• Caltaf athlete Mike Saizew will be representing UofC at the CIS Championships in Windsor
• The IAAF World Indoor Championships will be taking place in Doha, Qatar (no Caltaf athlete competing at this meet this time)

On February 1, 2010 Melissa Hazen endured 7 hours of major surgery on her spine in an effort to correct a condition known as Scoliosis. She was out of the hospital 4 days later. As a young child Melissa was active in gymnastics and decided to quit at 13. It wasn’t until 5 months after she had quit that doctors had noticed the condition and it was later determined that her gymnastics participation had a profound effect on delaying its onset. Opposed to surgery, her parents searched for alternatives…yoga, swimming and hanging from monkey bars. Turned out that the monkey bars worked quite well. It helped with the pain and also gave the appearance of a straighter spine. Before the surgery her spine was curved at a staggering 62 degrees. The expectation was that surgery would improve it by 50%, but we are happy to note that as of today, she is at 19 degrees. When asked what the effects of the surgery were, her strong character shined with jokingly answering, “well, I’m going to be 5 or 6lbs heavier with all the metal in me” Aside from the metallic weight gain, she will lose some flexibility due to parts of her spine being fused, but her lungs will be thankful with reduced respiratory problems.

The road to recovery will be a lengthy one, but in the short time I’ve come to know Melissa, I know she’s strong enough to bounce back. It’s been a month since the surgery and her first day back to school was a fitting March 1st; new challenge to start a new month. She anticipates being back with CALTAF in the fall and we will welcome her back with open arms. Barring no problems with the instrumentation on her spine, she shouldn’t require further surgeries and she can get on with living life the way teenagers should be.

From your track family in the CALTAF Power/Speed group: We all miss you Melissa and we’re looking forward to your return.

X-ray of Melissa before surgery

X-ray of Melissa after surgery

JD  Group  Schedule  for  March  and  April:

• Monday  1st  March  –  6:15  to  8:15pm  Fitness  Centre  Track,  Jack  Simpson  Gym
• Thursday  4th  March  -  6:15  to  8:15pm  Fitness  Centre  Track,  Jack  Simpson  Gym
• Saturday  6th  March  –  10:00am  to  11:30am  Mount  Royal  University  track

• Monday  8th  March  -  6:15  to  8:15pm  Fitness  Centre  Track,  Jack  Simpson  Gym
• Thursday  11th  March  -  6:15  to  8:15pm  Fitness  Centre  Track,  Jack  Simpson  Gym
• Saturday,  13th  March  –  no  training  session  -  Indoor  Provincial  T&F  Championships

• Monday  15th  March  -  6:15  to  8:15pm  Fitness  Centre  Track,  Jack  Simpson  Gym
• Thursday  18th  March  -  6:15  to  8:15pm  Fitness  Centre  Track,  Jack  Simpson  Gym
• Saturday  20th  March  –  no  training  session  –  track  is  not  available  –  depending  on  the  weather,  I  will  try  to  organize  something  outdoors

• Monday  22  March  -  6:15  to  8:15pm  Fitness  Centre  Track,  Jack  Simpson  Gym
• Thursday  25  March  -  6:15  to  8:15pm  Fitness  Centre  Track,  Jack  Simpson  Gym
• Saturday  27th  March  -  10:00am  to  11:30am  Mount  Royal  University  track

• March  29th,  31st  –  no  training  sessions  –  Spring  Break
• April  1st,  5th,  7th,  8th  –  no  training  sessions  –  Easter/Spring  Break

I  will  be  providing  workouts  for  the  athletes  to  complete  during  Spring  Break.

• April  12  –  training  resumes  outdoors  –  further  info  to  follow

I would like to congratulate the twenty JD athletes - Brent B, Nicholas, Charlie, Matthew,Patrick, Sean, Ben,Katie, JiWon, Jasmine, Lauren G, Ellie, Maria, Jessica, Antha, Lauren F, Emily, Delainy, Emma and Mia - who participated in the Alberta Indoor Games and Provincial Relay Championships in Edmonton this past weekend. The results were truly outstanding! –Robyn

The JD athletes and coaches would like to sincerely thank JD parents James Martin, Chris Buettner, Curtis Galey, Jaylyne Galey and Sue Hirst, who gave up their long weekend to accompany and drive the team to Edmonton. Without your assistance, the team would not have been able to travel to Edmonton and enjoy the success that it did. We are most grateful to you all. We would also like to thank the Springer, Meister, Thuna,Conibear, Kalmakoff and Hull families, who drove to Edmonton to watch the athletes compete. We appreciate your support!

I would also like to thank the athletes who, during the meet on the weekend, quietly collected money without my knowledge and presented me with a Starbucks Card. I was very touched by your thoughtfulness.

On Sunday, towards the end of the meet, I was approached by three Athletics Alberta officials, who commented on how polite the CALTAF athletes had been throughout the weekend. All were grateful for the handshakes that they had received from CALTAF athletes, and all were grateful for the respect that they were shown during the competition. I wouldn’t have expected anything else. Well done!

I would like to congratulate the twenty JD athletes - Brent B, Nicholas, Charlie, Matthew,Patrick, Sean, Ben,Katie, JiWon, Jasmine, Lauren G, Ellie, Maria, Jessica, Antha, Lauren F, Emily, Delainy, Emma and Mia - who participated in the Alberta Indoor Games and Provincial Relay Championships in Edmonton this past weekend. The results were truly outstanding!

Nineteen JD athletes recorded a personal best performance in at least one event – JiWon, Jasmine, Maria, Lauren F, Mia, Brent, Charlie, Matthew, Patrick, Ellie, Sean, Ben, Katie, Lauren G, Jessica, Antha, Emily, Delainyand Emma - while Brent, Charlie, Matthew, Patrick, Ellie, Sean, Ben, Katie, Lauren G, Jessica, Antha,Emily, Delainy and Emma achieved multiple personal bests. Well done! It is rewarding to see you benefiting from your hard work at training sessions.

Congratulations to JD’s seven 2010 Alberta Provincial Champions Jasmine, Ellie, Jessica, Delainy, Patrick, Seanand Ben, who captured gold in at least one championship relay event. Just think! No matter what happens for the rest of your life, you will always be able to tell people that you were an Alberta Provincial Track and Field Champion. That is something of which you should be very proud. Well done!

Nineteen JD athletes returned to Calgary as provincial medalists, having won at least one medal in the championship relay events. Many athletes won multiple provincial championship medals. Congratulations to Alberta Provincial Medalists: Ellie (gold, gold, silver), Jasmine (gold, gold, silver), Jessica (gold, silver, bronze), Lauren Fridman(silver, silver, bronze), Emma (silver, silver, bronze), Patrick (gold, silver), Ben (gold, silver), Sean (gold silver),Delainy (gold, silver), Nicholas (silver, bronze), Katie (silver, bronze), Brent (silver), Charlie (silver), Matthew(silver), Antha (silver), Emily (silver), Lauren Garnett (bronze), Mia (bronze), and Maria (bronze). In total, the JD athletes captured 9 gold, 18 silver and 8 bronze provincial championship medals! Congratulations to you all. That is a huge accomplishment.

In addition to the provincial championship relay medals, eight JD athletes won medals (midgets) or ribbons (bantams) in non-championship (individual) events: Nicholas (gold in the midget 300m, bronze in the midget 60m), Emma (2nd in the bantam 60m, 3rd in the bantam 600m, 3rd in the bantam long jump), Ellie (silver in the midget 60m, bronze in the midget 300m), Emily (silver in the midget high jump, bronze in the midget 60m hurdles), Jessica (bronze in the midget long jump), Matthew (bronze in the midget long jump), Brent (bronze in the midget 60m Hurdles) and Sean(2nd in the bantam long jump). Well done athletes!

Needless to say, there were many highlights for the JD Group at the meet. Here are some of my favourites (in no particular order):

Originally, there were eight teams entered in the midget women’s 4×200m relay. However, only the three CALTAF teams showed up for the race, so the twelve CALTAF midget women raced each other. The team of Jasmine toEllie to Jessica to Allison Stephen of CALTAF’s Power and Speed Group captured the provincial gold medal in 1:53.40s, while the team of (bantam) Emma to Nicole Squires of CALTAF’s Power and Speed Group to Emily toAntha won the provincial silver medal in 2:00.92s, and the team of (bantam) Mia to Lauren G to Maria to Lauren Fcaptured the bronze medal in 2:04.45s. It was a special moment to watch twelve CALTAF midget women standing on the medal podium receiving their medals. It was an impressive sea of CALTAF singlets! Well done ladies!

We had only three bantam boys participate in the meet, which left us one athlete short for the relays. Delainygraciously agreed to run with the boys, so that Patrick, Sean and Ben would not miss out on the opportunity to compete in the relays. The boys and I are very happy that she did, because the team came home with gold in the medley relay, silver in the 4×200m relay and a 4^th place finish in the 4×100m relay. Delainy was not in the least intimidated by the boys, and earned the respect of her coaches, teammates and opposition for her strong running and competitive spirit. The medley relay race of Delainy (200m) to Ben (100m) to Sean (100m) to Patrick (400m) was particularly memorable, with Patrick, who was running the final leg, bringing the team from the bronze medal position to 1^st place with a very impressive 400m run, coming from 50m behind to overtake the runners from Meadowlark Christian School and the St. Alberta Track and Field Club in the last 30m. The 4×200m relay race was shrouded in controversy, when one team was disqualified for interference against CALTAF during the 3rd leg of the relay. Despite being elbowed rather roughly three times, Sean soldiered on, running a very strong leg and helping the team to capture the silver medal. Ben, our youngest competitor, held his own amongst the older bantam athletes, running very well in all three relays and keeping his team in the races. Well done bantams – Delainy, Sean, Patrickand Ben!

Like the midget 4×200m relay, the 60m final demonstrated the depth and strength of CALTAF’s midget women. Six of the ten places in the 60m final went to CALTAF midgets based on the results from the preliminaries – Allison(8.49s, a personal best), Nicole (8.58s, a personal best), Ellie (8.61s, a personal best), Jessica (8.65s, a personal best), Jasmine (8.72s, a personal best) and Emily (8.80s, a personal best). In the final, Ellie captured the silver medal in a personal best time of 8.47s, while Allison and Nicole tied for 4^th in 8.55s, a personal best for Nicole,Jessica was 6^th in 8.71s, Jasmine was 7^th in 8.77s and Emily was 9^th in 8.98s. There were many personal best performances in both the heat and final, and it was great too see the midget women rising to the challenge. Well done ladies!

