2011 ANNUAL AWARDS NIGHT AND CLUB AGM

Our annual Awards Night and AGM will be held on Friday, February 3rd at Oak Bay United Church beginning at 7:00pm. Everyone is invited to attend and this year we will feature a dessert, juice, tea and coffee evening. 

Oak Bay United Church is located on the corner of Granite and Mitchell Streets just off Oak Bay Avenue. The door to the church hall is located to the left of the main entrance and will be open at 6:30pm to be ready for the 7:00pm start.

The evening will feature a slide show of our athletes in action in 2011, door prizes, the VIAA island series awards, club top performance and service awards, and our brief Annual General Meeting.

A separate email will be sent to members to invite everyone to attend.

People attending are asked to bring a dessert (cookies, cupcakes, etc.) to help the executive keep costs down for this event.

Write this date on your calendar now and plan on attending.

JANUARY 19, 2012:  THURSDAY PRACTICE CANCELLED

The outdoor practice tonight has been cancelled due to snow conditions.

If there is snow on the ground we will NOT hold our practices so check the weather conditions and this page before heading out to the track.

JANUARY 17, 2012:  TUESDAY PRACTICE CANCELLED

The outdoor practice tonight has been cancelled due to snow conditions.

If there is snow on the ground we will NOT hold our practices so check the weather conditions and this page before heading out to the track.

JANUARY 3, 2012:  PRACTICE CANCELLED

Our apologies to any of our club members who showed up at the track tonight. The practice was cancelled but the website was down and I could not post a message on the site until after 6:00pm. I worked with the Vancouver technicians most of the day to get access to the site again.

Regular training for the track and field group will resume on Thursday night!

If you have not returned your club trophy to Jonathan Henderson, please do so immediately as we need to get them prepared for the Annual Awards Night on February 3rd. More details will be posted here soon.

DECEMBER 24, 2011:  Christmas  Break

Happy Holidays to all our club members. 

Enjoy the break with your families and be ready to start again in January. Please remember to bring your  2012 registration forms and payment to your practices in January as your 2011 membership will be completed at the end of December.  Please remember to return your club trophies during the first week of January as they have not all been returned at this time.               

November 10, 2011:  Trophy Return

We are starting to plan for our 2011 Awards Night and AGM which will be held in late January or early February. Please start looking for those trophies you received at the last Awards Night and give them a polish if necessary. You will be contacted about where and when to return them within the next two weeks.

October 29, 2011:  BC Athletics Cross Country Championships

Congratulations to our club athletes who travelled to the mainland for the BC Athletics Cross Country Championships. Nicholas Herrmann [Boys 9], Ashley Cathro [Girls 11], Hank Wulder and Bjorn Svorkdal [Boys 11], Andra Herrmann [Girls 13] and Konrad Herrmann [Boys 14] all had great peformances!

Full meet results for this event are now posted on the Meet Results page.

October 11, 2011:  2012 Membership Forms

The 2012 Club Membership Forms are now posted on our Membership page on this website. All 2011 memberships run out as of December 31 of the current year and new forms and payment are required for any athlete training as of January 1st. Please complete the 2012 forms and return them to your coach or to Sara Henderson [club registrar] in January. No athletes are permitted to train with the club if these forms are not completed and received by the registrar. If you need to contact Sara Henderson please make sure that you have her new email [@shaw.ca].

If you are a returning athlete, the forms and payment are due when you start training again with the club. 

New athletes can sign up at any time now and will receive membership until December 31st, 2012.

Please carefully read the information on the Membership page and on the forms!

October 8, 2011:  Winter Training Schedules

For those of you new to our club, the monthly winter training schedules are posted for you on the Training Groups page on the website as they are prepared. Use this as a quick reference so that you know where each session will be held.

October 3, 2011:  BC JD Award Winners

Congratulations to our two JD athletes who have been recognized for outstanding performances at the Junior Development level [ages 9 to 13]. Natalie Henderson [1997 girls] and Ashley Cathro [2000 girls] will be recognized at the 2011 BCJD Awards Ceremony at the end of the month. Natalie won her award for Racewalk while Ashley was recognized for Sprints, Distance, Jumps, Throws and Combined Events. Well done to both girls and to their coaches!

September 28, 2011:  Email Problems

If you have been trying to contact Jonathan or Sara Henderson by email, your message may not have gone through as they are having email issues. Please resend any messages which have not been answered by them. They will reply to each email so that you know that your message has been received. If you need a more urgent response, please phone them and leave a message. 

September 28, 2011:  Our Graduating Athletes

Congratulations and well done to our graduating athletes who have moved on to university to continue their academic and athlete careers. Alex Love [pole vault] is off to Trinity Western University in Langley while Kyle Zosiak [middle distance] is now studying at Queens University in Ontario.  Rachael Inglis [racewalk] is at the University of British Columbia which has a great team of walkers! Kira Craig [pole vault], Patrick Psotka [pole vault] and Lauren Zosiak [racewalk] remain in Victoria to study at the University of Victoria.

Best wishes in your studies from the coaches and executive of Victrack!

August 23, 2011:  Cross Country and Winter Conditioning

The Cross Country and Winter Conditioning schedule is now posted on the Training Groups page on the website. The program will start on Thursday, September 8 at 6:30pm at Beaver Lake Park. Meet at the Beaver Lake Beach parking lot and be warmed up and ready to go on time!

Any registered athlete is able to participate if they wish to keep up conditioning for school programs or in preparation for the outdoor track and field season.

New members must sign up with the club registrar before joining these sessions. Information on registration and membership forms are posted on the Membership Page on the website.

August 5, 2011:  Western Canada Summer Games

Congratulations to three of our club members and two past members who are part of Team BC at the Western Canada Summer Games taking place in Kamloops, BC. Club members Holly Parent, Kira Craig and Hannah Swift along with Brittany and Cody Therrien will be competing from August 6th to 9th in Athletics while the entire GWCSG will finish on August 14th. Holly is competing in high jump while both Kira and Hannah are in the pole vault competition.

July 22/24, 2011:  BC Junior Development Championships 

A strong group of Victrack athletes traveled to Hillside Stadium in Kamloops for the BC JD Championships. Our team was made up of Ashley Cathro, Cecelia Way, Angelina Davison-O'Brien, Henry Down, Logan Airey and Edward Down. The athletes were supported by coaches Graham Howard and Che Davison. Every athlete achieved personal bests at this meet!

Full results are now posted on our Meet Results page and photos of this meet are in our 2011 Photo Gallery.

July 15/17, 2011:  BC Championship Jamboree

Victrack athletes had a number of outstanding performances and personal bests at the BC Athletics Championship Jamboree at the Percy Perry Stadium in Coquitlam. Our track and field group included Hannah Cater, Jordyn Piercy, Owen Heaney, Patrick Pstoka, Kyle Zosiak, Natalie Henderson, Holly Parent and Clinton Howard. 

Our pole vault group was represented by Lindsay Cole, Lucas Petruzzelli, Rianne Craig, Simon Psotka, Julian Agar-Newman, Kara Schaefer, Gavin Vaesen and Hannah Swift.

Full results are now posted on our Meet Results page and photos of this meet are in our 2011 Photo Gallery.

