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Olympic dream alive for Central Alberta’s Elle Couture

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Elle Couture posing with her medal haul from the 2019 Western Canada Summer Games!
The letters HWPO are embroidered on Elle Couture’s swim bag.  Elle’s been swimming competitively for 5 years and HWPO has been with her for almost as long.  The letters stand for Hard Work Pays Off.  Elle says her dad always gives her that advice.   It’s really starting to pay off.
Before any swimmer ever achieves a provincial or a national ranking… there’s hundreds and then thousands of hours spent in the pool.  Before school, after school, on weekends, that’s when the good swimmer becomes great.  The races themselves are just a compilation of all the time and effort put into increasing speed and stamina, and working on the minute details and techniques.
As the summer of 2019 progressed Elle’s results kept getting better and better and as she prepares to start another school year, her dreams of representing Canada one day are very much alive.  Elle’s times have qualified her for the 2020 Canadian Swim Trials.   Since 2020 is an Olympic year there’s an outside chance for Elle to qualify, but it’s much more likely she’ll be coming into her own in four more years.
Earlier this summer we shared her provincial results.. Here they are again:
Summer Championships Alberta age group 13-14 July 4-7 Edmonton, Ab
50m Breaststroke – Bronze medal
200m Breaststroke – Bronze medal
100m Breaststroke  100m Freestyle 4th place
Best times in these 3 events
Later in July Elle swam at the Canadian Junior Nationals, where she made a strong showing:
Canadian Jr Nationals Calgary Alberta August July 24-29
Qualified for 4 events.
100m Breaststroke 6th in Canada
200m Breaststroke 5th in Canada (  having to do a head to head swim off with one other girl to qualify in 8th )
Elle came back in finals to place 5th after entering in 8th position.
The best was yet to come… As Elle competed for Team Alberta in the Western Canada Summer Games and you might say she cleaned up!   Here are the results:
Western Canada Summer Games – Swift Current Sk  Phase 1 August 9-13
Elle was chosen by Swim Alberta to compete in the Games for her 100-200 Breast stroke abilities during the qualifying period Spring 2019.   A total of 33 swimmers from across Alberta represented Team Alberta. Elle traveled with Team Alberta August 5-8 to Calgary for team practices and Team building at UofC campus.
A total of 4 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 and 2 Bronze
Events:
50m Breaststroke – GOLD
100m Breaststroke- GOLD
200m Breaststroke- BRONZE
50m Freestyle-SILVER
50m Fly -4th
3 Relays 
4x100m IM relay female – GOLD
4x200m Free mixed relay – GOLD
4x100m Free mixed relay – BRONZE

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And here’s a note from Elle’s mom:
The experience of swimming on behalf of Alberta and being with such a cohesive group of swimmers have really motivated Elle to work hard so that she can be considered for other Team Alberta travel teams for next season 2019-2020.
Elle has qualified for the Canadian Trials in March-April 2020  with her 100 Breaststroke and is 0.11 seconds off qualifying for the 200 Breaststroke.  This is the Olympic Trial year and meet and Elle is hoping to swim well enough to be considered for other travel teams for Canada as she will be 15 and making the Olympic team is a dream but perhaps will have to wait for the next Olympic cycle.  ” No Opportunity Wasted ” is something that her mental skills coach Doug Swanson has helped her work on.
Her goals have also expanded, she is working towards a chance to be chosen for Canada Games in Summer 2021 which will be held in the Niagara Region Ontario.
Here’s a video feature on Elle produced when she was just starting to show the potentials she has now begun to realize…

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Alberta

Help Us Preserve Alberta’s Sport History

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As we approach Giving Tuesday, we invite you to join us in celebrating the spirit of athleticism and honoring the legends who have left an indelible mark on the world of sports. At Alberta’s Sports Hall of Fame, we are dedicated to preserving the rich history of sports, recognizing outstanding sports heroes, and inspiring future generations.

Why Support Our Hall of Fame?

  1. Preserving Sporting Legacy: Our Hall of Fame stands as a testament to the achievements, dedication, and passion of athletes and builders who have shaped the landscape of sports. By supporting us, you contribute to the preservation of their legacy for years to come.
  2. Inspiring Future Champions: Every inductee enshrined in our Hall of Fame serves as a source of inspiration for aspiring individuals. Your generosity helps us develop programs that foster the next generation of champions, instilling values of discipline, teamwork, and perseverance.
  3. Community Engagement: We believe in the power of sports to bring communities together. With your support, we can organize events, outreach programs, and educational initiatives that promote inclusivity, diversity, and the joy of sports within our community.
How Your Donation Makes a Difference:
  • $25: Provides resources for the maintenance and preservation of historical artifacts.
  • $50: Supports educational programs that introduce schoolchildren to the history and importance of sports.
  • $100: Contributes to the development of interactive exhibits, making the Hall of Fame an engaging experience for visitors.
  • $250 and above: Enables us to expand our outreach, bringing the magic of sports to underserved communities.
Join Us on Giving Tuesday:
This Giving Tuesday, be a part of something legendary. Your contribution, no matter the size, makes a significant impact on our ability to celebrate, educate, and inspire through the power of sports.Donate today at https://www.albertasportshall.ca/ and help us continue the legacy of greatness in sports.Thank you for being a champion of sports history and the people who have made it unforgettable.

With gratitude,
Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Team

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Bruce Dowbiggin

Political Football: The Always-Barking Dog of Bilingualism

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“But you know what, man, keep your English, because we’re grabbing the Cup, and we’re bringing it to Montreal, and we’re bringing it to Quebec, and we’re bringing it home!”— from the French rant by Montreal Alouette Marc-Antoine Dequoy

While the 110th Grey Cup win by Montreal over favoured  Winnipeg was a classic comeback, it’s now being tainted by an issue that’s much older than 110 years. Canada’s bilingualism/ biculturalism debate. Having already relegated the game to cable-only TSN/ RDS the CFL must have decided that— who cares— we are in Hamilton, Ontario. Why bother with all that annoying bilingual signage?

After all, no one cares that the American band Green Day is playing at halftime of the game when any number of Canadian acts are available for the gig. Who’s going to bitch about a few advertisements? Reality check, aisle three. Language grievance is always in season in Québec.

As the French media covering the game noted in the days before the game the signage around the stadium was exclusively English-only. Didier Orméjuste of RDS observed en français, “The CFL is supposed to be a bilingual league but there is not one Coupe Grey sign in the stadium. Can’t say I’m surprised.”

The league crest at centre field read CFL only. Not LFC. Considering the efforts the CFL has made prostrating itself before the federal policy of bilingualism (for which it receives public money) it was inexcusable. It was a firing offence. Caught with their pants down the CFL rustled up a few signs around Tim Horton’s Field and led PA announcements with French. But the damage was done.

Which led to the impassioned rant by Als player Marc-Antoine Duquoy in the moments after the Als’ dramatic comeback win. He has since backed off a bit on his comments, saying “I just felt disrespected for me and for my province and for my heritage.” Since then Québec media has pummelled the league for its obtuse behaviour.

Anglo Quebecker Andrew Potter wrote, “The message it sends to Quebecers is this: If the rest of Canada can’t be bothered, why should they?” Memo to Potter: Not sure where you have been, but the rest of Canada dropped cultural football a while ago as a remnant of another time. They don’t care.

Let’s be honest, the official bilingual policy we’ve had was a dry run for the Carbon Tax. It has been a multi-billion dollar sinkhole foisted on the country by Justin Trudeau’s daddy. Like all top-down policies it is permanent and immutable. And useless at its stated goal. Quebec clearly doesn’t need it. The ROC resents it.

Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Pablo Rodriguez looks towards Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as they take part in a press conference during the COVID pandemic in Ottawa on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

In cloistered Ottawa it still has a political status that far outstrips its usefulness to the nation. While the Trudeau/ Singh cabal are slashing defence spending, no one dares divert a dime from chasing a failed dream of cultural harmony. At these prices, who needs bilingual postal workers in Moose Jaw? Or Anglo bureaucrats in Granby?

It currently serves as a fig leaf to protect the Liberal strongholds of Anglo Quebeckers and Francophone minorities in the Maritimes and Manitoba. In Québec at least, the majority francophones have steadily eroded any sense of language fairness in the province’s education, business or cultural sectors. The latest is a crushing tuition hike for out-of-province (read: Anglo) students.

The harried Anglos remaining in the province after decades of diaspora are like the white Rhodesians, voting against their best interests in the faint hope that the Liberals will save their dwindling numbers and make it Expo 67 again.

Living in Quebec, Duquoy can be forgiven for thinking that ROC is as obsessed with B&B as are the hyper-vigilant tongue troopers in Québec, who turn every slight into an excuse for more cultural purity. In fact, the ROC is far more concerned with Québec’s permanent dependency on equalization money at the expense of the energy industry it works so fervently to destroy.

The quid pro quo that underpinned the 1960s dreams of B&B— that acceptance of French everywhere would still Québec’s drive for sovereignty— is now Alberta and Saskatchewan pointing out the double standards in the current federation while asking, “Why can’t we make like Québec with a pension plan, police force and control over immigration?”

Hate to break it to Potter and Duquoy, but most in the West would gladly negotiate a new deal with Québec to re-shape the hollow dream that is Trudeau’s Canada. Keep hockey, but work out a deal the way Czechia and Slovakia did to live peaceably in their own way. Make Québec pay for its vanities while ROC hashes out a new working arrangement that reflects the current zeitgeist.

Yes, the CFL booted their Grey Cup presentation. From a business point of view insulting a significant part of your base was capotée. But in its ineptitude the league held up a mirror to the country that thinks you can make this potage of Canadian denial and American cultural pre-eminence still work.

Now, if we can just get Randy Ambrosie and his pals to drop Trudeau’s Diversity delusion from its values we might be onto something really valuable.

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Bruce Dowbiggin @dowbboy is the editor of Not The Public Broadcaster  A two-time winner of the Gemini Award as Canada’s top television sports broadcaster, he’s a regular contributor to Sirius XM Canada Talks Ch. 167. Inexact Science: The Six Most Compelling Draft Years In NHL History, his new book with his son Evan, was voted the seventh-best professional hockey book of all time by bookauthority.org . His 2004 book Money Players was voted sixth best on the same list, and is available via http://brucedowbigginbooks.ca/book-personalaccount.aspx

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