article - Skate Canada lured to Calgary


Saturday, February 23, 2008

Skate Canada is bringing its head office to Calgary from
Ottawa, transferring about 37 employees to the city.

The announcement by Skate Canada -- the national
governing body for figure skating that organizes the
annual Canadian championships and the Skate Canada
International competition -- has excited local figure
skaters and coaches alike.

"It will be great to have the federation based out of
Calgary so that we can have better access to the people
we deal with on a daily basis," said Scott Davis,
director of skating at the Calalta Figure Skating Club.


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Font:****"The people training here will have the
opportunity to be seen by the federation."

Skate Canada is planning on moving to the Athletic and
Ice Complex, which is the core facility in the Canadian
Centre of Sport Excellence developed by the Calgary
Olympic Development Association.

If possible, Davis would like his club to have access to
the facility and take advantage of the services offered
by the new centre.

The centre will contain office space, several ice
surfaces -- including one Olympic-sized surface and
several NHL-sized surfaces -- gymnasiums, physical
training facilities, testing, nutritional experts and
more.

"A gym and personal trainers would hugely benefit our
program," Davis said. "I would like to use it all."

Skate Canada is planning to move as soon as the complex
space is available, most likely in the summer of 2010.

"I anticipate we will leave one or two small divisions
there (in Ottawa)," said William Thompson, chief
executive officer of Skate Canada. "All the
high-performance and executive positions will be here."

The project is going to be constructed in phases, and is
set to begin in about a month, said Guy Huntingford,
president and chief executive officer of CODA.

"One of the things we need here in Calgary is ice, and
that will benefit all Calgarians," said Huntingford.

Hockey Canada will also be relocating to the new centre
at Canada Olympic Park, and Bob Nicholson, president of
Hockey Canada, is pleased with the move.

"It's going to be where we build all of our core
development programs," he said.

The three levels of government have contributed $129
million to the renovation of the existing Olympic Winter
Games facilities and the new Athletic and Ice Complex.

The agreement was signed during a celebrity street hockey
tournament Friday, ending the 20th anniversary
celebrations of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games.

Erica Rissccuw, a 17-year-old figure skater with the
Calalta club, said she feels Skate Canada's move will
benefit Calgary figure skaters.

"Before, all of the attention has been focused on the
East," she said.

Link »
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=77a96c56-e638-4360-b8bf-43a26f6942f2
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