Tracking West Podcast

After a long hiatus,  Stuart York is back with the Tracking West Podcast. This week's guest is James Rosnau, Executive Director of Athletics Alberta. Stuart and James discuss the Athletics Canada Back on Track guidelines and what they mean for the rest of the summer, the fall Cross Country season and Indoors 20-21, including the World Masters Athletics Championships previously scheduled for Edmonton.  The Athletics Alberta awards took place July 25 and the winners are outlined. 

Music Courtesy Shane Ivers

www.silvermansound.com

"Higher Up " and "Walk Happy"

The Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Associations led the movement to have the Tokyo Games postponed due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Para Discus thrower Jenn Brown sits on both the Athletics Canada athlete council and the Canadian Para athletes council . Jenn talks with host Stuart York about the decision,  and how athletes can cope with the current situation. 

Linda Blade has spent the past 25 years working as “Sport Performance Professional”, designing and implementing training programs for athletes across the spectrum - from beginner to elite - in over 17 sports.  A former Canadian Champion and NCAA All American (Heptathlon) with a PhD in Kinesiology (SFU) and Chartered Professional Coach designation (ChPC - Coaches of Canada) in Track & Field.

2 years ago Linda became aware of the new policy of the International Olympic Committee that would allow gender self identification to replace biological sex as the determining factor for sport categorization. Linda believes that this  policy change represents a major threat to sport for women. She discusses at length with host Stuart York her position and how to move forward with inclusivity. 

Music Courtesy Shane Ivers

www.silvermansound.com

"Higher Up " and "Walk Happy"

Linda Blade - Athletics Alberta

A former Canadian Champion and NCAA All American (Heptathlon) with a PhD in Kinesiology (SFU) and Chartered Professional Coach designation (ChPC - Coaches of Canada) in Track & Field, Linda Blade has spent the past 25 years working as “Sport Performance Professional”, designing and implementing training programs for athletes across the spectrum - from beginner to elite - in over 17 sports. Since 2014, Linda has served as President of the Board for Athletics Alberta, the Track & Field Association in the province of Alberta, Canada.

Linda joins host Stuart York to talk about the COVID 19 pandemic response, the 2020 U Sports championships,  and thoughts on how to build Track and Field in Canada.  We end this podcast with a preview of the next one where the discussion will be the evolving issue of transgender athletes in sport. 

Music Courtesy Shane Ivers

www.silvermansound.com

"Higher Up " and "Walk Happy" 

Michelle Harrison led the Saskatchewan Huskies Womens team to victory at the Canada West Track and Field Championships. She joins Stuart York to discuss her 3 gold medal weekend, the team atmosphere around the Huskies, the upcoming U Sports championships and the amazingly close race she was in last summer where she missed a Canadian open title by less than a hundreth of a second. 

Eric Lutz of the Calgary Dinos also won one relay  and two individual gold medals at Canada West. He looks back on his last year that included a national title in Cross Country and some break through performances on the track. Eric also talks about a significant injury that helped make him appreciate his running career and may have helped him take some pressure off of himself,  leading to better performances.

Stuart provides a quick rundown of some performances from each of the 4 Canadian Conference Championships, and gives a preview of some of the athletes to watch for at the U Sports Championships March 5-7