Sport Shorts: Hockey, Snowboard Getting Set
Snowboarders Set: The national snowboard team has ramped up its 2009-2010 membership to 12 halfpipe riders for this crucial season. Four new riders will join the team for halfpipe: Derek Livingston (Aurora, Ont.), Dan Raymond (Whistler), Charmaine Ironside (Calgary), and Katie Tsuyuki (Whistler). The halfpipe crew is led by Oakville, Ont.’s Jeff Batchelor, a 2009 world championship silver medallist. Returning veterans are Brad Martin (Ancaster, Ont.), Whistler’s Justin Lamoureux, Crispin Lipscomb and Mercedes Nicoll, Sarah Conrad (Dartmouth, N.S.), Alexandra Duckworth (Kingsburg, N.S.) and Montreal’s Dominique Vallée.
Gunning for Gold: On Thursday morning, Hockey Canada plans to announce the 2010 Olympic men’s hockey coaching staff. They will be charged with leading the nation’s best hockey players onto home ice aiming to rekindle memories of 2002, when in Salt Lake City, the team skated away with the gold medal.
Congratulations: Two-time Canadian Olympian Steve Yzerman (Ottawa), who won gold in 2002, will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this November. He is currently general manager of the 2010 men’s Olympic hockey team.
Athletic Champs Made This Weekend: Athletics Canada is holding its national championships at Toronto’s Varsity Centre this coming weekend. Two years out of the Pan American Games and three years out of the Olympic Games, the Canadian team has some high-profile athletes and emerging stars who will contend for medals in both Guadalajara and London. Not to mention the World Championships.
Lake Banook Prepares: In Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, a transformation is underway. That would be Lake Banook into a high-performance racing venue. That is because between Aug. 12 and 16, the 2009 Canoe Sprint World Championships are coming to town. An estimated 100,000 spectators will take in the action.
