Send Darren to the 2011 International Olympic Academy!

Lighting of the Olympic Torch in Olympia, Greece

The International Olympic Academy (IOA) is an annual educational symposium held in Olympia, Greece. The IOA is a unique opportunity to share, study, and implement experiences, social principles, values of Olympism, and the Olympic Spirit with delegates from around the world.

 Throughout my career, I have been a dedicated advocate for the growth and education of the Olympic and Paralympic movements within Canada; from recreation to high performance athletes and within all levels of abilities. I have extensive sport experiences provincially, nationally, and internationally with a depth of passion that proves that I am a strong delegate to represent Canada.

Delegates of the 2006 OAC in Montreal

 Through these experiences, I have gained a commitment to sport that reflects the values of excellence, fun, fairness, personal growth, respect, leadership, and peace. I was a graduate of the Olympic Academy of Canada (OAC) in 2006 and was a member of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the OAC in 2008.

 As a respected nation and voice within the Olympic movement, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) sends two candidates to the IOA every year. Applicants are encouraged to share their social networking abilities as part of this application process and show ways of sharing the Olympic values and experiences at the 2011 IOA with all Canadians.

Share this page with all of your connections and write a comment to show the COC how much support I have in this venture. Thank you!

2006 OAC

Also, check out my FB Fan Page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Send-Darren-to-the-2011-International-Olympic-Academy/160661073987775

World Cup Trophy Visits Canada

FIFA World Cup Trophy

Although the recent FIFA World Cup Trophy visit is being touted as the “first ever” for the 18 karat gold statuette to Canada, it seems that one of the world’s most coveted sport trophy might have touched Canadian soil already. Accounts from two former national team members recall the World Cup Trophy arriving in Canada in 1994 ahead of the US hosted World Cup and another time in 1986 to honor Canada’s first ever, and to-date only, World Cup qualification.

A spokesperson for Hill & Knowlton Canada, who is handling the Canadian leg of the trophy’s tour, stated that FIFA confirmed that the statuette that touched down in Toronto this past Wednesday is “the real thing” and that it “never made it to Canada before”.

History and rumours aside, the World Cup trophy arrived to much pomp and ceremony with a barrage of fans not caring if this was the first or tenth time that the trophy has made it to Canada. The 13-pound trophy is nearing the final leg of its world-wide tour sponsored by Coca-Cola that is spanning 9 months, 86 countries and 139,000 kilometers – a tour almost rivaling an Olympic torch relay.

The trophy is making its way to South Africa, host country for this year’s World Cup, for June 11th and in time for the 32 country tournament, touted as the second biggest sporting event in the world. The trophy remained in Toronto until Friday where it was heading to Miami in continuation of the tour.

The current FIFA World Cup trophy is not the original. The original trophy, named after FIFA President, Jules Rimet, was permanently awarded to Brazil after the country’s third World Cup title in 1970. This current trophy was designed by an Italian artist and selected by FIFA to be the statuette going forward. All World Cup winners receive a replica of the current statuette when they claim the World Cup title. It is one of the world’s most exclusive sport’s titles. In the tournament’s 80-year history, only 7 countries have claimed the title – Uruguay, Italy, West Germany, Brazil, England, Argentia, and France. Canada qualified for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico which has been our only appearance at which Team Canada did not even score a goal.

The tour of the trophy comes on the heels of FIFA’s release of the world ranking list. Claiming top spot on the list for the seventh time since their inception in 1993 was Brazil who dropped Spain to #2 and ended the European reign. World Cup semifinalists Portugal moved up to #3 swapping places with the Netherlands. Italy rounded out the top-5 countries. Host continent, Africa’s highest ranked countries include Egypt (#13), Cameroon (#19), and Nigeria (#19); however, Egypt will not make a World Cup appearance this year after being beaten by #31 ranked Algeria. South Africa is ranked #90 and North Korea (#106) is the only country ranked lower than the host to be attending this year’s tournament.

Canada moved up one spot to be ranked #63. The USA is ranked #14.

China looses Olympic Medal 10 years later

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the decision at the SportAccord summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that the Chinese women’s gymnastics team at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney would be stripped of their team bronze medal for fielding an underage gymnast.

2000 Olympic Women's Gymnastics Team - China

Rumours and speculation of China using underage gymnasts to secure their gold team medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing spurned the investigation by the sport’s international governing body, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). During this investigation, FIG determined that a member of the 2000 Olympic gymnastics team was, in fact, underage at the time of those Games. Dong Fangxiao was 14 years of age at the time of the 2000 Olympics which violates the FIG rule that gymnasts “must turn at least 16 years of age during the Olympic year in order to be eligible to compete.”