July 9/10, 2011:  Trevor Craven Track and Field Meet

Congratulations to our lone athlete at the Travor Craven Track and Field Meet at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, BC. Ashley Cathro used this mainland meet in preparation for the upcoming BC JD Championships in Kamloops. Ashley competed in 6 track events placing 1st in four events [200m, 600m, 1000m, and 60m hurdles] and 2nd in two events [60m and 100m]. In field events Ashley was 1st in four events [Long Jump, Shot Put, Discus and Javelin] and 2nd in one event [High Jump]. She achieved a number of personal bests and one top ten performance in Javelin.

Ashley's family want to thank our throws coach, Graham Howard, for his extra coaching in the throwing events leading up to this meet and the BC JD's. Well done, Ashley!

Full results are now posted on our Meet Results page.

July 5, 2011:  Late Congratulations

Club member and Washington State University athlete, Holly Parent, placed second in the recent Canadian Senior Championships in Calgary, Alberta. Holly who high jumped 1.81m earned a spot on the Canadian National team to the FISU World University Games in Shenzhen, China in August. This is a great way to see the world!

July 2, 2011:  Gary Reed Tribute Dinner

Two club members attended the Tribute Dinner for Gary Reed at the Uplands Golf Club. Lin Hopkins and Diana Hollefreund were guests of the BC Games Society and enjoyed visiting with a number of our club alumni members, athletes from across the country as well as coaches and administrators of our sport from PISE, Athletics Canada and BC Athletics.

Some photos of tonight's dinner are posted on the Photo Gallery page of the website.

June 20, 2011:  Our Athletes on BC Teams

Two club athletes will be heading to the prairies to compete on Team BC at the Canadian Championships. Holly Parent, high jump, will be on the BC Senior team in Calgary and Hannah Swift, pole vault, will be on the BC Junior team in Winnipeg. Now let's settle the Air Canada dispute so that they can both fly to the championship meets!

June 20, 2011:  Club Results

Our athletes had excellent results this past weekend and the full results for both meets are posted on the Meet Results page on this site.

Che Davison, Matias Earthy-Find and many of our pole vaulters had a great meet in Langley at the combined Langley Pacific Meet and the BC Masters Championship Meet. A small group of athletes, coaches and parents helped complete the 2011 VIAA Track Meet Series at the Comox Valley Cougars Meet in Courtenay. Thanks go to our backup timers, coaches and athletes who put in a very long day at the meet! 

A special note of thanks goes to Aimee Henderson who spent the entire day working in the results tent doing an amazing job of working her way through the Hy-Tek results program!

June 16, 2011:  News Items

Good luck to our club athletes and coaches who are heading out in two different directions this weekend. Masters athletes will be competing at the 2011 BC Masters Championships which will be held in Langley. Club athletes will be in Courtenay at the Comox Valley Cougars Meet which is the final VIAA Series Meet of the season.

Photos from the 2011 Garriock Meet are now posted on the 2011 Photo Gallery page on this website.

June 12, 2011:  Times Colonist Article

Many of our club members and coaches read and enjoyed today's newspaper report on Ashley. It is always great to have one of our athlete's featured in the paper or on TV but it is especially nice to have Ashley mention her coaches. Congratulations!

Please click here to read the Times Colonist article.

June 10, 2011:  Special Olympics Mini Meet Cancelled

Please note that the SO Mini Meet scheduled for Monday, June 13th has been cancelled. We were not able to get the planning done for the meet and time simply ran out. We will start planning earlier for next year and will definitely host a meet for Special Olympics Victoria at that time. 

Thank you to everyone who volunteered to come out and help run the meet. We will look for your help in 2012.

June 5, 2011:  VIAA Pentathlon and Weight Pentathlon Meet

This year we sent 2 club athletes to the VIAA Pentathlon and 1 club coach/athlete to the VIAA Weight pentathlon in Sidney. Congratulations to all three who placed first in their age groups: Ashley Cathro [11 year girls], Matias Earthy-Find [11 year boys] and Che Davison [Masters women 45-49 years]. This is a great way to test out the combined events and the weight pentathlon for athletes and is the only meet of its kind in BC. Check the Meet Results page for full results and scoring for each event.

Coming in June, 2011:  Special Olympics Mini Meet

Once again we are hosting a small meet for Special Olympics Victoria. This will take place at the Oak Bay Track on Monday, June 13th beginning at 6:00pm [start time is approximate]. Most of our club directors are coming along to help but more volunteers are needed. We will need volunteers for timing, finish line, shot put and long jump [running and standing]. No experience is necessary and the meet is very popular with the SO athletes and coaches. So if you can help out in some way, contact Diana by email to trackvictoria@shaw.ca. 

We can also use some help with a treat for the athletes [about 50 in all] so donations of juice boxes would be appreciated.

June 2, 2011: BC High School Championships

Congratulations to our athletes who are heading over to Burnaby this Friday and Saturday for the BC High School Championships.While our athletes compete for their individual schools at this event, we wish them well and will be cheering them on along with all the athletes from our clubs on Vancouver Island. Results are now posted on the Meet Results page on this website. 

June 2, 2011: Updates

The results for the Elwood Wylie Meet in Nanaimo are now posted on the Meet Results page on this website. 

Photos from the Elwood Wylie Meet are now posted on the 2011 Photo Gallery page on this website. More to come!

The June training schedules for the JD Group and the Sprint Group are now posted on the Training Groups page on this website.

May 18, 2011:  Island High School Championships

The directors and coaches of Victrack want to congratulate all of our athletes who are competing in the Island High School Championships at UVIC over the next two days. If you get a chance to sit in the stands and watch some events, you will see some of the best competition in BC going on over this two-day meet.  

GOOD RESULTS TO ALL OUR ATHLETES!

May 11, 2011:  Dogwood Meet Updates

Photographs from the 2011 Dogwood Meet are now posted on the 2011 Photo Gallery page on the website. 

Final results from the 2011 Dogwood Meet are now posted on the Dogwood Meet page on the website.

May 11, 2011:  Thanks to Our Club Volunteers

Thank you to all our club volunteers who pitched in at the Dogwood Track and Field Meet and helped to run a first-class track and field meet. The club directors want to thank everyone who contributed to the success of the meet from our athletes, our coaches, our volunteers and even our retired club members who came out to help. We have never seen so many volunteers in action and were very grateful for all of the time and effort that people gave to the club. THANK YOU ALL!

May 5, 2011:  Meet Date Change

Comox Valley Cougars have moved their track meet to avoid conflict with the National Track League Meet in Victoria. The Comox Meet will now be a one-day event with selected events to be held on June 18th. This will be a great windup to the season and will serve as a final Island Meet before the various age-group championships.

May 3, 2011:  Photos Posted

Photos of our athletes in action at the Bob Dailey Meet in Port Alberni are now posted on the 2011 Photo Gallery page on the website.

Call for Volunteers

Eileen Carroll, our club Volunteer Coordinator, has sent emails to all club members about volunteer services at the Dogwood Meet this weekend. It is critical that we get all positions covered as time is running out. Please send an email to Eileen and have her slot you into a position at the meet. They are many jobs which need to be done and jobs for all levels of experience from helping with food delivery, handing out ribbons and medals, to working as an "unofficial" official. Directors of the club will be working all weekend long and are hoping that all club parents and athletes help out! 

Please contact Eileen directly by email to: eileencarroll@telus.net

Thank You to Our Great Club Volunteers

Our great club timing team worked overtime at the Bob Dailey Meet to provide first-rate timing services to the island athletes. With very few club athletes attending the meet, the timing team members each worked long hours to cover all the volunteer shifts.

