NEWSFLASH ... BC Athlete Voice Media Releases...
BC Athlete Voice Names Dave Newson as Executive Director
New Executive Director ready to build on BC Athlete Voice’s Past Successes
For Immediate Release: Monday, July 19, 2010 - BC Athlete Voice (BCAV) is pleased to announce today that Dave Newson has been named its new Executive Director. He will begin his duties immediately.
“We are excited to have a person with Dave’s expertise to take our organization to a new level,” said Bruce Deacon, BCAV Board Chairperson. “Dave’s work for VANOC, UBC, and Hockey Canada has clearly demonstrated that he is a very capable leader who has a heart for athletes.”
As Executive Director, Newson will be responsible for the development and delivery of BCAV’s athlete-centered programs and services. He will take an active role in promoting programs that support the education and leadership development of BC’s 3,500 high performance athletes. He will oversee the development and implementation of a new athlete leadership model that will equip athletes to play a more prominent and effective role in strengthening BC’s sport system.
“I am extremely excited about the opportunity to work with BC’s top athletes,” says Newson. “After the success of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the province of BC has really embraced high performance athletes. I am eager to provide these athletes with new and existing programs and services that will help them as competitors and for the rest of their lives.”
Among his notable achievements, Newson was the Venue Sport Manager for Ice Hockey at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. He continues to work closely with the International Paralympic Committee’s Sledge Hockey Technical Committee. Prior to working for VANOC, he was the UBC Women’s Ice Hockey coach and the Director of Community Sport Services. He was involved in the design and implementation of the Coach Mentorship Program with Hockey Canada.
For more information, please contact:
Bruce Deacon, BCAV Board Chair
(778)836-1996 Cell
December 10th 2008
BC Athlete Voice, British Columbia’s first high performance athlete advocacy organization is used to seeing its members achieve first place and stand at the top of the podium in a diverse range of sports. However Saturday, December 6th was a day of firsts for the organization, as its members elected the first Board of Directors at the organization’s first Annual General Meeting. From an impressive list of nine candidates who have achieved a tremendous amount both on and off the field of play, the following current and retired athletes were elected to lead BC Athlete Voice into 2010 and beyond.
The first BC Athlete Voice Board of Directors includes: Bruce Deacon, retired two time Olympic marathoner and current Education and Community Relations Manager with the Canadian Olympic Committee; Stephanie McCann, recently retired eight time Canadian Pole Vault record holder and Commonwealth Bronze Medalist; Naomi Walser, Beausoleil First Nation athlete and former Canadian Women’s National World Cup Lacrosse team member; Chris Werrell, Canada Winter Games Gold Medalist and 2010 hopeful; and Marni Abbott-Peter, three time Paralympic Gold Medalist, 1996 Canadian Paralympic Flag Bearer and BC Hall of Fame inductee.
“BC Athlete Voice’s newly elected Board is a wonderful combination of both experience and keen energy. I am truly wowed by the calibre of not only the elected members but all nine athletes that submitted their names for nominations as this is a wonderful indication of the reach and relevance of what BC Athlete Voice is providing within the province.” comments BC Athlete Voice’s Executive Director and 2008 Olympic Medalist Iain Brambell.
The new Board of Directors replaces the Interim Board of Directors who invested significant time and energy into taking BC Athlete Voice from an idea to a multi faceted, strategic organization dedicated to ensuring an athlete perspective is effectively represented at all levels of the BC sport system.
With a fantastic mix of current and retired, individual and team, and winter and summer athletes, the BC Athlete Voice Board of Directors has the experience and knowledge needed to represent, lead and channel the collective voice of BC high performance athletes. With over one thousand members, fourteen athlete specific resources, eight athlete centred services and four athlete driven programs, BC Athlete Voice is working hard to support athletes with education, advocacy and leadership. The new BC Athlete Voice Board of Directors will provide an added infusion of energy, experience and expertise to further the growth and development of this unique organization.
“With the ongoing support and collaborative environment provided by BC’s provincial sport organizations, multisport organizations and the PacificSport centres, BC Athlete Voice looks forward to being an integral component of a well balanced and high functioning BC sport system.”
BC Athlete Funding Notification Network
BC Athlete Voice launched the BC Athlete Funding Notification Network yesterday directly connecting nearly 700 provincial athletes to specific funding opportunities. This is an exciting new service offered by BC Athlete Voice to ensure athletes are aware of the funding options that are available and provides information on how they can access them in a more effective way.
