Evidence of meeting #5 for Canadian Heritage in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was sport.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:45 a.m.
Ian Moss Chief Executive Officer, Speed Skating Canada
Thank you very much. I will be brief, because I know we're all really here to talk to Elizabeth.
9:45 a.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
9:45 a.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Speed Skating Canada
First, let me thank the committee for this opportunity to provide you with an update on planning for the Olympic speed skating team program leading up to Sochi.
With less than 70 days remaining before the opening ceremonies, we are now in our selection and competition preparation phase for both our short track and long track teams.
We are confident that they will remain Canada's leading medal program for the winter Olympics and provide up to one third of the total medals for Canada as we continue to push toward our collective goal of contending for top position in total medals won in Sochi.
I'd like to provide you first with a snapshot of our team's current preparation, and then speak further to the strong support provided by the Government of Canada for both our high-performance and development programming.
As an organization, we are very proud of the fact that we count all territories and provinces amongst our membership and that our national teams draw athletes from all segments of society and regions of the country.
First, our short-track team are well into their preparation plans for Sochi. We were the first team nominated to the Olympic committee and approved. That was back in August. They have now completed their World Cup qualifying process for Sochi, as I'm sure you followed in the news. We're actually just waiting for the final announcements from our international federation, but we're almost 100% certain now that we have qualified a full team for the Sochi games, which is of course what our goal was. That means we'll have three athletes competing in each distance and in the team pursuit.
The long-track team process is a bit...slow is the wrong word, but they're just in the midst of their World Cup qualifying at the moment. We hosted, as Canada, the first World Cup event of the year, the largest one in many years, on the fastest ice in the world, which is at the Calgary Olympic Oval, of course a fabulous legacy from the 1988 Olympics. In December, we will be selecting the team and will move forward with the Olympic committee on the announcements and so on for that. Again, our goal is to qualify a full team on the long-track side based on our country quota.
Many of you know the success that speed skating has enjoyed at the Olympic Games over the years. Of course it's much due to the strength of our clubs and provincial/territorial programs as feeders to the national program. But we've also been able to build a strong high-performance infrastructure at both our national training centres, at Maurice Richard Arena for the short-track program in Montreal, and at the Calgary Olympic Oval for long-track.
Our coaches and sport-science support teams are world class. Research into leading-edge technology in our sport maintains our competitive edge. Our commitment to the long-term athlete development model ensures that we are identifying and retaining athletes in our system for future national teams. We're very appreciative of the support that we get from Sport Canada through the Government of Canada, and of course Own the Podium, and we do have some considerable support from our corporate sponsors. So that goes towards our strength in the high-performance program and our continued development on the domestic side.
We are equally proud of our collective efforts in the area of domestic programming, providing engagement opportunities for all Canadians regardless of social and economic status. With 14,000 members, 140 clubs across all territories and provinces, we offer a natural opportunity for all Canadians to become engaged and to embrace our winter climate. Much of our activity remains outdoors, so on natural ice.
We have a very strong presence in the province of Quebec—which is home to almost half our membership—and so we remain vigilant in our presentation of the sport in both official languages.
We're proud of the growth of the sport in all parts of the country, and extremely proud of the fact that we have a short-track team member, an Olympic team member, from the Northwest Territories and a leading long-track member from northern B.C., clearly showing there aren't any real geographic boundaries to opportunities in speed skating.
Turning back to Sochi and Russia, there have been comments previously, but we're very confident of the preparations done by the Olympic Committee in conjunction with the various sports. I think you're pretty familiar with the nominating process that sports go through. We're in the process of doing that now with the Olympic Committee. When athletes become members of the Olympic team, they adhere to the policies and protocol as outlined by the Olympic Committee relationship.
Speed Skating Canada will have board and senior staff representation on site in Sochi. We feel very confident that our relationship with the Olympic Committee staff is strong, and we're ready for any eventuality.
In closing, I would like to reiterate to this committee the importance of continued support for sport infrastructure development in Canada, and for the international competition hosting grant program.
Speed Skating Canada has a strong reputation with our international federation for hosting international competitions, and that's both World Cups and world championships. Hosting provides us with a competitive edge for our athletes, a public profile for the sport both locally and nationally, and a platform to recognize the support of government and our corporate partners in the promotion of a healthy and competitive nation.
