UNews - Pronghorn track athlete

Chance to wish our Olympians well

trevor.kenney — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 21:10:35 +0000

The Lethbridge Sport Council and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge have partnered to host a community send-off for a group of athletes who are participating in the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics which take place July 27 – Aug. 12 and Aug. 29 - Sept. 9 in London, England.

Paralympic swimmer Zach McAllister has been named to the Canadian team to compete in London this summer, while hammer throwers Jim Steacy and Heather Steacy, and javelin thrower Liz Gleadle are participating in Track and Field events.

Larry Steinke, Track Coach with Pronghorn Athletics at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, will be attending the 2012 London Olympics after being selected as Throws Coach by Athletics Canada.

The community is invited to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, Upper Track of the 1st Cloice Savings Centre for Sport and Wellness on Monday, July 16 at 12:30 p.m. for a brief send-off ceremony.

A large Canadian flag will be available for signing, and will travel with the athletes to London.

Meet the athletes and wish them good luck on their journey!

The dates and times of the athletes' appearances on TV (local/mountain time in brackets) are listed below, along with brief biographies.

Athlete bios

James Steacy (men's hammer)

Competing: Qualifying – Aug. 3 at 11:20 a.m. GMT (5:20 a.m. MDT)
Finals – Aug. 5 at 8:20 p.m. GMT (2:20 p.m. MDT)

Steacy (28) (BASc '09), a Lethbridge, Alta. and Winston Churchill High School product, is one of the most decorated athletes in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) history. During his time as a Pronghorn track athlete, Steacy was undefeated in the weight throw, winning five Canada West and five CIS titles. He also captured three Canada West shot put titles and won three gold medals and one silver medal in shot at the CIS level. He last competed for the Horns in 2009.

The Canadian record holder in the men's hammer throw at 79.13m, Steacy set the mark at the 2008 Chinook Throws Gala. That season also marked his first Olympic appearance where he qualified for the Olympic final in Beijing, China and finished 10th overall.

Steacy, coached by Larry Steinke of the Chinook Track and Field Club, is the eight-time defending national champion in hammer throw.

Heather Steacy (women's hammer)

Competing: Qualifying - Aug. 8 at 10 a.m. GMT (4 a.m. MDT)
Finals – Aug. 10 at 7:35 p.m. GMT (1:35 p.m. MDT)

Steacy (24), a Lethbridge, Alta. and Winston Churchill High School product, heads to her first Olympics after dominating the competition at the Canada West and CIS levels in recent years. Steacy has won four Canada West weight throw titles to go along with two CIS gold, one silver and one bronze medal. She last competed for the Horns in 2011 when she was the Canada West gold medalist and CIS silver medalist.

Steacy won her second consecutive Canadian Track and Field Championship hammer throw title this spring with a throw of 70.48 metres and achieved her personal best of 72.16m at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, AZ earlier this year.
Steacy is coached by Larry Steinke of the Chinook Track and Field Club.

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Elizabeth Gleadle (women's javelin)

Competing: Qualifying – Aug. 7 at 10 a.m. GMT (4 a.m. MDT)
Finals – Aug. 9 at 9 p.m. GMT (3 p.m. MDT)

Gleadle (23), originally from Vancouver, came to Lethbridge to train with throws coach Larry Steinke this past year, taking time away from her kinesiology studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia. She won gold at the 2012 Canadian Track and Field Trials with a throw of 60.13 metres, establishing a new meet record. Her personal best of 61.15 metres was set earlier this year at a National Track League event in Burnaby, B.C. It also stands as the Canadian record.

"I took this year off so I could make London," she told the Calgary Herald. "I took time off school, I moved cities; I did everything I was supposed to do. I napped, ate, slept some more, trained really hard, everything I was told to do by my coach (Larry Steinke). I trust him completely and it really paid off."

She'll be the first Canadian woman to compete in javelin at the Olympics since Seoul 1988, ironically, the year of her birth.

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Zachary McAllister (men's swimming 400m freestyle S8)

Competing: Qualifying – Aug. 31 at 9:30 a.m. GMT (3:30 a.m. MDT)
Finals – Aug. 31 at 5:30 p.m. GMT (11:30 a.m. MDT)

McAllister (18), a Lethbridge native and Lethbridge Collegiate Institute product, has come up through the Lethbridge Amateur Swim Club (LASC). He will be representing Canada at the Paralympic Games, Aug. 29 to Sept. 9 in London.

