CCA implodes!!!!



I think this speaks for itself....


Goofd job overseeing that Lorraine Lafreniere!!!

Resign.


November 2/07 11:00 am EDT - BMX Worlds Declare Bankruptcy

Posted by Editor on 11/2/07.
BMX Worlds Declare Bankruptcy

Very quietly, the Victoria BMX 2007 World Championship Society - organizer of this year's world championships - declared bankruptcy in the middle of last month. The local newspaper (Victoria Times Colonist) had a succinct announcement stating that the organization declared bankruptcy on October 17th, and that a creditors meeting would be held November 2nd:

IN THE MATTER OF THE BANKRUPTCY OF VICTORIA BMX 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SOCIETY

Notice of Bankruptcy and First Meeting of Creditors in Local Newspaper (Section 102(4)) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the bankruptcy of VICTORIA BMX 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SOCIETY occurred on the 17th day of October 2007, and that the first meeting of creditors will be held on the 2nd day of November 2007, at the hour of ten o'clock in the forenoon, at the location of the Ocean Pointe Resort, Pacific Suite, 45 Songhees Road, in the city of Victoria, in the province of BC. To be eligible to vote, creditors must file with the Trustee prior to that meeting Proofs of Claim and where necessary, proxies.

DATED at the city of Victoria, in the province of BC, this 17th day of October 2007. C.E. CRAIG & ASSOCIATES INC. Trustee in Bankruptcy Tel: (250) 386-8778 Fax: (250) 386-6864 418183


It has been difficult to obtain information on the bankruptcy, but from what we have been able to determine, the organizers owe over $100,000 - the majority to local suppliers of services. The Canadian Cycling Association is owed approximately $15,000, according to CEO Lorraine Lafreniere.

Lafreniere believes that the shortfall can be traced to a lack of corporate sponsorship. "They were just not able to attract the level of corporate sponsorship that they had forecast." She also points to the Under-20 Soccer World Cup drawing away potential sponsors.

A further disappointing outcome of the event was the track, which was scheduled to become a UCI track for future events. Instead (if it survives), it is going to become an ABA run track.

from Canadian Cyclist.com
 
Idiot, all I wanted was some recognition that Symmetrics is doing what Evian did and more.

Fausto Coppied said:
Hey, Uboat, what do you, it's a sure sign of how great things are going, huh?
 
But they are not doing more.

They are doing about the same in some respects and far less in others.
They have about zero name recognition outside of the sport and outside of British Columbia.

The have almost no mainstream media attention.

They have fewer national titles and they have fewer Olympic team riders.
 
----- Original Message -----
From: edatarzouiandotcom
To: [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Cc: [email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected]
Sent: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:46:21 -0600
Subject: Cyclists to Invade Calgary
OK, Calgary, here is your big chance to question all "The Powers that Be" in Canadian cycling this weekend.

The Canadian Cycling Association Annual General Meeting will take place in your city this weekend:

"Notice to all licensed and general members of the Canadian Cycling Association

The CCA Annual General Meeting will be held at the Four Points by Sheraton Calgary West, 8220 Bowridge Crescent NW, Calgary, AB on Sunday December 2, 2007: between 9:00 and 11:00 am. The meeting is open to all current CCA members (proof of membership required). Note: Voting for elected positions is restricted to the designated Provincial delegates. "

All the usual suspects will be there.

In case you didn't know, this year saw the firing of the Finance Director, the High Performance Director, the Marketing Director and two or three coaches,

I might be forgetting somebody.

This year saw the reduction of the CCA budget from $2,700,000 to about $1,500,000. I'm not much on math but that's like a 45% decrease in a year.

Major events were cancelled.

The track in Quebec City was destroyed.

Not one new event.

No new teams were created, some were lost.

The media coverage was even worse than in recent years. Yup, that's you guys, and you ignored the sport even more than you usually do, if that's possible.

For the first time in living memory not one medal was one in any World Cycling championship in any discipline (road, track, mountain bike or BMX) by men or women.

