CALGARY – The 24th Winter Universiade opens Wednesday in Harbin, China, and 19 students and staff from the University of Calgary will be on hand to represent Canada in the bi-annual gathering of the top collegiate athletes around the globe.
A total of 17 student-athletes representing the sports of biathlon, Nordic skiing, ice hockey, and speed skating will walk behind the maple leaf into the Opening Ceremonies, where they will be joined by one speed skating coach from the Olympic Oval and an athletic therapist from the Faculty of Kinesiology's Sports Medicine Centre.
“I congratulate all 17 student-athletes for being selected to compete at the Universiade,” said Ann Tierney, the University of Calgary's vice-provost (students). “These students are successfully balancing their academic work with their athletic goals. That's an impressive undertaking.”
“It is always a significant accomplishment to represent your country on the international stage,” echoed Kevin Boyles, director of athletics. “We are confident that all of these athletes will represent Canada and the University of Calgary well in China.”
Four members of the Dinos men's hockey team will join all-stars from across the Canada West conference to form Team Canada for the Universiade. Forwards Torrie Wheat, Brett O'Malley, and Reid Jorgensen along with defenceman Travis Friedley will don the maple leaf as Canada looks to defend its 2007 Universiade gold medal, which was won by a team of Atlantic all-stars in Torino, Italy.
All four players are in the top six in scoring for the Dinos with two games remaining in the season, with Wheat sitting tied seventh in the Canada West scoring race with 26 points in 26 games. The players will miss the Dinos' season-ending series with the UBC Thunderbirds this weekend as Calgary looks to qualify for the playoffs for the 24th straight season.
Joining the four hockey players will be athletic therapist Brandon Thome from the Faculty of Kinesiology's Sports Medicine Centre. Thome, a graduate of the athletic therapy program, is the full-time therapist with Dinos men's hockey.
The 10 countries entered in the 2009 Universiade tournament will be split in two pools, with the top two teams in each group at the end of round-robin play advancing to the semi-finals.
Canada will be grouped with host China, Great Britain, the Czech Republic and 2007 bronze medalist Kazakhstan, while the other pool will be comprised of Russia, the United States, Slovakia, Japan and Korea.
Canada opens the competition against China on Feb. 20. The semi-finals are slated for Feb. 27 and the bronze medal game and championship final on Feb. 28.
Thanks to the legacy of the Olympic Oval, more than half of the Canadian contingent in long track speed skating will be made up of U of C students. The four-man, four-woman team is the first in Canadian history to attend a Universiade, and the depth of the senior national team should make this squad a force to reckon with in China.
Leading the way on the women's side is Medicine Hat's Kirsti Lay. A member of Speed Skating Canada's National Development Team for two years, Lay posted impressive results at the CanAm Internationals earlier this season. Finishing on the podium at all six distances, she won gold in the 1000, 1500 and 3000-metre races.
Anastacia Bucsis of Calgary is the youngest skater on the women's roster. A silver medalist for Alberta in the 500-metre event at the 2007 Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse, Bucsis also posted a pair of podium finishes in CanAm competition this season.
Shannon Sibold, who is also a U of C student but trains in Quebec City, has also enjoyed podium success this season. A member of the National Development Team, she won the 3000-meter race at a Canada Cup event in January.
Regina native Mykola Makowsky has registered four podium finishes on the Canada Cup circuit in 2008, highlighted by a gold-medal skate in the 1500-metre event at the first meet of the season. Makowsky is on the National Development Team and is the older brother of current National Team skater Lucas Makowsky.
Another member of the Talent 2014 Team, Keith Sulzer, posted respectable results in his first trip to the Canadian championships, skating to a ninth-place finish in the 10 000 metres and an 11th-place showing at 5000 metres. Sulzer was a key contributor for Team Alberta at the 2007 Canada Winter Games, posting four podium finishes including a gold-medal performance at 1500 metres.
Todd McClements, an Olympic Oval coach in long track speed skating, is part of the two-man coaching staff headed to China. McClements is also a University of Calgary student, taking part-time studies in sociology.
The Canadian short track speed skating team is also heavy on U of C talent with four Olympic Oval athletes named to the team: Tyler Derraugh, Liam McFarlane, Richard Shoebridge, and Gabrielle Waddell. All four have competed internationally for Canada in the past, with Derraugh and Waddell currently members of Speed Skating Canada's Talent 2014 squad.
Shoebridge, who was born in South Africa, is the only returning member of the Canadian team from the Torino 2007 Universiade, where he qualified for the quarterfinals, while McFarlane is on the National Development Team.
The other Dinos varsity athlete travelling to China is cross country skier Gavin Hamilton, who was named the CIS community service award winner in cross country running last fall. Hamilton joins two other U of C representatives on the cross country team: Terrell Stephen, who will make his second straight Universiade appearance after a 56th place finish in Torino, and Carl Steudler.
David Johns, a Saskatoon native who trains at the National Biathlon Training Centre in Canmore, is a student in the Faculty of Science and will represent Canada in biathlon.
The 2009 Winter Universiade in China will feature over 50 sporting events, encompassed in the following 12 sports: alpine skiing, cross country skiing, ski jumping, Nordic combined, biathlon, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, short track speed skating, long track speed skating, figure skating, snowboard and curling.
Official website: www.harbin2009.org
Team Canada website: www.cisport.ca/harbin
The University of Calgary is also expected to send a sizable contingent to the 25th Summer Universiade, to be held in early July in Belgrade, Serbia.
-UC-
Harbin 2009 – University of Calgary Athletes & Staff
Athlete (Faculty, Hometown)
Biathlon
David Johns (Science, Saskatoon, Sask.
Cross Country Skiing
Gavin Hamilton (Graduate Studies, St. Catharines, Ont.)
Terrell Stephen (Haskayne School of Business, Calgary, Alta.)
Carl Steudler (Schulich School of Engineering, Calgary, Alta.)
Men's Ice Hockey
Travis Friedley (Haskayne School of Business, Delia, Alta.)
Reid Jorgensen (Open Studies, Vancouver, B.C.)
Brett O'Malley(Open Studies, Stettler, Alta.)
Torrie Wheat (Haskayne School of Business, Nanaimo, B.C.)
Brandon Thome (Athletic Therapist - Kinesiology, Calgary, Alta.)
Short Track Speed Skating
Tyler Derraugh (Communication and Culture, Winnipeg, Man.)
Liam McFarlane (Science, Medicine Hat, Alta.)
Richard Shoebridge (Kinesiology, Cambridge, Ont.)
Gabrielle Waddell (Communication and Culture, Red Deer, Alta.)
Long Track Speed Skating
Anastasia Bucsis (Fine Arts, Calgary, Alta.)
Kirsti Lay (Haskayne School of Business, Medicine Hat, Alta.)
Shannon Sibold (Social Sciences, Calgary, Alta.)
Mykola Makowsky (Schulich School of Engineering, Regina, Sask.)
Keith Sulzer (Social Sciences, Calgary, Alta.
Todd McClements (Coach – Olympic Oval, Calgary, Alta.)
