Western Ontario Section News

You Could Feel the LOVE! - Tessa & Scott's Ilderton Celebration

• Ilderton celebrates ice dance champs - London Free Press article, photos and video, June 14, 2010
• Virtue, Moir enjoy heroes' welcome - Globe & Mail article and photos, June 14
• Why my life is better than Oprah's - article from PJ Kwong's blog, June 12

Olympic Champions - conquering heroes!	The Virtue & Moir Families
Master of Ceremonies, Tracy Wilson
Tessa & Scott saying Thanks	Captain Dan-brother Danny Moir that is!
The fans	Patricia Woods, Past Chair, and Steve Scherrer, Chair, Skate Canada - Western Ontario, making a presentation to Tessa & Scott on behalf of the Section.
The banner that went to Vancouver!

~ Photos with special thanks to Lori Mackey, WO Section

2009-2010 Skate Canada - Western Ontario Awards

These achievement and volunteer awards were presented at the 2010 WO AGM. Congratulations to our skaters and our thanks to our many special volunteers! Enjoy the photos, with special thanks to one of our sponsors, D'Asti Photography!

National Awards Presented at the Skate Canada Annual Convention & General Meeting

The 2010 Skate Canada Annual Convention and General Meeting (ACGM) was held in Toronto. Included in the weekend was the announcement of Skate Canada national award winners at the 2010 Skate Canada Achievement Awards Gala and Banquet on May 28th.

The Skate Canada National Award Program honours dedicated members of the skating community who have donated their time to help contribute to improving the quality of skating in Canada. Several members of Skate Canada’s national team assisted with the award presentations.

• Ursula Del Bel Belluz - shown receiving her 'Volunteer Award of Excellence' award from Tessa & Scott.
• From Skate Canada - with thanks

WOS MEMBERS ONLY Site Now Live on Skate Canada Website

Announcing a new information resource for our members! The rationale for the WOS Members' Only is that WOS Volunteers have put many hours of research, editing, proofing and compiling information that is Western Ontario Section-specific. We desire to recognize these WOS individuals and share their information (not re-invent the wheel each time so to speak). The Western Ontario Members' site will enable making updates to this information immediately available to all. This information is now removed from that dusty old shelf and becomes a resource at your fingertips for use as required by any Skate Canada registered Western Ontario Section Member.

Presently the Competition Chair Manual, prepared by Karen Wilson is the first document to be posted. The WOS Parent Manual and the Section Club Manual will be updated and added following our Section AGM.

As more data is compiled, look for further development of this resource. We will be able to define different access groups, e.g. WOS Skaters, Coaches, Officials, Clubs, etc. registered with Skate Canada.

We hope this new tool provides our Skating Clubs with additional resources to meet their information needs.

Check it out! To visit the new Western Ontario Members' site:

• Logon to Skate Canada Members' Only using your Skate Canada membership number and Password.
• Using the Menu on the left, click on Western Ontario Members.

Our thanks to John Van Schyndel at Skate Canada for making this possible and to Keith Fishwick, WO Section Director, as WO contact with John. A thank you also to Lori Mackey at our Section office for updating the master copies.

2010 Ontario Skaters' Promotional Contest Winners

Thanks to all for your participation! The draw was made at the Trillium STARSkate Championships held in Kingston, March 13-14, 2010.

Marie Bowerman Honoured by Woodstock Marie will be one of the six new honorees added to the Woodstock's Sports Wall of Fame on October 31, 2009. The following is with thanks to 'What's On Woodstock' Community Service Guide.

With a long string of national honours, Marie is generally associated with the Woodstock Skating Club, where she has been a Board Member for 40 years and a volunteer for 47 years. She is currently the club's administrator. Marie, however, has earned national recognition. In 1998, he was a recipient of a Celebration Award from the Government of Canada; in 1992, she earned a volunteer Commemorative Medal; in 1993, it was an Award of Excellence from the president of the Canadian Figure Skating Association - the same year she was Western Ontario Section volunteer of the year. A volunteering career did not end at figure skating for Marie, she's been associated with the Special Olympics in Woodstock for a decade, chaired the committee to organize and train local volunteers for the 2001 Canada Summer Games and has done 30 years of work with the Oxford Branch of the Cancer society.

Special Volunteer Award for Mary Burdon

Mary Burdon was honoured recently at the 2008 Ontario Sport Awards as a recipient of a Syl Apps Special Achievement Award. Mary has given almost 60 years to our sport, as a club volunteer, judge, data specialist, event organizer, and hospitality planner. :-) Congratulations, Mary -- so very well deserved!! Photo with thanks to the Sport Alliance of Ontario. Here's a lovely article from The London Free Press, April 4, 2009 - Citizen One: Burdon plaudits golden as figure skating activist

Skate Ontario's High Performance Elite Athlete Development Program

Skate Ontario announces its plans to expand its High Performance Elite Athlete Development Program for the following group of high-performance athletes. The object is to ensure that Ontario elite skaters will experience the best possible competitive results in the upcoming 2008/2009 season.

1. Senior and Junior National Team members
2. Athletes placing 6th to 10th in Senior and Junior events at the 2007 Canadian Championships
3. Athletes placing 1st to 5th in Juvenile, Pre-Novice and Novice events at the 2007 Junior Canadian Championships
4. Athletes who competed in the 2008 Western Challenge

Applications will be on a first come, first served basis.

• Skate Ontario information [1p, PDF]
• Application for Support Services [1p, PDF]
• Skate Ontario

WO Proudly Endorses the True Sport Movement

True Sport is a growing Canadian movement that recognizes and promotes the life skills and values derived from community sport.

Skate Canada - Western Ontario has become a member and proudly supports the True Sport Movement which is endorsed by the Federal-Provincial/Territorial Ministers responsible for sport.

Skate Canada has adopted this and has encouraged its Sections/Clubs/schools to as well. For more information on True Sport and to become a supporter of the True Sport movement follow the link below.

• Visit the True Sport Portal!
• Skate Canada is a proud supporter of True Sport

We're Scrapbooking!!

WO maintains a scrapbook on our skaters, both to allow for potential publicity, and for historical purposes. So that we can ensure that all areas of our section are represented we would like to ask everyone out there to help us by sending along copies of your local newspaper articles on the accomplishments of our athletes. Please send to the Section office and make sure that the newspaper and date is identified. Fax: 519.686.0593, or mail to: Skate Canada - Western Ontario, 237 Consortium Court, London, Ontario, N6E 2S8
Thanks to all for your help!