Change of scenery at Speed Skating Canada

Editorial

Carl Savard

Editor in chief

Passion/Speed/Skating

www.passionpvss.com 

It is now official : Canada will be represented in the last events of the World Cup Circuit in both long track and short track speed skating. While we don't know yet who will take part in the long track event being held in Stavanger, Norway from March ten through twelve, the short track team for the sixth World Cup event in Minsk, Belarus is set. Guillaume Bastille, François Hamelin, Pascal Dion and Patrick Duffy will join Jamie Macdonald, Valérie Maltais, Kim Boutin, Kasandra Bradette and Marie-Eve Drolet for this trip to Europe. 

The athletes can thank the Quebec Speed Skating Federation and the British Columbia Speed Skating Association for this opportunity, because they will take the bills for our athletes' trip overseas. The Quebec federation even launched a campaign to get the fans to contribute to an aid fund. You can get more info by visiting www.fpvq.org

On the noble side of things, we have to salute the actions taken by the two provincial entities. Every speed skating fan in Canada is happy to know that we, as one of the most dominant country in speed skating, will take part in all the events included in the World Cup circuit. It would probably never come to mind, to most of the the speed skating fans, that NOT competing in an international event would be an option for Canada. We also have to be happy for our athletes. They will be able to complete a regular season the same way they normally do and prepare for next year's Olympic Games that will take place in South Korea. Fighting against their toughest opponents in every occasion they have until the games is important. But it's quite evident that from now on, everyone in the country who's linked to speed skating will keep Speed Skating Canada on their radar.

Some changes have already took place. Peter Metuzals who was Senior Advisor, Marketing, Sponsorship and Business Development at Speed Skating Canada since July of 2013 as been fired. Patrick Godbout who's already working for the organisation as Communications and Media Relations Manager will do the follow up with the partners and sponsors. This decision has been shared with the partners, sponsors, athletes and different federations earlier this week. Yesterday, Speed Skating Canada also announced in a press release that Susan Auch, who was until now president of the board of directors, would assume the interim as Chief Executive Officer since Ian Moss and Speed Skating Canada are parting ways.

Finaly, the season will end up being pretty much a regular one and we can already assume, since 2018 is an Olympic year, that next season will take place without a hick-up. Like I said earlier, Speed Skating Canada now has a new task : convincing us that this situation was just a stumble. It is imperative that the option of having well managed provincial federations paying the bills for our national athletes doesn't become a norm. In fact, he shouldn't even become an option. The door that was open this year, needs to be closed, locked and the key should be thrown away.

Outside of public and private partners or sponsors already linked to Speed Skating Canada, we need to take a look at how the sport is promoted. At the moment, we seem to rely on the strong base and rise of interest that comes every four years because of the Olympic Games. We need to build an interest that goes beyond that. I can't speak too much about long track events cause I'm not active on that part of our sport right now, but I sure have ideas about how short track speed skating could be promoted differently and I'll be more than happy to share it with you soon.