With advice from the FIG, the IOC nullified Dong’s Sydney results in February 2010 and because her scores contributed to China winning the bronze medal, the FIG recommended that the IOC take back the medal and award it appropriately. Individually, Dong was stripped of her sixth place result in the floor exercise and her seventh place result in the vault.

The IOC ordered China’s National Olympic Committee to return the team medals “as soon as possible” so that they can be reallocated to the US team. The IOC also told China to “ensure, by all means, that the athletes and officials of its delegation comply with all rules and regulations [of the international federations] with regard to age limits.”

Although the FIG cleared the 2008 Olympic gymnastics team in October 2008, questions arose regarding Dong, who was a technical official during the 2008 Olympics, and that her accreditation did not match her date of birth records on file with the FIG. The investigation also uncovered the potential for a second Chinese gymnast to be underage at the Sydney Games. However, insufficient evidence to prove the age discrepancy of Yang Yun warranted a stern warning by FIG to Yun, who had garnered an individual bronze medal in uneven bars in 2000.

The US team placed fourth behind China at the 2000 Olympics and was the only time since 1976 Montreal that the American women failed to produce a single gymnastics medal at an Olympic Games. The US team – consisting of Dominique Dawes, Amy Chow, Jamie Dantzscher, Kristin Maloney, Elise Ray, and Tasha Schwikert – left Sydney empty-handed but will be awarded the Olympic bronze team medal 10 years later.

“I never imagined in all my years of gymnastics that a decade following one of my Olympic Games I’d actually get a medal possibly shipped to me in the mail,” said Dawes, who will now have three bronze and one gold medal from the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Games.

“We are extremely grateful that the IOC and the FIG have taken such a thorough look at the issues that were raised in Beijing,” stated USA Gymnastics President, Steve Penny. “It serves the best interests of sports to make sure that there’s always a fair field of play.”

IOC Visionary Passes Away

Past IOC President, Juan Antonio Samaranch

Juan Antonio Samaranch, the second-longest serving International Olympic Committee (IOC) president, passed away of cardio-respiratory failure in Barcelona on April 21st, 2010 after a long bout of ill-health.

Born into a wealthy Catalan family in Barcelona in July 1920, Samaranch was an avid roller hockey player and was enlisted to the Spanish army during the Spanish Civil War. From 1967-1971, Samaranch served as Minister of Sport and from there become involved with the Spanish National Olympic Committee, Vice-President of the IOC from 1974-1978, and eventually President of the IOC from 1980-2001.

Samaranch was elected the 7th president of the IOC at the IOC Session in Moscow just prior to the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Although a bit controversial, Samaranch is credited with taking the financial ruin of the Olympic movement and turning it into one of the most profitable events in the world. After the incredible financial loss of the 1976 Montreal Olympics and the boycotting of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the movement was on the verge of ruin when only Los Angeles was prepared to bid for the 1984 Olympic Games after some encouragement from the IOC. His introduction of big television deals and sponsorships for host cities and countries made the Olympic Games more financially viable.

During his presidency, Samaranch was criticized for the bribery scandal of the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics which led to the resignation or expelling of ten IOC Board members. His vision of having the best athletes compete at the Olympic Games also drew criticism for allowing professional athletes to compete in an amateur setting and was also accused of not taking performance enhancing drugs in sport seriously enough.

Samaranch was the first IOC president to introduce the tradition of giving the president’s address at the close of each Olympic Games to praise the organizers and has become something that each host country waits in earnest to hear. To date, the only Olympic Games to have the nomenclature of “best ever Olympic Games” withheld during the President’s address was the 1996 Atlanta Olympics were the organizers came under constant heavy criticism.

Current IOC President, Jacques Rogge, said of Samaranch, “I cannot find the words to express the distress of the Olympic family.” He continued that he “was personally deeply saddened by the death of the man who built up the Olympic Games of the modern era…”.

In 2001, Samaranch decided not to pursue the IOC Presidency allowing Jacques Rogge to succeed him. This allowed the IOC to institute a 12-year presidency policy limit for future IOC Presidents and gave him the title of Honorary President for Life of the IOC. Samaranch served as IOC President for 21 years, second in length only to the founder of the modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertain’s, presidency of 29 years.

