Media releases

• Olympic talent wanted as Brock hosts RBC Training Ground

  Tuesday, March 05, 2019 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 5 March 2019 – R00036

  An event aimed at identifying future Olympic talent is coming back to Brock University this weekend.

  The first stop for RBC Training Ground in Ontario is Brock’s Sports Performance Centre on Saturday, March 9 at 9 a.m.

  Training Ground aims to provide up-and-coming athletes a chance to compete in Canada’s Olympic talent pool. It has been well attended by Brock University’s varsity athletes and those from across the Niagara region over the past two years.

  “That trend will continue at this combine,” said Steve Lidstone, Associate Director Performance for Brock Sports. “We have had athletes from our varsity rowing, wrestling, rugby, track and field and lacrosse teams as well as Niagara high school and club athletes, who train as part of Brock Sports Performance’s Community Program, perform well and receive an invite to the regional combines.”

  The event measures athletes for anthropometric suitability, and then they’re asked to perform speed, power, strength and endurance benchmark tests in front of officials from the Canadian Olympic Committee and 11 national sport organizations in hopes of being discovered and directed toward an Olympic sport.

  A total of 30 athletes identified in the Training Ground events across the country will be named RBC Future Olympians and receive funding to chase their dreams.

  Last year, several athletes from Niagara were discovered to have high performance potential including high school track and field athlete Trinity Tutti, of Welland, and women’s rugby player Kendra Cousineau, of Port Colborne.

  RBC Training Ground is free and open to all athletes wishing to test their might. To register, visit cbc.ca/olympics/trainingground

  “Visiting athletes will notice our professionalism and the energy put forth by all Brock staff and Brock Sports Performance staff,” said Lidstone. “Brock University takes a vested interest in developing local athletes and helping them to achieve their Olympic dreams.”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock expert says OSPCA’s decision to no longer enforce animal cruelty laws will have ‘unprecedented impact’

  Monday, March 04, 2019 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 4 March 2019 – R00035

  A Brock University Labour Studies professor and internationally recognized researcher on animal welfare issues said a Monday announcement leaves the handling of animal-related investigations at a crossroads.

  The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals sent a letter to Ontario Community Safety Minister Sylvia Jones Monday saying it would not renew its contract to provide animal welfare investigation and enforcement services in the province.

  The current contract expires at the end of this month, and OSPCA CEO Kate MacDonald and Board chair Catherine MacNeill wrote that the organization would limit its role in investigations to providing animal shelter, forensic evidence collection and veterinary services.

  Brock Professor Kendra Coulter, Chancellor’s Chair for Research Excellence and Chair of the Labour Studies Department, says the OSPCA’s decision “will have an unprecedented impact on animal well-being in the province.”

  “At this juncture, there are a number of paths the government could take, and a pressing need for clarity and thoughtful leadership,” says Coulter, who has been studying the OSPCA and different approaches to animal cruelty investigations since 2015. “Enforcement could get better or it could get worse, depending on how the provincial government responds.”

  In 2016, Coulter released a study which concluded that OSPCA enforcement officers are underequipped compared to their police service counterparts and face many instances of disrespect on the job.

  Kendra Coulter is available for interviews about this issue.

   

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases