A productive January for all
2009 started with a fine surprise from 20 year old Alex Harvey. Competing in his 4th World Cup start, at the Whistler Olympic test event, Alex placed a credible 12th in the 30km event on Saturday. On Sunday, Alex decided that waiting until 2014 to become a contender was just too long. He and teammate George Grey finished 3rd in the sprint relay. Alex came into the final sprint in 9th position and then began blowing past competitors all the way to the finish line. The skis provided by B2ten were perfect for the Whistler conditions allowing him to push hard to a medal.
In Switzerland, Michelle Kelly stepped on the podium with a 3rd place in St-Moritz. Keep an eye out for both Michelle and Jeff Pain Feb 5th at the next World Cup – the Olympic test event in Whistler. Then it’s off to Park City for the final World Cup followed by World Championships, February 26-28th in Lake Placid.
Congratulations go out to Joannie Rochette who won the Canadian Championships for the 5th consecutive year. Next stop, World Championships in Los Angeles, March 23-29th. Still at the rink, François-Louis Tremblay had a great National Championships and qualified for the individual World Championships…not an easy task when your own team is so very competitive.
Helen Upperton suffered a displaced rib loading into her sled while racing in Germany. Helen continued to pilot races overseas with Jenny “Powerhouse” Ciochetti pushing for two. Currently ranked 4th place overall on the World Cup, Helen will not race all of the remaining events in order to maximize her chances for recovery in time for the World Championships, February 20-21 in Lake Placid.
This past weekend was one of the most productive in the history of freestyle skiing. Jennifer Heil and Alexandre Bilodeau each took home Silver at the Mont Gabriel World Cup on Canadian soil while Steve Omischl offered the crowd a near perfect performance to take the Gold and the yellow bib! On this historic weekend, Canadians achieved their first ever podium sweep in men’s moguls. Alex, who could not get out of bed the day before the race due to illness, delivered his second podium in as many races. Jenn skied the fastest time and showed that she is putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Both Alex and Jenn will be wearing the yellow bibs World Cup leaders at the next races being held this Thursday and then again on Saturday in Deer Valley, Utah.
Over in Russia, the long track speed skaters were on a roll. Last week, Denny Morrison took Silver in Moscow at the Sprint World Championship before he went to Koloma (RUS) for the continuation of the World Cup circuit. He dominated both 1000m. races with two Gold medals. Christine Nesbitt offered two Bronze medal performances in the same distance. Denny is now second in the ranking behind Shani Davis (USA) while Christine leads on the women’s side!
Alex Harvey on the Podium
This is a special report to announced two very special events that occurred this past weekend. Alex Harvey was participating in his first World Cup in Whistler for the Olympic test event. After taking the amazing 12th place in the 30km on Saturday, Alex did his first World Cup podium performance in the sprint relay with teammate George Grey !! This was one of the most exciting Cross-Country skiing race ever since before his last sprint. Just before the last stretch, Alex was in 9th place but the skis that B2ten provided him with were perfect for the Whistler conditions so he was able to push very hard to take the 3rd place !!
Like we said many times, Alex is focused on the 2014 Olympics but he might surprise many next in Vancouver.
Minister of Finance backs amateur sport
B2ten is pleased to share with its donors, invitees and service providers that the government has recently announced amendments to the Income Tax Act relating to amateur athlete trusts.
Amateur athlete trusts were created by federal government legislation in 1992. The Government of the day did so in order to protect the eligibility of athletes competing in major international events and to assist the athlete in their integration into society post competition. Sponsorship income received by an athlete’s trust would not be taxable during the period in which the athlete competed internationally and for a fixed time period thereafter.
Over the past 16 years the IOC amended its eligibility rules to allow professional hockey and basketball players to participate in the Olympics. Once done, various Canadian sport federations, no longer facing eligibility requirements, saw little need to shoulder the administrative burden of athlete trusts. Today only a very few federations permit trusts.
Some twelve months ago, B2ten launched an initiative with the Department of Finance requesting that certain provisions of the 1992 legislation be modernized taking into account changes to IOC rules with the aim of making the trusts once again available to all eligible amateur athletes. A series of discussions / meetings took place with the department during 2008. These included, amongst other things, B2ten invitees Kim St. Pierre and Jennifer Heil making representations directly to the Minister of Finance.
With professional guidance from Serge Bilodeau of KPMG and Leonard Farber of Ogilvy Renault, amendments were drafted and tabled by B2ten. Over the past months the underlying rationale for the amendments were supported and debated with department personnel. At each step of the way, be it in strategy sessions, conference calls or meetings with department personnel, Messrs. Bilodeau and Farber were present with us. Their pro bono contribution has been nothing short of exceptional.
With these amendments, all amateur athletes, both summer and winter, now have access to trusts and thereby can better prepare for life post amateur sport. Everyone in the B2ten family can feel very proud as to how this little group created positive change for so many.
Heil is back!
2008 ended on a high note. Various B2ten athletes returned home finding themselves leading in the overall World ranking. In bobsleigh, Helen Upperton, Jenny Ciochetti and Heather Moyse took gold and Silver in Europe to hold top spot at the break. Long track speedskater Christine Nesbitt, won Gold in Asia to take the lead in the 1000m and second place in the 1500m. Teammate Denny Morrison also skated to the podium in multiple races and is now ready to be at his best in the second part of the season. Denny and Christine also seem to love the new Olympic Oval in Vancouver where they both won the 1000m and 1500m distances at the Canadian National Championships!
Freestyle skiers Jenn Heil and Alexandre Bilodeau each delivered Silver medals in the World Cup opener in Meribel France. Stephanie St. Pierre took part in the qualification round and showed that she is very close to being ready to compete. You can expect to see her at the next World Cup.
Figure skater Joannie Rochette went to Korea with high expectations having won the first two competitions of the season. While a mistake filled short program left her in 6th place, Joannie delivered a fine long program to finish 4th. In China, short track speedskater François-Louis Tremblay stepped on the podium once again and is looking stronger each outing.
Cross-Country skier Alex Harvey was in Western Canada for a Nor-Am cup that he dominated. Being developed for 2014, Alex is showing great progress. Might he surprise us in between?