The midget women’s 4×400m relay included a strong field of seven teams from CALTAF, Leduc T&F, the Edmonton Harriers and the Edmonton Olympic Club. The team of Ellie to Allison to Nicole to Jasmine captured the gold medal in 4:21.97s, while the team of Jessica to bantam Emma to Katie to Lauren Fridman won the silver medal in 4:33.49s. The two CALTAF teams were the strength of the field, finishing more than six seconds ahead of the 3^rdplace team from Leduc. Our youngest team of 1^st-year midget Emily to 1^st-year bantam Mia to JiWon to 1st-year midget Antha ran very well, finishing in 5:13.93s. Well done athletes!

The midget men’s 4×400m relay team of Nicholas to Charlie to Brent to Matthew beat out a strong and determined team from Leduc T&F to capture the provincial silver medal.

Six teams were entered in the midget women’s medley relay and CALTAF captured the silver and bronze medals. The team of Jasmine to Allison to Ellie to Lauren Fridman won the silver medal in 4:38.40s, while the team ofNicole to Jessica to bantam Emma to Katie captured the bronze medal in 4:41.93s. The team of Antha to Lauren Garnett to Emily to bantam Mia finished 6^th in 5:31.62s.

CALTAF’s youth (1993/1994) men’s medley relay team of Bryce Clements from Power and Speed to Thomas Kellner from Power and Speed to JD midget Nicholas to Cuauhti Olguin of CALTAF’s Middle/Long Distance Group captured the bronze medal in the youth medley relay in a time of 4:19.38s.

Matthew demonstrated just how much stronger he is becoming by achieving personal best performances in all of his individual events. Matthew added 68cm to his PB in the long jump, clearing 4.29m to capture the bronze medal.Matthew also added another 10cm to his PB in high jump, clearing 1.40m to finish 5^th. Finally, in the 300m,Matthew took an impressive 2.41s off his PB to finish 8^th of thirteen athletes. A provincial silver relay medal, an individual bronze medal and three personal best performances - congratulations Matthew!

In the midget men’s 300m preliminaries, Nicholas finished 2^nd of thirteen athletes in 43.28s to qualify for the final. In the final, Nicholas captured the gold medal, finishing in 42.37s. In the midget men’s 60m timed final, Nicholas won the bronze medal, finishing 3^rd of nine athletes in 7.75s. Gold and bronze medals in individual events, a provincial silver relay medal in the midget 4×400m, and a provincial bronze relay medal in the youth medley relay - well doneNicholas!

In the midget women’s long jump, Jessica competed in the event for the first time. I suspect that Jessica surprised herself by clearing 4.02m to finish 3^rd of ten athletes and capture the bronze medal. Jessica also ran a personal best time of 45.84s in the 300m preliminary to finish 4^th of fifteen athletes and qualify for the final, where she placed 5^th.Jessica also finished 6^th of eighteen athletes in the 60m, where she improved her PB from 8.80s to 8.65s. Provincial gold, silver and bronze medals in the relays, an individual bronze medal, and two personal best performances - congratulations Jessica!

Emily captured medals in two of her five individual events, recorded PBs in four of them and took home a provincial silver medal in the 4×200m. In the high jump, Emily added another 8cm to her PB, clearing 1.43m to finish 2^nd of nine athletes and capture the silver medal. In the 60m hurdles, Emily took almost a full second off her PB, finishing in 10.96s to place 3^rd of nine athletes and capture the bronze medal. In the long jump, Emily added another 4cm to her PB, clearing 3.96m to finish just out of the medals in 4^th place. In the 60m, Emily ran a PB of 8.80s in the preliminary to quallfy for the final, where she placed 9^th. A provincial silver relay medal, silver and bronze individual medals, and four personal best performances - an outstanding achievement at any time, but particularly for a first-year midget, who was competing against older athletes. Well done Emily!

Bantam Emma had a truly outstanding meet, finishing in the top three in three of her five individual bantam events, earning two provincial silver and a bronze relay medal, where she ran up as a midget with the older athletes, and achieiving personal best performances in four of her five individual events. In the bantam 60m, Emma finished 2^nd of twenty-nine athletes in 8.89s. In the bantam 600m, Emma finished 3^rd of twenty-seven athletes in a personal best time of 1:53.64s, a PB of 5.86s. In the bantam long jump, Emma added another 41cm to her PB, clearing 4.02m to finish 3^rd of twenty athletes. In the high jump, Emma cleared 1.10m, a PB of 10 cm, while in shot put, she finished 8^th of twenty-nine athletes with a 34cm personal best throw of 6.15m. To earn two provincial silver and a bronze relay medal as a bantam running up with the midgets, along with three top-3 finishes in your individual events and four personal best performances is an outstanding accomplishment. Well done Emma!

Ellie ran a personal best of 8.61s in the midget women’s 60m preliminary to finish 5^th of eighteen athletes and qualify for the final. In the final, Ellie ran another personal best of 8.47s, the fastest of the six CALTAF athletes in the final, to win the silver medal. Ellie also finished 3^rd of eighteen athletes in the 300m, to win the bronze medal. Two provincial gold and a silver medal in the relays, silver and bronze individual medals and two personal best performances. Well done Ellie!

Jasmine ran a personal best of 8.72s in the midget 60m preliminary to qualify for the final, where she finished 8^th.Jasmine also ran the first legs for the midget 4×200m and medley relay teams, in both cases acquiring leads for her teammates, helping to assure the teams of the provincial gold and silver medals.Two provincial gold and a silver relay medal and a personal best performance – congratulations Jasmine.