Samaranch will be buried in Barcelona after a public funeral expected to take place on April 22nd.

New Leader Announced for the COC

The Canadian Olympic Committee, has announced its new leadership team after former CEO, Chris Rudge, announced his resignation after Canada’s most successful Olympic Winter Games. COC President-Elect, Marcel Aubut, introduced Jean Dupré as the new CEO and Secretary General of the COC.

COC's new CEO and Secretary General - Jean Dupré

Dupré, originally from St. Jovite, QC, was Director General of one of Canada’s most successful National Sport Organization (NSO), Speed Skating Canada for 15 years and has been a COC Board member since 1991. During his tenure, Speed Skating Canada was awarded the prestigious “Sporting Excellence Award” from the International Olympic Committee during a time when Canadian speed skaters collected a team-leading 30 Olympic medals over the past 3 Olympic Games. “With such a great foundation to build on,” Dupré stated, “I am very excited about our prospects as we look towards London, Sochi, and well beyond.”

Along with Dupré, Aubut announced the acceptance of Chris Overholt as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of the COC. Overholt returns to his native Canada after working with both the Miami Dolphins and Florida Panthers professional sport leagues. Prior to his work in Florida, Overholt had a successful career with some of Canada’s professional sport leagues, the Toronto Raptors and then Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Overholt stated, “The COC has a very clear and inspiring vision upon which we will build great organizational strength, and lasting partnerships with all our partners and stakeholders.”

Said Aubut of the future, “The road ahead is challenging, but I am deeply convinced that for this new leadership team, our successes in 2010 were only the beginning of so much more.”

Australian Swimmer Comes Out

Daniel Kowalski, a retired Australian swimmer, came out and announced that he is gay a few days ago.  The two-time Olympian (Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000) stated in the Australian paper, The Age, “Despite the dark, fearful, and lonely times, being able to write this fills me with a sense of freedom, pride, and relief…I wrestled for a long, long time wondering whether being gay made me a bad person but I can no longer fight who I am and that, simply put, is just me.”

After years of torment trying to deal with his sexuality amidst his sporting career, Kowalski decided that it was time to be true to himself and came out to close family and friends at the end of 2006. “The number of time that I have sat on the couch or lain in bed bawling my eyes out, scared and fearful of the future, are too many to mention”, stated Kowalski.

Kowalski continues to on in the article lamenting about homophobia in sports and the difficulty that individuals have who find themselves struggling with their sexuality in an environment that, sometimes, is not very accepting, educated, and knowledgeable of such difficulties. Having more elite athletes come out and share their stories can help current athletes in their struggles and, hopefully, have more positive experiences.

Kowalski, 34, is a four-time Olympic medalist winning a silver medal in the 1,500m free and two bronze medals in the 400m and 200m free at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and winning a gold medal as a part of the 4x200m free relay team at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. He officially retired from competitive swimming in 2002.

Changing of the Guard

Scott Pfeifer (L), Randy Ferbey (C), Marcel Rocque (R)

For the past 13 years, the curling team from Edmonton known collectively as the “Ferbey Four” was a formidable force within men’s curling at a national and international level and added to the powerhouse of talent within Alberta. Rumours swirled of the foursome calling it quits after their attempt at representing Canada at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics during the Roar of the Rings Olympic Curling Trials last December was cut short in front of their home town crowd. Now, amid months of speculation and at the end of the 2009-2010 curling season, skip Randy Ferbey confirmed the rumours during the final competition of the season at the Capital One Player’s Championship this past week in Dawson Creek, BC.     

The team, consisting of Dave Nedohin as third (throws fourth stones), Scott Pfeifer as second, and Marcel Rocque as lead, dominated the curling circuit during their success from 2001-2005 winning four Brier championships and three World Curling titles.     

“It’s difficult for everyone because we know that…in Dawson Creek at the Player’s Championship, it’s going to be the last time that this team steps on the ice together and it’ll be emotional for us, I’m sure,” stated Nedohin.     

Of his team, Ferbey stated, “This is the end of a very special, special team. It was a remarkable run and I’m not sure it will ever be done again. I don’t think many great teams stay together for the length of time that we did without making a single change.”     

Ferbey still plans to curl, though, as he will join the  2006 Olympic Gold medalist Brad Gushue rink from St. John’s on the Grand Slam circuit. Ferbey will call the game and throw third stones again for the newly formed curling combination while Gushue will throw fourth stones. Third, Mark Nichols, will play second on the new team and second, Ryan Fry, will play lead. Current Gushue lead, Jamie Korab, has decided to leave the team and focus on work and family life after stating that he has been slightly burned out after so many years of competitive curling.     