This debacle was overseen by Lorraine Lafreniere, a woman how had never competed herself in a sport and never run a sport organization. She had ZERO experience in the sport of cycling prior to being hired as Director General to run it for the country only about one year ago. How short sighted is that. She was a talking PR head and ran a Coaches Association, which is far more like a trade organization than a sport. In her capacity there she never ran or organized a sporting event.

Finally, to cap the year off the BMX World Cycling Championship held in Victoria that were supposed to bring fame, riches and glory to Canada filed for bankruptcy. Even the CBC is owed $43,000 dollars.

So, here's your big chance ask Lorraine Lafreniere how she could have screwed so much up in so little time.

Bring a shovel for all the ********.

All my best,
Ed Arzouian
 
So the Canadian Cycling Association held its Annual General Meeting last weekend and we, the public, have almost no information.

Where was the Executive Director's Report? Was Lorraine Lafreniere too lazy to write one or would it have been to depressing to hear. Nothing about it is psoted onthe CCA website.

About all we can point to is this, which I guess is suppose to pass for financials, no wonder they need an auditor:

- Revenue increased from $3,070,593 in 2006 to $3,236,526. However, expenses increased more rapidly - from $3,013,279 to $3,371,872. Therefore, the organization went from a surplus of $57,314 to a deficit of $135,346. Much of this is due to projected revenues not being met - budgets were not exceeded. The accumulated deficit is $1,258.

The CCA ran a deficit even after firing half its staff!!!

Sounds like mismanagement to me.

Next year they will lose more since Sport Canada will cut their funding due to very poor international results.

Here are the people to blame, a sad lot, that are killing the sport in Canada:


CCAboard_DSC0038.jpg
.
One can assume this photo is by Rob Jones from Canadian Cyclist. Rob wrote in October that drastic changes have to take place at the CCA. So, Rob, do you see any drastic changes? I sure don't, just more of the same failed policies and people. The little woman in the middle is Lorraine Lafreniere. She looks like she is trying to hide. Who can blame her after the crappy job she has done. Where are all those supposed contacts she had and all that supposed marketing experience? She failed to meet all projected revenue goals.

Hard to understand why they are smiling given the devasting year they have just inflicted upon the sport and with no sign of things getting any better.

It was funny to hear the current sponsors spoke of their continued support. They give so little to the sport and get so much they would be fools not to stick with the same deal. The CCA is foolish to give the sport away so cheap, like some guy in the Third World selling his sister for a couple bucks.
 
Where is the Rest of Canada (ROC)?

National Cycling championships for the next two years. What a joke!:

2008
BMX - Abbotsford, BC - April or May 2008 (Date to be confirmed)
Track* (Paracycling) - Bromont, QC - June 24 & 25, 2008
Road (Master, Junior, Paracycling) - Beauce, QC - June 27 to 29, 2008
Road (U23, Elite) - Beauce, QC - July 3 to 6, 2008
Downhill - Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC - July 11 to 13, 2008 (Date to be confirmed)
Cross-country - Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC - July 18 to 20, 2008
Track (Master, Junior, Elite) - Burnaby, BC - August 27 to 31, 2008
Cyclocross - (To be confirmed)
* Due to early Junior road and track Worlds in 2008, selection events will happen (Flying 200m and individual pursuit) in Bromont, QC for Junior men and women during that period.



2009 (Location only)
BMX - Kingston, ON
Road (Master, Junior, Paracycling) - Beauce, QC
Road (U23, Elite) - Beauce, QC
Downhill - Anse-St-Jean, QC
Cross-country - St-Félicien, QC
Track (Elite) - Burnaby, BC
Track (Master, Junior, Paracycling) - (To be confirmed)
Cyclocross - Edmonton, AB


The Rest of Canada is really stepping up to the plate....
:rolleyes:

16 CDN National championships
9 in Quebec
3 in British Columbia
1 in Alberta
1 in Ontario

What a disgrace!!!

Where is the Ontario Cycling Association? The richest, most populated province in the country can hold only 1 national championship in two years and that is only a BMX event?????

