Coaching Association of Canada

Coaching Association of Canada Announces the 2008 Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Award Winners

October 30, 2008

OTTAWA, ON – The Coaching Association of Canada today announced the names of the 52 coaches who are the 2008 recipients of the Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Awards.

The awards will be presented during Petro-Canada Sport Leadership sportif 2008, scheduled to take place in Calgary, AB, November 7-9, 2008. The Sport Leadership Awards Ceremony will take place on Friday, November 7, 2008, at 7:00 pm at the Calgary Telus Convention Centre.

This year, these prestigious awards recognize coaches whose athletes won medals at the 2008 Olympic Games, the 2008 Paralympic Games, the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and at various world championships.

“With a conference theme of 'Executing Excellence,' what better way to honour our coaches than with the Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Awards,” says Steven Keith, Director of Olympic and Community Partnerships, Petro-Canada. “This year has been very successful and we are proud to recognize Canada's coaches for their tremendous contribution to sport.”

The winners are:

Houshang Amiri of Mill Bay, BC, who coached Svein Tuft to the Individual Time Trial silver medal at the world cycling championships.

Janet Arnott of Winnipeg, MB, coach of the world champion curling rink of skip Jennifer Jones, lead Dawn Askin, second Jill Officer, and third Cathy Overton-Clapham.

Annie Barabé of Sorel-Tracy, QC, coach of Jessica Dubé and Bryce Davison, pairs bronze medallists at the world figure skating championships.

Lee Barkell of Barrie, ON, coach of Jeffrey Buttle, world figure skating champion in men's singles.

Shelley Barnett of Burlington, ON, coach of Team Canada, bronze medallists at the world synchronized skating championships.

Randy Bennett of Brentwood Bay, BC, coach of Ryan Cochrane, Olympic bronze medallist in 1500 metres freestyle.

Ron Brown of Winnipeg, MB, coach of Jen Saunders, singles bronze medallist at the world racquetball championships.

Marty Calder of St. Catharines, ON, coach of wrestler Tonya Verbeek, Olympic bronze medallist in 55 kilograms.

Derrick Campbell of Montreal, QC, coach of short track speed skater Charles Hamelin, world championship silver medallist in 500 metres and in team.

Michael Creamer of Kirkland, QC, coach of Thomas Hall, Olympic bronze medallist in C-1 1000 metres.

Allison Dobb of Victoria, BC, coach of Gabe Bergen, James Dunaway and coxswain Mark Laidlaw, world coxed pair champions.

Ray Elrick of Metcalfe, ON, coach of Jason Dunkerley, Paralympic bronze medallist in 1500 metres.

Peter Eriksson of Ottawa, ON, coach of Chantal Petitclerc, Paralympic champion in 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres, 800 metres, and 1500 metres.

Joel Filliol of Victoria, BC, coach of Simon Whitfield, Olympic silver medallist in triathlon.

Rob Fox of Thornhill, ON, coach of Oskar Johansson and Kevin Stittle, world silver medallists in the Tornado class.

Martin Gagné of Montreal, QC, coach of short track speed skater Kalyna Roberge, world championship bronze medallist in 500 metres, 1000 metres, and the 3000 metres relay.

Michel Gagnon of Longueuil, QC, coach of Vincent Gagnon, singles bronze medallist at the world racquetball championships.

Craig Guthrie of Halifax, NS, coach of sailor Paul Tingley, Paralympic champion in the 2.4 MR class.

Cesar Henderson of Brossard, QC, coach of Alexandre Despatie, Olympic silver medallist on the 3-metre springboard.

Ken Hitchcock of Columbus, OH (USA), head coach of Team Canada, silver medallists at the men's world ice hockey championships.

Ron Jacks of Victoria, BC, coach of Stephanie Dixon, Paralympic champion in 100 metres backstroke.

Bent Jensen of Victoria, BC, coach of Iain Brambell, Jon Beare, Mike Lewis, and Liam Parsons, Olympic bronze medallists in lightweight four.

Benoît Labrecque of Quebec City, QC, head coach of the wheelchair rugby team, Paralympic bronze medalist in Beijing.

Marcel Lacroix of Calgary, AB, coach of long track speed skater Denny Morrison, world 1500 metres champion and 1000 metres bronze medallist.

Jean Laroche of Sherbrooke, QC, coach of Diane Roy, Paralympic bronze medallist in 400 metres.

Benoît Lebrun of Pointe-Claire, QC, coach of swimmer Benoît Huot, Paralympic bronze medallist in 200 metres individual medley.

Yihua Li of Pointe Claire, QC, coach of Émilie Heymans, Olympic silver medallist on the 10-metre tower.