Being a high performance athlete isn't easy and Iain Brambell, Executive Director of BC Athlete Voice wanted to establish a free service to support and help BC Athletes in the critical area of accessing funding. "BC Athlete Voice is not content with just providing athletes with a list of funding opportunities. We've made it our goal to ensure more BC athletes are receiving funds each year by being proactive and connecting athletes directly with opportunities".
The BC Athlete Funding Notification Network plays an essential role in keeping athletes informed & up to date. BC Athlete Voice sends out email notifications and reminders to all member athletes outlining the different funding opportunities and provides the vital information required to apply. This allows BC Athletes to maximize their time training and competing rather than searching websites and trying to source information about funding options.
BC Athlete Voice also provides athletes with an on line catalog of provincial and national funding opportunities and has both a hard copy resource and education session dedicated to the topic of athlete support and funding. "The BC Athletes' Handbook and BC Athlete Education Sessions are the perfect compliment to the Funding Notification Network. With these resources we are working to educate and inform athletes to be in the best possible position to gain access to funding from multiple sources".
To find out more about the BC Athlete Funding Notification Network, BC Athlete Voice Resources or becoming a member of BC Athlete Voice check out their website at www.bcathletevoice.ca or email jhitchcock@bcathletevoice.ca
Athletes Acknowledge ACE Coaches
October 1st 2008 – BC Athletes nominate and recognize their ACE Coaches during BC Coaches Week
For the first time BC Athletes had the opportunity to recognize the tremendous work that BC Coaches contribute to their communities through the inaugural ACE Coach Awards. BC Athletes leapt at the opportunity to go online and share their voice with over 100 athletes from over 30 different communities from 34 different sports nominating their ACE Coach.
“Great athletes don’t happen without great coaches and we are excited to see BC Athletes rise to the occasion, show such fantastic support for this new initiative and ensure their voices are heard on a topic that is obviously important to them.” says Iain Brambell, Executive Director of BC Athlete Voice and Olympic Bronze Medalist.
The “ACE” (Athlete Community Excellence) Award is traditionally presented only to BC Athletes, however BC Athletes lead a revolution to involve coaches in a slightly different sense, recognizing coaches for the role they play in Achieving Community Excellence. BC Athlete Voice, the Coaches Association of BC and Team BC joined forces to bring this initiative to life and were excited to launch the first provincial program centred around BC Athletes nominating and recognizing BC Coaches.
“The addition of athletes and their coaches greatly enhanced our BC Coaches Week events this year”, said CABC Executive Director Gord May. “The association with BC Athlete Voice was a win/win. Athletes had the opportunity to show their appreciation of their coaches, and hopefully many of them will consider coaching when their athletic careers are over.”
The ACE Coach Recognition Awards were presented at each of the Coaching Conferences in Richmond, Prince George and Fort St John; and at the Community Coaching Forums in Nanaimo, Castlegar, Kamloops and Kelowna during BC Coaches Week to highlight an ACE Coach in the region. The Coaches Association of BC and BC Athlete Voice also partnered to provide an athlete speaker at each of the events to give their perspective on the importance of coaching at all levels. Athlete presenters included World Champion curlers Kelly Scott, Jeanna Schraeder and Sasha Carter, Cross Country Skier and Canada Games Gold Medalist Chris Werrell and recent Beijing Paralympian Swimmer Laura Jensen.
“It was an honour to be able to present an athlete's perspective and it gave me time to reflect on how much coaches are a part of my successes. In doing so, I have an even greater desire to become a coach.” commented Jensen who spoke at the Fort St John Coaching Conference and sees the coaching as a great opportunity for athletes transitioning out of a competitive career.
The ACE Coach Awards celebrate the importance of sport and physical activity in the community and recognizes the success BC Coaches have achieved through their work as leaders and role models; and encourages future and former athletes and coaches to stay connected to their community and to make a difference. As one athlete stated in their nomination form “I know that through our Coach’s daily actions as a leader, that we will all be able to better serve our community in the future. His attitude is infectious and is teaching all of his many athletes how to be better coaches, athletes, community leaders and great people.”
BC Athletes and Coaches play a crucial role in building healthy, productive and engaging communities for people young and old. For a full list of ACE Coach Nominees or more information regarding the ACE Leadership Initiative or the ACE Coach Awards, go to www.bcathletevoice.ca or contact BC Athlete Voice at info@bcathletevoice.ca
For more information, please contact:
BC Athlete Voice
(604) 333-3660
BC Athlete Voice
(604) 333-3660
BC Athlete Voice is the collective voice of British Columbia’s high performance athletes. Established in 2005, BC Athlete Voice provides educational programs, advocacy services and supports Athlete empowerment through strategic partnerships to ensure High Performance Athletes are effectively represented and supported by the BC sport system.