Thank you!

Our Masters' Athletes Bring Home Some Medals!

A number of our masters' athletes travelled to Kamloops for the Canadian Masters Indoor Championships on March 19 and 20, 2011. Congratulations to Gerard Dumas, M75+, 2nd place High Jump at 0.75m, 1st place Pole Vault at 2.20m, and 1st place Weight Throw at 9.45m; Nancy Craig, W45+, 1st place Pole Vault at 2.10m; Wayne Psotka, M45+, 1st place Pole Vault at 3.70m; and Sean Steele, M45+, 4th place Pole Vault at 2.70m, 1st place Weight Throw at 8.52m.

Please click here for the full results of the 2011 Canadian Masters Indoor Championships.

Another Record Jump 

Congratulations once again to our high jumper, Holly Parent, for her new presonal best jump of 1.85m. This was achieved at the Jim Click Shootout at the University of Arizona on April 2, 2011. This jump was Holly's best performance ever and ranks her #1 in Canada, #2 in the USA and is the 4th highest jump in the world so far this season. Holly achieved this jump while competing for Washington State University where she attends on a full sports scholarship.

And this is what a 1.85m jump looks like...

Victoria Track and Field Club will hold its final Spring Registration on the following date:

Thursday, April 28th from 6:00 to 7:00pm at the Oak Bay Track.

If you are not able to attend on that date, you are welcome to come out to a training session on any Tuesday or Thursday night at 6:00pm.

Please download and complete the club registration forms [posted on the Membership page] and bring them to one of the registration nights. Once the forms have been accepted, your athlete will have two training sessions before your cheque will be cashed. Forms and cheques will be returned at that time if your child does not wish to continue. 

New applicants are not permtted to train with VTFC unless forms have been completed and returned.

Dogwood Meet 2011 

The meet information package, draft schedule and registration/payment forms are now posted on the Dogwood Meet page on the website. These are for your information at this time. More information for club members will follow as soon as possible.

Spring Break 2011 

The last practice session before Spring Break will be on Thursday, March 10th. Practices will resume on Tuesday, March 29th with the earlier start time of 6:00pm.

Sunday, March 6th ~ Special Olympics Winter Games

One of our club members and two alumni members participated in the 2011 Special Olympics Winter Games in Kelowna, BC. Congratulations to Dixon McGowan and Richard Weyler [athlete alumni member] for winning medals in downhill skiing events and to Kate Hollefreund [athlete and coach alumni member] who was a coach for the SO Snowshoe Team.

Photos from the weekend events can be viewed on the Special Olympics BC Facebook page or by following the link below.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=343107&l=1659a62ee0&id=162286397145#!/album.php?id=162286397145&aid=343107

Thursday, February 27th ~ Racewalkers in Action

The 2011 Racewalk Victoria walks meet was held on the Galloping Goose Trail on Sunday, February 27th. Club members, club alumni members, local athletes who train with our walks coach and club officials participated. Congratulations to athletes Aimee Henderson [1500m, 1st place], Rachael Inglis [10k, 3rd place], and Lauren Zosiak [5 k, 3rd place]. Also participating was Megan Wylie [Huzzey] who placed 1st in 15k for Open Women and our officials, David and Lin Hopkins.

Full meet results are now posted on our Meet Results page.

Notice to 2010 Club Members  

Only current club members are permitted to train with Victoria Track and Field Club. Members who have not registered for 2011 must do so immediately. No club training is permitted without first completing the registration process.

Victoria Track and Field Club will hold its Spring Registration on the following dates:

Thursday, March 10th from 6:30 to 7:30pm at the Oak Bay Track.

Thursday, April 7th from 6:30 to 7:30pm at the Oak Bay Track. 

Please download and complete the club registration forms [posted on the Membership page] and bring them to one of the registration nights. Once the forms have been accepted, your athlete will have two training sessions before your cheque will be cashed. Forms and cheques will be returned at that time if your child does not wish to continue. 

New applicants are not permtted to train with VTFC unless forms have been completed and returned.

February 14, 2011:  SPRING BREAK AT THE TRACK

The track and field program at Oak Bay will shut down for the schools Spring Break. Training will be cancelled for March 14th to March 25th inclusive. Training will resume on Tuesday, March 29th at Oak Bay. Start times will be posted here.

February 14, 2011:  WEEKEND RESULTS

Several of our club athletes participated in the Husky Classic and the Indoor Open Meets at the University of Washington, Seattle, on the weekend. Kara Schaefer and Hannah Swift competed in pole vault and tied for 12th place in a very large field with vaults of 3.46m. Holly Parent, competing for Washington State, tied for 3rd place in high jump with her jump of 1.73m.

Tyler Norman and Kyle Zosiak competed with their middle distance training group in the distance events. Kyle ran 9:05.16 in the 3k race and Tyler achieved 4.46.04 in the 1 Mile run.

February 6, 2011:  AWARDS NIGHT PHOTOS

Awards Night photos are now posted on the new 2011 Photo Gallery page.

February 4, 2011:  VICTRACK ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND AWARDS NIGHT

Thanks go to everyone who made our Annual General Meeting and Awards Night a success: Graham Howard for the hall rental, slide show of our athletes in 2010, and photos of the award winners. Mr. and Mrs. Howard, Sr, for hall setup, tea and coffee service and all the dishes. Sean Steele for running the Annual General Meeting and serving as  MC of the awards part of the evening. All the club parents who brought the amazing selection of desserts which disappeared!

Our new Board of Directors was elected at the meeting and the list will be updated on our Home Page as soon as possible. Photos of the award winners will be posted on the 2010 Photo Gallery page when they have been edited.

The club wishes to extend a "thank you' to the following directors who have retired from our board: Ruth Economou, Trudy Brooks, Che Davison and Dorothy Fielding. Dorothy has done an outstanding job as our club treasurer for the past four years. Che continues with the club but is moving over to coach in our track and field program.

Welcome to our new directors, Joe Piercy and Gregg Stewart. Your decision to join the board of directors is very much appreciated by the club members. To our continuing directors, thank you for another year serving Victrack: Sean Steele, Evelyn Parent, Diana Hollefreund, Sara Henderson, Eileen Carroll and Chris Norman.

January 28 to 30, 2011:  BC ATHLETICS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, Vancouver, BC

Two of our club members won "big" at the 2010 BC Athletics Awards Banquet in Vancouver over the weekend. Holly Parent was selected as one of the nominees for Junior Female Athlete of the year for her high jump performances. Holly then went on to win the top award for Junior Female Athlete in the province last year winning this honour in a field of very talented junior women!

Diana Hollefreund won the Jane Swan Award for her work over the past twenty plus years in the area of Junior Development. The weekend also marked Diana's retirement from the BCA Board of Directors and the standing ovation and messages of thanks were very much appreciated. Diana worked with Jane Swan in event management over the years and was honoured to receive the award from Jane's husband, Jerry Swan.

A number of island athletes, coaches and volunteers were also recognized making the 2010 Awards Night an Island Event! Island athletes winning awards included Emalee Vandermale, Kate Worthy, Katelyn Hayward, Zarria Storm, Nick Blackburn, Aleisha Cobb,  David McKay, Joanna Franke-Kuhn, Steve Osadiuk, Dylan Haight, Maggie Woodward, Maurice Tarrant and Michelle Stillwell. 

Winning Excellence in Coaching Awards were Linda Keatley-Campbell from Nanaimo [formerly VTFC] and Kim and Randy Longmuir of Oceanside.

