Caltaf started off the indoor season this weekend in Edmonton at the Butterdome with great results and many Personal Bests at Indoor Combined Events, Senior and Relay Provincials. It was a busy but exciting weekend for all groups from Cheetahs to Seniors. At the end of the weekend Caltaf came away with 32 medals:
Well Done Caltaf! Full results from the meet are available here.
Coach Robin reports: Highlights from the 2015 Indoor Games on 14th and 15th February
I would like to congratulate the eleven JD athletes – Hanna Stoddart, Erika, Katy, Eden, Allie Davis, Devin, Jasper, Maddie, Georgia, Skylar and Adrienne – who traveled to Edmonton this past weekend to compete in the Indoor Games (Alberta Indoor Combined Events/Relay Championships). Among them, there athletes produced some outstanding results.
JD competitors Hanna and Allie relaxing in the stands
I would like to begin to by congratulating Jasper who, on Friday evening, attended the 2014 Athletics Alberta Awards Gala. Jasper was recognized for her achievements as a bantam athlete throughout the 2013-2014 indoor and outdoor seasons. Jasper finished last year ranked 1st in the province in both the 150m and long jump, and 2nd in the high jump. As a bantam (2001) athlete, Jasper met the high jump standard required of midget (1999-2000) athletes to compete at Legion Nationals (1.45m). Had she been a year older, Jasper would have been off to Langley with Team Alberta to compete at the National Championships. In 2013-2014, Jasper was a four-time provincial champion and eight-time provincial medalist. She was CALTAF’s Bantam Athlete of the Year. Jasper is a very worthy recipient of this prestigious Athletics Alberta award – one of only ten bantam girls in Alberta to be recognized by Athletics Alberta. Congratulations Jasper!
Athletics Alberta Award recipient Jasper Crockford
Four athletes returned to Calgary as Provincial Champions. The 4x400m relay team of Skylar to Jasper to Shaniah to Erika claimed the gold medal and provincial championship title, finishing 1st of five teams in 4:21.77s. The girls edged out two strong teams from the Edmonton Columbians and the Edmonton Harriers. The team’s victory was particularly impressive given that Jasper and Skylar had less than an hour to recover from the five-event pentathlon, and Shaniah was recovering from a nasty bout of the flu, which kept her out of the remainder of the competition. Skylar also won the pentathlon, making her a double gold medalist and provincial champion.
Jasper, Erika, Skylar, Maddie and Hanna returned to Calgary as Provincial Silver Medalists. The 4x200m relay team of Skylar to Maddie to Jasper to Erika finished 2nd of five teams in 1:53.58s, while the medley relay team of Jasper (400m) to Erika (200m) to Skylar (200m) to Hanna (800m) placed 2nd of five teams in 4:35.04s.
The provincial silver medalists in the medley relay: Jasper to Erika to Skylar to Hanna
Hanna still recovering from the final 800m leg, where she ran a 3s personal best
Congratulations to our multiple provincial medal winners: four-time medalist Skylar (gold pentathlon, gold 4x400m, silver 4x200m, silver medley relay) and three-time medalists Erika (gold 4x400m, silver 4x200m, silver medley relay) and Jasper (gold 4x400m, silver 4x200m, silver medley relay). Well done ladies!
The eleven JD competitors certainly rose to the occasion, recording an impressive 20 personal best performances at the provincial championships. Katy (60m, 800m, high jump, shot put) and Skylar (60m hurdles, 60m, long jump, high jump) led the way with an outstanding four personal bests each, followed closely by Eden (60m hurdles, long jump, 800m), Jasper (60m, long jump, shot put) and Maddie (long jump, high jump, shot put) with three personal bests each. Allie (60m), Georgia (60m) and Devin (shot put) also achieved a personal best.
Coach Esther and I were especially impressed with those athletes who undertook the challenge of competing in the multiple events at this meet – Katy, Maddie, Jasper, Skylar, Devin and Eden in the five-event midget (2000/2001) pentathlon and Georgia in the four-event bantam (2002/2003) tetrathlon. The pentathlon and tetrathlon are gruelling events, requiring physical strength and endurance and mental toughness. Competing in four (tetra) or five (pent) events in one day, all of which require their own technical expertise, is no easy challenge. Both multiple events are physically and mentally exhausting, and require a lot of fortitude to complete. Coach Esther and I were very impressed with, and proud of, JD’s multiple eventers – they were amazing!