Bantam Sean had an outstanding meet, finishing 2nd in the long jump with a personal best jump of 3.97m and recording personal best performances in four of his five events. Sean added 70cm to his PB in long jump, took more than a second off his PB in the 600m, added more than a half a metre to his PB in the shot put and added another 5cm to his PB in the high jump. Provincial gold and silver relay medals, a second place ribbon, and four personal best performances – congratulations Sean!

Brent won a bronze medal in the 60m hurdles, where he finished in 12.81s. Brent also added another 5cm to his PB in the high jump and another 62cm to his PB in the shot put. A provincial silver relay medal, an individual bronze medal and two personal best performances – well done Brent.

Patrick ran a PB of 9.41s in the bantam 60m timed final to finish 8^th of twenty athletes. In the long jump, Patrickcleared 3.62m, a PB of 16cm, to finish 5^th of twelve athletes. In the 600m, Patrick finished 7^th of eighteen athletes, while in his first high jump and shot put competitions Patrick was 10^th and 13^th respectively. Provincial gold and silver relay medals, two personal best performances and an outstanding leg in the medley relay as outlined above. Well done Patrick!

In her first high jump competition, first-year midget Lauren Fridman cleared 1.30m to finish just out of the medals in 4^th place. Lauren also ran a 1.79s PB of 47.56s in the midget women’s 300m to finish 8^th of fifteeen athletes. Two provincial silver and a bronze relay medal and a 4^th place finish in the high jump – a huge accomplishmant for a first-year midget. Congratulations Lauren!

First-year bantam Ben, our youngest male competitor, did extrememly well competing against the older athletes. In his first high jump competition, Ben cleared 1.20m to finish 6^th of sixteen athletes. Ben also added another 1.28m to his PB in the shot put, throwing 5.65m. Ben also finished 6^th of twelve athletes in the long jump, clearing 3.60m, a 3cm PB. Provincial gold and silver relay medals and two 6^th place finishes - an excellent meet for our youngest athlete!

Katie, the only athlete to tackle the combination of relays and distance races, produced some excellent results, finishing just out of the medals in both of her individual events. In the 600m, Katie finished 4^th in 1:47.35s, a PB of more than three seconds. In the 1000m, Katie took more than seven seconds off the PB that she had just established last month at the Dino Classic, finishing 5^th in 3:27.38s. Provincial silver and bronze relay medals and 4^thand 5^th place finishes in your individual events - well done Katie!

Lauren Garnett took more than half a second off her PB in the 60m hurdles to finish 5^th of nine midget athletes in 11.61s. In her first high jump competition, Lauren cleared 1.25m to finish 6^th. Lauren also ran a PB in the 60m and was 7^th in her first long jump competition. A provincial bronze relay medal and two personal best performances – congratulations Lauren!

First-year midget Antha finished 5^th of ten athletes in the long jump, clearing 3.91m, a PB of 28cm. Antha also ran a PB of 48.99s in the 300m, where she finished 10^th. A provincial silver relay medal and two personal best performances. Well done Antha!

Charlie ran a personal best of 9.36s in the midget 60m, where he finished 8^th. Charlie also added another 15cm to his PB in high jump, where he cleared 1.35m and finished 7^th. A provincial silver relay medal and two personal best performances - well done Charlie!

In her first out-of-town meet, JiWon ran a personal best in the 60m and finished 8^th in her first 60m hurdles competition. JiWon also impressed long jump coach Ed in her first long jump competition. Well done JiWon!

Despite a rather nasty fall during the warm-up, where she left a considerable amount of skin on the unforgiving track,Maria showed a gutsy determination and competed in the hurdles despite the fall. In the midget shot put, Mariafinished just out of the medals in 4^th place, with a throw of 7.89m. Maria also cleared 3.82m in the long jump, a personal best of 5cm, to finish 6^th. A provincial bronze relay medal, a personal best performane, a 4^th place finish, and a gutsy performance in the hurdles – well done Maria!

In addition to helping the bantam boys’ relay team win provincial gold and silver medals, Delainy took more than 7 seconds off the PB in the 600m that she had just established three weeks ago at the Jack Simpson Open. Delainyalso added more than a metre to her PB in the shot put. Provincial gold and silver relay medals while competing in the men’s competition, and two personal best performances – congratulations Delainy!

Mia, a first-year bantam and our youngest female competitior, was also one of our busiest, competing in five individual events and three relays. Mia took more that two seconds off the PB in the 600m that she had just established at the end of January in the Jack Simspon Open. Mia placed 10^th of twenty-seven athletes. In her first shot put competiton, Mia placed 7^th of twenty-nine athletes with a throw of 6.16m. Mia was also 12^th of twenty-nine athletes in the 60m and 11^th of twenty athletes in the long jump. A provincial bronze relay medal, a personal best performance and some impressive individual results. Congratulations Mia!

Congratulations to all athletes! Those are very impressive results. Well done!

–Robyn

“This is an exciting chance for B.C. athletes [and none BC athletes I assume] to compete in an event of this calibre in a non-intimidating atmosphere — because more than competition, this is an event at which friendships are formed and renewed. A full range of track and field disciplines will be offered, including a 10K Road Race Walk, an 8K Cross-Country and a Half-Marathon”

Congratulations to all of the JD athletes – Brent B, Nicholas, Charlie, Aidan, Matthew, Brent S, Patrick, Sean, Max, Ben, Katie, Jasmine, Lauren G, Ellie, Maria, Jessica, Antha, Chase, Emily, Delainy, Anna, Emma, Miaand Heather - who participated in the Jack Simpson Open on Saturday. Among them, these twenty-four athletes produced some excellent results, including twenty-five top three finishes and eighteen personal best performances.