The three top awards in the service category went to local volunteers. Tom Dingle won Executive of the Year for his work on JD statistics, meet directing with Pentrack and years of volunteering for the BCA BOD. Danny Daniels of Pentrack was inducted into the BC Athletics Hall of Fame for his years of service to athletics [BCA and AC and the IAAF World Masters] as well as his continued participation as a masters athlete in our sport. The third award was to Diana Hollefreund as noted above.

A special recognition was given to Ann Lansdell, a local official, as she retires from many of her officiating duties after 60 years as an official. Did you know that Ann was a timekeeper at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver and was one of the timers who recorded the Miracle Mile between Roger Bannister and John Landry. This was the first time that the two men had raced together and both men achieved race results under four minutes!

A special award went to our own Canadian 80 metre Champion, Gary Reed, as he retires from active competition. Gary has announced that he will donate 3% of all his future earnings to a fund to assist athletes in our sport achieve international success. Gary is a true champion!

Gary Reid at the 2010 BC Athletics Awards Banquet

January 28, 2011:  UW INDOOR MEET

It was another successful indoor meet for our high jumper, Holly Parent, as she placed first at the UW Invitational Meet in Seattle, Washington. Full results for this meet are posted on our Meet Results page.

January 14, 2011:  FIRST MEET RESULTS OF THE YEAR

The first two indoor track and field meets were held this weekend in Washington State. Holly Parent, a sophomore at Washington State University, broke the meet record for high jump with her result of 1.83m [6 feet] at the 9th annual WSU Indoor Meet on January 11th. The jump was also a new Personal Best for Holly and comes early in the season!

Three of our pole vaulters saw competition at the Huskies Preview Meet in Seattle. Vaulting in a field on 38 women, Kara Schaefer and Hannah Swift tied for 12th place with vaults of 3.31m and Kira Craig placed 24th with her vault of 3.01m.

Congratulations to all our club competitors. Full meet results can be found on our Meet Results page.

2010 ANNUAL AWARDS NIGHT AND CLUB AGM

Our annual Awards Night and AGM will be held on Friday, February 4th at Oak Bay United Church beginning at 7:00m. Everyone is invited to attend and this year we will feature a  dessert and coffee evening. 

Oak Bay United Church is located on the corner of Granite and Mitchell Streets just off Oak Bay Avenue. The door to the church hall is located to the left of the main entrance and will be open at 6:30pm to be ready for the 7:00pm start.

The evening will feature a slide show of our athletes in action in 2010, door prizes, the VIAA island series awards, club top performance and service awards, and our brief Annual General Meeting.

A separate email will be sent to members to invite everyone to attend.

Write this on your calendar now and plan on attending.

January 11: SNOW WARNING

There is a snowfall warning in place for southern Vancouver Island for this evening but the light snow has stopped in many areas of the city and the heavy snowfall may not arrive. Jonathan Henderson will be at the track for training tonight if you are able to attend. If in doubt, don't come out!

The planned Executive Meeting scheduled for tonight is also going to take place if at all possible.

January 4: New Year Reminders

Winter training resumes tonight at the Oak Bay track for those registered. The 2011 training schedule is not posted yet but will be on the Training Groups page as soon as possible. In the meantime training will carry on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at the Oak Bay Track at 6:30pm.

Please review the December 15 note [below] about 2011 registration.

Please review the note on returning trophies in the November 21 note [below]. Not all trophies have been returned and time is running out. The next Director's Meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 11 in the Upper Room of the Oak Bay Rec Centre beginning at 6:30pm if that is a convenient time to drop off your trophy. If not, please return to Sara Henderson or your club coach.

December15: Year-end Reminders

Club members are reminded that all memberships end on December 31th of each year. You are no longer a member and cannot train, coach athletes or serve on the executive until you complete the registration form and return it to Sara Henderson [Club Registrar] along with your fees. Membership forms are posted on the Membership page on this site. 

This is also a reminder to those athletes who have NOT returned their 2009 trophies. Please get them back to a coach or to Sara Henderson as soon as possible. Please check out the Trophy Return note below for more information.

December 5: Reminders...

Please remember to get your club trophies back to a club executive member or coach by the middle of December. More information is posted below in the November 21st Trophy Return. 

The 2011 club and BC Athletics registration forms are now posted on the Membership page on the website. All club athletes, coaches and executive members must renew their membership for the coming year. As of January 1st, you are no longer a member of the club unless these forms have been completed and the registration forms and payment have been  turned in to the club registrar, Sara Henderson.

Victoria Track and Field Club has lost its Gaming Funds [along with many other sporting organizations around the province]. The Board of Directors of the club have decided to hold our fees at their current level with only the additional HST charges to be added to the fees. HST is only required for athletes ages 15 and older.

November 25: Have a Snow Day!

Once again training is cancelled tonight due to the snow conditions. Do some exercises and stretches at home and take the night off. Training should resume on Tuesday at the Oak Bay Track. Check your email or this website if the snow continues.

November 23: Training is Cancelled

Due to the snow and very cold conditions, training at the Oak Bay Track is cancelled on Tuesday, November 23. Please check for email messages from the coach or check this site for updates during the cold and snowy weather!

November 21 to December 14: Trophy Return

It is time to collect the annual trophies from 2009 in order to get them ready for the 2010 Awards Night in January. If you have a trophy you should receive an email notice about returning them to a member of the executive or to a coach. If you have a trophy and do not receive an email, please contact Diana or Sara  and the instructions will be sent to you.

Trophies can be returned to the Oak Bay Track on Tuesdays or Thursdays at 6:30pm to Sara Henderson or Jonathan Henderson OR to Gerard Dumas or Sean Steele for the vaulters OR to the BOD meeting on December 14 at 6:30pm in the Upper Lounge at the Oak Bay Rec Centre. 

Individual trophy winners are listed on our Club Awards page on this website.

November 6, 2010:  BC High School Cross Country Championships

Congratulations to a large number of club and island athletes who proved that there is still a great interest in cross country running. The BC High School Cross Country championships were held at Beaver Lake Park on Saturday, November 6th and some impressive results were achieved. Full results for girls and boys are posted on our Meet Results page on this website.

October 31, 2010:  BC Junior Development Awards 

Congratulations and well done to two of our club athletes who won BCJD Awards at the BCJD yearly awards luncheon in Vancouver on the weekend. Daphne Love [1996 F] won her award with her 2.50m pole vault. In addition Daphne won the pole vault competition in the BC Summer Games in Langley. Ashley Cathro [2000 F] won in the for her results in the 60 metres [8.92], 100 metres [14.30], 800 metres [ 2.35.53] and Javelin [21.43m]. 

Click here to download a full list of the 2010 BCJD Award Winners.

October 30, 2010:  BCJD Cross Country Championships

Well done to Victrack's Ashley Cathro for her second place finish in the 2000F age category at the BC Cross Country Championships in Aldergrove Park, Aldergrove, BC.

Full results of the BCJD Cross Country Championships are posted on the Meet Results page on our website.

October 30, 2010:  Winter Training Schedule

Our apologies for the delay in posting this schedule. It covers the cross country and winter training sessions until after the holiday break. The schedule is posted on our Training Groups page on this site.