Two of JD’s pentathletes – Captain Eden and winner of the event, Skylar
Of the pentathlon/tetrathlon athletes, Coach Esther wrote… “I was very proud of the multi-eventers, especially as I don’t think many people realize how hard it is to stay focused, positive, and mentally ready for a 5 (pent)/4 (tetra) very different and technically difficult events. First of all, every single JD pentathlete/tetrathlete started and finished the pentathlon/tetrathlon. That is not always the case, as it is very easy to lose focus and step off the track, or away from the event. All of the CALTAF girls finished with grit and determination to the very last event. We have been training and preparing for CE Provincials for quite some time, but I don’t think any of the girls realized how difficult these grueling events are. Coaches and referees approached myself and were amazed at the camaraderie, technical skills, and sportsmanship of the CALTAF girls. A mature, hard fought, and disciplined pentathlon/tetrathlon can now be added to each of their repertoires. A job well done!!!! Coach Esther continued, “I think all the ladies have a new found appreciation and respect for the multi-event athlete. As they went through the events, they each had their highs and lows of competition and now know exactly what competing all day feels like, mentally and physically. It was a proud moment for me as a coach, seeing them go through each of those events. I look forward to working more closely with each of these ladies.”
There was a very large field of 18 midget women pentathletes, so the competition for the JD girls was tough. Congratulations to Skylar, who won the pentathlon, finishing 1st of eighteen 2000/2001 athletes with an impressive 2840 points. Skylar finished 1st in the 60m, 1st in the shot put, 2nd in the long jump, 2nd in the high jump and 5th in the 800m. Skylar accumulated enough points with those results to finish on top. On her way to victory, Skylar recorded personal bests in an impressive three events – 8.30s in the 60m, 4.59m in the long jump, a personal best of 37cm, and 1.44m in the high jump, a PB of 4cm. Of Skylar’s performance, Coach Esther wrote, “First overall, Skylar was a force to be reckoned with. Her size, speed and strength stood out as she consistently did what she needed to do to stay at the top, including running a 10 second PB in the 800m.”
Jasper placed 5th overall in the pentathlon with 2423 points, an impressive finish for a first-year midget who was competing against older athletes. Of the first-year/2001 athletes, Jasper placed 1st of eleven athletes. This bodes well for next year! Jasper was 2nd in the 800m, 2nd in the high jump, 5th in the long jump, 6th in the 60m and 12th in the shot put. Jasper recorded a personal best 8.73s in the 60m, cleared a personal best 4.36m in the long jump, a PB of 14cm, jumped just a centimetre shy of her personal best in the high jump, clearing 1.44m, and added almost half a metre to her PB in the shot put. Given the demands of competing in five events back to back in a pentathlon, that is a very impressive list of personal bests for Jasper. Of Jasper’s performance, Coach Esther commented, “As a first year midget, Jasper was in the mix from the beginning, being both quick and having great “springs”. Jasper excelled in the high jump and long jump, and used her fitness, smarts and speed in the last and most grueling event of all, the 800m – where Jasper broke the provincial record in the 800m pentathlon by 1.57s. It was an amazing performance, and Jasper was the highest finishing first-year midget. I can’t wait to see Jasper grow in strength and speed.”
First-year midget and JD Captain Maddie also enjoyed an outstanding pentathlon, finishing 7th of eighteen overall and 3rd of the first-year midgets with 2126 points. The highlights of Maddie’s pentathlon were the two jumping events. In the high jump, Maddie added an outstanding 10cm to her personal best, clearing 1.35m to finish 7th of the eighteen athletes. In the long jump, Maddie added almost half a metre to her personal best, clearing 4.10m to finish 8th of eighteen. Maddie also enjoyed an outstanding shot put competition, where she added 34cm to her personal best with a throw of 5.89m. In the 800m, Maddie showed her strength and determination, finishing 6th of the seventeen pentathletes in 2:42.18s, just two seconds off the provincial pentathlon 800m record of 2:40.19s. Of Maddie’s performance, Coach Esther commented, “Maddie was in pentathlon form. The “steady Eddie” of the pack (and also a first-year midget) was impressive to say the least in the high jump, long jump and 800m. There were many personal bests for Maddie during this event. She was mentally prepared, very coachable, and I can’t wait to see this young lady compete next year. She is a talented and well-rounded athlete, and the pentathlon is definitely one of her events. I can’t wait to see Maddie compete outdoors.