The point totals after the first three meets (Dino Opener, Dino Classic and Jack Simpson Open) of the Calgary Indoor Track Series of four meets show an impressive number of CALTAF JD athletes in medal positions - Mia (gold), Ben(gold), Emma (gold), Chase (gold), Max (gold), Ellie (silver), Katie (bronze), and Nicholas (bronze) - and several other athletes in medal contention – Heather (4^th), Delainy (4^th), Patrick (4^th), Emily (4^th), Sean (5^th), Aidan (5^th), Lauren F (6^th), and Antha (6^th). I would also like to point out that the Martin family has three athletes in medal positions: Emma of the JD Group in gold and younger siblings Julia and Alison of the CALTAF Cheetahs in gold and silver respectively. Well done Martin girls! That must be a record. Medals are presented to the top three athletes in each age category. Congratulations to you all, and good luck in the final meet. The Dino Indoor Challenge on Saturday, 24^th April, the fourth and final meet of the series, is your last opportunity to accumulate points towards a medal. Mark your calendars! Series medals will be presented at the final meet in April.

The complete point totals may be viewed here: http://www.uofcathletics.ca/league.php?scriptName=LEAGUEINFO&leagueID=16372&leagueInfoID=71051

Here are the meet highlights:

The women’s midget relay team of Jasmine to Ellie to Chase to Nicole Squires of CALTAF’s Power and Speed Group once again won the 4×200m relay, finishing first of four teams in a personal best time of 1:55.45s. This same team had won the 4×200m relay at the Golden Bear meet, where they finished in 1:57.36s. Once again, Jasmineacquired a healthy lead for her team, and Ellie, Chase and Nichole maintained the lead to the finish. Well done ladies! In that same race, the team of Antha to Katie to Maria to Jessica recovered well from a fall during on one of the exchanges to place 3^rd. A valiant effort by Jessica on the final leg of the relay almost saw the team recover well enough to catch the second-place team from Leduc. Our youngest team of Emma to Mia to Delainy to Emilyfinished just two seconds behind the midget teams, despite having three bantams on the team. Well done ladies!

The men’s midget relay team of Nicholas to Aidan to Brent to Charlie placed 1^st of three teams in a personal best time of 1:57.55s, almost two seconds faster than they had finished in the same event at the Dino Opener. Well done boys! Our younger midget relay team of Matthew to Brent S to Patrick to Max finished 3^rd behind a strong team from Leduc. Our bantam boy’s team of Ben and Sean was short two runners, and teammates Heather and Annacame to the rescue. Not in the least bit intimidated by their male competitors, Heather and Anna ran very well and the team finished strongly in 2:16.35s, earning their first-place finish. Well done bantams!

Chase followed up a stellar performance at Golden Bear with another outstanding meet, finishing in the top three in all of her (four) individual events and recording two personal bests. Chase won the 14-year-old women’s 1200m, finishing 1^st of four athletes in 4:08.73s. Chase was 2^nd in the 300m, where she finished 2^nd of ten athletes in a personal best time of 45.32s. Chase was also 3^rd in the 60m in a personal best time of 8.82s and 3^rd in the 600m, where she finished in 1:47.66s, a personal best of almost 5 seconds. Well done Chase!

Emma also had an outstanding meet, finishing in the top three in all of her individual events and recording another personal best performance. Emma won both the 13-year-old women’s 600m, where she finished in 1:59.50s and the 1200m, where she finished 1^st of three athletes in 4:32.68s. In the 60m, Emma finished 3^rd of six athletes in a personal best time of 8.80s. Thank you Emma for being such a fine ambassador for CALTAF. One of the officials at the finish line came to find me after the meet to say how impressed they were with Emma, who took the time after her last race to thank and shake the hand of every official and volunteer at the finish line. It meant a great deal to those weary volunteers. Well done Emma!

Nicholas had another outstanding meet, demonstrating yet again just how much stronger he is becoming by achieving PBs in both of his events. In the 15-year-old men’s 60m, Nicholas placed 2^nd of seven athletes in a personal best time of 7.70s, while in the 300m, Nicholas placed 4^th of seven athletes in a personal best time of 43.49s. Well done Nicholas!

Like Nicholas, Ellie continues to improve and impress her coaches with her results and determination. Ellie won the 15-year-old women’s 300m, finishing 1^st of seven athletes in a personal best time of 43.78s. In the 60m, Ellie finished 4^th of twelve athletes in a personal best time of 8.62s. Finally, a reluctant competitor in the 600m, Ellie surprised herself (but not her coaches!) by finishing 2^nd of five athletes in 1:52.25s. Well done Ellie!

Max also had an outstanding meet, recording two top-three finishes and another personal best. In the 600m, Maxfinished 2^nd of four athletes in 1:53.34s and in the 1200m, Max looked very strong and finished 2^nd in 4:35.18s. In the 60m, Max finished 4^th of six athletes in a personal best time of 9.36s. Well done Max!

Ben, our youngest male competitor at 12 years, was another athlete who recorded top three finishes in all of his individual events. Ben won the 60m in a personal best time of 9.41s. Ben was also 2^nd in his first attempt at the 1200m, where he finished in 4:45.41s, and 3^rd in his first attempt at the 600m, where he finished in 2:04.92s. Well done Ben!

