Written by Jennifer Boyer, Ottawa, Canada
The 2nd Master International Short Track Games (MIST) took place in Ottawa, Canada, on the weekend of April 5th& 6th, 2014. A total of 79 skaters from Canada, United States, Australia, Great Britain and Serbia raced. It was good timing for a meet, as winter finally decided to end in Ottawa and spring weather started to melt the snow! The skaters enjoyed good ice conditions and racing on an international-sized indoor ice rink in the east end of Ottawa. Typical of many sport facilities in Ottawa, the recreational complex houses two ice rinks, aquatic/swimming centre, fitness centre, racket sports gyms, meeting rooms, snack bar and educational facilities, all under one roof.
All skaters competed in 500m, 777m, 1000m and 1500m distances. There was also an opt-in relay. New MIST short trackrecords were set over the weekend, indicating excellent racing, with solid strategy. Congratulations to Gail Bouchette (F35), CAN, for beating her previous MIST and Canadian Master records; Martin Beaudry (M40), CAN, for winning a very tough, very fast category with skaters from CAN, USA and AUS and; and to Mike Murray (M50), CAN, for once again winning a fast age category. Eva Black (F45), AUS, won her category with beautiful skating and smooth sailing. The Mens 45 category saw Herbie Labiche, AUS, and Paul Pickard, CAN in a tie for Gold! Special recognition to the oldest competitors, Graham Lodge, M75, CAN, and Mary Lou DiNicola, F70, USA, who beat their personal best times and MIST records.
The format of racing was different than the first MIST Games in Cicero, New York. Some age groups were combined to ensure each skater would race heats and finals. For participants and spectators, this made the races more competitive and exciting. All points were fairly added for age groups, which kept the officials busy determining the placements in combined groups. The organizers also decided to open up an “Under 30” Senior demonstration category to allow this age group to compete, as they skate and train with the Masters in Canada and have few opportunities to race. The organizers were happy to include this group and hope this will encourage these skaters to continue racing.
Some skaters were able to take part in a pre-race practice on the Wednesday prior to the competition, with a top level Canadian coach leading the practice. Friday included a two hour training ice session, registration and an evening reception with beverages from a local Ottawa micro-brewery and hors d’oeuvres.
Racing took place on Saturday and Sunday.The relay on the Sunday afternoon was comprised of teams grouped by age and time, to create fair, balanced teams and competitive relays. This was exciting to watch! Two teams in the men’s fastest division included former national team members who put on a spectacular show of skill and speed! The elite men’s group was a sprint to the line between Canadians Mike Murray (M50) and Daryl Rasmussen (M30).
The Games concluded on Sunday afternoon with a lovely dinner banquet. Many participants received door prizes, donated by Speed Skating Canada, the Ontario Speed Skating Association, ZT Sports, Sandra Chenard and other private donors. The MIST age-class medals were given out by Laurel Rockwell, President of the Gloucester Concordes Speed Skating Club, with bilingual announcing by Marc Hinton from the Ottawa Pacers. Everyone had fun socializing and watching the slide show of the pictures taken during the weekend.
MIST organizers from the participating countries are currently working on a Race Protocol with Regulations that will be acceptable to the participants. It was determined that the skaters enjoyed racing with combined age classes, which gave everyone the chance to race heats and finals. However, some changes will be necessary to ensure fairness in all categories.
Special thanks to Sandra Chenard of both the Gloucester Concordes and Speed Skating Canada, organizer Alicia Weiss, all the many local volunteers and officials, and the host club - the Gloucester Concordes Speed Skating Club, for their hard work and dedication to put on an incredible event. Also great thanks to our skaters from Australia (Frank Anderson, Herbie Labiche, Eva Black, Robert Black); and Great Britain (Mick 0’Dea, Steve Humber) who travelled far to attend the competition.
The 3rd MIST Games are now in the pre-planning stage, with the selection of location as the first step. Currently Canadian and US location are being investigated. We hope to see you in 2015!
The results of the weekend can be found at this weblink:http://gloucesterconcordes.ca/
http://gloucesterconcordes.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Protocol-MIST-2014-Ottawa-MonApril7.pdf
Pictures of the event: www.flikr.com/photos/mastersspeedskating
Please also check out the MIST Facebook page for photos and discussion:www.facebook.com/MISTGames