First-year midget Katy certainly rose to the occasion of the provincial championships, recording personal bests in four of the five pentathlon events. Katy ran personable bests in both the 60m and 800m, taking an impressive 2.65s off her PB in the 800m. Katy also added almost half a metre to her personal best in the shot put and another cm to her PB in the high jump. Of Katy’s pentathlon, Coach Esther wrote, “Katy, another first year midget, was also in good form, jumping a personal best in high jump, and a half metre personal best in the shot put. Katy put in consistent marks in all events. She has much room for improvement as she is learning all 5 events in the pentathlon. A consistent pentathlon, and we will continue to improve those very technical events.”
First-year midget Eden’s weekend began well when she ran a personal best 12.01s in the 60m hurdles to finish 4th of eight athletes, 2nd of the first-year midgets. Eden then went on to compete in the pentathlon, where the highlight was her 800m, where Eden ran a 4s personal best – no easy task at the end of a grueling day of five events. Eden also added almost half a metre to her PB in the long jump. Of Eden’s pentathlon, Coach Esther commented, “Eden had a great day on Sunday. She came in 15th overall in the province and put in 100% effort throughout the day. She achieved a 40cm personal best jump of 3.44m in the long jump, which is a huge improvement.”
Devin took on the challenge of the pentathlon despite, as a new athlete, having had little time to train in the more technical events. She did very well. Devin threw a personal best in the shot put and, despite being exhausted from the four previous events, ran a strong 800m. Devin’s 800m was one of the gutsiest performances of the meet. It would have been so easy for Devin to step off the track and not finish the 800m – she demonstrated great grit and determination by finishing that grueling event. About Devin’s performance, Coach Esther wrote, “Devin also had a good day. After running a good 60m, she jumped the opening height of the high jump with a huge clearance. Devin moved through all 5 events with sportsmanship and grace.”
Georgia, our only bantam competitor at the meet, competed in the four-event tetrathlon, where she finished 15th of twenty-four athletes overall, 6th of the twelve first-year bantams. Georgia got off to a great start, finishing 8th overall in the 60m, 3rd of the first-year bantams with a half-second personal best time of 9.40s. Georgia also ran very well in the 800m, finishing 11th overall, 4th of the first-year bantams in 2:57.25s. In her first high jump and shot put competitions, Georgia finished sixteenth overall, 7th of the first-year bantams in both events. Of Georgia’s tetrathlon Coach Esther wrote, “Georgia in the tetrathlon was great to see. She was consistent and technically very strong. Her 60m sprint speed will and agility will eventually make her a great multi-eventer. She was middle of the huge pack throughout the entire Tetrathlon. She ran a gutsy 800m and was quick in the 60m sprint. Her high jump was raw, but it was nice to see her spring over 1.05m. Imagine what she can do when she learns the Fosbury Flop. I can’t wait to see her grow into her long legs.”