Likewise, Ferbey’s old teammates, Rocque, Pfeifer, and Nedohin are taking an indefinite break from the sport to all focus on other pursuits and family. Although with Gushue on the Grand Slam circuit, Ferbey still plans to play provincially and form a new team for play within Alberta. Ferbey still plans to convince some of his old teammates to join him in the run for the Alberta Championships. Nedohin didn’t rule out a return stating, “Maybe I’ll miss it enough that after one year, I’ll want to get back into it, or maybe it will be two or five years. Who knows?”     

A monumental anniversary

Terry Fox during his Marathon of Hope

Yesterday, April 12th, marked the 30th anniversary of the beginning of a phenomenon of courage, determination, and strength that would ignite a nation and world with pride and hope and would become something that is truly and uniquely Canadian.

Terry Fox (born July 28, 1958) was diagnosed with a form of bone cancer in March 1977. After doctors recommended amputation of his right leg and chemotherapy treatments to curb the spread of the disease, Fox’s already strong determination grew even stronger as he was walking on his prosthesis three weeks after the amputation and sparked a dream within Fox that would unite a nation.

On April 12th, 1980, after 14 months of training, Fox dipped his artificial foot into the Atlantic Ocean near St. John’s, Newfoundland, and embarked on his “Marathon of Hope” with the dream of raising awareness and money towards combatting cancer. Although Fox’s original goal was to raise $1 million dollars during his Marathon of Hope, this goal quickly grew to raise $1 million dollars for every Canadian resulting in a hope of fundraising a total of $24.17 million dollars.

Although the beginnings of the Marathon of Hope were met with little population support because of not being aware of the efforts of Fox and with little donations, by the time Fox entered Ontario, national response in terms of awareness and donations had gained huge momentum. Fox ran a marathon every day for his dream by running 12 miles before dawn, resting, and running an additional 14 miles in the afternoon. On September 1st, 1980, after 143 days and 5,280 kilometers, Fox experienced a coughing fit just outside of Thunder Bay, ON that would force him into the hospital for observations.

The diagnosis was shocking - the cancer had returned and manifested itself in two golf ball sized masses, one in each of Fox’s lungs. The diagnosis forced Fox to stop his Marathon of Hope never to realize the completion of his dream to run across Canada and dip his right let in the Pacific Ocean in Victoria, BC. Fox passed away on June 28, 1981 in Vancouver, BC after slipping into a coma. The Government of Canada issued an immediate, and unprecedented, order for flags across the country to be lowered to half mast.

Then Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, addressed the House of Commons, stating, “It occurs very rarely in the life of a nation that a courageous spirit of one person unites all people in the celebration of his life and in the mourning of his death…We do not think of him as one who was defeated by misfortune but as one who inspired us with the example of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity.”

The first Terry Fox Run was held on September 13th, 1981 and his legacy continues as annual Terry Fox Runs are held in communities and schools across Canada and in 53 countries world-wide each September with over $500 million dollars being raised to-date for cancer research in his name. It is hard to find a Canadian who has not heard of Terry Fox; ran, walked, or rode a bike in a Terry Fox Run; or been touched by the proceeds of his fundraising. As Terry’s legacy continues, may we, as Canadians, continue to honour his dream so that cancer research continues.

Resignations of Two Canadian Sport Leaders

In the wake of a successful Winter Olympic Games, two prominant leaders in Canadian sport have announced their resignations from their respective posts. Chris Rudge, CEO and Secretary General of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), will be stepping down from his 7-year post of leading Olympic sport within Canada this Friday, April 16th, 2010. The announcement came last week confirming months of rumours within the Canadian sport community leading up to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games of such a transition.

“They say timing is everything and throughout my many careers I’ve always observed that it is important to know when to go,” stated Rudge. “The past seven plus years have been inspiring, and were highlighted by an unforgettable Vancouver Games that are sure to leave an indelible mark on our national soul.”

Chris Rudge - outgoing CEO of the COC

In this time of transition, Rudge will leave the COC along with outgoing COC Board President, Mike Chambers, who will be succeeded by COC President-Elect, Marcel Aubut. Rudge was named COC CEO in January 2003 but was an instrumental Board member of VANOC and Toronto 2015, which will bring the Pan Am and Para-Pan Am Games to Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe Area in 2015. Rudge was also Chair of the Own The Podium Steering Committee for the past two years. Rudge brought a wealth of knowledge to the position gathered through his time and various positions with Quebecor World Inc., Que-Net Media,  the Financial Post, and Web Offset Publications.

