Top Speed Skaters Compete at ISU World All-Round Speed Skating Championships 2015

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - March 7, 2015) - Department of Canadian Heritage

Joan Crockatt, Member of Parliament (Calgary Centre), on behalf of the Honourable Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport), today announced $170,000 in funding for Speed Skating Canada, through Sport Canada's Hosting Program, to host the International Skating Union (ISU) World All-Round Speed Skating Championships 2015.

The event is taking place on March 7 and 8 at the Olympic Oval in Calgary, a legacy facility from the 1988 Olympic Winter Games.

Quick Facts

• Hosting these Championships will provide Canadians Denny Morrison, Ted-Jan Bloemen, Ivanie Blondin and Kali Christ with an opportunity to compete at home in Canada against the highest level of competition.
• Speed Skating Canada is also able to enhance the development of Canadian high-performance athletes, coaches and officials by hosting this event.
• In the 2014-15 fiscal year, Sport Canada is contributing up to $2,865,536 to Speed Skating Canada through the Sport Support Program for the delivery and development of speed skating in Canada.
• From June 2014 to May 2015, Sport Canada will provide over $1 million through the Athlete Assistance Program to support 60 members of the Canadian speed skating team with living, education and training expenses to help them focus on their pursuit of excellence.
• Speed Skating Canada is the national governing body for the sport of speed skating in this country.

Quotes

"Athletes love the opportunity to compete in front of a home crowd, and we are thrilled that some of our top Canadian speed skaters will have the chance to shine in Calgary at the ISU World All-Round Speed Skating Championships 2015. This is a significant international event during the Year of Sport in Canada, and we hope it will excite and inspire Canadians."

-The Honourable Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport)

"I am thrilled to welcome everyone to the Olympic Oval, this world-class, high-performance facility created for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. We are very excited to have the athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers and spectators here for this great event, and we hope that you will all enjoy your time here in Calgary. I invite everyone to come cheer on the athletes and watch some of the world's best speed skaters in action."

-Joan Crockatt, Member of Parliament (Calgary Centre)

"The 2015 ISU World All-Round Championships will present the best 24 male and female skaters around the world in Calgary aiming for the world titles. This event is a great opportunity to promote sport and speed skating in this national Year of Sport. Speed Skating Canada would like to thank the Government of Canada and its financial support allowing us to host another major international speed-skating competition in Canada. We hope that the performances of Denny Morrison, Ivanie Blondin, Kali Christ and Ted-Jan Bloemen this weekend will inspire kids and citizens in Calgary and across Canada to be active through speed skating!"

-Ian Moss, Chief Executive Officer of Speed Skating Canada

Associated Links

Sport Canada

ISU World Allround Speed Skating Championships 2015

Speed Skating Canada

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