October 29, 2010:  Vancouver Island School Cross Country Championships

A number of our club athletes and alumni members had outstanding performances in the Vancouver Island School Cross Country Championships on Wednesday at Beaver Lake Park. Kyle Zosiak and Cody Therrien placed first and second on the island and were featured on both the TV news and in the Times Colonist. Many other island athletes from the VIAA clubs had great races and are looking to the BC High School Cross Country Championships on the same course next week. 

Full results are posted on the Meet Results page on our website.

October 28, 2010:  BILL ENGLISH CROSS COUNTRY RACE

Five club members travelled to Nanaimo on Sunday, October 24th to participate in the Bill English Cross Country Race. Well done to Ashley Cathro, F00 1st place, Erin Jennings F00 6th place, Bjorn Svorkdal M 00 1st place, Jacob Svorkdal M01, 2nd place and Clinton Howard, M Midget, 2nd place. Sadly the number of club athletes competing in our cross country series are dwindling and it is doubtful that this series will continue in the future.

Full results are posted on the Meet Results page on our website.

October 22, 2010:  GOODLIFE FITNESS VICTORIA MARATHON ~ OOPS!

Two of our club athletes were left off of the list of 8k runners in the Goodlife Fitness Victoria Maration. Congratulations to Natalie Henderson 35th place, F 13/15 and Bjorn Svorkdal 6th place, M 10/12.

October 19, 2010:  GOODLIFE FITNESS VICTORIA MARATHON

A number of our club athletes, parents, coaches and officials ran the 8k Road Race as part of the Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon on the Thanksgiving weekend. Congratulations to the following club members: Jack Stanley 8th place, M Under 12; Owen Heany 25th place, M Under 12; Clinton Howard 8th place, M 13/15; Ashley Cathro 1st place, F Under 12; Angelina Davison O'Brien 8th place, F Under 12; Graham Howard 22nd place, M 45/49; Sara Henderson 12th place, F 35/39; Che Davison 76th place, F 45/49; and Lin Hopkins 58th place, F55/59.  Congratulations to everyone for a successful race!

October 20, 2010:  SPECIAL PLANNING MEETING

A special meeting of the members of the Board of Directors and the club coaches will be held on Wednesday, October 20th at the Oak Bay Rec Centre restaurant beginning at 6:30pm. Please plan on attending as we need to plan for the coming season and discuss the club's financial situation due to the loss of our Gaming Funds.

October 19, 2010:  FALL TRAINING SESSIONS

Beginning on Tuesday, October 19, training sessions for cross country and winter conditioning will be held at the Oak Bay track on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. Prompt dropoff and pickup of athletes is required. A more complete schedule will be posted as soon as possible.

October 18, 2010:  OUR BOD NEEDS HELP

One of the critical positions on the Board of Directors is in need of a more experienced volunteer. If you have accounting training or know of someone who has this experience, we require a Treasurer for the club. Dorothy Fielding [current treasurer] and Sean Steele [current president] no longer have the time needed to keep the books for us. Think about helping out with this position if you have some time to spare.

We are also in need of several more directors as two of our current volunteers are retiring and more may follow. The work is not time consuming, but it is critical to the smooth running of the club. We could use a secretary to take our meeting minutes, someone to keep our athletes' statistics,  and someone to help with ordering and distribution of club uniforms. Contact a BOD member [names and emails are listed on the Calendar of Events Page] if you are able to help!

October 17, 2010:  PENTRACK CROSS COUNTRY CHALLENGE

It was great to see three of our club athletes competing in the Pentrack Cross Country Challenge this weekend. Ashley Cathro [first place] and Erin Jennings [sixth place]  competed in the 10F category while Clinton Howard placed 3rd in the midget and older boys category. Congratulations to all three! Full race results can be found on our Meet Results page.

October 10, 2010:  A SPEEDY RECOVERY

One of our masters pole vaulters, Ken Underdahl, suffered a very serious injury last weekend when he broke his neck in an accident in Fort MacMurray, Alberta, where he works. Ken is recovering after surgery at an Edmonton hospital and it is hoped that he will make a full recovery. All of his vaulting friends, the club executive members and coaches all wish Ken "a speedy recovery" and hope to see a quick return to club events with his famous cinnamon buns!

October 3, 2010: BAZETT FARM CROSS COUNTRY RACE

Congratulations to our two Victrack athletes who competed in the Bazett Farm Cross Country Race on last weekend. Ashley Cathro finished first and Erin Jennings came a close second to her in the 2000F category. Well done, girls!

September 19, 2010: SUNDAY MORNING RUNS

Athletes in our fall/winter training program are invited to attend Sunday Morning workouts which will begin at 9:30am at Beaver Lake Park. These workouts are open to athletes born in 1997 or earlier. Meet in the Lower Parking Lot by the beach and bring a towel in case you go in for a swim or a dunk after your run! Contact one of your coaches for more information.

September 1, 2010: LATE CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations to our racewalker, Rachel Inglis, who participated in the 2010 Royal Canadian Legion Youth Track and Field Championships. Rachel won the 3000m racewalk and also holds the Canadian Youth record for this same event.

August 3, 2010: VTFC THANKS AND A ROUND OF APPLAUSE

It is always difficult to say goodbye to a great coach but sometimes we have to. The club executive members and coaches wish to thank Gord Bonwick as he retires from coaching for the Club. Gord is facing increased work demands which conflict with the middle distance and cross country practice times. All of Gord's athletes, parents of athletes and fellow coaches will miss his calm manner and knowledgeable coaching style. And remember, Gord, if you miss the training, you are always welcome back!

Gord Bonwick

August 3, 2010: BC JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT CHAMPIONSHIPS

Four of our club athletes are represented us in Kamloops this weekend at the 2010 BC JD Championships. Under the team management of Club Director, Che Davison, Ashley Cathro, Angelina Davison-O'Brien, Max Stewart and Owen Heaney had some very impressive results.

Please click here to download the complete meet results for the 2010 BC JD Championships.

July 31, 2010: BC SUMMER GAMES PHOTOS

Photographs of our Zone 6 team members are now posted on a sub-page of our 2010 Photo Gallery [go to the 2010 Photo Gallery page first]. All photos were taken by our club coach and photographer, Graham Howard and these only represent a very small percentage of the shots he took!

For photos taken by the official BC Games photographers, including medal ceremonies and team photos, click on the link below:

http://2010bcsummergames.org/Home/Photos/Athletics.aspx

July 31, 2010: CANADIAN LEGION CHAMPIONSHIPS

Rachael Inglis will be race walking in Ottawa, Ontario as part of the BC team to the Canadian Legion Championships. These Championships, sponsored by the Royal Canadian Legion, will take place in our capital from August 4th to 10th. Good luck, Rachael!

July30, 2010: CANADIAN SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Competing as a junior athlete in the 2010 Canadian Senior Championships, Holly Parent went out at a height of 1.75 m finishing in 6th place, 2 spots higher than last year. Now Holly will enjoy a well deserved rest as her high jump season began in January with the American indoor season as part of her Washington State University team.

July 25, 2010: BC SUMMER GAMES RESULTS

Our Victrack athletes did an amazing job at the 2010 BC Summer Games as did our team coach, Jonathan Henderson. Along with the results listed below, Mackenzie Carroll added a 4th place in discus, Clinton Howard placed 7th in Javelin and 11th in Shot Put, Liam Kennell placed 4th in 1200 metres and 6th in 800 metres, Jordyn Piercy placed 7th in 80 Hurdles, 3rd in 200 Hurdles and 3rd in the 4 x 400 relay, and Daphne Love won the Pole Vault exactly 27 years after her father, Stuart, won the same event at the BC Summer Games! Well done Team Victrack!

