Local Sports
ASDC Athlete of the Month, named to Canada’s U20 Pan Am Games team
It’s time to take another look at this profile video of Red Deer’s Jeremiah Lauzon. Lauzon is lighting it up at meets around Alberta this season and that will mean a couple of big trips this summer. The Red Deer Titans Track and Field club member started the season with Canada’s best U20 time in the 200m and has since bettered that time. His personal best 200M time is now 20.90 which is putting him on the national and international track and field radar.
Lauzon has been named to Canada’s national team and he’s going to be representing Canada in the U20 Pan Am Games in Costa Rica in July!
Check out this video profile of Jeremiah courtesy of Alberta Sport Development Centre – Central Alberta.
The Alberta Sport Development Centre – Central (ASDC-C) is pleased to announce that the ASDC-Central Athlete of the Month for May 2019 is Jeremiah Lauzon. Jeremiah Lauzon is an 18 year old Red Deer, AB resident, Grade 12 student at Lindsay Thurber High School (LTCHS) and a competitive track & field athlete specializing in the sprints.
Jeremiah will represent Lindsay Thurber this coming weekend at ASAA Track & Field Provincials in Calgary in the 100M, 200M, 4 x 100M relay and the 4 x 400M relay. Last week, Jeremy captured all 4 events in the Zone Track & Field meet in Red Deer, winning the boys Aggregate Title.
Running for the Red Deer Titans Track Club this May, at a Track meet in Calgary, Jeremiah ran the best 200M race of his career to date, posting a time of 21.20 seconds. This time translates to the #1 ranking in Canada in the U20 age group, the #2 ranking in Canada in the U23 age group, and #11 overall men’s ranking in Canada at the 200M distance. This time also met the 200M qualifying standard for the Pan-American Games beginning July 24 in Lima, Peru. Jeremiah must await an announcement from Athletics Canada on whether he will be selected for the Pan-Am team.
Jeremiah graduates this month from Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School and has accepted a scholarship to Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Burnaby, BC and will begin classes this fall. SFU competes at the NCAA Division II level which will provide Jeremiah many opportunities to train and compete in the US moving forward. Jeremiah’s long term goal would be to compete in a summer Olympic Games for Haiti, his country of birth.
With Jeremiah’s strong work ethic, his undeniable athletic abilities and his training experiences with ASDC-Central, he will surely continue to grow, develop and succeed in his athletics career!
ASDC-Central thanks Tom Bast Sports for celebrating the ASDC-Central Athlete of the Month recipients by the provision of commemorative apparel for each recipient.
ASDC-Central Athlete of the Month – Jeremiah Lauzon
For further information regarding this athlete, the ASDC-Central and our programs, please contact Miles Kydd @ [email protected] or 403-342-3231.
Alberta
“A Really Special Place” – Why the Wild Rose Motocross Track is One of a Kind
This summer, as you wander between the breweries and activity centers located in southeast Calgary, pause for a moment – if you listen closely, you may hear the distant rumble of motocross engines as bikes of all sizes careen over jumps and around corners at the Wild Rose Motocross Track.
Located just off Blackfoot Trail in Southeast Calgary, the 88-acre park is backed by the Calgary skyline, a prime piece of land located just minutes from downtown. Founded in the 1960’s as the Blackfoot Motorcycle Park, the track has deep roots in the city of Calgary, and according to WRMA board member David Pinkman, “Few sagas can compete with the wild west history of Calgary’s Wild Rose Motocross Association and its hard-core motocross lovers.”
Photo Credit Eden Schell
In 1984, The Wild Rose Motocross Association (WRMA) was officially formed, and the Blackfoot Motorcycle Park became the Wild Rose. Acting as a major host for a number of national motocross events since the 70’s and nurturing some of Canada’s best professional riders to date, Pinkman argues the “course of Canadian motocross history may not have been the same but for this unique piece of dirt and hills.”
With 7 tracks available including the full-sized Main, East and Hill Tracks, as well as the Extreme Beginner, Mini, Pee Wee, and Enduro Tracks, Wild Rose welcomes riders of all ages and skill levels. “This is the only track of its kind in Canada,” says Michelle McCarthy, newest member of the WRMA board, “It’s right in the centre of the city; it’s got 3 big bike tracks, the smaller tracks and the enduro park. This is a really special place.”
Whether it be your first time on a bike or the day you’re finally going to clear that 15-foot tabletop, the track encourages everyone to come out and ride. “People want to see new riders,” says McCarthy, “they want to see the community flourish. Plus, dirt biking is really, really fun,” she laughs.
