University of Toronto

The University of Toronto took another step toward becoming a state-of-the-art centre for high performance sport thanks to a significant grant from the Recreational Infrastructure Canada program. The Faculty of Physical Education and Health’s application was approved July 8th. The grant will fund essential upgrades to the historical Varsity arena. The Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario and the University of Toronto each equally invested in the $1,145,698 project.

The renovations will include adding a dehumidification system and upgrades that will improve safety, accessibility and energy efficiency at the over eighty-year old facility. Improvements include: upgrading the sound system; creating an accessible washroom; replacing doors and windows, fixing roof leaks and installing a new ice compressor.

“We commend both levels of government for recognizing the contribution that sport and recreation facilities make to the health and well-being of communities, including universities and colleges, and making them eligible for infrastructure renewal.” says Bruce Kidd, dean of the Faculty of Physical Education and Health.

The investment better equips Varsity Centre to align with the University’s playground to podium philosophy for sport development. Varsity Arena is home to the Varsity Blues men’s and women’s hockey team and a vital resource to the broader community open for public skates and various Junior Blues programs throughout the winter months.  The rink also converts to a volleyball court each summer to serve as the training ground for the Ontario men’s under 20 volleyball team.

Upgrades will be completed by January 2011.

Jason Wurster of the University of Toronto Varsity Blues earned a sixth-place finish in the men’s pole vault competition on Saturday, July 11 at the 25th Summer Universiade in Belgrade, Serbia.

Wurster (Stevensville, Ont.), along with Oleksandr Korchmid of Ukraine and Andrej Poljanec of Slovakia, vaulted a height of 5.40m. Due to the number of attempts, Wurster finished his third Summer Universiade appearance in sixth-place.

Alexander Gripich of Russia won the gold medal with a height of 5.60m, while Giorgio Piantella of Italy (5.55m) and Hendrik Gruber of Germany (5.45m) earned the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
 

University of Toronto Varsity Blues swimmers posted some impressive results, including two podium finishes, on the last two days of the Canadian senior national swimming championships in Montreal, Que.

Sasha Theron (Mississauga, Ont.) and Andrea Jurenovskis (Timmins, Ont.) teamed up with Toronto Swim Club (TSC) members Hilary Bell and Paige Schultz to earn a silver medal in the women’s 4×100m freestyle relay in a time of 3:50.41.

Similarly, first-year Blues swimmers Nick Karpov (Toronto) and Andy Townsend (Toronto) boasted silver in the men’s 4×100m freestyle relay with Blues alumni Terrence Haynes and TSC swimmer Jeffrey Sudbury in a time of 3:25.42.

Other top results from Friday include sixth-place finishes from Karpov in the men’s 50m backstroke and Zsofi Balazs (Toronto) in the women’s 400m freestyle. Poppy Ruksys (Kingston, Ont.) also placed fifth in the women’s 400m freestyle B final.

Saturday also saw some great results from Blues swimmers. Balazs finished fifth in the women’s 800m freestyle with a time of 8:56.95, while Ruksys and veteran Melanie Davis (Brantford, Ont.) placed 10th and 15th, respectively.

Karpov garnered another top-eight finish, this time in the men’s 200m backstroke. The rookie placed seventh in a time of 2:05.72, while Oakville, Ont. native Cam Cummings finished first in the B final.

Karpov, Townsend, Sudbury and Stevan Kalaba (Toronto) picked up a fourth-place finish in the men’s 4×100m medley relay in a time of 3:53.83, while Theron, Jurenvoskis, Bell and Schultz were sixth in the women’s 4×100m medley relay with a time of 4:21.55.
 
 
 
 

On the heels of hosting the OFSAA championships, the Festival of Excellence and the Canadian track and field championships, the University of Toronto is further asserting its commitment to high performance sport, announcing today the creation of a High Performance Swimming Centre and a National Development Centre for track and field. Two world-class coaches will head up these centres.

The track and field development centre is a joint initiative between Athletics Canada, Canadian Sport Centre Ontario, the University of Toronto and Athletics Ontario and will specialize in sprints and other speed-related events. Together with a second centre in Montreal, the program will work to produce podium and top eight results at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The centre will be led by head coach and Olympian Molly Killingbeck.

U of T is also raising the bar for its swimming program. In partnership with Swimming Canada, Swim Ontario and the Canadian Sport Centre Ontario the High Performance Centre will create a resident training program for the province’s athletes. Australia’s John Rodgers, a world renowned coach, will lead the program. He has produced eight Olympic medals, 17 Commonwealth Games medals and one World Championships medal and was part of the coaching staff at the Australian Institute of Sports from 1982 to 1986.

“By establishing these centres here at U of T, we are able to reinforce our commitment to sport development from playground to podium,” says Liz Hoffman, U of T’s director of athletics.  “We are so excited to welcome all of this incredible talent as we continue to assert ourselves as a major player in the field of high performance sport.”