We're also well aware that our two main hosting and national training facilities, the Calgary oval and the Maurice Richard Arena are aging and have a relatively short operating lifespan ahead of them. We must plan with our government and municipal partners now for options a decade or more away with respect to the replacement of these facilities for Canadian sport to remain competitive and relevant in the international sport community.
I thank you for providing me with this opportunity to share my thoughts and our plans with respect to Sochi's success, and as importantly, for me to commend the Government of Canada for its continued commitment to amateur sport. I hope that we, as Speed Skating Canada, embody the principles of engagement, pluralism, and performance that are seen as reflective of our ideals, not only for Canadians but also as Canadians on a world stage.
Merci.
9:55 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gord Brown
Thank you very much, Mr. Moss.
I'd first like to welcome to the meeting Mr. Farstad, from Calgary. We'll come back to you in a few moments.
Now we're going to move to Mr. Thompson and Ms. Manley-Theobald from Skate Canada, for eight minutes.
November 26th, 2013 / 9:55 a.m.
Daniel Thompson Chief Executive Officer, Skate Canada
Good morning, Mr. Chair.
My name is Daniel Thompson, and I am proud to be here today as the CEO of Skate Canada.
I'd like to thank the committee members for their interest in hearing more about the preparation of our athletes for the upcoming 2014 winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. I am privileged to be joined this morning by someone who inspired a nation 25 years ago when she won the silver medal in ladies' figure skating at the 1988 Olympic winter Games in Calgary.
Just before Liz Manley shares her passion for our sport with you, I wanted to help you understand more about skating in Canada and our preparations for these games. Skating is integral to our nation's culture and sporting history. Skate Canada is the organization that teaches Canadians to skate, from Vancouver Island to St. John's, Newfoundland, and north to Iqaluit. Every athlete who will compete in Sochi started out in CanSkate, the pre-eminent learn-to-skate program developed and offered by Skate Canada for over 25 years. Now with over 183,000 registered members in more than 1,200 clubs, and 5,200 professional coaches, Skate Canada provides everyone, from toddler to senior, the opportunity to learn to skate. While some will go on to play hockey and ringette or join my colleague Ian Moss' group at Speed Skating Canada, many others will learn to skate for fun and to know the joy of skating.
Others pursue their dreams in competitive skating to the highest level. Our 2014 figure skating team members each began at a community rink, driven there by a dedicated parent, greeted by amazing volunteers who run the clubs, and taught by a caring, professional coach.
Because our athletes had outstanding results at the world championships in London last March, with seven placements in the top 10, we have qualified the largest figure skating team of any country for the Sochi games, with 17 athletes, the same number that Canada sent to Calgary in 1988.
Leading the team are the reigning Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, from the Ilderton Skating Club; our three-time world champion Patrick Chan, from Toronto; the current bronze medallists in pairs, Meagan Duhamel from Lively, Ontario, and Eric Radford from Balmertown, Ontario; and Kaetlyn Osmond, who began skating in Newfoundland and now trains in Alberta.
These athletes and the 11 others who will join them will head to the Sochi games with world-class preparation and a superb support team. The financial contribution of the federal government's funding program—in particular, the Own the Podium program—has been vital to these athletes. They are able to train full time and to have access to all the best facilities, coaching, and integrated sports services, which will help them compete to the highest level.
Canadian figure skaters have won 22 Olympic medals, more than any other winter sport except for speed skating and short track. We have no doubt that this total will be increased this year, especially with the new team event added to figure skating. Canada's depth across all four disciplines makes us a contender in this new competition.
As well, 2014 is a special year for Skate Canada as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Canadian figure skating championships here in Ottawa from January 9 to 14. In celebration of this centennial, several of our 2014 Olympic figure skaters will join us next fall for a special tour that will visit towns, cities, and clubs across Canada. Their success stories will especially encourage new Canadians to learn the joys of skating and to understand why skating is truly Canadian.
I was fortunate to be in the Calgary Saddledome on the night that Liz Manley electrified the crowd with her free skate and won the silver medal. It was one of those heart-stopping, goosebump moments that we all remember. Her inspiring performance captured a nation. I'd like you to hear more about our sport from Liz.
Thanks, Liz.
10 a.m.
Elizabeth Manley-Theobald Olympic Silver Medalist, Skate Canada
Thank you, Dan.
Thank you, everyone, for having me here today.
