WinSport Canada president and CEO Dan O’Neill celebrates with Grade 4 students from Our Lady of the Assumption School.

Calgary – WinSport Canada is proud to announce today that it is taking a lead role in bucking the bleak trend of inactivity among Canadian kids, by helping thousands of Calgary area students get their weekly recommended physical activity in just one day – and at WinSport’s expense.The day after Active Healthy Kids gave Canadian kids a failing grade in its annual Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, WinSport Canada is offering Grade 1 through Grade 6 classes free participation in WinSport’s winter schools program for a full-day visit during the 2012-13 season. The day includes free lift tickets, free rentals and a free lesson for all skiers and snowboarders, removing the financial barrier for many local families.According to the annual report, only seven per cent of Canadian kids are meeting Canadian guidelines of 60 minutes of physical activity each day, while 46% of Canadian kids aged 6-11 get three hours or less of active play each week (unstructured physical activity). WinSport Canada already introduces more than 25,000 people to winter sport each year, and continues to be at the forefront of encouraging kids to become physically active and to build the foundation for a healthy lifestyle.

“WinSport Canada recognizes its responsibility to directly assist children to become and remain physically active,” said WinSport’s vice-president for sport, Dr. Stephen Norris. “The Grade 1 to 6 winter schools initiative is an important step in WinSport’s commitment to ensuring that actions speak louder than words.”

The program, which coincides with the 25^th anniversary of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, helps solidify the Canadian Winter Sport Institute as Canada’s centre of excellence to discover, develop and excel in winter sport.

Although Calgary area teachers recognized the benefits of physical activity in a recent survey conducted by WinSport, cost was considered a major barrier to bringing their respective classes to the park. Combined with improved on-hill programming and safety with a stronger instructor to student ratio, the new program is being welcomed by Calgary area educators.

“The Calgary Board of Education truly appreciates the opportunity for all students to participate in an activity that is a part of life in Calgary,” said Marsha Levy, system principal for the Calgary Board of Education. “We are pleased that this opportunity supports active living through a fun sport and has eliminated financial barriers.”

The Calgary Catholic School District also lauds the new program, which builds on the existing school program that sees more than 15,000 student visits to Canada Olympic Park each winter to ski or snowboard.

“With this initiative, WinSport Canada is offering students the chance to experience winter sport by removing some of the barriers that might otherwise prevent them from doing so,” said Steve Laberge, vice-principal of Our Lady of the Assumption School. “What a wonderful way of getting kids out in the fresh air while allowing them the chance to participate in activities they may well enjoy the rest of their lives.”

School bookings can be made online at winsportcanada.ca/schools or by phone at 403-247-5452 beginning June 4.

Canadian bobsleigh legend Pierre Lueders announced Wednesday that he is resigning as coach with Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton.

Lueders, a familiar face around WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park in Calgary for more than 20 years, won more than 100 international medals during his career, including Olympic gold in 1998 (in Nagano, Japan) and silver in 2006 (Turin, Italy). He is a five-time Olympian.

“I have dedicated 22 years of my life almost exclusively to the sport of bobsleigh in Canada – both as an athlete and a coach – but I feel now it is time to take a break, look at other career options, and most importantly spend some much-needed time with my family,” said Lueders.

“My goal when I joined the sport in 1989 was to leave the Canadian Bobsleigh Team in a better place than when I started. Working with world-leading coaches, countless talented teammates and mentoring aspiring Olympians, I believe I have accomplished that.”

Lueders helped in the development of Justin Kripps and Jenny Ciochetti, who are becoming two of the world’s top bobsleigh pilots.

WinSport Canada is proud once again to be a facility partner with Sport Calgary for the 2012 All Sport One Day event.

The free day of sport discovery for kids aged 6-12 in Calgary will take place on June 16 at eight facilities throughout the city. More than 2,000 kids are expected to take part in the day, which is a huge jump from the 400 who took part in the inaugural event in 2009.

Registration, which opened on Wednesday, is only available through allsportoneday.ca.

The purpose of All Sport One Day is to expose kids to new sports and help them develop a lifelong passion for physical activity.

Wednesday’s official launch took place at Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, which is located at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park.

“It isn’t about the Olympics, in fact it doesn’t have to be competitive at all,” said Olympic gold medallist Duff Gibson, who is Sport Canada’s ambassador, and spent more than his share of time at Canada Olympic Park during his skeleton racing career.

“Probably the single most significant factor as to why I continue to dedicate such a big part of my life to sport is for no reason other than, it’s fun. As a father, I know one of the most important gifts we can give our children is a love for physical activity and sport.”

For the June 16^th event, WinSport will help expose kids to biathlon, luge, ski jumping, mountain biking, climbing, balance challenge and vertical challenge.

For more on WinSport, go to winsportcanada.ca

The spring and summer season at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park is officially underway, with the opening of its zipline, summer bobsleigh and mini-golf attractions this past weekend. Public tours of the ski jump tower are also returning.

 The following hours are for May and June:

• Summer bobsleigh: Open noon to 4 p.m. (weekends) and 4-7 p.m. (weekdays)
• Zipline:  Open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (weekends) and 3-7 p.m. (weekdays)
• Mini-golf: Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (weekends); weekday hours added in July and August
• Tower tours: Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 Advanced booking is recommended by calling guest services at 403-247-5452.

 WinSport is home to North America’s fastest zipline, with riders soaring through the air between 120 km/h and 140 km/h. The 500-metre long ride begins on the third floor of the iconic ski jump tower has a vertical drop of more than 100 metres. The summer bobsleigh ride allows thrill seekers to rumble through 14 turns, accelerating to speeds of up to 100 km/h while reaching up to 4Gs. Both rides are available separately, but have been packaged together for special pricing of $99 (plus GST) in our adrenaline package.

