All posts by : miles.rowat

Date: May 13, 2020

Dear Members,

It is with a heavy heart that I announce my resignation as President of the Board of Directors of the Ottawa Lions. My love for our Club and for the sport of track and field motivated me to step forward first as Vice-President of the Board of Directors, and then later as President. I am grateful for the opportunity to have served on this Board – in a short time, we’ve revised our Mission, Vision, and Values, updated our Policy on Harassment, Abuse and Sexual Misconduct, and laid the groundwork for the continued growth and strengthening of our Club.

Together, the Club, its Staff and its Members have been confronted with and overcome many challenges. Now, in these uncertain and unprecedented times, we are facing yet another challenge. I have the greatest confidence in our Members, Staff and Board of Directors to overcome this too.

Sincerely,

Nathalie Côté

With the school year wrapping up with final exams for our university athletes, both the University of Ottawa and Carleton University announced their annual award winners.In total, seven of our athletes were recognized at their respective schools.

At the University of Ottawa, Madison Clarke was nominated for the school’s top female athlete award. While the human kinetics graduate student didn’t take home the top prize, she was named the women’s MVP for track and field after capturing All-Canadian honours in the 600 metres at the USports Championship. Clarke was the most successful Gee Gee this past season with three top five finishes at the national championships and a pair of silver medals at the OUA Championships. 

The men’s track and field MVP for the Gee Gees was second year student Kyle Sprague. The math and physics student was the top performer among the men all season, excelling in both the high jump and 300 metres. Sprague cleared a personal best 1.95 metres four times this past season, including at the OUA Championships where he placed fourth – the highest finish for a Gee Gee’s male at the Championship.

Cross Country MVP honours went to veteran leaders Nic Roberts and Rebecca Brennan. The pair of athletes were the Gee Gees lone representatives at the USports Championship last fall in Kingston. Brennan placed a career best 27th overall while Roberts was 99th. The pair were the top Gee Gees at the RSEQ Championships, where Brennan placed 8th and Roberts was 11th.

At Carleton, a trio of athletes were recognized for their success. Pippa Norman was named the team’s rookie of the year after finishing the season ranked 27th in RSEQ at 3000 metres. Norman was also the top Raven at RSEQ Cross Country.

Third year commerce student Darrell Hill was named the Raven’s most improved played for the season as he lowered his personal best for both the 1000 and 1500 metres by more than three seconds each.

Rounding out the awards, sprinter Michael Pinnock was named team MVP. The second year student was the team’s finisher in the 60 and 300 metre events at the RSEQ Championships where he placed 18th in both.

Since re-designing the website last summer, one of the final remaining pieces was to port over the vast history of performances, awards, and medalists the Club had amassed over its 40 plus year history. We’re happy to report the overwhelming majority is now live on our website.

The move will hopefully allow for more frequent updating of historical performances and records as well as providing a more user friendly environment to view the information. Given the tablular nature of many of the historical performances, landscape mode will provide the best viewing experience on mobile devices.

The improved record delivery began last summer when some may have noticed the inclusion of Club, Meet and Facility records included in our posting of Twilight Meet Results. This continued over the winter with the addition of Dome and Meet records to the results during our indoor season.

We hope you’ll take the time to peruse the new information on the site to see what the athletes and coaches before you have accomplished and see where you rank among Club history. For our younger athletes, we hope the performances of your predecessors will only add fuel to your fire as you strive to become the best athlete you can.

All of this new information can be found by clicking “Statistics” in the menu or directly at ottawalions.com/awards-and-records

When the Olympic flame was extinguished above the Maracanã Stadium in August 2016 the focus of the athletics family shifted to the lighting of a new flame four years later in Tokyo. Sunday night, that focus was put on hold with the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s joint decision to not participate in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2020.

For the top Lion’s athletes, the reality that a four-year dream must, at least, be put on hold is certainly emotional. Two time Olympian Melissa Bishop-Nriagu told the Windsor Star, “I cried as soon as I read it, but Osi (Nriagu, her husband) and I took the night and this is so much bigger than what we’re doing right now.”

