Valley Royals Track & Field Club

Valley Royal middle distance runner Alexandra Siemens was named as one of three  recipients of the Frank Reynolds Bursary.  The other two finalists were North Vancouver’s Jess Hooton and Kala Stone of Kamloops.   Following are the citations for each of the three winners.  Frank Reynolds in his youth was an outstanding middle distance runner and as an adult he coached and produced a series of outstanding runners for the NorWesters Club.  

Jesse Hooton – only began running just over a year ago and this past fall won the 2012  BC Junior Club Championships as well as  placing  4th at the 2012 BC High School Cross Country Championships. He is now training seriously with Hershey Harriers Athletics Club under the tutelage of Cindy O’Krane and Darcie Montgomery showing immense dedication, leadership and talent.  Jesse attends Handsworth Secondary School, with plans to attend either the University of Victoria or UBC to study Political Science or Business.

Alexandra Siemens – has been running virtually all her life and is an Honours student at WJ Mouat in Abbotsford.  Alex won the BC High School Cross Country Championships while only in Grade 9 and has represented BC Athletics on both Track and Cross country teams over the past 3 years. Alex is a keen coach of younger athletes and hopes to follow in her mother’s footsteps as a PE teacher. Coached by Sue Northey of the Valley Royals Track and Field Club, Alex plans to attend SFU or head south to the USA on scholarship to continue to improve her times and run XC for her school. 

Kala Stone – a South Kamloops Secondary School Honours student is a dedicated athlete, volunteer Track Rascals coach, and meet official with the Kamloops Track and Field Club. After winning the BC High School Championships 1500m in Grade 11, this fall Kala won the BC Junior Club Cross Country Championships and the following week placed 7th at the BC High Schools, and represented BC Athletics at the National XC Championships.  Kala hopes to attend an NCAA Division 1 school to compete and study Biology towards a future career in Physiotherapy.

The Whistler Spirit Run is the realization of the late coach Frank Reynolds’ vision to have a mass participation cross country event while encouraging and supporting British Columbia High School and University athletes through charitable donations and scholarship programs.

“I believe that sport teaches you what is really worthwhile in life and how much you can get out of hard work, sacrifice, and commitment”. – Frank Reynolds

On Wednesday evening, February 13 the gala Valley Royals Awards Banquet will be held at the Legacy Centre (adjacent the track at Rotary Stadium). Always an evening to be remembered, it begins with a scrumptious dinner and is followed by the ceremonies.

Every athlete that is a member of the Royals and attends the banquet will be honored and presented with an award for his/her accomplishments during 2012. All members of the Royals, their parents, brothers, sisters and friends are encouraged to mark February 13 on the calendar as a date set aside for this occasion.

Coaches will be taking the names of athletes and family members in their group that will be attending the banquet. More details will be forthcoming within the next two weeks.

Christmas and the New Year celebration for the year 2012 are now both part of history
but we trust that all Valley Royal members had a great holiday season. It’s now time to get back to basics and that includes gearing up for the coming track and field season.  Individual coaches have been in contact with present members of the club and you are undoubtedly aware of the time and place for winter practices.

We can report that Ziggy’s speed/power group is holding practices from Monday to Thursday at ARC and on Saturday’s at Rotary. Sue Northey’s middle distance group will meet @ ARC on Tuesday (Tuesday, January 8 will be the first practice) and Thursday’s (3:45 p.m.) and Saturday (10:a.m.) at Rotary Stadium. The mid week practices will consist of running outdoors for the first hour and conclude with weight training indoors. Members of Sue’s group are asked to bring a change of shoes for the weight lifting part of the workout.

James Meehan will hold workouts for JD athletes 12 years to 14 years of age at ARC. James has sent out notices to athletes in this age division but if in doubt, give him a phone call or email.

If there are newcomers interested in being a member of one of the above groups, please email head coach Gerry Swan ([email protected]) or contact the individual coaches—all email addresses can be found on the web page.

Heptathlon athlete, long jumper, sprinter, and wife will soon be able to add the title of mother to her many accomplishments. This coming spring Ruky will give birth to her first child and both mother and father are very excited about the prospect. Congratulations to the happy couple.

After incurring a serious leg injury that forced her to miss the 2012 track season, Helen Crofts is making progress towards recovery. In 2011 Crofts was ranked third in Canada over 800-meters with a best time of 2:02.12. A scholarship graduate of SFU, Crofts won numerous titles at national collegiate championships and together with teammate, Jessica Smith, she gave the Valley Royals Track Club solid depth in the two-lap event. Welcome back Helen: we definitely are looking forward to your return to competition.

Five Valley Royal athletes will brave what is expected to be wet and muddy conditions for this Saturday’s Canadian Cross Country Championships scheduled for Vancouver’s Jericho Beach Park.

Heading the club list of entrants are BC team members Jessica Smith and Alex Siemens. Smith has been named to the provincial team taking part in the 7-k senior women’s race while Siemens has been named to the BC junior women’s team competing over a 5-k course. Although Smith is much better known as an 800-meter runner (this past summer Jessica was a semi finalist in the 800m at the London Olympics) she enjoys the challenge of cross country running and feels that the rigors of the sport aids her endurance.

Callum Pilgrim, Jennifer Kell and Sarya Ross will join Siemens for the junior women’s competition with the four of them comprising a club team for scoring purposes. Four other Royals (Peter Mitchell, Oliver Jorgensen, Aiden Bingert and Erica Johnson) will take part in the community race that is being held in conjunction with the championships. This will be the first competition for Jorgensen since breaking his foot in late September, an injury he incurred by turning his ankle during a training run.

Valley Royal coach James Meehan has decided that he is ready for some competition and has entered the Master’s division of the championships. “I don’t expect to be leading the field by any mens but the race will certainly help me sympathize with the pain that my athletes endure when taking part in this sport,” stated Coach James.

After the heavy rain conditions that the lower mainland has been subject to for the past few weeks, it’s expected that the Jericho course will become progressively muddy as the day progresses. However, the present forecast suggests that Saturday may see only light rain showers and that could be a blessing.