Porpaczy Set to Shine at BC High School Championships

Valley Royals high jumper, Alexa Porpaczy, is set to shine at the BC High School Championships this week. In addition to getting a scholarship signing with the University of Arizona, she hopes to achieve the BC record in Sr. Girls High Jump tomorrow and achieve the standard to compete for Canada internationally again this year. Read the full article about Porpaczy featured this week in “The Province”: 

High jumper Alexa Porpaczy gets scholarship, next up is world standard

Scott Svelander Joins Royals Coaching Team

The Valley Royals Track & Field Club welcomes Scott Svelander as Coach of Endurance Running: Middle Distance & Cross Country

Scott Svelander is a level 3 NCCP certified coach in distance running. He has completed a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Simon Fraser University and completed the course requirements for a master’s degree in coaching studies from the University of Victoria. Scott was a long time men’s distance coach for Simon Fraser University where he was fortunate to work with and learn from Canadian Master Coach Gerry Swan and SFU head coach Brit Townsend. Scott has also coached developing athletes at North Surrey Secondary School and Valley Royals. Athletes that Scott has worked with have represented British Columbia and Canada up to and including World Championships and Olympic Games. Scott has coached many Provincial teams at Canadian Championships, Western Canada Games, and Canada Games. He has also coached for Canada internationally.

Practice times for the remainder of Track season will be Mondays at 5:15, Wednesdays at 5:45 and Thursdays at 5:15 at Rotary

Monday May 28th: Annual General Meeting & Pizza Party

Many thanks to everyone who attended the Valley Royals Annual General Meeting & Pizza Party. Lots of people signed the attendance pages at the AGM which were submitted with our Funding Grant application for 2018. Ivon Gill said his farewell as President and a new Board was elected: President: Monica Carsience, Vice President: James Porpaczy, Secretary: Dawn Driver, Treasurer: Debbie Foote, Director: Anna Maria Molina, Director: Nicki Pankiw. Club Jacket & Singlet orders were taken and six displays were featured showing info & photos about: Practice Groups, The Board of Directors, Valley Royals in the News, Club-Hosted Meets, Volunteer Opportunities and Fundraising & Sponsorship. (All of these displays featured info that can be found on the Valley Royals Website)

Throws Coach Harold Willers Wins National Coaching Award

Congratulations to Coach Harold! He is the recipient of the Jane & Gerry Swan Award for being Canadian Development Coach of the Year for the 2017 Season!

See Harold’s thank you video posted by Athletics Canada…

The Abbotsford News published an article on Friday May 18th about Coach Harold’s win…

For the online version of this article see:  https://www.abbynews.com/sports/valley-royals-willers-wins-national-coaching-award/

Take the Survey: Voice Your Opinion About the need for an Indoor Training Facility in THIS GENERATION

Coach Trevor Wight serves as the Chair of Sport Abbotsford and he has an urgent message for all of us (see his letter below for details). We need everyone to give feedback on a Parks Recreation and Culture Survey before it closes on May 18th. There is a great need for an indoor training facility to allow our athletes to train in a safe, warm, dry place during the cold and rainy winter months. Sport Abbotsford is working on a proposal for such a facility, which would serve several sporting groups in the area, but the City’s plan intends to wait more than two decades to build this facility (estimated to be built in the 2040’s). If this seems to you like too long to wait, please express your concern and urge the City to plan to take action sooner. The PRC Survey can be found at this link:  https://www.abbotsford.ca/city_hall/plan_for_200K/plan_for_200K_-_parks_recreation_and_culture.htm   

Click on “Take the Survey” (takes about 5 minutes)  For more information, please read this letter from Sport Abbotsford…

From now until May 18th is your final opportunity to have your say regarding the future of our city’s parks, recreation and culture.   Even if you have already participated Abbotsford’s “Plan for 200k” at some point over the past 18 months, I would encourage you to voice your opinions one last time before this final round of public consultation concludes.

 

I would encourage you to have a look at this presentation that was given to city council on April 23rd (please see the link below), paying special attention to page 24 which summarizes the tentative time-frame as to when various projects will be completed.  

 

 

-a tournament complex for baseball

-a modern aquatic centre (for both competition and recreation) to replace the aging pool at A.R.C.

-an indoor training facility to accommodate track and field, soccer, rugby, football, baseball etc.

-more sheets of ice

 

Although we’re extremely pleased that all of these items are identified in the plan, we are gravely concerned as to the projected time frame as to when these projected are slated for completion.   The plan projects the baseball complex in 6-10 years.   The aquatic centre, indoor training facility and ice aren’t slated for completion until the early 2040s.   From our perspective, waiting for another generation for projects that our sporting community has already been pursuing for several decades is not acceptable.   

 

Please complete the online survey and have your say.   You can take it by going to the following link and click on “take the survey”.     Again, the survey closes on May 18th.  

 

Thank you for your time. 

 

Yours in Sport,

Trevor Wight,

Chair, Sport Abbotsford

Monday May 28th: All Club Members Encouraged to Attend the Valley Royals AGM

All Club Members & their families are encouraged to attend the Valley Royals Annual General Meeting Monday, May 28th, 2018 in the Legacy Building Banquet Hall (upstairs in the building on the East side of the Track at Rotary Stadium) 6:45 PM – Pizza Supper Served & Displays Available for Viewing,  7:00 – 8:15 PM – Annual General Meeting

  • Attendance will be taken…these numbers have an important impact on on the funding grants we can apply for so please make every effort to attend
  • Check out visual displays about the club’s growth and achievements in 2017 and hear reports from the President and Treasurer
  • Each family will receive a ballot to vote for candidates for the Board of Directors One vote per family. Athletes are allowed to represent their family in the voting if their parents are unable to attend the meeting. Parent involvement in each family’s vote is encouraged but not mandatory. (Voting by Proxy is not permitted.)

Parent Volunteers or Club Members who are interested in running to serve on the Board of Directors should state this in writing via an email to club administrator Christa McAuley by email at: [email protected] 

There is a particular need for Directors who have skills in finance/budgeting/planning/business and communications/social media but all interested candidates are welcome to apply.

Candidates should write a brief bio (less than 100 words) and submit a photo of themselves wearing their Valley Royals singlet or clothing or, if a parent of an athlete, submit a photo of themselves with their club athlete(s).

Please be advised that all candidates are required to complete a criminal record check to ensure that they do not have a record for fraud, and a bankruptcy search to ensure that they do not have an undischarged bankruptcy.