The relays also included some notable performances. In the medley relay, Hanna ran a roughly 3 second personal best in the 800m to keep the team in the silver medal position and ahead of a very determined team from the Edmonton Harriers. Despite the fact that the 4x400m was the very last event of the meet, coming just after the pentathlon 800m and at a time when all of the JD athletes were exhausted and ready to head back to Calgary, all of the girls agreed to run this challenging event. I was impressed with the effort and sheer determination demonstrated by all of the JD athletes, but especially Eden and Devin, who were thoroughly worn out from the pentathlon but agreed to run the relay so that we did not have to pull a team. Coach Esther agreed, writing that, “considering that most of the girls also did the multi-events, they should be commended on their fitness and strength (in the 4×400). I was especially impressed with Devin, as she ran a very gutsy 4x400m relay after that 800m.” In order to enter a third medley relay team, we needed a third athlete to step up and agree to run the 800m. The coaches are always able to count on Adrienne in this situation and once again she didn’t let us down, agreeing to run the 800m so that Maddie, Eden and Devin would be able to compete in the medley. The 4x400m team of Allie to Katy to Maddie to Hanna finished just out of the medals in 4th place thanks to a great opening leg by Allie, who had never run a 400m before, and strong runs by each of her teammates. Jasper’s 65s split in the 400m relay is especially impressive given that she had completed a provincial-record-beating run in the pent 800m less than an hour earlier. Erika ran incredibly fast 200m splits in both the 4x200m and medley relay, finishing her medley leg in roughly 26.4s.
Eden to Hanna in the 4x200m relay
There were not many individual events offered to the midgets at this meet, but three JD athletes took advantage of those offered to record a personal best. Every time Allie steps onto to the track to run a 60m, she shaves time off her personal best. This meet was no exception, with Allie running her personal best 8.74s in the 60m heats to qualify for the final, where she ran a personal best 8.70s to finish 11th of twenty-three athletes overall. Skylar and Eden entered the 60m hurdles, and both ran personal bests. First-year midget Eden finished 4th overall, 2nd of the first-year midgets in a personal best 12.01s, while Skylar won the event, placing 1st of eight athletes in a personal best 10.03s.
A sincere thank you from the athletes and coaches to Debbie Thirnbeck, who so generously gave up her Family Day long weekend to travel with the team as chaperone. Coach Esther and I are most grateful for your assistance. Thank you also to the Sieben, Davis, Stoddart and Crockford families, who drove to Edmonton to cheer on the athletes. The athletes and coaches are most grateful for your continued support. Thank you also to Karen Davis and Kathy Melton for the photos used in this email.
Congratulations again to all athletes. A most memorable meet – well done!
Our next meet is the Indoor T&F Championships for individual events in Edmonton in March. I am looking forward to watching the athletes compete.
See you in a few of hours for our regular training session at the Talisman. Robin
Meet
Indoor Provincials
March 6-8, 2015
Edmonton, Alberta
View details (schedule, etc) for the meet here.
Departure
Leave promptly at 5:30 PM from University of Calgary (north side of the Olympic Oval by the red paperclip) on Friday March 6, 2015. We will be taking one 56 passenger bus and Sean van der Lee and Christine Laverty will be driving a 7 passenger vehicle.
Hotel
Courtyard Marriott Downtown
One Thorton Court 99 Street and Jasper Avenue Edmonton Alberta
780-423-9999
Track
University of Alberta, Universiade Pavillion (Butterdome)
1 114 Street – 87 Avenue Edmonton
Return
March 8, 2015
Departure from Edmonton after the meet (Late afternoon).
A photo shoot with para shot putter Jenn Brown on October 27, 2014.
Great story about Caltaf’s Jenn Brown by Lucas Meyer on Sportsnet.
That’s when she got the provisional diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, the neurological disorder which attacks the body’s nervous system and damages nerve transmissions.
For a former track and field athlete at the University of Calgary and the University of Saskatchewan, as well as being just 26 years old, the news unsurprisingly came as a shock.
[…]
After five years of trial and error, she moved on to her next goal of finding a balance around exercise. She would start to do some workouts in the winter, but then the summer would come around and the fatigue would be too much and she would try to work out again at the end of fall.
So she reached out to her old coach, the well-known Kim Cousins who knew her during her high school years.
Read the full article on Sportsnet.
Register now for Track Attack. The camp offers athletes aged 4 – 14 an opportunity to learn and build upon basic track and field skills like hurdles, shot put, high jump and sprint starts among others. Camp dates: July 6-10 at Glenmore Athletic Park. For more information about Track Attack, visit the Track Attack Website.
The Randle’s have a pair of size 5 boys throwing shoes to give to another athlete. If you are interested, please contact the Caltaf Office at 403-686-6011 or info@caltaf.com.
