Speed Skating Ontario is Named as an OHPSI Sport through CSIO

Speed Skating Ontario has been accepted into the Ontario High Performance Sport Initiative (OHPSI) program through Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO).

“OHPSI was designed in 2010 to support a comprehensive provincial high performance sport system that allows for sustained success of athletes and coaches at the very highest levels of international sport. The overarching objective of OHPSI is to identify and support Ontario athletes who are best capable of achieving future international success on senior national teams in targeted winter and summer Olympic/Paralympic and Pan/Para Pan Am Games sports." (CSIO, 2023)

“In 2022, Speed Skating Ontario successfully applied to Canadian Sport Institute Ontario’s (CSIO) Project Sport Initiative (PSI), with the overarching objective of increasing the sport’s readiness to apply for CSIO’s Ontario High Performance Sport Initiative (OHPSI) Program in future intakes. Speed Skating Ontario worked to engage and collaborate with CSIO to progress and refine their high-performance programming in Ontario, making great strides along the way. Speed Skating Ontario was recently selected as one of twenty (20) successful sports included within the OHPSI program for the 2023-26 period, after a very comprehensive and competitive application process, a testament to the hard work and growth of the organization. CSIO is proud to continue the partnership and to provide best-in-class sport science, sport medicine, and pathway support to Speed Skating Ontario, and their athletes and coaches, in their pursuit of excellence, elevating people, programs, and performances.”

- CSIO Director of Performance Pathways, James Brough

The funding available to Speed Skating Ontario will continue to support our High Performance initiatives, focusing on athlete and coach development. Primary initiatives include: biannual athlete testing, exercise physiology review and programming guidance, nutrition education and mental performance consultation for rostered athletes. In addition to these key Integrated Support Team (IST) services, we will also be able to support some of our High Performance training camps with funds from the OHPSI program.

“Congratulations to Speed Skating Ontario for achieving entry into the OHPSI program! This is an acknowledgment of the hard work put into developing a comprehensive, high performance pathway for Ontario athletes and coaches. Speed Skating Canada is excited to be aligned with Speed Skating Ontario in this endeavour and look forward to an ongoing collaboration.”

- Manager, SSC Sport Pathway, Jon Cavar

Service delivery starts at the end of August and continues through to March 31, 2025.

We are looking forward to joining the OHPSI program and delivering CSIO's mission of elevating people and performances.

Previous and current OHPSI sports can be found on CSIO's website HERE. More information about the OHPSI program and its funding from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport can be found HERE.

How I Got There from Here! The Renée Steenge Story

Peace. This is how Renée Steenge describes the way that short track makes her feel. “I guess maybe when you’re in a certain mindset your mind slows down, but you’re not really focused on that. You are focused on your body and how it’s moving. It’s peaceful,” says Renee.

For those of us watching the fast-paced, thrilling sport of short track, peaceful might be the last way to describe the excitement on the ice.

We can all agree that Canada’s Short Track team is enriched with Steenge’s talent as evidenced by the addition of her international medals in the Women’s Team discipline this season.

As a young child, Renée got her start at the Brampton Skating Club at about 8 or 9 years old where she progressed through the levels starting at beginners’. As she improved, she eventually augmented her time on the ice at the Toronto Speed Skating Club, where she turned for extra training.

Why short track? “I always liked the feeling of gliding. Once I felt it, I wanted to keep getting it and keep training. I loved hearing the sounds from the ice and the rhythm of skating.” Renée was a child who loved sports and dipped her toe into many of them. Sport is by its very definition filled with intensity and yet the ‘peaceful moments’ she experiences in speed skating are what sets it apart for her.

Copyright Speed Skating Canada 2022

Renée is thoughtful in the three words she uses to describe Short Track: Intense. Fast. Aggressive.

Intense. It is also a word that can be used to describe Renée’s trek from short track ‘keener’ to legit short track star. The journey from Brampton to National Team took about 11 years and has not been without its challenges. This is a young woman who is charting her own path. She moved to Montreal for training after graduating from high school and where she is also studying engineering at McGill University.

It was during high school that Renée spent a couple of summers at The Regional Training Centre in Montreal where she relocated to start her training in earnest. After about a year, she qualified for the National Development Team. In 2019, she moved to Calgary where she stayed until being invited back to Montreal as a training partner for the NextGen Team for 18 months. She made the World Cup team in October 2022 and there has been no looking back since then.

It was Renée’s choice to interrupt her trajectory and move to Calgary which carried lessons with it. As far as comeback lessons in Montreal are concerned, for Renée it was mostly consistency and slowly working her way back up. Renée calls it “just being in the moment taking it one step at a time.”

As is the case with many athletes, Renée has coped with the yin and yang of competing mindsets; both possible and impossible. “I doubted my ability to come back, and I doubted I could make it to the World Cup or National team levels, but it came back to more of an intrinsic feeling of gliding on the ice and being at peace. Obviously, I hadn’t reached my full potential. You’re good you can do more, and you have more to offer.” When the door opened for possibilities, Renée was able to walk through it.