The consensus among the athletes we heard from was that it was the right decision. Three-time Paralympian Joshua Cassidy was proud of Canada taking the lead on the “best” decision. “I really appreciated the wording and intentions expressed in the release, as well as the COC Chef de Mission, Marnie McBean’s letter,” said Cassidy. “Canada took a strong lead. I believe the world will follow suit.”

The world has indeed followed suit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe announcing today the Games will indeed be postponed for one year. The decision taken by the COC and CPC in conjunction with the today’s announcement from the IOC certainly helps to put athletes’ minds at ease as they were torn between adhering to public health recommendations and trying to prepare to be their best in Tokyo.

“We didn’t know where we stood, if we had to continue training,” said Olympic finalist Farah Jacques to Radio-Canada about her situation prior to Sunday’s announcement. “The decision makes sense in that there was a risk to our health and safety.”

Bishop-Nriagu echoed her teammates sentiments, telling the Windsor Star “It’s not sports or Olympics, it’s life and death and it affects so many countries. I stand by the COC decision.”

Twice a member of Canada’s Olympic 4×100 metre relay team, Oluwasegun Makinde says that he’s supportive of the COC and its decision, “but, of course you train for four years for a special moment that only comes around for four years, so at that time, it’s tough to hear.”

Olympic shot putter Tim Nedow saw Sunday’s announcement as a ‘fait accompli’. “I kind of knew this was coming and there’s not much I can do. We’re all kind of in this together.”

With the wide swath of facility closures in the past two weeks, Nedow had been doing his best to adjust to a new reality. “When all the facilities shut down, it’s kind of hard to get out there and throw. My gym shut down too, like it should be, but luckily I have a little homemade gym right now and can get away with that,” said the Brockville native of his current training situation.

The recent rise in temperature had allowed the 2019 world finalist to get in some outdoor throwing, but Monday’s snowfall was a perfect example of how difficult that can be for this time of year in Ottawa.

“It’s a hard hit, but this is what we do, what we live for, everyday. Being our healthiest, best selves. This decision is in alignment with being our healthiest best selves,” said Joshua Cassidy of the current situation. “We take a breath, we move forward. Adapt. Be ready for what’s next. No matter when the Games are, no matter what each athlete has to deal with personally, now, or in the future… we always aim to be resilient and be ready to be our best.”

The Ottawa Lions Board of Directors would like to inform members they have instituted a new “Policy on Harassment, Abuse and Sexual Misconduct.” The new policy can be found on the Lions website at the following link.

The new policy replaces the previous Ottawa Lions “Policy on Harassment Prevention and Resolution” and is in effect immediately.

Members are also reminded they are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the Athletics Ontario and Athletics Canada Codes of Conduct.

Should you have any questions about the new policy, please feel free to reach out to Club President, Nathalie Côté.

To honour International Women’s Week, we want to say thank you to our many women coaches who promote our sport in such a positive manner and model strength, dedication and leadership for tomorrow’s leaders. We appreciate everything you do! We know how hard it is to balance work and family life! The fact that you still find the time to come out and volunteer with our athletes is proof of your superhero powers! Thank you!

One of the newest additions to the Ottawa Lions, Natalie brings a wealth of experience to our clubs young and developing athletes.

Coaching with the Aspire sprinters Natalie has been welcomed immediately and been able to merge into the team easily.

A multiple National Champion in the 400m, World Junior National Team member who has competed in both NCAA and USports makes her position working with our high school aged athletes ideal. Her experience in knowing the demands and commitment required to reach the highest level of our sport as a junior provides some practicality for our younger athletes who will be looking to make decision in the future. Natalie’s excellence in academics (completing her undergrad at Notre Dame, her masters and PhD with the University of Toronto) only adds to her image as a role model on and off the track. As Natalie completes her PhD in the Department of Higher Education of Leadership she continues to seek avenues to share her knowledge and learn from those around her. Her kind and thoughtful personality makes it easy for athletes to connect with her and fellow coaches to interact. It has been a pleasure to have Natalie join our team and look forward to seeing what she brings in the future.