Canadian Junior Track and Field Championships news coverage

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=270087&sc=99

Running at home
Islanders are looking to do well at the junior track and field nationals

CHARLES REID
The Guardian

Charlottetown’s newest sports facility gets a good workout this weekend when the Canadian junior track and field championships come to the city.

And two Island athletes are hoping the UPEI Alumni Canada Games Stadium will give them a home-track advantage.

Spencer Smith of Ten Mile House, who will run in the men’s 400 metres, and Summerside’s Connor McGuire, who will run in the men’s 1,500 metres, begin racing today with event semifinals at 6:05 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. respectively. The finals are Saturday at 12:25 p.m. for the 1,500 metres and 12:55 p.m. for the 400 metres.

“I ran my fastest times on the new track and I definitely think there is a home-field advantage,” said Smith, 17. “It’s nice seeing some familiar faces in the crowd.”

McGuire, 18, who ran on the new surface at the recent provincial championships, echoes Smith.

“I have also been training on the track weekly so I have a feel for exactly how fast it is and at what points I should try and push harder.”

Other Islanders entered in the nationals are Lauren Hurry (women’s long jump) and Megan Boswell (women’s 100 and 200 metres).

The nationals are a warmup to the 2009 Canada Summer Games next month in P.E.I. and a test of the facility.

On the line are spots for Team Canada at the Pan Am junior championships later this summer in Trinidad and Tobago.

About 450 athletes representing athletics clubs from every province are expected to compete.

McGuire, a member of P.E.I.’s Games team, is aiming for the 1,500-metre final and breaking the four-minute mark, but he admits it won’t be easy.

“I have always enjoyed the metric mile as it is a mixture of pure speed, endurance and strategy. It is one of the more difficult distances, in my opinion, in track and field and there are always strong competitors who push you to run your best,” he said.

Smith has his own goals.

“I choose to do the 400-metre because it is the event I am strongest in, but I also do it because it is a challenging race,” he said. “My goal . . . is to bring my 400-metre time down to about 50 seconds or to go sub-50.”

Hosting duties for the meet belong to the City of Charlottetown and Athletics Canada. Admission is free.

(Schedule and results available at www.athletics.ca/Charlottetown2009)

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Some of the athletes featured at the Canadian junior track and field championships will include members of the national team that competed at the 2008 world junior championships in Poland.

They include: Mohammed Ahmed of St. Catherine’s, Ont.; Ariane Beaumont-Courteau of Montreal; Kendra Schaaf of Craven, Sask.; Jessica Furlan of Regina.

Ahmed placed 9th in the men’s 10,000m, Beaumont-Courteau was 12th in the women’s pole vault, Schaaf placed 7th in the women’s 5,000m and Furlan 9th in the women’s 3,000m.

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=270323&sc=99

P.E.I. track athletes compete at junior nationals

The Guardian

There are athletes from Prince Edward Island competing at the Canadian junior track and field championships underway at the UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place in Charlottetown.

Spencer Smith of Ten Mile House has advanced to the men’s 400-metre A?and B final today at 2:55 p.m.

Smith qualified for the final after finishing sixth in his preliminary heat on Friday. His time of 50.69 seconds was good enough for 15th overall.

The top 16 finishers in preliminaries advanced to the final.

Joseph Triumbair of Ontario won Smith’s heat in 49.20. Michael Trnkus, also of Ontario, had the best overall qualifying time of 48.59.

Dillan Arsenault of Tignish finished sixth in his men’s 100-metre preliminary heat with a time of 11.40 seconds.

Arsenault finished 31st out of 34 runners overall and did not advance.

Wyndale Bennett of Ontario won Arsenault’s heat with the best overall time of 10.60.

P.E.I.’s Lauren Hurry fouled out in the women’s long jump preliminary round on Friday.

Connor McGuire of Summerside was expected to compete in the men’s 1,500-metre preliminary but was not listed in the results.

P.E.I.’s Meghan Boswall will run in today’s women’s 200-metre preliminaries at 5:35 p.m.

(Full results and schedule available at www.athletics/ca/Charlottetown2009)

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=270322&sc=99

	Shona Dunkley of Toronto leads the field in a preliminary heat of the women’s 100-metre hurdles during the Canadian junior track and field championships Friday at the UPEI?Alumni Canada Games Place in Charlottetown. (Guardian photo by Nigel Armstrong)

Track's big test
Canada Games official confident nationals
will get new facility off on the right foot

The Guardian

A new Canada Games facility is getting a test run this weekend.

Some of top 19-and-under track and field athletes in the country are in Charlottetown competing at the new UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place for the Canadian junior championships.