Where is Saskatchewan, the province Bill Kinash has supposedly been doing such a great job with for the last 20 or 30 years?

Nothing from Manitoboa which use to have a strong presence nationally.

Nothing from the Marimtimes wher the CCA has been sinking money for years.

Do you see what a mess Kinash and those like him have made of the sport in Canada? What an embarrassment.

Nothing short of mass resignations or the launch of a new national cycling body should be accepted.

In 18 months Lorraine Lafreiniere, Director General of the CCA, has proiven to be a total disaster to the sport she kwos nothing about.


As we head into an Olympic year never in living memory (that's 35 years for me, personally and another 10 from ancedotal recounting) has the cycling scene in canada looked so bleak.
 
So, it is 2008, about two months after the CCA AGM.

There is no information available on the CCA web site in regard to the documentation and reports presented at the AGM.

Nothing.

It looks like Lorraine Lafreniere is incapable of writing and annual report. Pierre Blanchard does not appear to have written anything either.

There was a few short notes on Canadian Cyclist but nothing apparent on the CCA web site.

Is this acceptable for a taxpayer funded organization?
As we head in the Olympics this year things look very bleak.
 
Does this look familiar???


Fausto Coppied said:
More proof:

Montreal-Boston Race Cancelled

Another supposed step forward in Canadian Cycling has fallen on its ass. Since I directed a race for Manibal in 1999 (Women’s Road World Cup) which started his franchise, salvaging it from an early grave, I can tell you Manibal probably went ahead with this knowing he did not have his financing in place, hoping it would come through. Also, much of Mr. Manibal’s support comes from the Parti Quebecois separatists and they are having some difficulties at the moment.


Has there been a Canadian report on this? In a real news source, not just Canadian Cyclist which mentioned it once?

Tell me how things are going so well in cycling in Canda? Do you think the CCA helped in anyway to make this event happen? Of course not. The Director General, Lorriane Lafreniere came from a coaching association and prior to that media relations. SHE HAS NEVER ORGANIZED AN EVENT. HOW CAN SHE PROVIDE ASSISTANCE?

Officials hit the brakes on bike race


By PATRICK MEIGHAN and STEVE BODNAR, Telegraph Staff
[email protected], [email protected]


Published: Thursday, May. 10, 2007

NASHUAA professional, Tour de France-caliber bicycle race that was to begin in Montreal, make a stop in Nashua and finish in Boston has been postponed for a year, race officials announced Wednesday.(postponed, yeah right!!!)

Mayor Bernie Streeter blamed the postponement on disinterest on the part of the city of Boston, where the race was to conclude.

“This announcement is disappointing to say the least,” Streeter said in a written statement released Wednesday.

“As mayor, I am personally offended by the city of Boston’s lack of interest and support. I know our state officials who have worked long and hard on this event also are crushed with this decision,” Streeter said.

Events that the city of Nashua had been planning around the Aug. 11 event will continue as scheduled, city officials said.

Bike race organizers said they scrapped this year’s race because of the difficulty coordinating the race with various U.S. and Canadian governments, according to a statement issued Wednesday afternoon from the Montreal-Boston Tour headquarters in Quebec.

However, race organizers made no specific mention of Boston’s lack of interest in the race as the cause of the postponement.

Putting the race together required organizing officials in Quebec, as well as Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, which proved too much in such a short amount of time, according to race officials.

“We want to thank all our partners, who did not hesitate to give their time and support to this project,” Daniel Manibal, president and executive director of the tour, said in a written statement.

“They understand the importance of putting it off until 2008. They have already accomplished an amazing feat, and we want to assure them of our determination to make the Montreal-Boston Tour a reality, Manibal said.

Back home, some were let down by the news but could understand the need for a delay.

Keith Dobbins, a sales associate at Goodale’s Bike Shop in Nashua, said he was “extremely disappointed” when he learned of the postponement of the race, but agreed that the extra time would help provide a better event.

“It will give better chance for more people to get out there and realize cycling is fun, safe, healthy and a good investment,” Dobbins said in a telephone interview Wednesday evening.