BC Athlete Voice Welcomes New Minister of Healthy Living & Sport
June 30th 2008 – BC Athlete Voice, the Association of British Columbia’s high performance athletes, congratulates the Honourable Mary Polak on her recent appointment as Minister of Healthy Living and Sport.
“BC Athlete Voice is looking forward to working with Minister Polak to ensure BC’s High Performance Athletes are effectively represented and supported by the BC sport system,” says Iain Brambell, Executive Director of BC Athlete Voice. “We would further like to commend Premier Gordon Campbell for taking such a significant step forward in creating this new ministry fostering a critical linkage between sport and health.”
For more information, please contact:
BC Athlete Voice
(604) 333-3660
BC Athlete Voice
(604) 333-3660
BC Athlete Voice is the collective voice of British Columbia’s high performance athletes. Established in 2005, BC Athlete Voice provides educational programs, advocacy services and supports Athlete empowerment through strategic partnerships to ensure High Performance Athletes are effectively represented and supported by the BC sport system.
Over A Thousand BC Athletes Find Their Voice
March 4th 2008 – An ever increasing number of BC Athletes are finding and sharing their voices as members of BC Athlete Voice. Membership to the athlete centred organization supporting high performance athletes with advocacy, education and leadership services topped the one thousand mark in February. Olympian and BC Athlete Voice Executive Director Iain Brambell commented; “The response from British Columbia’s high performance athletes has been tremendous. It is incredibly motivating for BC Athlete Voice as it clearly demonstrates that BC athletes are hungry for the information and services we’re providing which is truly inspiring us to ensure BC Athlete Voice is the organization of BC’s athletes”.
There is no membership fee to join BC Athlete Voice and BC’s high performance athlete can simply register on line at www.bcathletevoice.ca. As a member of BC Athlete Voice athletes enjoy services and resources that are dedicated to developing their skills and knowledge of the sport system. This enables athletes to become leaders not only within the sport system but more importantly within their communities. Programs include the innovative BC Athlete Funding Notification Network, the comprehensive BC Athletes’ Handbook and the upcoming BC Athlete Online Forum to name only three. “We are working to ensure our members are provided with multiple layers of support to meet their needs in new and exciting ways” said Joe Hitchcock, BC Athlete Voice’s Program Coordinator. “We want to take this much further by connecting BC’s high performance athletes to the different sport organizations in BC offering an array of fantastic support services and programs”.
BC Athlete Voice is an association of high performance athletes dedicated to ensuring athletes have a voice and are effectively represented. BC Athlete Voice encourages high performance athletes to “Find their Voice” and “Share their Voice” and with more members joining every day there is no doubt that the voice of BC Athletes will be heard around the province. More information regarding BC Athlete Voice membership is available on the BC Athlete Voice website at www.bcathletevoice.ca .
BC Athletes' Handbook
For years the information that athletes have needed has existed – it just hasn’t been easy to find. BC Athletes now have an exciting, interactive resource that connects them with the information they need. Compiled by BC Athlete Voice with the support of 2010 Legacies Now, the BC Athletes’ Handbook provides over 150 pages of relevant information to help our provincial athletes take their performance to the next level.
Providing a wealth of information in one central place for athletes to access easily is one thing; but the BC Athletes’ Handbook goes one step further by connecting and linking athletes to the people and organization in the sport system that can support them. Through the interactive components of the Handbook, athletes can watch videos, click and access websites, email organizations and contacts directly and even submit their own ideas and experiences to be included within the resource. The BC Athletes’ Handbook also includes a Workbook which provides athletes with usable templates to apply the information in a practical format.
The BC Athletes’ Handbook is split into five modules that cover essential topics including; the sport system, athlete funding, athlete support programs, performance in sport, athlete leadership, transitioning from an athletic career and athlete advocacy. So how do athletes get their hands on the BC Athletes’ Handbook? It’s simple, the Handbook is available on the BC Athlete Voice Website or athletes can access their very own copy by attending a BC Athlete Education Sessions presented by BC Athlete Voice.
For more information on the BC Athletes’ Handbook or the BC Athlete Education Sessions, please don’t hesitate to contact BC Athlete Voice at jhitchcock@bcathletevoice.ca .