This is the first major track and field meet of this kind to be held on P.E.I. and serves as a test run of the new facility for next month’s 2009 Canada Summer Games.

The athletics portion of the Games will run during Week 2, Aug. 24-28.

“The 2009 Canada Games Host Society is excited for this opportunity to see UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place in action this weekend for such a major Athletics event,” said Joseph Spriet, 2009 Canada Games President. “This is a great chance to give this venue a trial run and give a number of our volunteers an opportunity to train at a major event just weeks before our Games begin.

“I know the Canadian junior track and field championships will open our UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place on the right foot.”

Canada Games equipment for the August event will be used this weekend and more than 50 Games volunteers will pitch in to help out.

The Canadian championships include close to 450 athletes representing athletic clubs from across the country.

Admission to the meet is free to the public.

Hosting the Canadian championships involves joint efforts from the City of Charlottetown, Athletics Canada and the Moncton 2010 World Junior Championships Organizing Committee.

The national event was originally scheduled to be held in Moncton exactly one year before the IAAF world junior track and field championships being held there next July, but organizers had to move the event to the Island as the Moncton facility was not ready.

“This is a unique meet in that it is totally organized by the Moncton 2010 World Junior Championships Committee, but is being hosted at our UPEI Canada Games facility,” says Lyall Huggan, sport director (athletics) for the 2009 Canada Games.

He said it is very unusual to have both the Canadian juniors and the Canada Games competition at the same facility.

“It is not only the first Canadian track and field championship ever to be held in P.E.I., but it also serves as a very important test for our upcoming Games. The meet promises to produce many outstanding performances, on a track which is considered to be one of the fastest (if not, the fastest, outdoor track) in the nation.”

This weekend’s meet also serves as the qualifier for the Pan American Junior Championships, July 31-Aug. 2, in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=270598&sc=99

	P.E.I.’s Meghan Boswall competes in the women’s 200-metre preliminaries during the Canadian junior track and field championships Sunday at the UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place in Charlottetown. Boswall finished 21st overall and did not advance to the final.(Photo special to The Guardian by Geoff Robins/Mundo Sport Images)

Reviews are in

Canada Games athletics venue draws mixed reaction from national junior competitors

NATHAN ROCHFORD
The Guardian

Despite having a successful weekend hosting the 2009 Canadian junior track and field championships, the UPEI Alumni Games Place appears to have a few kinks to be worked out before the 2009 Canada Summer Games next month.

Some athletes complained Sunday the track at the Charlottetown facility was too soft, the athletes’ control centre was too small and too far away from where the actual events were taking place.

They also pointed out the wind barriers surrounding the track were not up to par with what many competitors were used to.

“The (athletes’ control centre) is so far away from the track and athletes have almost no space to warm up,” said competitor Aidan Kennedy of Ottawa. “It’s not too fun when you’re trying to do your warm-up before your race.”

Kennedy added while doing well in his events, he found the wind barriers were doing little to protect runners from fighting strong headwinds over the weekend.

“Elsewhere I’ve been the tracks are better protected,” he said, explaining for any sort of race a strong headwind can make a big difference to a competitor’s performance.

Anthony Romaniw of Hamilton, Ont., expressed similar sentiments about the venue, adding the track seemed to be soft in spots, which can cause problems.

However, while there were issues with the venue, there was also a great deal of praise for the newly-opened track.

Distance runners enjoyed the long straight-aways and, as a whole, competitors felt the meet was well managed.

Lyall Huggan, sport director (athletics) for the 2009 Canada Summer Games, said for a first-time event the weekend was practically flawless.

“After three days we were only one minute behind schedule, which is amazing,” said Huggan.

He said the Canada Games Host Society is happy with the track and venue, adding there will be minor changes made prior to the athletics portion of the Games, Aug. 24-28.

“We’re very happy with the track,” he explained. “There are a number of minor equipment issues that need to be addressed. The (athletes’ control centre) will be a little bit bigger. That is amongst many other minor changes we will be making for the Canada Games.”

Huggan added the weekend was a learning opportunity going into the Games.

“It provided invaluable information for the Canada Games and the World Junior Athletes Organizing Committee,” he said.

The championships were originally scheduled to be held in Moncton, which will be hosting the IAAF world junior track and field championships next July.

Organizers had to move the event to Charlottetown as the Moncton facility was not ready.

The national meet also served as the qualifier for the Pan American junior championships, July 31-Aug. 2, in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

(Top finishers and P.E.I. results available in The Guardian newspaper; full results available at www.athletics.ca/Charlottetown2009)