As an Olympic year approaches, I find myself looking back at my life and my journey to the Olympics. If you can believe it, it all started when I was three years old, by borrowing a pair of my brother's hockey skates. It wasn't long before my parents realized that I absolutely loved to skate and they enrolled me in what we call CanSkate lessons. As my love for skating grew quickly, my parents sacrificed their time and their financial resources to help me realize my dream.
My heroes were the women in the sport, especially the ones from right here in Ottawa, Barbara Ann Scott and Lynn Nightingale. So many aspects of my skating life have come full circle for me. I started skating right here in Nepean, Ontario, and then moved to Trenton, Ontario. Now I have the privilege of coaching young future skaters nationwide. In 1978—yes, I'm telling my age—I was a flower retriever at the World Figure Skating Championships here in Ottawa, and I was out there picking up the flowers thrown on the ice after the skaters' performances, and skated madly back to hand them to my idols. One of them included Scott Hamilton, who then went on to become the 1984 Olympic champion.
Recently, a couple of weeks ago, I selected some of the flower retrievers who will start their dreams by doing the same role at the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Figure Skating Championships coming up in January. I am so thrilled when people come up to me and tell me they were so inspired by my skate in Calgary at the 1988 winter games. I still vividly remember every moment of those two weeks and being part of the team that included the great Brian Orser and the incomparable Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall. Our preparation for those games was extremely different from what this year's teams are going through. We often trained in isolation and rarely saw our fellow skaters, and we didn't have much attention from media in those days.
Today's athletes have more competitions, more expectations, and also an incredible team working with them. I've seen in the past few years how Skate Canada, with its high-performance camp at the start of each season, helps our athletes be fully prepared for their international assignments. It also builds a great team spirit. As well, the skaters have access to tremendous wealth and knowledge in the sports science field, nutrition, and sport-specific training, which was really lacking in my day. They are the best prepared team we've ever had.
Twenty-five years ago—once again I'm telling you my age—I was intimidated by the senior people at Skate Canada, while these skaters have come to know them and embrace them as the strong support team that they are. And it's not just strong support from Skate Canada, but from the COC, the federal government, and the corporate community. And most of all, they are a part of a warm, welcoming sport family. We didn't have the strong spirit that I see in today's sport world in Canada. Both the figure skating team and the wider Canadian Olympic team have had more opportunities to be together and to be prepared. When they arrive in Sochi, they will already feel as much a part of the Canadian team, ready to compete in their own event, and most of all, to cheer on their teammates in other sports. I wish them very much success.
Thank you
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gord Brown
Thank you very much, and I think that you wanted to show off your medal.
10:05 a.m.
Olympic Silver Medalist, Skate Canada
Yes. I don't normally bring this, but I figured you might all want to see it, and I think you're all old enough to remember.
[Applause]
I always do that. It's the first thing I check out, the ages in the room.
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gord Brown
Thank you very much.
We're now going to go to Calgary, Alberta, and hear from Tim Farstad, who is the executive director of the Canadian Luge Association. You have the floor for eight minutes.
10:05 a.m.
Tim Farstad Executive Director, Canadian Luge Association
Good morning, and thank you for the invitation to speak to you today.
With Sochi Olympic preparation, our goal in CLA is to create an environment that allows the athletes to be completely confident that everything is in place so they can perform at their best.
I'll go through team selection, Olympic staffing, preparation and familiarization, our 2013-14 season, team leader meetings, pre-Olympic staging, potential issues, and athlete keys and expectations.
To start off, our team selection will be completed December 15. Our expectations for our team numbers for three-men would be: Sam Edney, Mitch Malyk, and John Fennell. On the women's side we have four qualifying for three spots: Alex Gough, Kim McRae, Arianne Jones, and Jordan Smith. We'll have one doubles team with Tristan Walker and Justin Snith, and the new team relay where we'll be very competitive is with Sam Edney, Alex Gough, Tristan Walker, and Justin Snith.
Important to our team's performance at the games, obviously, is staffing and they'll be led by our team leader, Walter Corey, who is our high-performance director. We've hired some of the best coaches in the world to ensure our team has everything in place. Our head coach is Wolfgang Staudinger, and assistant coach and technician is Bernie Glass. We were able to get a Russian assistant coach added to our team, Mikael Zavialov, because we felt it was very important to have a connection to the Russian environment.
We have one of the top strength and conditioning coaches in Jeremiah Barnert.
