might not be able to do it.” Not only are the new pads a big boost for existing clubs, they’re indirectly helping the growth of the sport elsewhere in the province. The new Tri-County club was in the works before the Games, but receiving the Dartmouth club’s existing pads will help it get off the ground quicker. “They started the planning stages more than a year ago, but of course one of their biggest hurdles was start-up costs,” Dixon says. “This has helped them move their process up a lot.” Speed skating also received stateof-the-art new timing equipment— but that’s just the tangible legacy. Dixon says the sport also comes away from the Winter Games with 30-40 more trained officials and more people interested and aware of the sport than ever before. She says Masters programs have taken off as former skaters lace up again, and between 300-400 people registered for “learn to speed skate” classes at the long-track oval. “There’s been a huge increase in interest,” she says. “I can see that developing more and more as we go forward.” Make a Splash May 4-6, 2011 Cape Breton University Book your school trip today! The Milk Sport Fair is a fully interactive sport trade show. MILK Register Your Team Today! sportnovascotia.ca or call 425-5450 ext. 344 For more info, contact Tyler Smith: 902-425-5450, ext. 362 or tsmith@sportnovascotia.ca or visit: .ca Title Sponsor Presenting Sponsors Official Sponsors
9 Sponsored by Para-Alpine Team Debuts at Games No matter the results, Lauren Steeves was thrilled to watch her skiers finish their races at the Canada Games. For Nova Scotia’s Para- Alpine team, they were breaking new ground just by being on the hill at Ski Wentworth. It was the first time fielding a Para-Alpine team for Nova Scotia, where the competitive sport is new. While the province has a recreational program for skiers with a disability, the members of Steeves’ threeperson squad had never been in an official race before they joined the Canada Games team. “We’ve been on a busy schedule, because we’re trying to progress very quickly,” Steeves says. “We’ve been learning to ski and learning to Black Youth Hockey Initiative Taking Off Dean Lee is having a blast seeing young hockey players find their legs on the ice. “I remember in the second week watching a kid stand up on his own for the first time, and his smile was so big it was like the sun shining,” he says. Since October, Lee and other coaches have been working with about 25 children aged five to eight through the brand-new Black Youth Hockey Initiative at the BMO Rink in Bedford. It’s a partnership between Hockey Nova Scotia, Sport Nova Scotia, Support4Sport and the Black Ice Society; and has introduced hockey to youngsters who might have Claire McNally at Halifax 2011 Canada Winter Games Grand Slalom Para race. (Derek Coombs) race at the same time.” Steeves, an able-bodied skier, learned more about Para-Alpine when she was training out west, never strapped on a pair of skates otherwise. “It’s one of the highlights of my week to go to the rink on Saturday,” says Lee, a teacher who helped start the program out of his Masters in Lifelong Learning studies at Mount Saint Vincent University. Along with learning the basics of skating and stick-handling, the young hockey players have hit the ice with the Dalhousie Tigers hockey team and taken in a game honouring the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes—a rich but little-known chapter of local hockey history. “It’s been great not only to expose the kids to hockey, but to be able to talk to them about their history in a where the sport is more developed. When she returned to Nova Scotia she looked around and said, “Why not here” Matt Brown at Halifax 2011 Canada Winter Games Giant Slalom Para race. (Derek Coombs) way that’s fun for them,” Lee says. “I really look forward to sitting down with them in the last session and saying, ‘Do you know how far you’ve come’” The program runs until mid-April and plans are in the works to offer it again next fall. For information, visit hockeynovascotia. ca or call 454-9400. “I felt like it was something we needed,” she said. “The Canada Games was a good reason to get started, but we’re still trying to reach out to people and tell them that anyone can do it.” For the Canada Games skiers – Matthew Brown of Halifax, Keltie Saulnier of Dartmouth and Claire McNally of Bridgewater – racing has added a whole new dimension to the experience for them. “Being in competition really makes me think more about it than just recreation,” says Claire, 15, who took up para-skiing at age five. “It’s helped me progress in my technique and get more comfortable on skis. And it’s great exercise—you’re definitely tired by the end of the day.” Participants take a knee at the Black Youth Hockey Initiative. (contributed)
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