Goodale’s had sponsored some of the bicycling events to be held in the city to coincide with the race.

Bob Hall, owner of Souhegan Cycleworks in Milford, was also looking forward to seeing the Montreal-Boston Tour this summer, until he heard the plans went flat.

Hall knows how difficult it is to put together an elaborate cycling race. In September, he helped organize a cyclo-cross race, where road bikes were used in an off-road competition.

“There’s lots of organizing for a one-day event in a single town, never mind an eight-day event in two countries with people from around the world getting involved,” he said from his Milford store Wednesday night.

Besides for community members, Gov. John Lynch, and his wife, Dr. Susan Lynch, were also big supporters of the race. In a statement released through his press spokesman, Lynch said he and his wife will continue to support bringing the international race through the state.

The second to last leg of the race was to end in Nashua. The final leg was to leave the city and end in Boston. City officials had expected the event, part of the pro bicycle racing tour, to bring thousands of spectators to downtown.

“The international bike race would have been a wonderful opportunity for our city to shine once again. The crowd expected for that day in our city would have, in all likelihood, exceeded the Olympic Torch run down our Main Street in 1996,” Streeter said.

Nashua officials said they will still hold the other events planned for the day, including bike races planned at Holman Stadium sponsored by Goodale’s, along with SummerFun children’s events at Greeley Park and an Energy Fair sponsored by the city’s Green Team.

City officials have been rounding up sponsors and donations to pay for the events and hadn’t planned on using tax dollars to cover any of the costs.

Hall, at Souhegan Cycleworks, said he understands how the postponement of the race can be disheartening, but doesn’t think the feelings will last.

“I think people are probably going to wait. I think any race takes a while to get going,” he said. “I’m pretty sure the cycling community won’t be thrilled that its not happening this year, but they will be patient for the race.”


Patrick Meighan can be reached at 594-6518 or [email protected]. Steve Bodnar can be reached at 594-6481 or [email protected]
 
What a joke. A “High Performance Review” was released about the Canadian Cycling Association. In a nutshell it calls for setting up a plan to overhaul the CCA to begin in about a year!!!!!



Didn’t we hear in 2003 and 2004 that everything was in place to move forward and make big changes at the CCA?



Now we are being told everything done (what little there really was) over the last five years has to be scrapped and they are starting over again and looking to hire somebody that actually knows something about the sport. That person will fill the spot vacated when Kris Westwood was fired. He was a guy who knew about the sport.



The CCA has this report on its web site and comments by somebody named “I” who does not give their name!!!



This organization is in such a mess, the “leadership (i.e. Lorraine Lafreniere) so useless it has no credibility whatsoever. They/she have done nothing in more than a year and all we have is a report, another report, that will accomplish nothing. Everyone there is incapable of achieving any real objective. We have another major event cancelled, no new teams, no new sponsors, no new events. The sport is dead in the water thanks to Bill Kinash, Lorraine Lafreniere and now Pierre Blanchard for whom I once had high hopes.



Here we are five years from where things were supposed to have begun to change and we are starting all over again…..just as I told you. Millions of Canadian tax dollars are being wasted on these incompetent pencil-pushing, do-nothing mediocre bureaucrats. Watch this summer for the worse Olympic lack of performance in Canadian cycling history.



Ed Arzouian

607-343-1859



Here is Canadian Cyclist Editor Rob Jones’ whitewashing of things. Poor Rob just cannot bring himself to cut through the ******** and tell it like it really is:





http://www.canadiancyclist.com/default2.html

May 14/08 11:15am EDT - CCA Releases High Performance Review - Our Analysis

Posted by Editoress on 5/14/08.
CCA Releases High Performance Review - Our Analysis

The Canadian Cycling Association has released the results of a High Performance Review conducted by Podium Canada (Road to Excellence). This, in and of itself, is a remarkable event, given the past practice of secrecy. The full report can be found
Here as a PDF.

The CCA also released the results of surveys that Podium Canada conducted as part of their review - with
Athletes and Coaches. In a nutshell, the Athletes largely said that the CCA was not meeting their needs in development or competition - the only area that showed approval was how they felt about their coaching situation, which is largely outside of the purview of the CCA.

