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The Toronto Speed Skating Club gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation. |
INTRO TO SPEED SKATING PROGRAM SOLD OUT!Thank you for your interest in our 4-week Introduction to Speed Skating program in March/April. Due to an overwhelming response, all spots have been filled and we are not taking any more registrations. We will be offering multiple Learn To Speed Skate sessions in the Fall. So, get on our mailing list today and we will send you advance notice of our Fall sessions. Please e-mail Tama Soble at tamasoble@gmail.com. BANQUET & AGMPlease hold the date: Sunday, April 18th, 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Event: The Toronto Speed Skating Club will be hosting a get together for all skaters and their families to celebrate our very successful season. There will be eats and the event is expected to be a fun time for all! Location: Swansea Town Hall, 95 Lavinia Ave, Toronto Cost: 12 and under $5, all others $10 The evening will start with the clubs Annual General Meeting from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. We encourage you to come and hear what we have been doing to build the club and also talk about plans for the future. There are also a number of volunteer positions available where you could help grow the club including (but not limited to):
We look forward to seeing you there! CROSS-TRAINING IDEAMidweek Cycling Club runs Toronto area weekly programming to assist youth and adults to enter competitive cycling. This year is their twelfth year of running developmental cycling programming. Programs include 9 years of age in the kid's and youth program, 11+ in the youth and adult learn-to-race and the club rides and 14+ in the weekly race program. About half the participants of the youth and adult learn-to-race are females and half of them are multi-sporters. Student-to-instructor ratio is about 6:1. Any and all are welcome. Club is OCA affiliated. Note program fees heavily favour club membership and even more so for youth under 23 (anyone can join); all weekly programming is free with club membership. For more information, please visit their web site. RESULTS FROM ONTARIO CUP #4A Toronto record nine skaters competed in the 4th Ontario Cup hosted by the Kitchener Waterloo Club on February 13th and 14th. Toronto athletes had an outstanding meet and had many at the meet talking about huge improvements from multiple skaters (it is the water, we promise!) Highlights of the meet included: Stephanie B 3rd Open A Women, Henry T 6th Open A Men, William P 7th Open A Men, Alexander H 6th Midget Boys, Sarah K 8th Open A Women and Annika E 9th Midget Girls. PBs were skated by: Annika E (500, 666 & 777), Alexander H (333, 500, 666 & 777), William P (500, 1000 & 1500), Eden S (666), Hannah K (333, 500 & 666), Sarah K (500, 1000 & 1500) and Aidan P (500, 666 & 1000). Three skaters went to their first ever OCup Hannah K, Aidan P and Alexander H (Alexander came 6th Midget and had many asking who this kid was!). Alexander H joins our sub-55-second 500 club, Sarah K joins the sub-1:50 1000 club and Annika E cut three seconds off her 500 time, knocking on the door of the sub-55 club!
Click here for the complete results. RESULTS FROM THE MILTON LADDER MEETFive Toronto skaters attended the Milton ladder meet on February 7th. Skaters had the opportunity to skate six races plus a relay at the meet so were tired by the end of the day! PBs were skated by Erich E (111, 222, 333 & 500), Maxwell E (500, 666 & 777), Benn M (500) and Peter D (500, 777 & 1000). Peter D joins our sub-55-second 500 club and Maxwell E is very close to breaking the 60-second 500 barrier! 
(Click the thumbnail image to see a larger image.) RESULTS FROM WESTERN REGIONAL #5Nineteen Toronto skaters attended the 5th Western Regional meet hosted by your own Toronto club on January 30th. Highlights of the meet included Cameron B 1st Charlie, Dave F 2nd Charlie, William P 2nd Alpha, Annika E 3rd Juliet, Eden S 5th Echo, Hannah K 5th Lima, Erich E 6th November, Aidan P 7th Delta, Tabatha W 7th Oscar and Phoebe H 7th November. Yet again there were three skaters competing in their first ever meet Hannah K, Samantha K and Tabatha W! Many of our skaters achieved PBs including: Erich E (111 & 222), Maxwell E (333 & 500), Annika E (333), Nils E (500), Dave F (500 & 777), Phoebe H (111), Hannah K (222 & 333), Samantha K (222 & 333), Aidan P (500), Eden S (777), Conor W (1000), Tabatha W (111 & 222) and John W (333 & 500). Dave F broke 55 seconds for the 500! RESULTS FROM WESTERN REGIONAL #4Ten Toronto skaters attended the 4th Western Regional meet hosted by the Oakville club on January 17th. Highlights of the meet included Alexander H 4th India, Kate K 4th Foxtrot, Aidan P 5th Delta, Ian W 5th Lima and Erich E 6th November. Three skaters attended their 1st ever meet Phoebe H, Ian W & Sarah W! All skaters completed at least one personal best time as follows: Aidan P (777), Erich E (222 & 333), Maxwell E (333 & 500), Phoebe H (222 & 333), Alexander H (333 & 500), John W (333), Kate K (500 & 777), Sarah K (500), Ian W (222, 333 & 500) and Sarah W (222, 333 & 500) Kate K broke a minute for the 500 and Sarah K broke 55 seconds! SPEED SKATING DEMO AT MASTERCARD CENTREThe Toronto Speed Skating Club held a speed skating demo on Family Day at the MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence. Thank you to all the skaters who participated (including our friends from Brampton, Clarington, and Durham) in the event and all the volunteers who helped out. 
