Wednesday, June 29, 2016

What A Week!


So busy this week/weekend, they had me working two microphones at the Welland Triathlon! Photo - Irina Souiki


My Race/Event Announcing work this year reached some form of a huge peak in the last week!

On Wednesday, I flew to Halifax to work with the RunnerSpace crew on the live stream broadcast of the Aileen Meagher Track Classic at St Mary's University - part of Athletics Canada's National Track League Series (NTL) in the run-up to the National Championships and Olympic Trials in Edmonton, that start next week. It's always a pleasure to work with Bob Akamian on the commentary.

The Halifax meet was extremely well organized. The high-light being hurdler Nikkita Holder achieving the Olympic Games qualifying standard - something she was hoping and needing to do before the actual Olympic Trials.

I flew home Thursday. Friday night it was time for the New Balance Guelph Inferno Road Mile - right in downtown Guelph. This is always a fun event to work at. More communities should look into holding Street Mile runs like this!

Then it was on to Welland, for the Day-1 of the Rose City Triathlon on Saturday Morning - Race #2 in Multisport Canada's season lone ReCharge With Milk Triathlon Series. This was the 10th year for this awesome race, but in a new home, at the Welland International Flat-Water Center in Welland, ON - home of Canoe/Kayak Competition at the PanAm Games last summer. This may be the perfect triathlon event location in all of Ontario, and perhaps all of Canada!



The Welland International Flatwater Center, may be the BEST triathlon race venue in Canada!


After I wrapped up at the triathlon for the day, Multisport Canada Founder, John Salt and I appeared via video link at an important conference in Ottawa organized by The Tandem Project on Para-Sport!

After that it was time to drive back to Guelph to work ounce again with the RunnerSpace team on the live stream of the New Balance Guelph Inferno Track Meet at Alumni Stadium on the campus of the University of Guelph on Saturday night - another of the Athletics Canada NTL Meets. Bob Akamian and I were joined on the show by two-time World Champion Hurdler Perdita Felcien. It was an honor and a pleasure to work with Perdita. My role, on the commentary was to provide track-side analysis, and post race interviews with race winners when we could fit them in. The meet concluded with the Canadian 10,000m Championships on the track for men and women. Olympic Marathoner Eric Gillis won the men's race and PanAm Games Marathon Bronze Medalist, Rachel Hannah won the women's race. Other highlights included, Taylor Milne getting the Olympic Standard in the 3000m S/C and breaking the track record in the process!

At the conclusion of the meet in Guelph, it was time to drive back to Welland for Day-2 of the triathlon there on Sunday - the featured long-course race being run over some new distances -  2k swim/56k bike/15k run. Conditions were hot and windy, but nearly 400 triathletes competed had a great, time and marveled at, again what an awesome triathlon race location the International Flatwater Center is!

I'm taking it easy this week and weekend!