Zone 6 Team Results and the full results of the 2010 BC Summer Games in Langley are now posted on our Meet Results page.

July 23, 2010: BC SUMMER GAMES RESULTS

Way to go to our own Aimee Henderson, silver medalist in the 1500 metre racewalk at the BC Summer Games today. Also winning a medal today was Mackenzie Carroll, bronze medalist in shot put. Well done girls!

Results for Friday's events are posted on our Meet Results page. The 100m and 300m are not available at this time.

July 23 2010: THE CLUB IN ACTION!

Another success for Holly Parent who is competing in high jump at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Moncton, New Brunswick. Holly placed 18th overall in her event today.

July 7, 2010: THE CLUB IN ACTION!

Another great evening for track and field in Victoria, saw many of our club members in various roles at Centennial Stadium at UVIC for the Victoria International Track Classic. It was a wonderful night for athletes and fans of the sun. Earlier in the afternoon at a pre-Track Classic event, Gavin Vaesen, hit a new high with a pole vault score of 4.50 metres!

Our own middle distance runner, Courtney Roskelley, ran in the Women's National 1500 metre event against some of the best runners in the country.

On the volunteer side, Aimee Henderson, took a break from racewalk and was a fabulous "basket girl" for the athletes on the track.

On the officials side, we had most of our officials involved with the meet. David Hopkins was the track referee, while Lin Hopkins worked the results camera in the photo finish tent. Diana Hollefreund was the chief backup timer assisted by Tom and Florence Dingle of Peninsula Track Club and Jim Huzzey, VTFC alumni parent. In the field, Evelyn Parent worked at several field events including high jump and pole vault.

To view the full meet results, click here.

July 6, 2010: CANADIAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Congratulations to our three club athletes who traveled to Moncton, NB last weekend for the 2010 Canadian Junior Championships. Holly Parent, won the high jump event with a jump of 1.77 metres. Her first-place finish and her achievement of standard earlier in the season earned Holly a place on the Canadian team to the World Junior Championships which will be held later this summer in Moncton, NB. Hannah Swift, on her first trip on a BC Athletics team, placed 4th in pole vault with a vault of 3.50 metres. Kira Craig, the third member of Victrack to attend the championships, did what many vaulters do in their career and achieved NH [no height]. 

Holly Parent, 2010 Canadian Junior High Jump Champion

COMOX VALLEY COUGARS ZONE 6 TRAINING CAMP

This training camp is offered every two years just before the BC Summer Games and is open to those athletes selected for the Zone 6 Team. Pleae note that registration for the camp, hotel and transportation costs are the responsibility of each individual athlete and his/her family.

Comox Valley Cougars are hosting this camp at their home track on July 10 & 11. Vanier Track is at 3001 Vanier Drive, between Headquarters Road and Highway 19A in Courtenay, BC. Parking is available at the adjacent Comox Valley Sports Centre and Vanier Secondary School.

Nearby Hotels:

• Courtenay Travelodge Website
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Comox Valley Website
• Riverheights Motel Website
• The Westerly Hotel (Best Western) Website

The cost for the camp is $120.00 and deadline for registration is July 8. Please bring the exact cash or a cheque payable to Comox Valley Cougars with the completed registration form.

Please arrive at the track on Saturday, July 10 at 8:30 AM. Dinner will be provided on site.
For further information please contact John May at johnwilliammay@hotmail.com
 

Please click here to download the Zone 6 BC Summer Games Camp registration form.

July 2, 2010: PHOTOGRAPHS AND THANKS!

Two more sets of photographas have been posted to our 2010 Photo Gallery page. All were taken by our coach/photographer, Graham Howard. The first set shows our great VIAA officials, coaches, parents and volunteers at work at a VIAA Island Series meet. Without all of this volunteer help, clubs could not run their meets as a large number of people are needed for all of the various jobs. Thank you to all our parents who assisted with timing this year. Your work was very much appreciated!

July 1, 2010: GRADUATING ATHLETES

Congratulations to our own Allisyn Howard who has just graduated from Esquimalt Secondary School. Allisyn will be heading east to Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia to study kinesiology and physiotherapy. She will also be a member of their throws progam and will continue to train and throw with their team. Allisyn volunteers as a coach in our JD throws program and was also the coach for the Esquimalt Secondary School team during the recent school track and field season. Her accomplishments are particularly noteworthy as this was the first time in 50 years in BC that a school athlete was given permission to serve as a school coach. Well done, Allisyn!

Allisyn Howard with two of her Victrack athletes.

June 28, 2010: ALUMNI NEWS

TheCheck out our Alumni News page for an update about Keith Newell, ex-club member and current BC Athletics Official.

June 24, 2010: PHOTOS

Photographs from the Garriock Meet in Duncan are now posted on our 2010 Photo Gallery page on the site. You can also check out the great pictures of our VIAA Officials and our many volunteers helping out at the meet! Thanks, Graham!

June 22, 2010: BC JUNIOR TEAM

Congratulations and good luck to our great Victrack vertical jumps team members who have been selected to the BC Junior Team heading to the Canada Junior Championships in Moncton, NB from July 2nd to July 4th. Kira Craig and Hannah Swift were selected for Pole Vault and Holly Parent will be competing in High Jump.

June 17, 2010: GRADUATING ATHLETES

Congratulations to Nick Campbell who is graduating from Claremont Secondary School this year. At the school's Annual Sports Awards Night, Nick was recognized as MVP for Track and Field and won a second award for Athletic Achievement. 

Nick Campbell at the 2010 Dogwood Meet

June 14, 2010: VIKES INVITATIONAL MEET

Please note that this meet has been cancelled as of Monday, June 14. A few field events and some hand-timed track events will still take place.

June 7, 2010: BC HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Congratulations to all of our athletes who recorded amazing results at the BC High School Championships this past weekend. We had some very impressive results for our club athletes. The full meet results are posted on our Meet Results page on this site.

June 3, 2010: VIAA PENTATHLON AND WEIGHT PENTATHLON MEET

If you are looking for something to do this Sunday, head out to Parkland School and try out the VIAA Pentathlon [9 to 15 years] or the Weight Pentathlon [throw 5 different weight implements]. The double meet in a day is hosted by Peninsula Track and Field Club and is a good opportunity to try out Combined Events in a relaxed and possibly sunny setting. More information about the events and the schedule is posted on our Meet Packages page.

June 3, 2010: BC HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Congratulations and good competition to all our club athletes who are attending the BC High School Championships in Burnaby over the next two days. This is a wonderful meet so make the most of the competition and get personal bests in all your events!

The coaches and executive of the Club wish everyone a great meet.

May 29, 2010: ELWOOD WYLIE & ZONE 6 TRIALS PHOTOS

Check out the great photographs from the Elwood Wylie Meet in Nanaimo which are now posted on our 2010 Photo Gallery page. Congratulations to all of our club athletes who made the Zone 6 BC Summer Games Team in the first round. Fingers crossed for more of our athletes to be named to the team.

May19, 2010: VANCOUVER ISLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Good competition to all of our club athletes who are competing in the Island Championships on Thursday and Friday at Centennial Stadium, University of Victoria.

May14, 2010: DOGWOOD MEET PHOTOS

Photographs from the Dogwood Meet last weekend are now posted on the 2010 Photo Gallery page on the website.