Although a replacement for Rudge has not been announced to-date, the rumour is that the COC Board has been looking south of the border to opportunities and possibilities within the American sector to succeed Rudge.

A week after Rudge’s resignation, Roger Jackson, CEO of the Own The Podium (OTP) program has also announced his resignation. OTP was developed after Canada won the bid to host the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in an attempt to quash the dubious and embarassing distinction of being the only host country in Olympic history to not win a gold medal at an Olympic Games. Mission succeeded.

Although OTP’s goal of being the top nation in overall medals at the 2010 Games was not realized, it was Canada’s best ever Winter Games result and Canada was on top of the podium in total gold medals won – a total of 14, more than any other host nation in Olympic history. Now that is something Canada will be proud to be remembered for.

The $117 million program was funded, in part, by the Federal Government and VANOC with the monies being used to help fund sport training, hire coaches and medical staff, and invest in new sport technology for winter sports. A similar program was developed in 2006 for summer sports. An arm of OTP and termed “Road To Excellence” (RTE), its goal is for Canada to be in the top 12 nations of overall medal count at the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

Roger Jackson - outgoing CEO of OTP

Jackson, a gold medal Olympic rower from the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and well respected Canadian sport administrator, has led OTP since its conception in 2005 and put together a team of well respected and knowledgeable individuals. Jackson has stated from the beginning that, regardless of the outcome from Vancouver 2010, he would resign from his position with OTP in order to pursue other ventures.

Alex Baumann, gold medal Olympic swimmer in the 200m and 400m IM at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and current director of the RTE program, will be the interim replacement for Jackson with OTP.

For more information on the Canadian Olympic Committee, please click here. For more information OTP, please click here.

Curling repeat!

Near flawless during round robin play, Canada entered the semi-finals for wheelchair curling with a 7-2 record, loosing only to Sweden and Italy in round robin action but good enough to remain at the top of the leader board.

With only one tiebreaker game, between Sweden and Italy, it would be destiny for Canada to get one more shot at beating the only two teams who defeated them in round robin play. Sweden would win the tiebreaker to go on and play Canada in the semi-final. With no Page Playoff system that is quite customary and normal for most Canadian spectators and players, the semi-final game is a “must win” situation to move on to the gold medal game. Canada would not disappoint putting all past games aside and besting the Swedes in a 10-5 win to move on to the Gold medal game. Surprisingly, in the other semi-final match-up, Korea beat the favoured Americans in a tight game that came down to the last rock.

Canada struck first with two exceptional shots by second, Ina Forrest, followed up by a nice run back  by skip, Jim Armstrong, to lie three in the first end. Canada stole a single point in the second end after some sloppy play by the Koreans and led the game 4-0. Drawing for two in the third end, Korea’s skip, Kim Haksung, came up light and settled for a single point to go on the board.

The fourth end would prove to be crucial for Canada as Armstrong drew his final stone for a total of four points and giving Canada a commanding lead at the fourth-end break to go up 8-1 over Korea.

However, Korea responded and capitalized on some Canadian missed shots by taking two in the fifth end and stealing another two in the sixth end. A seven-point deficit was starting to slip away from the Canadians with two ends to play as the Korean’s edged ever so close to taking over the lead. Armstrong was only able to clear one Korean stone in the seventh holding the Koreans at bay as they stole one more point for a 8-6 game.

Jim Armstrong celebrates win over Korea

In the final end, Korea was lying 2 rocks in the house with Armstrong’s final stone to still be thrown. Armstrong had a clear hit on one of the Korean stones and simply just needed to get rid of one of the stones for the win. With the hammer, Armstrong let go of the final rock as the entire capacity crowd went silent. As it inched closer and closer to its target, Armstrong raised his stick in celebration prompting the entire crowd to rise in celebration. The take-out was successful, leaving Korea to score another point but give Canada the 8-7 victory.

The Canadian Team, consisting of Jim Armstrong, Darryl Neighbour, Ina Forrest, Sonja Gaudet, and Bruno Yizek (5th), became the only team to repeat a gold medal performance from the 2006 Torino Games. Sweden defeated the US in the bronze medal game 7-5.