For a slower pace, WinSport’s professionally designed 18-hole mini-golf course is perfect for the entire family, while tours of the ski jump tower offer a glimpse into the 1988 Winter Olympics and provide a perfect aerial view of the city and Canada Olympic Park.

More information is available at winsportcanada.ca.

The thoughts of the staff at WinSport Canada are with the Read family following the passing on Sunday of Andrew Read.

The 29-year-old chemical engineer from Calgary was diagnosed as an infant with Cystic Fibrosis and was diagnosed in 2010 with bladder cancer, which spread to his spine and lungs.

The Read family is synonymous with winter sport in Canada.

Andrew is the son of Ron Read, the former high-performance director for Ski Jumping Canada, and the nephew of Crazy Canuck Ken Read, the director of winter sport for Own the Podium and a member of the WinSport board.

Andrew’s brother, Stefan, is a former member of the national ski jumping team.

“He lived in a world surrounded by people who had accomplished so much,” his mom, Laura, told the Calgary Herald. “But his grandest accomplishment was he made us all feel we were important in this world.”

Click here to link to today’s Calgary Herald story.

Alpine Canada announced Monday that Paralympic and World Cup skier Karolina Wisniewska is retiring.

The 35-year-old Calgary native, who has won eight Paralympic medals during her career, sat out last season after suffering an injury in February 2011 during a downhill race.

She first started with the Canadian Disabled Alpine Ski Team in 1995. She retired in 2004 as a result of a concussion, but made a comeback in 2007 to gear up for the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics. She won two bronze medals in Whistler.

“I love ski racing and I always will, but I feel more ready to move on now than I did the first time,” said Wisniewska, who has cerebral palsy and competes in the standing category. “Obviously because I ended up coming back I wasn’t done with ski racing and I am so glad I came back. That was probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. This time, knowing all that and how hard it was to retire in the first place, I didn’t take the decision lightly.”

Louis-Pierre Hélie is switching from the Canadian speed team to the ski cross team. Photo by Malcolm Carmichael.

Canadian skier Louis-Pierre Hélie is changing disciplines.The 26-year-old native of Berthierville, Que., is switching to the Canadian ski cross team, after spending the past seven years with the national alpine team, specializing in super-G, downhill and super combined.“It’s a big change, but everyone is supporting me,” said Hélie, who competed at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Helie, who was 30^th in super combined at the 2010 Games, won the downhill crown in February at the U.S. national championships in Aspen, Colo.

“I did a few ski cross races when I was maybe 13 or 14 in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que., and I really loved it. I really like racing when guys are around you – it makes you push yourself to the max. Passing people and taking chances – ski cross is really exciting.”

Now that the skis can be put away until next winter, there’s still plenty of time to get the garage cleaned out and the mountain bike tuned up.

The 2012 mountain bike season at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park opens up on June 22, but if you purchase your 2012 Summer Super Pass or Heat Wave Pass now, you’ll be entered into a draw to win one of 10 amazing prizes — including a $1,000 gift card from Bow Cycle. Just buy your pass by June 22nd for your chance to win.

You can click here to purchase your pass, or head out to the park.

Early bird prizes will be drawn on May 30th, so don’t wait.

Here are the 10 prizes:

• GRAND PRIZE – $1,000 Gift Card to Bow Cycle

PLUS:

• Two tickets to this summer’s hottest music festival, X-Fest
• Zipline at the Park / Summer Bobsleigh Adrenaline Adventure for 2
• Smith Fuel Sweat X Moto Series bike goggles and bike tune-up
• $100 COP Retail Store gift certificate
• Hockey Canada jersey
• CamelBak Hydration System and bike tune-up
• Rock Star backpack and hoodie, plus hill tickets and bike rentals for 2
• Private lessons for you and a friend to improve your downhill riding skills
• Marley Jammin’ Collection noise-isolating headphones plus hill tickets and bike rentals for 2

Purchase your tickets now!

Congratulations to WinSport Canada staffer Benard Onsare, who finished second on Sunday at the Vancouver Marathon.

Onsare, who is a two-time winner of the Vancouver race, is a member of WinSport’s custodial team. The native of Kenya has lived in Calgary for the past five years and will bring his wife and daughter to the city when he gains his Canadian citizenship.

He clocked a time of two hours 22 minutes 16 seconds, just 35 seconds back of the winner, Gezahgn Esthetu of Ethiopia.

“My daughter, she is six, she is always like ‘My dad need to win, to win.’ But second position is really very nice,” Onsare told the Vancouver Sun. “I’m so happy. They’re going to be happy as well.”

Onsare, who has spent the past six weeks training in Mexico, told the Sun that WinSport is “very encouraging” and plays a big role in helping him train.

He was hoping to compete for Canada at the London Olympics, but he fell shy of the qualifying standard and still needs to gain his citizenship.

There were a couple of coaching additions in Canadian winter sports on Friday, with Chris Witwicki named the national slopestyle team coach by Canada Snowboard, while Sebastien Labrie was named head coach of the Canadian Para-Alpine team.

Witwicki, who has 17 years of high level competitive snowboarding and coaching experience, will coach the national A team and coordinate the national B team athletes. The Calgarian has coached for 10 years, sending athletes to World Cups, Dew Tour events, Burton Opens and junior world championships.

Labrie, meanwhile, is from Quebec City. He held previous coaching roles with the para-alpine team, including head coach of the program from 2007 to 2010. He moved on to Alpine Canada’s women’s alpine team as the prospect coach and will now rejoin the para-alpine program.