Public relations, which is very important at the games, will be taken care of by Chris Doran. As well, I will be there to coordinate with friends and family and sponsorship relations. It is very important that we keep the friends and families coordinated and away from our athletes, so they don't go to our athletes and expect their assistance while the athletes are in their Olympic bubble.
Our coaching plan is pretty simple. They are very long days and we want to ensure they are focused on high-priority tasks so they can maximize their coaching technical skills and minimize burnout.
It was very important for us to get a Russian connection, so we put a Russian coach on our team. He's been around since 2011.
We're going to focus on start-ramp coaching and on track in the key areas that are important for this track.
In order to compete properly at the games, we felt it was very important to familiarize ourselves with Sochi, so we've been there since 2009 in FIL Congress. In 2011, we attended a familiarization Canadian Olympic Committee tour. Our athletes have been on the track since March 2012, and we were able to get more of our people there than any other country, to explore the track itself.
We've attended two international training weeks in 2012 and 2013. We were able to do a sliding agreement with the Russian Federation where we were able to get 45% more run volume on the track than other teams. That was very important to us also.
In the season going forward, we were able to take our athletes to Germany in the summer to compete against the top athletes in the world at the start camp. That was perfect for our athletes to know where they were and develop what they needed to do this summer.
Our schedule is pretty simple. This fall we're in Norway, then to Austria, Germany, and then back to Canada and the U.S. for the final two World Cups before our qualification period has ended. We're doing our final preparations with our team leader, Walter Corey, who will be attending a team leader meeting on December 12 with the Canadian Olympic Committee to finalize the rooming lists, sled storage, and sled transportation in the village, and all the rest of the Olympic winter Games logistics.
Our pre-staging camp is going to be in Königssee, Germany, and obviously closer to the venue than Canada. We'll have the ability to access gyms, hockey rinks, start ramps, and be able to slide on a similar track to Sochi, so it will help prepare our athletes. There will only be a three-hour time change to Sochi. so we felt that was a perfect and comfortable place for our athletes to stage just prior to the games.
Our plan is to travel to the games on January 31 and avoid Moscow, which is what our team always needed to do—avoid Moscow because of the logistics issues up there. We'll be going Munich to Frankfurt and straight to Sochi. That's a nice win for our team.
We're arriving on February 1 and travelling straight to the main Olympic village, so our athletes can get acclimatized and take care of their outfitting in the main village. Then on February 2 we'll be heading straight up to the mountain villages, which is where our team will live and compete from.
Our basic schedule is that on February 3 we'll be right on the track inspecting it, on February 4 we'll be starting training, and we'll get into official training on February 5. Our events are February 8 and 9 for the men's race, February 10 and 11 for the women's race, February 12 for the doubles competition, and the team relay is on February 13.
We have identified some potential issues, for example, we have no night training, but all the races are in the evening, which is difficult for our athletes to get used to, the different light. We were able to do some race simulation in the evenings during the international training week to combat this potential issue. One of the other issues concerned a place to tune our equipment. We've worked with the Canadian Olympic Committee, which has been very helpful in securing space at the Olympic village and at the track, should we need to do some sled preparation at the track.
The Russian home-track advantage is one of our big issues, which is the reason we ensured we did a track exchange with the Russians to get as much extra training as we could on the competition track.
One of the other issues we were dealing with is an equipment change or a rule change this spring. We were able to purchase the equipment needed to test our sleds this summer to ensure we came into the season with equipment that was up to snuff and would be legal for racing at the Olympic Games.
One of the big changes for us is the team relay. An issue we're dealing with is that usually when our athletes complete their event they're finished, but now they're going to have a couple more days and then race again in the team relay. So we have plans in place to ensure that our men's athlete will continue to train once he's finished his singles event. When it comes to Alice Goff, we're hopeful that she'll be in the medals for a women's race, so we have a victory plan in place so she can celebrate her win and then get right back and focused for the team relay two days later.
10:10 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gord Brown
Thank you very much, Mr. Farstad.
Mr. Farstad, we're going to move to the questioning, and you will have an opportunity to expand a little bit on your presentation.
Mr. Young, for seven minutes.
10:15 a.m.
Conservative
Terence Young Conservative Oakville, ON
Thank you, Chair.
Mr. Moss, I have notes in front of me that say that speed skating in Canada has consistently been Canada's highest medal-winning sport in the Winter Olympics.
Could you please tell us briefly the elements of success? How did you do that?