May12, 2010:  MEET INFORMATION PACKAGES

The meet information packages for the 2010 Garriock Track Meet on June 12th and 13th and the meet package for the Cougars Track Meet on June 26th and 27th are now posted on the Meet Packages page on the website.

Links for the 2010 VIAA Pentathlon Meet information package and schedule are also located on the Meet Packages page.

May15, 2010:  SUMMER GAMES ENTRY DEADLINE

All athletes born in 1995 and 1996 must pre-register for the BC Summer Games Trials to be held in Nanaimo along with the Elwood Wylie Track and Field Meet on May 22nd and 23rd. Please let your coach know immediately if you are attending and which events you wish to enter. Also make sure you provide your personal best times for ALL track events as this helps with the seeding of the track events. Athletes who don't submit times get placed in the outside lanes! Late entry deadline for your coach to complete your registration is 6:00pm on Saturday, May 15th.

All athletes attending must complete a BC Summer Games Team Registration form. This provides the Zone 6 Representative, Tom Dingle, with the information needed to register the athletes who are chosen for the team. All forms must be handed in at the Registration Office [upstairs in the Nanaimo clubhouse] on Saturday, May 22nd. It is the athlete's responsibility to complete these forms and to submit them. Do not expect your coaches to fill them out!

For more information on the meet and the latest schedule, go to the Elwood Wylie Meet section on our Meet Packages page on this site.

Please click here to download the 2010 BC Summer Games Registration Form.

Please Note: Victoria Track and Field Club will pay all fees for any of our club ahtletes selected to the Zone 6 team.

May 9, 2010:  THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone in the club who helped out at the Dogwood Meet this past weekend. Everyone agreed that it was one of the best-run meets we have EVER had and everyone's job - no matter how large or small - helped us to achieve success. Every position was important and every volunteer was valuable - from making sandwiches, to reading wind gauges, running results and raking pits! THANK YOU FROM THE EXECUTIVE AND COACHES OF VICTORIA TRACK AND FIELD CLUB. 

May 4, 2010:  Check for Updates to Meet Packages

It is very important to check for updates to schedules and information packages for meets. 

Please note that the Dogwood Meet Schedule has change the start times for some field events. The revised schedule is posted on the Dogwood Track Meet page on this website. Check out the new start times to make sure that you do not miss the start of your field events.

The Elwood Wyle Meet and Zone 6 Trials has a slightly revised track events schedule with more time permitted for the relays and the Fun Run moved to Sunday. This revision is posted on the Meet Packages page on the site. 

April 30, 2010:  Dogwood Meet Volunteer Schedules

The volunteer schedules for the Dogwood Meet are now posted on the Dogwood Track Meet page on the website. Please go to the Dogwood Track Meet page and check out the jobs still available, then email Eileen Carroll to volunteer. All spaces need to be filled and all jobs are critical to the smooth running of a large track and field meet. 

Everyone in the club is required to work two 4 hour shifts at the meet but our coaches and executive members will be working for the entire weekend. 

April 23, 2010:  2010 Photo Gallery

A new photo gallery for 2010 has been started on our site just for photographs taken this year. Check out the great shots taken by Graham Howard at the George Dean Meet in Sidney last weekend.

If other photographers wish to have their photos posted, please send them to the website editor at  trackvictoria@shaw.ca.

April 22, 2010:  Practice Cancelled

Athletes are reminded that the practice scheduled for Saturday, April 24th has been cancelled.

April 18, 2010:  Thank You

Thank you to all our of parents, coaches and executive members who came out to the George Dean Meet in Sidney this past weekend and did such a great job timing! Your enthusiasm and efficiency impressed everyone!

April 16, 2010:  Another Great Jump!

Once again our club member, Holly Parent, had an amazing high jump result for her Washington State University tream. Competing today at the 52nd Annual Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut, California, Holly place 1st with a jump of 1.80 metres. This result means that Holly has now made standard for the 2010 World Junior Championships and has potentially earned a spot on the Canadian team to this event to be held in Moncton, New Brunswick.

April 16, 2010:  Our Condolences

The executive and coaches of Victoria Track and Field Club extend our condolences to the family of our alumni member, Al Sheridan, who died this past week of Lou Gehrig's disease. A remembrance of Al provided by friend and coach, Gerard Dumas, is posted on our Alumni page.

April 15, 2010:  Pole Vaulters in California

A small group of our pole vaulters headed south to California to train and compete in the sun! Accompanied by coach, Gerard Dumas, and chaperone/manager, Nancy Craig, the team members were Kara Schaefer, Hannah Swift and Kira Craig. The vaulters had two training sessions, one in Pomona and one in Walnut, California. The group also watched a meet at UCLA and cooled off their shins in an icy creek!

Results for the Pomona Pitzer Meet for VTFC vaulters: Kara Schaefer 3rd place at 3.25m, Hannah Swift 12th place at 3.05m, and Kira Craig 14th place at 2.90m. If you consider that there were 39 competitors in the event, the warm-up began at 7:45am, and the event finished at 5:45pm our results were OUTSTANDING!

Full results for this meet can be found on our Meet Results page.

March 26, 2010:  New Information Posted Weekly

This time of year it is important to keep checking for updates on the website. The Calendar of Events page is constantly updated with corrections, additions and revisions. The Meet Packages page now has the first few meet packages of the VIAA Track and Field Series posted with the Dogwood Meet Information Packages also posted on the Dogwood Meet page. The Meet Results page shows the latest results for our club athletes. Keep checking this page, Club News, for changes or cancellations to practice sessions.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010: Track and Field Practices

Tuesday, March 23rd marks the official start to our outdoor Track and Field season. All Tuesday and Thursday sessions will be at the Oak Bay track starting at 6:00pm and finishing at 7:30pm. All athletes must hold a 2010 club registration in order to take part. Forms can be downloaded from the Membership page on this site. Complete the form and bring it in an envelope with payment to your practice!

JD 9 to 13 athletes will take part in our Run, Jump and Throw program which provides training in discus, javelin, shot put, high jump, long jump, hurdles, racewalk, sprints and middle distance running. Schedules for the various training groups will be posted on the Training Groups page on this site as soon as they are available.

Midget athletes [ages 14 and 15 years] will work with event specific coaches during the Tuesday and Thursday practices. This group will also be training with the Advanced Running Group on Mondays and weekends so Summer Games athletes should check out the Advanced Training Group schedule for times and locations of the training sessions.

If you have any questions about  training contact the coaches who are listed on our Home Page. Their email addresses are listed there.

For up-to-date changes and notices, keep checking the Club News page on the site as notices will be posted here as required.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010: Dogwood Meet Planning Meeting

All parents are invited to attend a Dogwood Planning Meeting in the Oak Bay Rec Centre meeting lounge [beside the cafe on the upper level] on Tuesday, March 30th. The meeting will be from 6:30 to 7:30 pm while your children are at practice. This meeting is critical in order to start the planning for the Dogwood Meet. Evelyn Parent, club director and meet manager of the Dogwood, has already send out a club email to all parents and athletes asking for help. With a number of our club directors heading for retirement, it is very important to start training other club volunteers to help with the various jobs involved in running a meet of this size. Please come out to the meeting and offer your help! You will not be put in charge of anything but will assist with club volunteers in key areas.