On the Coaches/Technical Personnel side, the results were even more skewed, with most personnel feeling that the CCA does not provide the resources or support necessary to do their work effectively.

As to the report itself (which can be downloaded at the above link), some general comments, before getting into specifics:

The authors correctly point out that Cycling (the CCA) has made a huge step (in inviting outside scrutiny), and that Cycling is the oldest sports governing body. The report was, in large part, based on interviews with athletes, staff, coaches and members of Provincial Sports Organizations (PSOs).

A huge hole in the process (from our perspective) was that the report authors did not step outside of this group to solicit opinions from other stake holders in the sport, such as teams, managers, industry, etc. This means that they are gathering information about the system largely from people within the system that they are trying to reform!

Having said that, the recommendations are completely valid, although many have been already suggested, by many people, for many years. Hopefully, the difference this time will be that they are actually implemented.

Among the key points noted in the study:

1. Strong leadership - the hiring of a CEO (who instituted this review) was one of the few areas that garnered favourable feedback from interviewees.

2. Develop a Strategic Plan - mandatory, and long overdue. But little or no discussion on how (or when) this development will take place - will it be developed by those within the system, or try to bring a broader perspective to the table?

3. Effective and open communication - already, this is happening.

4. Build trust - Believe me, in our regular interaction with athletes, staff and coaches at the many events we attend, this is LONG overdue, and will not be easy to achieve, given the past experiences of most involved in the system.

5. Develop an accountability framework - Again, long overdue. The report has also correctly pointed out that 'no money' has become the standard excuse for any backtracking on promised programs or projects.


The report also points out that the demands on the CCA have increased steadily as the number of disciplines have increased, with little or no commensurate increase in funding from Sport Canada. This has meant that the CCA has tried to service too many areas with too few resources:

Everything has been watered down in an effort to give everyone a "little something". The result is that athletes are not being optimally prepared to perform well at the highest levels internationally causing frustration among athletes and coaches as they see the rest of the world taking off. Many of the current athletes feel they have been left on their own to fend for themselves.

We cannot argue with this at all. The CCA needs to prioritize, and this necessarily means that some disciplines will have to be cut back, and find their own funding. In fact, our editorial "A Blueprint for Change" (see Daily News: September 19/07 7:00 pm EDT - A Blueprint for Change - An Editorial) made many of these same points.

One criticism we have with the report is that there were some specific shortfalls noted with no suggestions as to how to deal with them, or how to prioritize them. These include:

- Lack of indoor velodromes

- Lack of equipment

- Lack of European training base

- Lack of high level events in North America

- Lack of funding for athletes to attend high level events

Every one of these concerns is true - and everyone knows it. Reiterating it with no ideas on how to address the problems just exacerbates the situation.

Another key problem area identified is national team selections and the criteria used to select athletes. There were strong feelings (according to the report) that the HPC (High Performance Committee) was not an appropriate selection process, and that it should be full time technical sports personnel making these decisions. (We have editorialized on this situation numerous times)


So, how to deal with these problems? The report offers a number of constructive suggestions:

1. Hire a Chief Technical Officer (CTO) - this is a key step, and the CCA has begun the hiring phase. However, the list of qualifications that the CCA is asking for is daunting, and the cost for a fully qualified person will be high. The timing is also little off, we think - this is the lead up to the Games, so no one is switching jobs until after that is over. Come September, there will likely be a considerable number of suitable candidates available.

2. Give authority and accountability to the experts - Hire the CTO and discipline-specific coaches (hire/appoint them), and give them the authority and accountability to do the job. Currently, no one identified as a discipline coach has much authority, it all goes back to the HPC for selections, for one thing. This makes the coaches appear ineffective (or irrelevant), which is not a way to encourage the CCA's primary contact point with the athletes.

3. Restructure to discipline-specific program - A key requirement. The CCA has to prioritize and look at what works best in each area, given the resources available.