Photo Credit Eden Schell
Like countless other Canadian businesses, the Wild Rose Track has taken a hit due to COVID-19, with day pass riders and memberships being significantly down. Open year round – weather permitting – the track normally sees up to 30,000 visits per year. However, due to the pandemic, numbers are currently far lower as the park operates within capacity limits.
As a recreational park on city property, track management wanted to set an example for taking action to reduce the spread of COVID-19, responding rapidly to Alberta Government guidelines by implementing a number of new precautions and preventative measures. This includes constructing wash stations at every track, implementing paperless transactions and COVID-19 symptom screening upon entry to the park, as well as establishing an online scheduling system to limit the number of riders at the track at one time.
In the midst of the new normal, the park remains committed to growing and supporting the motocross community in Calgary and beyond, staying on top of updates that will allow them to return to racing and regular operation as soon as possible. While all spring and summer race series have been cancelled by COVID-19, the WRMA is actively monitoring pandemic updates with the goal of hosting a successful race series this coming fall.
To learn more about the Wild Rose Motocross Association, visit https://www.wildrosemx.com.
For more stories, visit Todayville Calgary.
Alberta
Alberta Juniors Choose Positive Path
Alberta Juniors Choose Positive Path
Everywhere there is gloom. Well, almost everywhere.
A welcome exception is the 15-team Alberta Junior Hockey League, which lost much of its gate revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic arrival at playoff time, and now waits for permission from Hockey Canada and Alberta Health Services to go ahead with its 2000-2001 season.
President Ryan Bartoshyk confirmed on Monday that his league is “in the process of drawing up our schedule right now. We’re aiming (to have teams on the ice) by Sept. 1 and we hope to get the season started by Sept. 18.” Any and all final decisions must meet with at least two levels of official approval, of course, but operators have expressed their confidence by agreeing to put in the work, recognizing that later starts (or no start) are still possibilities.
To an outsider, the clearest declaration of league independence is this: the schedule, with various possible opening dates pencilled in, is being drawn up for all 15 teams. This is most impressive when it is known that several franchises – no names provided by president Bartoshyk or any team spokesman – have expressed serious concern about the cost of business in the coming season.
We have lost at least one league camp for tryouts,” said a spokesman. “We know we’re going to lose more.”
Not included are the Blackfalds Bulldogs, who will replace the former Calgary Mustangs at the start of the 2021/2002 season. Bartoshyk was pleased to say “work on the new arena for Blackfalds is due to start this month.”
Among the established teams reported to have mentioned their problems outside of league meetings are the Canmore Eagles, but the team’s two captains and a pair of assistants have already been named for the coming season. At least a couple of promising signings have also been announced. As a result, pessimism has shrunk a great deal.
Also optimistic about the coming season are the Olds Grizzlys, whose attendance averaged well over 1,500 a game when they dominated Junior A ranks several years ago but dropped to about 600 a game last year. “This is a great sports community, a great place to be,” said club governor and vice-president executive Trent Wilhauk. “We know the fans will come back; they love their Grizzlys.”
Population of the community is slightly more than 10,000. “It’s a happening place when the team is going good.”
After wiping out last year’s playoffs and destroying some of the regular post-season increases at the gate, COVID-19 has continued to harm the AJHL, just as it has damaged so many other areas of the economy. “We have lost at least one league camp for tryouts,” said a spokesman. “We know we’re going to lose more.”
Those financial setbacks may have been dwarfed by the loss of some appealing playoff matchups. “Some of the teams that drew above-average numbers for us (Okotoks Oilers, Brooks Bandits, Sherwood Park Crusaders) didn’t have a playoff game before we had to stop,” Bartoshyk said. “They all had byes in the first round.”
Other teams with relative season-long success at the gate also missed money-raising opportunities. “It’s obvious that our league relies on corporate sponsorship and support at the gate,” Bartoshyk added, mentioning a handful of promising pending post-season clashes — Drayton Valley and Sherwood Park, the Whitehorse Wolverines and the Spruce Grove Saints, Camrose Kodiaks and Drumheller Dragons – that could not take place.
At this point, the day’s general feeling that the AJHL future remains bright surfaced again.
Said Bartoshyk: “We’re ready. We’ll do what is necessary.”
https://www.todayville.com/edmonton/hundreds-of-young-athletes-grow-more-anxious-by-the-day-acac-season-a-series-of-options/
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