10:15 a.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Speed Skating Canada
Well, briefly is a challenge. Clearly, we pride ourselves on having a world-class program in terms of our coaching support and our infrastructure. That's the first thing. We've made a huge commitment to that over many years, which, quite frankly, a lot of sports do. Through the help of Own the Podium in particular, that's really been identified as a step forward for Canadian sport.
There is a long history. Short-track speed skating and long-track speed skating are quite unique, really, in terms of the type of athlete they attract and so on. Long-track has a strong tradition in Europe, of course, and has passed over to us. Short-track has a very strong tradition, particularly in Quebec. I would say the strength of that tradition in Quebec has certainly driven our success in the international realm.
So it is a combination of many things. We're proud that the majority of our coaches are Canadian and the majority of our support team are Canadian, so we have a lot of internal expertise.
10:15 a.m.
Conservative
Terence Young Conservative Oakville, ON
Thank you.
Mr. Thompson, I heard something before from a previous witness that concerned me a great deal: that sport participation in Canada is dropping dramatically. You used the term “physical literacy”, which kind of sounds to me that you're reading about sport. I guess it means phys. ed. and participation in phys. ed. How can we get more of our young people off the couch and onto the ice?
10:15 a.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Skate Canada
Well, as you know, we pride ourselves at Skate Canada in having a program called CanSkate. It teaches 125,000 kids who are 5 to 15 years old how to skate. But there are 5.5 million kids in that age group. So there are lots more kids out there who can learn the joy of skating. We really believe that skating is an integral part of being Canadian. It's part of our DNA as Canadians.
We're just redoing our strategic plan, and one of the things we're talking about is this balance between skating to win and skating for life. We're very much committed to ensuring that we grow our learn-to programs and that we create school programs and programs in partnership with municipalities and other third parties. So this is going to be a real focus for us.
But it's about creating opportunities at the local level. It's really about teaching how to skate and then creating the pathway so the children can decide what they want to do with skating. Do they just want to enjoy skating and skate on the canal, or do they want to take up speed skating, hockey, or ringette? That's our challenge as Canadians in this Canadian sport. It's really evolving from being about figure skating to being about skating and to getting Canadians to experience the joy of skating.
10:15 a.m.
Conservative
Terence Young Conservative Oakville, ON
Thank you.
Elizabeth Manley-Theobald, thank you for being here today. By the way, thank you to everyone for coming here today.
I wanted to ask your perspective. At Skate Canada you teach young people to compete and to win. I'm wondering if you can share your experience. When we teach young people to compete and win, whether they win gold or silver or bronze or they just achieve personal best, how does that reflect in the rest of their lives? What benefits does that give them in every other area of endeavour?
10:15 a.m.
Olympic Silver Medalist, Skate Canada
It benefits tremendously in all areas. It's not just so much with figure skating but all sport. I feel, as an athlete, what sport brought to me is the understanding of reaching for goals and not giving up on things so quickly, and the journey to achievement and success. I think that's imbedded at a very young age. When you get involved in a sport, you become involved in a team spirit situation. So, you get the social part of it and you get the “off the couch” factor, so-called, but you also can bring that through as an adult.
As I look at my life since being a skater, I may not have the master's degree from university, but what the sport has taught me about life and what it has given me to have a successful lifestyle as an adult has been amazing. It's given me confidence. It's given me a heck of a lot of ups and downs and how to deal with that. That's really important in our youth today, to be able to enforce that there are going to be a lot of ups and downs, even as you get older. If you can learn from the bumps and bruises as a youngster and realize “just get back up and it's going to be okay”, you can bring that into your adult life, into the business world, into whatever you may achieve.
I have a tendency to work more with the grassroots in our sport. I am one of those Olympians who loves the little ones, the little ones running around in the hockey helmets and the snow suits, because they're so impressionable at that age and I want them to understand that, as Dan was saying, sport can be for life and it can be a passion. Skating can be a passion and there's so much more to it. I want them to smile and remember me as that first teacher. That's the passion I try to bring into the sport. I think a lot of our professional coaches, with this new strategic planning that we're doing in our sport, are trying to gain that passion out of the kids, so they will stay in sport and there will be a healthier future for our government.
10:20 a.m.
Conservative
Terence Young Conservative Oakville, ON
That is a fantastic answer. Thank you.