(Click the thumbnail image to see a larger image.) FEROCIOUS BUT SWEET?Find out who that is in this Toronto Star article! OLYMPIC CELEBRATION AT NATHAN PHILLIPS SQUAREThroughout the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, five cities across Canada will be hosting a spectacular festival-style event with FREE food and entertainment. Watch CTV's Olympic Games coverage LIVE on a big screen and cheer on Team Canada with thousands of other proud Canadians in your community! Click here to find out more about the party right here in Toronto. ON THE EDGEWith the games coming soon, the world is about to see the results of years of atheletic training. Some say there's a price to pay for trying to fly higher than everyone else. This documentary from CBC Radio's The Current features a brief interview with a TSSC skater. OLYMPIC TORCH RELAYThe Toronto Speed Skating Club took part in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay event at the Scarborough Civic Centre on December 17th, 2009. Despite the cold weather, the event was a great success thanks to all the skaters who participated in the on-ice demonstration and the volunteers who helped to ensure the smooth execution of the program. Click here to see pictures from that day (provided by Desmond Preudhomme and Trish and Mark Elendt). SHARPENING TIPS AND TRICKSCheck out this recent article by Susan Ellis on skate sharpening. It contains plenty of excellent tips and valuable information. RESULTS FROM ONTARIO CUP #3Six Toronto skaters attended the 3rd Ontario Cup of the season hosted by the Clarington Speed Skating Club. Toronto skaters had a really good meet as they demonstrated huge improvements in both skating techniques and strategies. Highlights of the meet included Jesse LW (in from Montreal and guest skating for Toronto!) placing 5th in Mens Open A, and Henry T placing 6th in Mens Open A. PBs were skated by Eden S in every distance she skated (500, 666, 777, 1000), Annika E (333, 666, 777), Sarah K (500, 1500) and William P (1000, 1500). Eden also joined our sub-2-minute-club for 1000 m! Click here for the complete results. RESULTS FROM THE MARKHAM OLYMPIC CELEBRATION MEETFive Toronto skaters competed at the Markham Olympic Celebration meet on December 5th. Great results from our skaters yet again including a gold and silver medal haul. Results included Alex H 1st in Golf, Sarah K 2nd in Bravo, Maxwell E 5th in Echo and Alex S 5th in Golf (in his 1st ever meet!) Every skater skated multiple PBs Sarah K (777 & 1000), Jordan O (777 & 1000), Maxwell E (500, 777 & 1000), Alex H (222, 333 & 500) and Alex S (222 & 333). RESULTS FROM WESTERN REGIONAL #3Nine Toronto skaters competed at the 3rd Western Regional meet hosted by the Brampton Club on November 28th. Fantastic results at this meet with a medal haul of four including Yunus D 1st in Echo, Conor W 2nd in Bravo, Benn M 3rd in Kilo and Dave F 3rd in Charlie (in Daves 1st ever meet!). Other placed skaters included Kate K 4th in Foxtrot, John W 5th in Kilo and Rachel LW 5th in Echo. PBs were skated by Benn M (222, 333 & 500), John W (222, 333 & 500), Dave F (500, 777 & 1000), Kate K (500, 777 & 1000), Yunus D (500, 777 & 1000), Nils E (500 & 777), Conor W (500, 777 & 1000) and Aidan P (777 & 1000). Conor W joined our sub-55-second 500 club! RESULTS FROM THE KINGSTON LADDER MEETEight Toronto skaters competed at the Kingston ladder meet on November 14th. At this meet there are no medals for 1st, 2nd & 3rd but instead skaters move up and down a ladder based on their performance the prior race. Skaters continually skate only one distance. Toronto skaters had a very strong meet with PBs posted by: John W (333), Aidan P (500), Alex H (500), Annika E (500), Jordan O (500), Nils E (500) and Sarah K (500). Three Toronto skaters Annika E, Alex H and Jordan O joined our sub-club by breaking a minute in the 500 at this meet! Sarah K was recognized at the meet and awarded a special spirit award for her approach and attitude despite falling in her first 3 of 4 races. Sarah skated a PB 500 in her last race! RESULTS FROM ONTARIO CUP #2Four Toronto skaters attended the 2nd Ontario Cup of the season hosted by the Cambridge Speed Skating Club. All our skaters had a strong meet with multiple personal bests, even though the ice was very