Royals Race With Heart at Provincials

JOur Royals athletes had a great showing at the BC Athletics Provincial Cross Country Championships this past weekend in Victoria. Proving themselves resourceful, almost all the families and athletes involved managed to overcome severely disrupted ferry service to get to the meet. Once there, our athletes represented the Valley Royals proudly. Each age group raced with boys and girls running together and were separated statistically in the results.  

Riley Simmonds, ran an outstanding race in the 11 year old division to finish 4th, Mark Molina had some cramping problems and still managed an outstanding 5th place finish in the 13 year old division. Aryka Bennet managed a seventh place finish also in the 13 year old division. William Steiger 10th, Tristian Steiger 24th, Hanna Booth 23, Jessie Booth 25th, Noah Molina 26th, Arie Wassenaar 27th, Andrena Johnson 22nd, Andrew Thompson 37th, Teigen Scholander 52nd Sarah Theil 57th.  

All ran with heart and determination against the best runners in the province and should be very proud of their efforts. – Well done Royals and Congratulations to all our families who participated. 

~ Coach Scott Svelander 

Register Now for the BC Athletics Provincial Cross Country Championships

The BC Cross Country Championships are fast approaching. For more information please visit https://www.bcathletics.org/Content/bc-x-country-champs/42/

This will be the last meet for the cross country season and it would be great for the club have a big showing in Saanich on Vancouver Island.  To encourage participation, the club will pay the race entry fee for each Royals athlete that registers via Christa by 10:00 PM on Monday, October 21. If you have any questions, email Christa at [email protected] or chat with your child’s coach. 

Valley Royals Grand Prix Week #4 Results Available

Results for Week #4 of the Valley Royals Grand Prix are posted on the Grand Prix Page at:  https://valleyroyals.ca/valley-royals-grand-prix-cross-country-series/

The Valley Royals Congratulate the Award Winners!

See the GRAND PRIX page (at link above) for RACE RESULTS FOR WEEKS 1, 2 ,3 & 4 and INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS based on points.

School/Team points have been calculated and Abbotsford Christian Elementary School is the recipient of the Jane Swan Fitness Award!

Congratulations to our new ALL TIME TOP TEN RECORD HOLDERS from the 2019 Grand Prix Racing Series:

Grade 4 Girls – #8 Shyla Maiden (Auguston Traditional)  7:06.58, #9 Zoe Hartman (McMillan Elementary) 7:07.89 

Grade 5 Girls – #5 Alexia Smith (Unattached) 6:48.13

Grade 6 Girls – NEW ALL TIME TOP 10 CHAMPION #1 Sorell Lenz (Abbotsford Virtual School) 6:22.12

Grade 7 Girls – #2 Chanine Klaus (Abbotsford Christian Middle) 6:14.93

Grade 5 boys – #10 Kaiden Gleeson (Auguston Tradional) 6:27.61

Grade 6 Boys – #7 Riley Simmonds (Vedder Middle) 6:06.29

Grade 7 Boys -#5 Sam May (Chief Dan George) 5:47.02, #10 Arata Nakanishi (Clayburn Middle) 5:54.33 16

Grade 8 Boys –NEW ALL TIME TOP 10 CHAMPION #1 Brendan O’Brien (Unattached) 5:15.28, #5 Mark Molina (Clayburn Middle) 5:34.39, #10 Saihajpal Takhar (Eugene Reimer) 5:44.55

See the All Time Top 10 Record Holders for the Grand Prix Racing Series here: https://valleyroyals.ca/grand-prix-top-10-of-all-time-updated-with-results-from-2019-season/

Frank Reynolds Memorial Meet Saturday Oct 19th

Dear Parents/Athletes;
The next cross country meet will be the Frank Reynolds. Below is an image file of the schedule. If you would like Christa to register your child, please email her at    [email protected] no later than October 16th, 10pm
 
Athletes in Coach Scott’s group should chat with him first to see if he wants you running at this meet.
 
Any questions, let Christa McAuley know (email link above)
 

Lifetime Achievement Award Presented to Gerry Swan

Copyright @ThePaulFunk Photography

The final Grand Prix Race of 2019 shone brightly with a beautiful sunny day and a special occasion. October 9th, 2019 marked more than the completion of the Grand Prix Season. It was an occasion to celebrate the contributions and volunteer efforts of  Mr. Gerry Swan.

At the final Grand Prix Race day for 2019, just before the start of the first race, Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun presented Mr. Swan with “The Valley Royals Lifetime Achievement Award” as hundreds of students, teachers and parents cheered and applauded.

Mayor Braun, himself a former President of the Valley Royals Track & Field Club, spoke about Mr. Swan’s long history of coaching and teaching. The Mayor was coached as an athlete by Mr. Swan as was his son and his grandson too. Mayor Braun spoke to recognize, honour and thank Mr. Swan for creating the Grand Prix Racing Series and for his 35 years of service starting the races. 

In addition to founding the Valley Royals Track & Field club and coaching hundreds of athletes over the years, Mr. Swan has made a great investment in the development and health of children in the community. He and his wife Jane established the Grand Prix Racing Series in 1983 with the first races happening in 1984 at Centennial Park.

A 12-page thank you card for Mr. Swan was signed by athletes, their families and teachers at the finish line. The pages are filled with expressions of gratitude and appreciation. The Valley Royals express deepest thanks to Mr. Gerry Swan for all that he has done for the club and for the community as a whole.  

On Wednesday October 16th, the Abbotsford News published an article about Gerry Swan and this special occasion: https://www.abbynews.com/sports/abbotsford-sports-legend-gerry-swan-earns-royals-lifetime-achievement-award/