Katie tackled two new events on Saturday and finished in the top three in both events. Katie won the 600m, finishing 1^st of five athletes in 1:50.56s and was 3^rd in the 1200m, where she finished in 4:27.12s. Well done Katie!

One of our youngest female competitors, twelve-year-old Mia, finished 2^nd in both of her events. In the 60m, Miaplaced 2^nd of eight athletes, finishing in 9.17s. In her first attempt at the 600m, Mia finished 2^nd of five athletes in 2:05.86s. Another excellent meet! Well done Mia!

Aidan tried a couple of new events on Saturday. In the 60m, Aidan finished 4^th of the 15-year-old boys in 8.64s, whileAidan was 2^nd in the 600m, where he finished strongly in 1:43.09s. Well done Aidan!

Patrick also tried some new events at this meet. Patrick was 3^rd of the 13-year-old boys in his first attempt at the 600m, where he finished in 2:01.21s, and 3^rd in the 1200m, where Patrick finished in 4:39.68s. Patrick ran a personal best time of 9.50s in the 60m to finish 5^th. Well done Patrick!

Jessica is another athlete who continues to impress her coaches at every meet. Jessica ran a personal best time of 46.65s in the 300m, where she finished 6^th and, in her first attempt at the 600m, Jessica finished strongly in 1:57.67s.

Delainy had her best meet yet, finishing 5^th in the 60m in a personal best time of 9.69s. Delainy was also 2^nd in her first attempt at the 600m and 3^rd in her first attempt at the 1200m. Well done Delainy!

Thank you Anna who, although she had finished competing by noon, stuck around for the rest of the afternoon to cheer on her teammates. Your teammates are lucky to have you, Anna!

Matthew ran a personal best time of 9.03s in the 60m to finish 5^th of the 15-year-old boys while, in the same race,Charlie ran a personal best time of 9.39s in the 60m, where he placed 6^th. Well done Matthew and Charlie!

Lauren G recorded a personal best time of 9.40s in the 60m, while Antha recorded a personal best time of 49.24s in the 300m. In that same 300m, Emily ran a personal best time of 49.84s to finish 8^th. Well done Lauren, Antha andEmily!

Jasmine was 4^th of twelve 15-year-old girls in the 60m, and was running an excellent 600m until an asthma attack forced her to slow down. Well done Jasmine!

Sean tackled two new events on Saturday and established some tough standards to challenge himself with a future meets.

Well done athletes! It is very rewarding to see you reaping the rewards of your hard work. Enjoy the rest! You’ve earned it!

6 more Club records fall at Golden Bear:
400m Women Megan Beatch
60mh Women Nikki Charlesworth
60m Men Ryan McKay
LJ Men Ryan McKay
TJ Men Ryan McKay
1500m Men Madison Theriault

Gareth Hadfield - Youth Cross Country
Nyial Majock - Junior Cross Country
Gareth Hadfield - Youth  Nominee
Chase O’Brien - Bantam Girls Top 10 Award

Here are some highlights:

Although only a first-year midget and having to compete against older athletes, Chase had an outstanding meet, winning two gold and two silver medals. In the 2000m, Chase won the gold medal, finishing 1^st of six athletes in 7:23.19s. In the 1200m, Chase placed 2^nd of eleven athletes, winning the silver medal in 4:05.71s. In long jump,Chase added another 25cm to her PB, clearing 4.36m to finish 2^nd of twenty-six midget athletes and capture the silver medal. Chase was also 5^th of twelve athletes in the 800m and 7^th of twenty athletes in the 300m, where she finished in a personal best time of 45.55s. Not surprisingly, Chase spent Saturday evening at Athletics Alberta’s 2009 Awards Ceremony, where Chase was presented with an Alberta Top 10 Bantam Award for her results from the 2008-2009 competitive year. Congratulations Chase on both your outstanding results from the weekend and your award. Well done and well deserved!

Our midget 4×200m relay team of Jasmine to Ellie to Chase to Nicole Squires from CALTAF’s Power and Speed Group were responsible for the remaining gold medals. The team finished 1^st of six entries, which included four teams from Saskatchewan and our younger CALTAF team. Jasmine got the team off to a great start, not allowing her opponents to make up any of the stagger. The remaining team members held and slightly increased the lead, and the team finished more than three seconds ahead of the silver-medal-winning team from Saskatchewan. This bodes well for the provincial relay championships, which will be held in Edmonton in February. Our younger team of Melissa toMia to Anna to Emily also ran very well, with the two bantams, Mia and Anna, putting up a valiant fight against the older midgets. Well done ladies!

The bronze medal was won by Maria in the shot put competition. Although this was her first shot put competition,Maria finished 3^rd of eleven midgets with a throw of 8.06m. In her first 60m hurdle competition, Maria ran a very strong race, finishing in 11.88s.

In her first out-of-town meet, Ellie produced some outstanding results. In addition to running the second leg for the gold-medal-winning relay team, Ellie was 5^th of twenty midget athletes in the 300m in a personal best time of 44.85s, 6^th of thirty-three midget athletes in her first attempt at the 200m in 28.51s, and 11^th of forty-five athletes in the 60m in a personal best time of 8.69s. In her first-ever attempt at the high jump, Ellie cleared 1.30m to finish 11^th. Well doneEllie!

In addition to establishing an insurmountable lead for her team in the 4×200m relay, Jasmine ran a PB time of 29.71s in the 200m, where she finished 12^th of thirty-three athletes. Jasmine also achieved a personal best performance of 47.07s in the 300m, where she finished 11^th of twenty athletes. Well done Jasmine!