Elizabeth, could you please explain? This is the first time I've heard of this team sport. I'm really glad to hear of it, because watching figure skating is so stressful. They've trained years, and to make one little mistake might make them lose. But this team thing is not like that, I assume.
10:20 a.m.
Olympic Silver Medalist, Skate Canada
What's so great about it is that it's the first time it's coming into the Olympic Games, and we have the strongest team ever going into the Olympic Games. So, we're really on a great road to winning this event. What it's going to be is that the top 10 countries—in the point system over the Grand Prix series and the international events this year—will get to compete in what's called the team event. The best woman, best man, best dance team, and best pair team from each country will compete. But the advantage of this is that you're allowed to have two substitutes in any event. So we may have our previous Olympic champions, Tessa and Scott, skating in the free program of the dance, but we might put in our second-ranked team, which is ranking very high at the international level in the short portion of the competition. Then overall it's combined at the end for the winning country. But if we have two different men competing in it, let's say one doing the short and one doing the free, both those skaters will get a medal. So, there will be more medals to our Canadians. It's a great advantage, because we probably will take advantage of those two substitutes; we are so strong in all the aspects right now, going into Sochi.
10:20 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gord Brown
Thank you very much.
We'll move to
Mr. Dubé, you have seven minutes.
10:20 a.m.
NDP
Matthew Dubé NDP Chambly—Borduas, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I didn't witness those Olympics. I was in my mother's stomach at that time. Well, not stomach; it's a bad translation.
10:20 a.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
10:20 a.m.
NDP
Matthew Dubé NDP Chambly—Borduas, QC
She was very pregnant with me. There you go. But I guess somewhere a positive vibe came from that.
In all seriousness, first I want to say to you folks with Skate Canada that Ms. Mathyssen and I got to visit you in London last spring and that was just phenomenal. I think you have a great group of people and I think it's worth saying on the record. And while I'm getting things on the record,
including for Mr. Moss, I want to point out how pleased we were with the positive outcome in the Mathieu Giroux case, which you dealt with last year. We believe in the importance of respecting the country's diversity. A Quebecker was in a tough situation. We commend the effort and hope it's a good sign of things to come.
My questions are mainly for Mr. Thompson, of Skate Canada.
As you mentioned earlier, next year will mark your 100th anniversary. Do you plan to celebrate the achievements of your athletes at the Sochi games? Your athletes are truly wonderful individuals.
10:20 a.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Skate Canada
That's great. Thank you.
We're very excited about the upcoming 100th. I don't know if the committee is aware but the Governor General of Canada has a long history with Canadian figure skating and the Canadian championships. The first Canadian championships were created by Governor General Minto, so the Governor General has agreed to be the patron of our 100th anniversary and we will have an event at Rideau Hall on January 8 and we're very excited about that.
We're also taking this time to invite all the Canadian champions who've ever been a Canadian champion to Ottawa for the championships. We hope we're going to have up to 150 alumni at the event. We're going to have an alumni gala on the last night, and it will coincide with the Olympic team being named. It's going to be a very special moment.
We're going to have a skating program at City Hall's Rink of Dreams. We're having the Nepean Skating Club and others and Liz help teach people in attendance to skate, and we're also going to be working with some charity groups, so we're very excited about that.
We're going to have a special celebration after the games. We're looking to do a 30-city tour across Canada, going to small and medium-sized towns, and even where they don't have a club. In the far north, we're going to do clinics, and we're going to bring members of the national team with us, so it's going to be an exciting time. We're looking forward to it. And this is all part of our mission, our strategy to bring skating to Canadians. We're going to call this Canada Skates and we're going to finish it off with the celebration at the 101st Canadian championships.
We're also looking to bring our archives and our national museum on the road in a big tractor-trailer so Canadians can share in the heritage of Canadian skating.
10:25 a.m.
NDP
Matthew Dubé NDP Chambly—Borduas, QC
That's great.
One of the things you folks have talked about in this project is getting local clubs more involved in the celebration. And in that spirit, from what I've noticed as an outside observer, it often seems that former champions and medallists stay on and mentor sometimes indirectly and sometimes directly. You're better placed to answer that. We know a lot of volunteer work goes into this and the impression I'm getting is that you folks want to celebrate that with a bit of indulgence because it might get off Sochi a bit, but I think you folks are doing a great thing. Maybe you want to elaborate a bit on celebrating that aspect of things, the local level, which I guess creates the future stars at the end of the day, right?