4. Establish partnerships - Long missing from the CCA mindset. The national sports body has made enemies over the last decade by being perceived to impose their will on other groups such as PSO and trade teams.

5. Indoor velodromes - What more can we say. However, there has to be a rational plan for where they go, not a highly political campaign that results in a facility being put in an area that doesn't best support high performance goals. "If you build it, they will come" is NOT a viable argument....

6. Organizational Structure - The report offers a proposed OS, but we feel that there is one key position missing: Partner Relationships/Development. To make this whole structure work requires both funds and partnerships, and those need to be managed and developed. The CCA has lost many potential (and actual) partners because they were under-served. This is too important to be foisted as an extra duty on an existing staff person.


Conclusions

The Own the Podium report is a strong step in identifying the issues facing the CCA, and how to tackle them. However, it is strong on what needs to be done operationally, and weak on how to accomplish this practically (ie, how is this going to be funded). There is also little in the way of a timeline for implementation of these proposals, and one of the struggles the CCA has faced in the past is implementing in a timely fashion. This has led to much of the current cynicism among athletes and staff.

However, it is unrealistic to expect much to happen until after the Beijing Games at this point. We look forward to seeing how effectively the CCA follows through on this ambitious proposal in the next 12 months.
 
How many times do we have togo through this?


How many times do I have to say I told you so????


Good riddance, Lorraine.

PLEASE, PLEASE, take Bill Kinash with you, forever.

This is funny, "Much good work has been achieved during the past few years. If I were to highlight some of the accomplishments I would include our ability to work as partners alongside each other, not only from within in our respective organizations but also as individuals who believe in cycling."

That's it, that's the highlight????

What a disaster.

What another disgrace.

When you decide you want me to rescue this sport just call, 607-343-1859.
Don't wait too long, there' almost nothing left.

from Canadian Cyclist

November 25/08 3:30 pm EST - CCA CEO to Step Down in the New Year
Posted by Editor on 11/25/08.
CCA CEO to Step Down in the New Year

Lorraine Lafrenière, Chief Executive Officer/Secretary General of the Canadian Cycling Association announced officially today that she will be stepping down from her position at the end of March next year. In the almost two years that she has held the position, Lafrenière has shepherded the CCA through some tough financial times, and has worked with federal funding bodies to put the Association in a position to enter the next Olympic cycle with stronger finances and a new administrative structure, led by the recently hired Chief Technical Officer, Jaques Landry.

The following statement has been released by Ms Lafrenière:

After much consideration I have decided to leave the position of Chief Executive Officer with the Canadian Cycling Association. It has been a pleasure to be among you as we have worked so very hard to strengthen our organization. I will be working through to March 31st, 2009 or until a new Chief Executive is hired and you have my commitment for a smooth transition until that person is in place.

The staff in place within the CCA is committed to maintaining the organization's momentum and it is important to build the right team who can commit to the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. The Board of Directors has been outstanding in providing direction and in supporting the decisions we have made to improve our services.

I know that some of the changes we have made have not been without some difficulty but I believe the work of the past few years has resulted in many positive steps for CCA. It has been a rewarding time for all of us and we have built a stronger link between CCA and the Canadian sport community. The transition will also be managed effectively with our funding agencies.

Much good work has been achieved during the past few years. If I were to highlight some of the accomplishments I would include our ability to work as partners alongside each other, not only from within in our respective organizations but also as individuals who believe in cycling. In addition to this, I am most proud of the hard work of staff in streamlining and restructuring the national office; of the contribution of our funding agencies by conducting the high performance review and in supporting us in implementing the recommended changes.

We have had great corporate supporters and donors who have made the difference in our all-too limited budget (Tim Hortons, Louis Garneau, H&R Block, Learn to Ride Cycling Partners, and Haywood). The performances in Beijing at the Olympics and Paralympics were outstanding and we are on the cusp of establishing a four-year funding partnership with Podium to take us to London 2012.