(photos by Tara Kerr)
Flip though some photo galleries from Caltaf Track Classic Day 1 (Saturday):
Emma Chong hurls herself into the air while competing in the long jump at the Caltaf Track Classic in Calgary on Saturday, June 20, 2015. by Aryn Toombs / Calgary Herald
Of course it’s all the Officials, Coaches, and Volunteers who made the 2015 Caltaf Track Classic (and every other Alberta track meet) possible. Thanks to Dave Brown for capturing the (not so) behind the scenes.
All photos CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Thanks again to Christine and Trent for putting on another fantastic Caltaf Track Classic!
Message from Coach Kim Cousins:
Congratulations to all athletes competing at Junior Nationals Championships for track and field in Edmonton this weekend. We are very proud to say that many athletes achieved personal bests and laid down the hammer proudly as a Caltaf representative.
Our highlights for this weekend starting with our Junior competitors are:
Congratulations to our Senior champions
It was very exciting to see our athletes on the podium this weekend. Congratulations to all athletes participating and our medal winners – excellent job in representing Caltaf.
Our Caltaf community is strong with our parental support, Board support and coaches in helping these athletes achieve their best. Well done everyone.
Good luck to our athletes going on to Pan Am Juniors and Para Pan Am Games.
Go Caltaf!!
Congratulations to all Caltaf Athletes that are moving on to Provincial Teams. We have a large representation of Caltaf Athletes which says something great about our Athletes, Coaches and Caltaf Community.
Youth Nationals:
Tri Province
Western Canada Games
Great work everyone!!!
Meet
Outdoor Provincials
July 24th-26th, 2015
Sherwood Park,, Alberta
View details (schedule, etc) for the meet here.
Departure
Foothills Track
Friday, July 24th, 2015 @ 5:30 SHARP
Hotel
Holiday Inn Express
11 Portage Lane
Sherwood Park Alberta
780-417-3388
Complimentary Breakfast
Transportation
National Motor Coach (contact is 403-240-1992)
Track
University of Alberta, Universiade Pavillion (Butterdome)
1 114 Street – 87 Avenue Edmonton
Return
Sunday July 26th – athletes will phone with ETA
Foothills Track
There will be a free breakfast at the hotel on Saturday and Sunday morning. There will also be a Team Dinner in the breakfast room at the hotel on Saturday July 25, 2015 after the meet is over for the day.
Thanks to Gary Foster for the following photos from the JD Awards Picnic
(more here)
Thanks to Gary Foster for the following photos from the 2015 Caltaf Awards Gala held September 25, 2015.
(more here)
The Choate Family has a pair of spikes to give away.
New Balance Spikes – 400 Sprint
Womens – USA 8; UK 6; EUR 39
they fit small so would probably fit someone who normally wears 7 or 7.5 USA
If you are interested, please contact the Caltaf Office at paula@caltaf.com.
Alberta High School Cross Country Provincials at Grande Prairie Wapiti Nordic Center
(photo by Christine Laverty)
Follow Caltaf athletes Jennifer Brown and Alister McQueen, Caltaf coach Kim Cousins, and the rest of Team Canada headed to Doha, Qatar for the 2015 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships.
Jenn has received many questions about their participation. So here is the important information:
Follow Jenn and Alister live:
Even schedule http://www.paralympic.org/doha-2015/schedule-results
Live stream site http://www.paralympic.org/doha-2015
Follow Jenn on Facebook, Twitter (@jb_nolimits), and Instagram (@jennbrownnolimits)
Follow the Canadian team with #athleticscanada and the whole event with #doha2015
And Jenn reminds everyone:
I encourage you if you are interested to take a look at some of the events on the live stream at any other points as well if you have a chance. There are some truly amazing athletes across all disciplines and with all disabilities, and their drive and motivation to be the best and leave the best performance for their country on the track is inspiring. I am honored to be part of the experience.
Registration for the Cheetahs session 2 is now open! See the Cheetahs page for information about the program.
The Cheetahs Program winter session has begun. The session runes from January 4, 2016 to March 9, 2016 (twice per week):
The next session will begins in April 18 to June 23 (twice per week). See the Cheetahs page for information about the program!