Brent also had an outstanding meet, recording personal best performances in all of his individual events – the 60m, 60m hurdles, 800m and shot put. In addition, in his first high jump competition, Brent cleared 1.30m, while in his first attempt at the 1200m, Brent finished 11^th in 4:06.80s. Well done Brent!

The PB of the meet goes to first-year midget Antha, whose results in several events demonstrate just how much stronger she is becoming. Antha took an amazing 6.55 seconds off her PB in the 300m, where she finished in 49.81s. Antha also added another 17cm to her PB in long jump and another 25cm to her PB in high jump, where she finished 11^th and cleared 1.30m. Well done Antha!

In her very first high jump competition and with only a couple of training sessions under her belt, first-year midgetEmily cleared 1.35m and finished 4^th of nineteen athletes. Emily also ran a PB of 11.81s in the 60m hurdles and was 14^th of twenty-six athletes in her first long jump competition, clearing 3.92m. Well done Emily!

To my delight, Melissa finally agreed to run a 300m, where she finished in a very respectable time of 49.02s. In her very first high jump competition, Melissa also did very well, clearing 1.25m. Well done Melissa!

Last but certainly not least, our two youngest athletes, Anna and Mia, were the busiest athletes, competing in the bantam multiple events. Both athletes did very well, and I was especially pleased that both Anna and Mia were willing to try most of the events offered, including the high jump and the challenging and dreaded 800m, where both girls ran very well. Well done ladies! You showed a lot of composure for such young athletes

Despite being a first-year bantam, Mia was 7^th of 32 bantam athletes in the 60m, where she finished in 9.27s. In her first 60m hurdle competition, Mia finished an impressive 8th of seventeen athletes in a time of 12.88s. Mia was also 8^th of twenty-two athletes in the long jump, where she cleared 3.44m. Well done Mia!

In her first high jump competition, Anna cleared 1.05m. She must have enjoyed the competition, because I watched later as she and Emily practiced the high jump for over an hour. I love your enthusiasm Anna and Emily!

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention how pleased I was to witness many acts of kindness and good sportsmanship during the meet. Brent took the time to shake the hands of all of the volunteers and officials at the high jump, much to the obvious delight and surprise of the recipients of his thanks. Chase cheered on her nervous teammates, Melissa, Emily, Antha and Ellie, as they competed in the high jump for the first time, while Annaoffered Mia moral support as she competed in the hurdles for the first time, and Emily came to find me when she feared that Maria was missing the long jump competition. Thank you all for watching out for each other. It was good to see you working together to ensure that everyone enjoyed a successful weekend.

–Robin

Despite the long December break and lack of training, and the copious amounts of turkey, latkes and sweets that were no doubt consumed over the holidays, the athletes showed remarkable improvement since the meet in December. Twenty athletes achieved a personal best performance (PB) in at least one of their events, andBrent B, Nicholas, Ellie, Chase, Delainy, Anna, and Heather achieved PBs in multiple events. Nicholas, Aidan, Connor, Michael, Patrick, Sean, Max, Ben, Katie, Ellie, Jessica, Chase, Emily, Delainy, Emma, Mia and Heather all finished in the top five in at least one of their events, with Nicholas, Aidan, Max, Ben, Chase, Emma and Mia finishing in the top five in more than one event.

Here are a few highlights from the meet:

Mia had another outstanding meet, finishing 1^st of five 12-year-old girls in the 60m in 9.26s and 2^nd of six athletes in the 150m, in a personal best time of 22.68s. Well done Mia!

Emma also had an outstanding meet, finishing 2^nd of twelve 13-year-old girls in the 150m in a personal best time of 21.59s and 2^nd of ten athletes in the 60m, where she finished in 9.07s. In her first attempt at the 1000m,Emma finished 2^nd of six athletes. Well done Emma!

Nicholas followed up a stellar performance at the December meet with more impressive results at this meet.Nicholas was 2^nd of nine 15-year-old boys in the 60m, where he finished in a personal best time of 7.83s. In the 300m, Nicholas finished 4^th of thirteen athletes, crossing the line in 42.23s, a PB of 3.24s. Well doneNicholas!

Ben, one of JD’s youngest athletes, produced some impressive results, just as he had done at the December meet. In the 1000m, Ben finished 2^nd of five 12-year-old boys in 3:55.05s, while in the 60m, Ben was 2^nd of five athletes in 9.64s. Well done Ben!

Ellie ran a PB time of 45.56s in the 300m to finish 2^nd of ten 15-year-old girls. In the 60m, Ellie also ran a personal best, finishing in 8.74s and 7^th of fifteen athletes. Well done Ellie!

Max proved that he has a lot of stamina and talent by finishing in the top five in all three of his individual events. At his first attempt at the 1000m, Max finished 1^st of five 13-year-old boys in a time of 3:46.44s. In the 150m,Max finished 4^th of seven athletes in a personal best time of 23.30s. Finally, in the 60m, Max finished 5^th of nine athletes in a time of 9.56s. Well done Max!

JD captain Chase had another outstanding meet, finishing in the top three in all of her individual events and achieving PBs in two of the events. In the 1000m, Chase took an impressive 21.33s off last year’s PB, finishing 2^nd of six 14-year-old girls in a time of 3:23.39s. In the 300m, Chase finished 3^rd of ten athletes in a personal best time of 46.17s. Finally, in the 60m, Chase finished 3^rd of eight athletes in a time of 8.96s. Well doneChase!