That potential was clear in the medals and accolades Renée has earned since the Fall of 2022 including one of her favourite racing experiences to date. “The 3000m Relay Women’s Final in Montreal at my first World Cup in October 2022. It was on home ice; I was feeling good on my blades, and I thought we had a strong team where I was the anchor. I found out on the morning of the race that I would be one of the four skaters to be chosen to be part of the team where we skated to a silver medal.” Thrilling.

Photo Credit Unknown

Renée is considered in her thoughts about the racing knowledge she is acquiring: “You’re always learning more and part of it is understanding the timing of races, how it works and when to make your move. I am getting better at racing. Not perfect but making progress.”

Renée is grateful for the assistance that she has received along the way from the many people at the different clubs that supported her, the coaches at Brampton and Toronto Speed Skating clubs in Ontario to her teammates and coaches in Calgary and the coaches and athletes in Salt Lake City, where she has also spent time.

Coming from Ontario has had many benefits including the structure of the competitions and competing at Ontario Winter Games with coaches who genuinely loved the sport, among other experiences.

What would Renée advise her younger self or any other younger skater? “Enjoy what you’re doing and don’t get too caught up in the small things. Just remember that skating and being on the ice is going to make you better. “

Renée’s three words to describe herself reflect her overall approach to her life and her skating: Eccentric. Calm. Athletic.

“I always knew I could do it but didn’t know I would get here in this way.” Stay tuned. The Renée Steenge story is just beginning.

Written by Pj Kwong

pjkwong@pjkwong.com

www.pjkwong.com

www.thecontentstore.ca

Copyright Speed Skating Canada 2022

Remembering Bob Miller

It is with heavy hearts, deep sorrow and much love that we mourn the passing of Robert (Bob) Miller on Sunday, April 30, 2023 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Kitchener, Ontario. Bob fought a courageous and brief battle with anaplastic thyroid cancer, a rare and aggressive disease, which he was diagnosed with on January 30, 2023. Bob had been involved in the speed skating community since 1998 as a parent, coach, manager, referee, and President of the Ontario Speed Skating Association for 2 years.

“When Bob joined the Cambridge coaching crew, he brought with him an enormous sense of fairness, and acceptance of each athlete. He was a most welcome addition, always coming into the dressing room with a smile on his face, ready to get skaters though their programs. Bob was very vested in everyone’s success and well being.

He was very organized, familiar with rules, bulletins and competition flow, ensuring that the athletes he was responsible for had the best possible experience, as either coach or manager. Bob was great at tracking pb’s, and made sure everyone knew when something spectacular was accomplished.

But the best memory of Bob was the year he came out to the club Christmas party, dressed as the Grinch, handing out goodie bags. The gentleman who was our Santa for so many years had recently passed. He was well known to all the youngsters and there was some concern that Santa would not appear. So-Bob to the rescue!! Most of the kids knew it was he, and they understood something had changed. They were so respectful of Bob and the situation, they were a bit subdued at first, but Bob very quickly got them laughing and having fun. That is the measure of a coach who demonstrates integrity and respect, that in good times, or when things are tough, he was regarded as a person who wanted only the best for anyone under his tutelage.

Marg Oliveira – Coach Cambridge Speed Skating Club

“It is with regret and sorrow that we have learnt of the death of Short Track Referee Robert (Bob) Miller.

He started his coaching and refereeing career as his son, Dustin Miller, became involved in Short Track Speed Skating. Firstly, with the Kitchener Waterloo Club and later with the Cambridge Speed Skating Club in Ontario. He worked his way up to a very competent National Level 2 Referee. While always ready to referee at more senior levels, Bob loved to work with the younger skaters and was always first to be on the ice when the cradle skaters appeared. Lining up little skaters seemed to be one of his special skills.

Bob will always be remembered as the referee that was dressed to perfection. He always appeared dressed in his suit jacket and for sure froze on the ice, yet never complained. He was totally prepared at all times. He was the calmest of us all on the ice when the referee's feathers were rustled by the coaches on the bench. He quietly performed his duties, staying focused and alert, an asset to the Short Track refereeing world. The skaters always knew what to expect from him and they interacted with Bob in a respectful way as they appreciated his calm demeanor and professionalism.

Bob often took the time to speak to a skater after a race to explain why a call may, or may not, have been made. He saw the referee’s role as more than simply applying the rules; it was an opportunity for him to educate skaters and to help them understand how to improve. He would do the same with coaches to make sure that every call was a chance to learn and then teach.

Bob will be remembered fondly for his commitment, kind demeanor, and professionalism.”

Jacky Shoebridge – ISU/SSC Referee

Please join us for a Celebration of Life to honour Bob on June 10, 2023, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton, 30 Fairway Road S., Kitchener, Ontario.

It was Bob’s hope that his experience could help someone in the future. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in honour of Robert Miller to the London Health Sciences Foundation - London Regional Cancer Program in support of Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer research. Click here: https://lhsf.ca/ways-give/memory