We have competent and committed CCA staff and I know that they will continue to work hard on your behalf to London 2012. The closing of an Olympiad/Paralympiad is always a time for change and it is important that CCA strike the team by April 1st that will carry the organization towards the outstanding performances in four year's time with your support and that of our funding partners. Our priority will be to build out the right team. I do hope to stay engaged with cycling and I will work with the Board and the new CEO through this transition.

I want to thank you again for giving me the chance to support cycling and I hope to do so for many years to come even though I will change roles.

Lorraine Lafrenière

Chief Executive Officer/Secretary General

Chef de la direction/Secrétaire générale
 
Can you guys see the Canadian Cyclist site?

I can’t get it anymore.

Did something happen?

Even Google doesn’t have it.
 
Here we go again. The Canadian Cycling Association just doesn’t get it. Instead of hiring somebody with a cycling background to run the sport they make the same mistake as they have done for the past two Executive Directors and hire somebody WITH ZERO CYCLING EXPERIENCE to run the sport for the entire country.

Once again this will be a disaster. I give him two years or less, the same amount of time his two predecessors lasted (Steve Lacelle and Lorraine Lafrenière). None of them had any cycling experience either. Get ready for another year or so of on-the-job training and then the realization they can’t get the job done and another resignation.

Rather than get somebody who understands and is passionate about the complex sport of cycling they hire some guy from wrestling…Wonder how Jacques Landry will feel taking order from a guy who knows nothing about cycling?

They never learn.

Cycling is doomed in Canada as long as these jokers are in charge.

04.08.09 - Greg Mathieu named Canadian Cycling Association’s CEO and Secretary General

OTTAWA – The Canadian Cycling Association announced Wednesday that veteran sport administrator Greg Mathieu of Ottawa has been named the organization’s new Chief Executive Officer and Secretary General.

Mathieu brings 28 years experience in sport administration to the CCA. Since 1993 he was Executive Director for the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association. Under his leadership, CAWA earned unprecedented success hosting several key international events while its athletes stepped on the podium at every Olympics between 1996 and 2008.

This opportunity to be part of the CCA as it embarks on its strategic directions for the next four years and beyond is very exciting,” said Mathieu. “In every sport and association there are unique cultures and challenges that need to be understood and appreciated in addition to learning about the passionate personalities that drive the sport. I look forward to becoming familiar with all of these in the near future in order that I may contribute to the association meeting its vision and mandate over the long term."[/font]

From 1980 to 1992, Mathieu worked for the Canadian Olympic Association (now the Canadian Olympic Committee). He was the Director of Operations from 1982 to 1992 and Manager, Games Missions from 1980-82.

"Greg's experience and expertise will allow the CCA to progress in developing and strengthening relationships with our key partners, the provincial cycling organizations, Sport Canada and Podium Canada,” said John Tolkamp, the CCA’s President. “Greg will also be instrumental in providing leadership in the CCA's restructuring of the high performance program so we can reach our high performance objectives.”

Mathieu replaces Lorraine Lafrenière who leaves after two years with the CCA and oversaw the return to financial viability and the administrative restructuring of the Association.

"Under Lorraine's leadership* the key components of our organization thrived," said Tolkamp. "This includes benefiting from the Podium Canada program to reach our performance targets, implementing the National Team Ethics and Code of Conduct, and building support for our stakeholders."

*"Lorraine's leadership" - That's funny! What leadership?
 

Sent: Friday, June 26, 2009 10:39 AM

Subject: Wrestling hires a wrestler. AMAZING!

Here is some astonishing news, the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association has hired someone with wrestling experience to run their sport. (*see below)

Amazing!

You would think this would be common sense, but not for the idiots running the Canadian Cycling Association (CCA) who, for a third time in about five years, have hired someone to run cycling for the entire country WITH NO CYCLING EXPERIENCE.

In all the world of cycling, in every cycling association or federation in the industrialized world except Canada, someone with cycling experience is running the sport of cycling. But not in Canada.

Instead, they hire a guy with only wrestling experience to run cycling.

Absolutely ridiculous.

It is an insult to riders, coaches, team and club managers, sponsors and everybody else that has put in the time and effort to gain experience in the sport and improve it.