Brett Lumley of Windsor, ON, coach of Stefanie Reid, Paralympic bronze medallist in 200 metres.

Alain Maillé of Joliette, QC, head coach of the Special Olympics national team at the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games where Brittany McLeod won the 200 metres freestyle silver medal and Ashley Haskett won the 50 metres freestyle bronze medal.

Steve McBride of Victoria, BC, coach of sailors John McRoberts and Stacie Louttit, Paralympic bronze medallists in the SKUD class.

Sébastien Messier of St-Lambert, QC, coach of Anne Polinario, Paralympic champion in 50 metres freestyle.

Terrance Millar of Orangeville, ON, coach of Olympic show jumping champion Eric Lamaze and the silver medal team of Lamaze, Jill Henselwood, Ian Millar, and Mac Cone.

Al Morrow of London, ON, coach of rower Tracy Cameron and Melanie Kok, Olympic bronze medallists in lightweight double.

Scott Oldershaw of Burlington, ON, coach of Adam Van Koeverden, Olympic silver medallist in K-1 500 metres.

Jules Owchar of Edmonton, AB, coach of the world champion curling rink of skip Kevin Martin, lead Ben Hebert, second Marc Kennedy, and third John Morris.

Terry Paul of Victoria, BC, coach of rowers Dave Calder and Scott Frandsen, Olympic silver medallists in the pair.

Pierre Pomerleau of Charlesbourg, QC, coach of Dean Bergeron, Paralympic champion in 200 metres and bronze medallist in 400m.

Paul Ragusa of Calgary, AB, coach of wrestler Carol Huynh, Olympic champion in 48 kilograms, and of Erica Sharp, world championship bronze medallist in 51 kilograms.

Rick Reelie of Saskatoon, SK, coach of Ilana Duff, Paralympic bronze medallist in 100 metres.

David Ross of Thornhill, ON, coach of Karen Cockburn, Olympic silver medallist in individual trampoline, and Jason Burnett, who won the Olympic silver medal in the men's event.

Derrick Schoof of Vancouver, BC, coach of Donovan Tildesley, Paralympic bronze medallist in 400 metres freestyle.

Réjean Sergerie of Ste-Catherine, QC, coach of Karine Sergerie, Olympic taekwondo silver medallist in 67 kilograms.

Peter Smith of Lachine, QC, head coach of Team Canada, silver medallists at the women's world ice hockey championship.

Jeff Snyder of Elmira, ON, head coach of Team, Canada world sledge hockey champions.

Mike Spracklen of Sydney, BC, coach of the Olympic champion eight of coxswain Brian Price, Kyle Hamilton, Adam Kreek, Dominic Seiterle, Malcolm Howard, Jake Wetzel, Andrew Byrnes, Ben Rutledge, and Kevin Light.

Andrea Taylor of Langley, BC, coach of Lauren Barwick, Paralmypic Para-Dressage freestyle test champion and silver medallist in the individual championship test.

Kevin Tyler of Edmonton, AB, coach of IAAF World Indoor Championships gold medallist in the 400 meters Tyler Christopher.

Eric Van Den Eynde of St-Bruno, QC, coach of Paralympic bronze medallists Geneviève Ouellet and Mathilde Hupin in the tandem road race.

Xiuli Wang of Calgary, AB, coach of long track speed skater Kristina Groves, 3000 metres world champion, silver medallist in 1000 metres, and bronze medallist in 1500 metres and 5000m, and of Clara Hughes, silver medallist in 5000 metres.

Kelly Zackodnik of Calgary, AB, head coach of the national team at the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games, where Ian Sheppard won the 1500 metres gold medal and Catherine Partlow won gold in 200 metres. Silver medallists were Chantal Payne in 100 metres, Ray Lappalinen in 100 metres, Ashlin Adams in 400 metres, and the women's and men's 4x100 metres relay. The bronze medallists were Adam Guthrie in 3000 metres and Blair Desjardins in 100 metres.

Victor Zilberman of Montreal, QC, coach of wrestler Martine Dugrenier, silver medallist at the 2007 World Championships.

Marina Zoueva of Canton, MI (USA), coach of Tess Virtue and Scott Moir, ice dancing silver medallists at the world figure skating championships.

About CAC
The Coaching Association of Canada is a not-for-profit amateur sport organization with the mission of enhancing the experiences of all Canadian athletes through quality coaching. CAC and its partners deliver a leading-edge coaching system whose goal is to have an impact on 1,000,000 athletes through the training of 100,000 coaches each year in the National Coaching Certification Program. Visit www.coach.ca for more information about coach education and training.

 

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For more information, contact:

Michèle Dion
Communications Coordinator
Coaching Association of Canada
613-235-5000, ext. 9-2384
mdion@coach.ca

 

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