The Canadian record holder in the men's S8 400-metre freestyle event, McAllister earned his spot on the Paralympic Games team by swimming his personal best and Canadian record time of four minutes, 49 seconds at the Olympic Trials in Montreal this spring.

McAllister represented Canada at the Para Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mex. in fall 2011, and after enrolling at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in January 2012, attended meets in Los Angeles, Colorado and Sheffield, England. McAllister's disability is a condition by which he has too many bones in his limbs, thereby restricting growth and range of motion in both his arms and legs.

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Coach -- Larry Steinke (BA '94)

Steinke has been running the most prominent throws program in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) for years and has been consistently involved with Canada's elite athletes at the international level.

He began his national team affiliation as part of the 2007 Pan Am Games coaching staff and has since been to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2010 World Junior Track Championships, the 2010 Commonwealth Games and each of the 2009 and 2011 World Track & Field Championships.

He currently coaches three Olympians in Jim Steacy, Heather Steacy and Liz Gleadle and is a proud alumnus of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and head coach of the Horns track program.

Wish our Olympians well

trevor.kenney — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:18:05 +0000

Community value in Operation Red Nose

trevor.kenney — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:02:24 +0000

It's the red light drivers actually look forward to seeing around the holidays.
Operation Red Nose, the national designated-driving service celebrating its 25th anniversary, will hit the roads for the 14th year here in Lethbridge, thanks to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Pronghorn Athletics.
With that longevity comes a level of recognition in the community and an expectation that as the snow flies and the holiday cheer flows, the Red Nose tradition is renewed.
"You can't help but recognize the big red vests," Pronghorn track athlete and longtime Red Nose volunteer Jim Steacy says.
"I have people asking me in September when we're going to start up again. A lot of them wish we did it all year."
Created in 1984 in Quebec City, the program offers holiday revelers the opportunity to be driven home in their own vehicles, free of charge. While donations are readily accepted, and for Pronghorn Athletics that amounts to some $25,000 per year, the essence of the program is providing a valuable service and connecting the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ with the southern Alberta community.
"This was a perfect program," Sandy Slavin, executive director, Sport and Recreation Services, says of its inception in 1994. "It was a great way for us to get out and give back to the community that contributes so much to us."
While the financial impact on the program has become substantial over the years, Slavin says if it were just a money matter, the program could probably devote its manpower to a more lucrative pursuit.
That, however, is not what providing Red Nose is all about.
"If you broke it down, it's a lot of work per hour, but when you look at everything else you get out of it, the service in the community, the recognition in the community, it becomes a very valuable fundraiser for us," she says.
Knud Petersen, past president of the Pronghorn Booster Club, says it took some doing to get the first program launched.
"It was a lot of work and a lot of convincing people in the beginning," Petersen says, noting taxi companies were initially against their proposal.
But Red Nose has proven to fill a void the taxi companies could not address and it has meant fewer impaired drivers on roads.
"I think it's a fantastic program," Jeff Haley, government affairs manager for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, says. The Bureau is a major national sponsor.
"I can't really speak to the numbers (of people it takes off the road) but the commitment we have made to this each of the last four years is simply because it makes a difference."
The Lethbridge Regional Police Service agrees.
"It absolutely does make a difference in our community," sergeant Craig Deimuth says. "It once again gives people another option of how to get home safely after an evening of celebrating the Christmas season.
"Everybody is always concerned about leaving their vehicle behind but with this option, where not only they but their vehicle can get home safely, it's a fantastic program to have available."
Staffed by more than 600 volunteers (all of which are screened by the police service), the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge program connects Pronghorn Athletics to the community in a unique and personal manner. For Steacy, it's a great way to show off the Pronghorn logo, making the volunteer hours worth the work.
"I know the tournament teams — the rugby, track and field and swimming teams — realize that this is our main source of income as far as funding goes," Steacy says.
"But beyond that, it's kind of an honour to be part of a program like this. I'm helping people out, giving them a safe avenue home."

UNews - Pronghorn track athlete

Chance to wish our Olympians well

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Community value in Operation Red Nose

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