Also needed... the Thursday and Friday before the Dogwood Meet is the time when the meet manager needs to photocopy the start lists for the meet. As our photocopying service from the past is no longer available we need someone to volunteer a high-speed copier which will copy the many sets of start lists for the meet. If you have a small business or work with a company that would be able to help out, please contact Evelyn [evparent@shaw.ca] to volunteer your services. Evelyn needs to be able to come into an office to do the copying and it takes about 90 minutes [on a high-speed copier]. The club provides the paper and will credit your company as a club sponsor.

Saturday, March 6, 2010: Paralympic Torch Relay

Well done Boyd Farrell! Boyd, who is one of our Special Olympics athletes, was chosen to run a section of the 2010 Paralympic Torch Relay on Saturday while the torch was in Esquimalt and Victoria. If anyone has a photo of Boyd in his Olympic gear, please send it to the website director for posting.

March 1 to 8th, 2010: World Masters Indoor Championships

A number of our club athletes and officials will be traveling to Kamloops, BC next week for the 2010 World Masters Indoor Championships. Club officials participating in the Games include David Hopkins [umpire and track referee] and Lin Hopkins [camera]. Club athletes going for gold include Che Davison [throws] and our masters' vaulters - Sean Steele, Gerard Dumas,Wayne Psotka, Nancy Craig, Ken Underdahl and Stuart Love all participating in pole vault.

Congratulations and a good competition to all of them!

February 18, 2010: ProMOTION Plus Awards

Please check out the grant and awards information and forms from ProMOTION Plus on our Clinics and Courses Page. These awards/grants are for the promotion of girls in sports. Grants are for girls ages 10 and older and cover Leadershipo, Fair Play, In-Training and Play It Forward.

February 17, 2010: Child Tax Credits 

The Child Fitness Tax Credit receipts for the 2009 tax year have now been mailed out directly to the home addresses of any eligible members. The Tax Credits are for all fees paid to Victoria Track and Field Club during the 2009 calendar year for any athlete under 16 years of age in 2009. If you have any questions about the receipts, please contact the club treasurer, Dorothy Fielding, by email.

February 16, 2010: GO CANADA GO

Today Maelle Ricker won a gold medal for Canada in Snowboard Cross. Before Maelle took up winter sports she was a sprint star with NorWesters Track and Field Club in North Vancouver. She also competed in many of the early Dogwood Meets here in Victoria and in the BC Summer Games!  Well done to a graduate of our sport!

February 12/13, 2010: Husky Indoor Meet

Congratulations to a number of our club athletes who competed in the Washington Husky Indoor Classic over the past weekend. Pole vaulters included Hannah Swift, Kara Schaefer, Gavin Vaesen, and Adam Steele. NAC training program athletes from the club included Courtney Roskelley, Kyle Zosiak and Cody Therrien. Holly Parent competing for Washington State University soared to a new PB in High Jump - 1.82 metres! Well done to all our athletes. For full meet results, go to the Meet Results page on this site.

February 11, 2010: BC Athletics Blog

The BC Athletics Bulletin has been retired due to problems with the host website. If you have not already done so, go to the BC athletics website and sign up for the new BC Athletics  Blog. The blog site sends out notices whenever new items are posted. As this is a year when huge changes are happening in our sport, the blog is very valuable. So sign up now and keep up to date with events in our sport.

Click here to go to the BC Athletics website.

February 9, 2010: New Events for Midget and Older Athletes

The event changes for Midgets [14 and 15 years] and Youth [16 and 17 years] are in place for April 2010. At this time the Junior Development [9 to 13 years] events will not change until April 2011. Please note that the JD event distances, etc. are still only proposals.

BC Summer Games, the BC Athletics Jamboree and the Canadian Legion Championships will follow the new distances as shown on the attached document. Check out the events and make sure that you are aware of the changes. School meets are NOT making these changes at this time. 

Please note that Midgets will be permitted to compete together at the Summer Games Trials without any risk to records and results. This age group will also compete together as one age group at the BC Athletics Jamboree in Abbotsford.

Please click here to download the new Event Specifications.

Please note that the events in green are listed for information only and will not be in place until 2011.

2010: General Motors Making Dreams Possible

Victoria Track and Field Club executive members and coaches appreciate the donation we received in 2008/09 from the General Motors Making Dreams Possible program. Eileen Carroll did the background work for the club which enabled us to receive the grant. Making Dreams Possible grants are used for coaching education and everyone in the club ends up better off with this donation from General Motors.

February 7, 2010

Congratulations to Linda Keatley-Campbell, former Victrack racewalk coach who now coaches for Nanaimo Track and Field Club, on her award as the PacificSport Nanaimo Masters Athlete of the Year. The awards were made at a banquet last night at the Coast Bastion Inn in Nanaimo. Linda won her award for her achievements in racewalk over the past year! Also nominated for an award at this event was discus chucker Jade Richardson from the Nanaimo Track and Field Club in the Junior Athlete category.

January 30, 2010: High Jump News

Washington State University and Victrack's own Holly Parent won her high jump event with a NCAA qualifying mark Saturday at the Texas A&M Challenge Meet at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium at the McFerrin Athletic Center in College Station, Texas. Holly, in her second indoor track and field meet of the 2010 season, jumped 1.78m [5'10" in American heights]. Earlier in the week at the Cougar Indoor Team Invitational Meet on January 26, Holly opened her indoor season with a jump of 1.75m. These are two very impressive jumps for this early in the season!

Holly Parent in the crimson and white of Washington State University.

January 23, 2010: Victrack Awards Night and Annual General Meeting

Thanks go to all of the directors of Victrack who worked on this double event. All club directors returned for 2010 and we have Chris Norman joining as a new director.

The Club Awards page has been updated with the 2009 Victoria Track and Field Club Awards winners' names. Complete files are now available so you can see who has won the award over the long history of the club. If you are an award winner, please take a minute and check your trophy to see if you can supply any of the missing names. Several trophies did not have complete lists. Forward any changes or corrections to trackvictoria@shaw.ca with our sincere thanks.

Congratulations to all our award winners for 2009! You join a proud history of athletes and volunteers with Victoria Track and Club so take a minute to view the previous winners of your award and recognize all of their accomplishments.

The famous Victrack cupcakes!

December 4-6, 2009: BC Athletics Annual General Meeting

Two of our club members attended the Annual General Meeting of our parent organization, BC Athletics. Lin Hopkins, Officials, attended the meetings as the new Vancouver Island representative to the Officials Committee of BC Athletics. Diana Hollefeund attended as the Director of Administration and Planning for BC Athletics. While there was a lot of work and material covered over the two days of meetings, the highlight of the wekend was meeting with officals, coaches and club volunteers from around the province.

A number of changes to the JD event program will be initiated this year under the direction of Athletics Canada which is moving to have all provincial Junior Develoment programs come into line with the Long Term Athlete Development Plan. You can check out the LTAD program on the Athletics Canada website. Details of the track event changes [April 2010] and field event changes [April 2011] will be released here as soon as possible.

December 5, 2009: BC Athletics Annual Awards Banquet

Congratulations are in order for two of our club athletes for their nominations to the annual awards list. Holly Parent, High Jump, was one of three athletes recognized in the Junior Female Track and Field category. David McKay, Pole Vault, was one of three nominees in the Youth Male Track and Field group.

In the Excellence Awards category, Diana Hollefreund was the winner of the 2009 Executive of the Year Award for her work on the Membership Review, Human Resources and Risk Management Projects for the BC Athletics Board of Directors.