Fantastic News!!

This may sound like small peanuts in many communities, but here in Kingston, this is big news!

The city's Arts, Recreation and Culture Committee (ARC) that deals with municipal sport/recreation issues, recommended last night that design be initiated for a 50m pool in the city!

A group, led by Alex P, has worked long and hard toward making this happen. To them, and to Alex in particular, citizens owe a great deal.

A 50m pool and aquatic complex will provide many benefits:
1. more water-related activities
2. more fitness opportunities
3. more health-related benefits
4. more local young people staying in the community to develop their potential (this, rather than having to move to a city that has a 50m pool)
5. more opportunity for locals to see world class aquatic events, like provincial and national competitions in swimming diving, synchro and water polo
6. new opportunities for fans and spectators to come to Kingston and enjoy the city's many amenities
7. new tourism dollars being spent in the city
8. non-residents can look at the city as somewhat progressive in building a 50m pool, when in the past, the city hasn't been seen as very progressive in sport and recreation
9. a new opportunity for aquatic supporters and municipal staff to collaborate on something wonderful for the city. Let's get going!!

More benefits?

To members of the ARC Committee, thanks for being progressive, for demonstrating a vision for sport/recreation in the city, for being pro-active in a positive way. You will find support from many quarters in the city. No doubt, there will be those who disagree, but remember: we are planning for "down the road" in Kingston, not just for the "here and now." This decision will be part of your legacy. Thanks!

Swim coach in court

The CCES, Coaches of Canada and Swim Canada are in couort to persuade the court that CEC RUSSELL should not coach in Canada, because he was misleading in 2005. He did not reveal that he had been convicted in the USA on a coonspiracy charge related to trafficking.
Canadian children have the right to be coached by people who are trained and certified as coaches. It is high time that every person who coaches our children was REQUIRED to take NCCP courses.
People think that just anyone can coach. Not true. Providing leadreship to children is not some innate quality, any more than parenting is!
Let us hope that the Ontario Supreme Court will see that Cec Russell is unfit to coach swimming or any other sport in this country.
We support the three sport organizations in their quest to make sure he is out of Canadian sport.