slow! One of our highlights was Henry T placing 5th in Open A Mens. PBs were skated by Annika E (500, 666 & 777), Eden S (1000) and William P (500 & 1000). William P also joined the sub-100-second club for the 1000! Click here for the complete results. RESULTS FROM WESTERN REGIONAL #2Four Toronto skaters competed in the 2nd Western Regional meet hosted by the Clarington Club. PBs were skated by Aidan P (500, 777), Nils E (500, 777) and William P (500, 1000). Click here for the complete results. RESULTS FROM ONTARIO CUP #1Six Toronto skaters attended the 1st Ontario Cup of the season hosted by the Gloucester Club in Ottawa. William P placed 1st in Junior Mens, Steph B placed 2nd in Open A Womens and Henry T placed 5th in Open A Mens. Skaters who had PBs included: Eden S (500 & 1000) and William P (500). Annika E missed racing the 1st day due to a fall in her 1st race where she slightly injured herself. Annika was able to skate on the 2nd day and raced with tons of heart. Click here for the complete results. RESULTS FROM THE 1ST WESTERN REGIONAL MEETFour Toronto skaters competed in the 1st Western Regional meet hosted by the London club and held in Strathroy. Highlights included Aidan P placing 3rd in the Echo grouping and Annika E finishing 6th in Hotel. Both Aidan and Annika skated PBs in every distance that they skated (Aidan 500, 666, 777, 1000, Annika 222, 333, 500, 777). William P came close to PBs in multiple distances setting himself up for success through the season. Nils E skated well but had an unfortunate fall on the 2nd day where he sprained his ankle. Click here for the complete results. RESULTS FROM THE 1ST EASTERN REGIONAL MEETToronto was represented by one skater at the 1st Eastern Regional meet in Belleville. Sarah K skated aggressively and posted a PB in the 500 m distance, setting herself up to go even faster through the season. Click here for the complete results. SPEED SKATING TAKES OFF AT NEW HOCKEY CENTRECheck out this excellent InsideToronto.com article. SKATE GUARDSJust a friendly reminder that when you have your speed skates on and you are not on the ice, please remember to put on your skate guards to prevent damages to the blades. If you do not have a pair of skate guards, please see Desmond. After you have taken off your skates, dry them with a towel or rag. Then cover the blades with a pair of soft cloth skate covers or old hockey socks. THANK YOU FOR HELPING AT THE CNE!A message from Prez Desmond: 
A huge thank you to all of the volunteers who participated in the speed skating exhibit at the CNE. We undertook a mammoth task of running an 18-day event that was appealing and interactive to the general public, yet profiled our sport as accessible and fun. With your help I think we overachieved our objectives. 
As a group we engaged thousands of people, whether it was on the slideboards, the Techni-Cords or through the "show and tell" of equipment. We were also able to engage the public in skating demonstrations (albeit using in-line skates on a very slippery, uneven surface) and we got quite a few brave souls to join us in dryland training sessions! 
I personally took many, many nuggets away from this experience, and thought I would highlight some for you:
But all of this would not be possible without you! Our sport is destined for a fantastic year as it is an Olympic year and I really appreciate your help in getting it started! For those high school students who earned community hours, please either send me an e-mail (Desmond_Preudhomme@dell.com) or catch me at the arena and I will sign off. Thanks again! CITY OF TORONTO OFFERS SPEED SKATING CLASSESThe Toronto Speed Skating Club has teamed up with the City of Toronto to offer introductory speed skating classes in Fall 2009 and Winter 2010. Please refer to the Toronto Fun Guide for more information. CYCLONES T-SHIRTS FOR SALEThe cost is $10 each. Various sizes are available. Please see Desmond if you wish to purchase one. 
(Click the thumbnail image to see a larger image.) CYCLONES JACKETS FOR SALEThese stylish jackets are perfect for speed skating practices. They can also be used for cycling and running. The cost is $65 each. Different sizes are available. Please see Desmond if you wish to purchase one. 
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