Who did the CCA hire? Greg Mathieu, formerly of the Canadian Wrestling Federation for 16 years.What did Mr. Mathieu accomplish at the Wrestling Federation in 16 years? Not much in terms of marketing, their sponsorship record is even more dismal than that of the CCA. Wrestling Canada has four small sponsors: Asics (shoes), Matman (floor mats) MKI (travel agency) and Sport Olympia (wrestling equipment), except for the shoes, hardly households names, huh? So it looks like with this latest decision the CCA has given up on marketing the sport of cycling. If after 16 years at the helm of wrestling that is all Mathieu could shake out of the trees what do you expect him to do in cycling, a sport he knows nothing about. Wrestling gets even less money from Sport Canada than cycling ($1,110,000 to about $1,600,000, according the latest numbers I could find). Wrestling Canada like the CCA will not release their other revenues no doubt embarrassed by the pittance in sponsorship they receive. So much for transparency. Those are your tax dollars at work.

It is sad to see the sport of cycling destroyed in Canada in this fashion by people like Bill Kinash of Saskatchewan (the worst cycling province in Canada), who basically paralyzed the sport there for 20 years and a board of directors who seem completely clueless.

You have to wonder at what point people in the sport, athletes and somebody in the sport media will wake up and say enough is enough? How do people like Jacques Landry who have spent most of their life in the sport of cycling work for a guy who knows nothing about the sport and have to take orders from him? Do they have to hold his hand through every decision? What does the rest of the cycling world think when they engage in a discussion with this guy Mathieu and realize he knows almost nothing about the sport of cycling? Don’t potential sponsors balk at dealing with a guy who doesn’t even know what he is selling?

What an embarrassment to the sport and the country.

How does a guy like Mathieu even think he is up to the job? Mathieu did a mediocre job in wrestling and that is a rather simple sport to administer. How will he ever handle the complexities of a sport like cycling with its numerous disciplines (not different events or classes but totally different disciplines) pro status, and complex governmental issues arising from competing not in a gym but out on roads and in public parks and complex but numerous sponsorship opportunities? It looks like this guy has never negotiate a deal before. Sixteen years and he got some floor mats! He must walk out of every meeting with a list of things he has to look up because he doesn’t have a clue what they are.

No doubt Mr. Mathieu will fail and toss in the towel in about 18 months as have done his two predecessors Lorraine Lafreniere and Steve Lacelle, two other Executive Directors for the cycling who knew nothing about the sport and had no experience in it or even in organizing competitions.

The provincial federations should toss out the current board of directors of the Canadian Cycling Association at their first opportunity. How do you allow them to repeat the same mistake three times in a row over five years. The sport has been set back a decade.

Three strikes you’re out.

Greg, you will be down for the count in less than two years. See ya.

*2009-06-03

WRESTLING CANADA LUTTE ANNOUNCES HIRING OF NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association is pleased to announce that Tamara Medwidsky will continue her work with the Association under a new role as Executive Director at the National Office in Ottawa.

Most recently Tamara has been working at Wrestling Canada Lutte as High Performance Manager, successfully overseeing the High Performance Program. Her tireless efforts, energy and dedication will continue to serve her well in the new position.

During her active career with the Montreal Wrestling Club, Tamara was a six-time Senior National Championship medallist including National Champion in 1998. In that year she represented Canada at the World Championships and finished 7th at 75kg. She was also a two-time Canada Cup medallist and a two-time CIS National Champion and All Canadian.



 
Interesting, with more than 100 views of the last post nobody has any argument with it.

At this point it sesm alost everybody except the Canadian Cycling Association itself realizes how poor their selection was and how they are continuing to ruin the sport of cycling in Canada.

Too bad guys like Rob Jones and Benjamin Sadavoy don't have any balls to speak up in their magazines, Canadian Cyclist & Pedal. I guess Rob doesn't want to bite a hand that feeds him even if it means watching the sport sink to new lows. Sadavoy is clueless so it doesn't matter and isn't a surprise he can't see or figure out what's going on..