Emily ran a PB of 8.81s in the 14-year-old girls’ 60m to finish 2^nd of eight athletes. Well done Emily!

At his first attempt at the 1000m, Patrick finished 2^nd of five 13-year-old boys in 3:48.44s. Well done Patrick!

Sean took almost half a second off his PB in the 150m, where he finished 6^th in a time of 24.57s. In his first attempt at the 1000m, Sean finished 3^rd of five athletes in a time of 3:48.78s, while in his first attempt at the 60m, Sean finished 6^th in a time of 9.63s. Well done Sean!

Aidan took more than two seconds off his PB in the 300m, finishing in 44.49s and 5^th of thirteen 15-year-old boys. In his first attempt at the 1000m, Aidan finished 4^th of eleven athletes in 3:17.39s. Well done Aidan!

In his first 300m, Connor finished 5^th of ten 14-year-old boys in a time of 48.93s. Well done Connor!

Katie ran a personal best time of 47.69s in the 300m where she finished 7^th and placed 3^rd in her first attempt at the 1000m, where she finished in 3:34.67s. Well done Katie!

JD Captain Jasmine ran a personal best time of 8.74s in the 60m and ran a very impressive first leg for the Power and Speed 4×200m relay team, where Jasmine held her own amongst the older athletes. Well doneJasmine!

Jessica finished the 300m in a personal best time of 46.73s and placed 5^th of ten 15-year-old girls. Well doneJessica!

Despite being convinced that she isn’t able to run a 300m, Maria finished 9^th in a personal best time of 51.62s. Well done Maria!

Delainy produced some excellent results in all three of her individual events. In her first attempt at the 1000m,Delainy finished 5^th. In the 150m, Delainy finished 6^th of twelve 13-year-old girls in a personal best time of 24.35s. In the 60m, Delainy finished 7^th in a personal best time of 9.76s. Well done Delainy!

Anna demonstrated just how much stronger she is becoming by achieving personal best performances in both the 60m and 150m. Well done Anna!

Heather, one of our youngest athletes, achieved personal best performances in both the 60m and 150m, where she finished 5^th and 6^th respectively. Well done Heather!

Brent B was another athlete who demonstrated how much stronger he is becoming. Brent established PBs in both the 60m and 300m. Well done Brent!

Brent S ran a personal best time of 9.33s in the 60m to finish 6^th of the 14-year-old boys. Well done Brent!

Matthew tried two new events and established some tough standards to challenge himself with at future meets.Matthew was 7^th in the 60m in a time of 9.05s. Well done Matthew!

Michael ran a personal best in the 60m and was one of the youngest athletes to tackle the challenging 1000m. Well done Michael!

For JiWon, this was her first competition, and she looked remarkably composed on the track. JiWon ran very well in the 60m and 300m, but was particularly impressive in the 4×200m relay, where she ran a very fast 3^rd leg for her team. Well done JiWon!

Lauren G ran a personal best in the 60m, where she finished 13^th. Well done Lauren!

Lauren F was one of JD’s busier athletes, competing in the 60m, 300m, 1000m and relay, where she established some tough standards to challenge herself with at future meets. Lauren finished 6^th in both the 300m and 1000m. Well done Lauren!

Despite the fact that the relay competition was open and the JD athletes had to compete against much older athletes, I threw in some teams and told the athletes to practice their exchanges and have some fun. I must admit, I was impressed with the exchanges and the results.

The Power and Speed Group was short an athlete for their girls’ relay team, so Jasmine agreed to run up with her older CALTAF teammates. The team of Jasmine to Allison Stephen to Melissa Hazen to Nikki Charlesworth ran a very impressive race, finishing 4^th behind two University of Calgary varsity teams and a senior team from Calgary International. Jasmine, Allison, Melissa and Nikki finished the 4×200m in an impressive 1:53.83s, just six seconds behind the 3^rd place varsity team.

If the JD girls were intimidated by the considerably more senior University of Calgary varsity athletes or the Calgary International athletes, it certainly didn’t show. The team of Jessica to Ellie to Katie to Melissafinished 7^th in a time of 2:01.11s, while the team of Emma to Chase to Lauren F to Emma Dixon of the Calgary Spartans finished just behind their JD teammates in a time of 2:01.58s. We are most grateful to Emma Dixon of the Calgary Spartans, who agreed to run with CALTAF when we were short a relay runner. Emmaran a very impressive final leg against Natasha Smallwood of Leduc. The team of Emily to Lauren G to JiWonto Maria finished 9^th in 2:14.53s, while our youngest team of Mia to Anna to Delainy to Heather looked very impressive and finished not far behind their older teammates in 2:18.55s. Well done ladies!

The JD boys’ relay teams were in a tough field of three University of Calgary varsity teams and two senior CALTAF and Calgary Warriors teams. Despite the pressure, all teams ran very well. The team of Nicholas toAidan to Brent B to Connor finished 6^th in a time of 2:05.17s, while the team of Charlie to Matthew toBrent S to Sean finished 7^th in 2:14.89s. Our youngest team of Max to Patrick to Michael to Ben also ran very well, finishing just three seconds behind their older teammates in 2:17.29s. Well done gentlemen!

I am looking forward to the next meet where our relay teams will be competing in two-year age categories.

Congratulations to all JD athletes. Those are impressive results. Well done! See you tomorrow!

Robin

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