COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE
Inline speed skating in Canada : a translation by Peter Doucet
Communiqué du 14/03/2003
In Canada, it’s wintertime. It’s as cold as -30°C in this country during February. It is useless to say that very few, if any, skaters are training outdoors during this time. That’s a big problem for the sport in Canada. ‘There are very few rinks and it is usually during this time that athletes leave the sport because there is no motivation’, says Peter Doucet, one of the most reputable Canadian skaters who is also a supporter of the sport in Canada and in the World. ‘We’ve got nowhere to skate during the winter! All we have a wet roads covered with snow and salt’. Doucet keeps a smile as he is tied into many different aspects of the sport. He coaches the Toronto Inline Skating Club and the Scooters Indoor Speed Club, he is the race organizer for the Toronto International Inline Race Weekend and the Roller Sports Ontario Track Race Series, Webmaster of 3 Internet sites, and a dealer of equipment. In short, just like he’d say, he loves the sport.
Most of the Canadian clubs are close to the USA, along the St-Laurence River and the great lakes, ancient Iroquois and Huron territories. It’s not surprising then that there is an indoor culture in Canada. The driving force behind the indoor racing in Canada is Roller Sports Ontario’s interclub meets and Provincial Championships. This is just a drop though in this country, which has 28 million inhabitants. But because they are close to the USA, Canadian skaters will sometimes find themselves among their North American counterparts.
It is during spring and summer when the temperature rises to 30°C, that roller speed skating flourishes in Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa. Of course, there is Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Calgary, which are thousands of miles away! All the clubs in these cities have between 10 and 70 members who compete in various events, including the Festival de la Santé in Montreal, the National Capital Race Weekend in Ottawa, Nationals, and the Toronto International Inline Race Weekend. And then there are some smaller meets organized by the Provincial Federations, such as Roller Sports Ontario. Roller Sports Canada organizes the Canadian Championships which usually take place each July.
“We are recognized by the Canadian Olympic Committee, but the government does nothing, or very little to support us’ says Peter Doucet. To be recognized and gain attention, Peter and his teammates, have to go to international events including the Pan Am Games/ Championships, the New York 100k, or the Duluth World Cup GP. That’s where in the 2002 event that Peter raised the Canadian flag nice and high as he finished in 8th place overall, ahead of great skaters such as Salomon’s Pier Davide Romani and Juan Carlos Becantur!
With their enthusiasm, skaters in Canada will make the sport grow. As Peter says, ‘We have very few skaters at each level, few coaches, few clubs, race organizers, and events- we have to take the most out of what we have to start to grow’. According to Peter, the foundation in Canada would be with each Province’s federation (or regional). The national federation has very little money and very few volunteers. There are 5 provinces, which have Provincial Federations, out of 13 Provinces and Territories! Roller Sports Ontario is taking charge with organizing a 5 racetrack series.
As Peter thinks about the future of the sport in Canada, his thoughts are not limited by the geography of this vast country. ‘We need more races, more coaches, more athletes, and better organizations. When we have these things well developed, then we will have something, a strong product to use to get sponsors and money from the government’. What is missing in Canada are the roller rinks to support the skaters in the wintertime. There is still that big gap to fill. Canada is a fertile land for the future of roller speed skating.
Links:
www.geocities.com/shaloheat/ Peter Doucet’s site (Peter’s Inline Racing Web Page). Events site, news, and results updated frequently.
www.geocities.com/torontoinline/tevent.htm : Canadian events.
www.rollersports.can/index2.html : Roller Sports Canada.
www.roller-montreal.com : A website from the French capital of Canada.
http://members.rogers.com/sk8toronto/ : Information about skating in Toronto.
In Canada, it’s wintertime. It’s as cold as -30°C in this country during February. It is useless to say that very few, if any, skaters are training outdoors during this time. That’s a big problem for the sport in Canada. ‘There are very few rinks and it is usually during this time that athletes leave the sport because there is no motivation’, says Peter Doucet, one of the most reputable Canadian skaters who is also a supporter of the sport in Canada and in the World. ‘We’ve got nowhere to skate during the winter! All we have a wet roads covered with snow and salt’. Doucet keeps a smile as he is tied into many different aspects of the sport. He coaches the Toronto Inline Skating Club and the Scooters Indoor Speed Club, he is the race organizer for the Toronto International Inline Race Weekend and the Roller Sports Ontario Track Race Series, Webmaster of 3 Internet sites, and a dealer of equipment. In short, just like he’d say, he loves the sport.
Most of the Canadian clubs are close to the USA, along the St-Laurence River and the great lakes, ancient Iroquois and Huron territories. It’s not surprising then that there is an indoor culture in Canada. The driving force behind the indoor racing in Canada is Roller Sports Ontario’s interclub meets and Provincial Championships. This is just a drop though in this country, which has 28 million inhabitants. But because they are close to the USA, Canadian skaters will sometimes find themselves among their North American counterparts.
It is during spring and summer when the temperature rises to 30°C, that roller speed skating flourishes in Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa. Of course, there is Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Calgary, which are thousands of miles away! All the clubs in these cities have between 10 and 70 members who compete in various events, including the Festival de la Santé in Montreal, the National Capital Race Weekend in Ottawa, Nationals, and the Toronto International Inline Race Weekend. And then there are some smaller meets organized by the Provincial Federations, such as Roller Sports Ontario. Roller Sports Canada organizes the Canadian Championships which usually take place each July.
“We are recognized by the Canadian Olympic Committee, but the government does nothing, or very little to support us’ says Peter Doucet. To be recognized and gain attention, Peter and his teammates, have to go to international events including the Pan Am Games/ Championships, the New York 100k, or the Duluth World Cup GP. That’s where in the 2002 event that Peter raised the Canadian flag nice and high as he finished in 8th place overall, ahead of great skaters such as Salomon’s Pier Davide Romani and Juan Carlos Becantur!
With their enthusiasm, skaters in Canada will make the sport grow. As Peter says, ‘We have very few skaters at each level, few coaches, few clubs, race organizers, and events- we have to take the most out of what we have to start to grow’. According to Peter, the foundation in Canada would be with each Province’s federation (or regional). The national federation has very little money and very few volunteers. There are 5 provinces, which have Provincial Federations, out of 13 Provinces and Territories! Roller Sports Ontario is taking charge with organizing a 5 racetrack series.
As Peter thinks about the future of the sport in Canada, his thoughts are not limited by the geography of this vast country. ‘We need more races, more coaches, more athletes, and better organizations. When we have these things well developed, then we will have something, a strong product to use to get sponsors and money from the government’. What is missing in Canada are the roller rinks to support the skaters in the wintertime. There is still that big gap to fill. Canada is a fertile land for the future of roller speed skating.
Links:
www.geocities.com/shaloheat/ Peter Doucet’s site (Peter’s Inline Racing Web Page). Events site, news, and results updated frequently.
www.geocities.com/torontoinline/tevent.htm : Canadian events.
www.rollersports.can/index2.html : Roller Sports Canada.
www.roller-montreal.com : A website from the French capital of Canada.
http://members.rogers.com/sk8toronto/ : Information about skating in Toronto.
