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Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2008 61 Soccer challenge Gymnast Brown denied Olympic spot By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR CHRIS KORNACKI / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Alyssa Brown's Olympic dream may have officially died last weekend, but it had been in critical condition since last fall. Canada's 14th-place finish at September's world gymnastics championships, where a top-12 showing would have qualified a six-person team for the upcoming Games, meant that Brown needed to earn one of two individual spots instead. And, based on a selection system that rewarded excellence in two events rather than overall consistency, she didn't like her chances. "Once they set out the selection process for this year, I knew I'd be at a disadvantage," said the 19-yearold Abbey Park grad. "They had minimum scores (for the vault, beam, bars and floor events), and only one, or maybe two, were achievable for me, (based on) my start values." Brown was fourth in the Canadian individual point standings, which were finalized after last weekend's national championships in Calgary. Montreal's Nansy Damianova (43 points) and Toronto's Elise Hopfner Hibbs (41) earned Olympic spots, chosen ahead of Whitby's Kristina Vaculik (39) and Brown (15). Tried to stay optimistic "I tried not to give up hope all year. I did everything I could, so I can't be upset about that," said Brown, who specializes on vault and is strong -- but admittedly not stellar -- in the other three events. "If we had qualified a full team for the Olympics, there would almost be no question I would be on it. That's my strength, to start the team on every event and get a steady score that the girls can build on. When the team was taken away, the way I contribute to the team wasn't really valuable anymore." A vault finalist at two World Cup events earlier this year, Brown finished fourth overall at the nationals. She was fourth on bars and fifth on beam, floor and vault. Brown plans to take some time off this summer to give her body some rest before returning to the gym in August to prepare for the upcoming collegiate season, when she'll represent Stanford University. And, yes, she'll keep an eye on the Olympics in August as well. "I'm such a huge gymnastics fan and sports fan, I can't really turn my back on that," she said with a laugh. "(Damianova and Hopfner Hibbs) are both great gymnasts. It depends on the day, but they have the potential to do really well there. We'll see what happens." ON TARGET: Ten-year-old Carter Stamp, a Grade 5 student at St. John's Catholic School, lets a shot fly during last weekend's Knights of Columbus Soccer Challenge at Sheridan Hills Park. Competitors kicked balls at targets set up in the net in an effort to earn points and advance to the regional competition. For results, see page 63. Russell breaks long-standing national record Oakville swimmer Sinead Russell broke one of Canada's oldest national age group records last weekend in Barcelona, Spain -- not once, but Sinead Russell twice. Competing at the Trofeu internacional ciutat de Barcelona, the 14year-old Russell completed her preliminary heat of the 13/14-year-old girls' 100-metre backstroke in a time of 1:02.90. She then bettered that time in the final, finishing in 1:02.66. Double Olympic bronze medalist Nancy Garapick held the previous Canadian record, posting a time of 1:03.28 in 1976. Russell is a backstroke and individual medley specialist who swims for the Dolphins Swim Club under coach, and mother, Erin Russell. She represented Canada on the Youth National Tour team that travelled to Europe earlier this year. Sinead's Olympic-bound brother, Colin, also competed at the event, as did Dolphins teammate Marina Biasutto. Four OFSAA soccer medals Four local schools earned Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) soccer medals this week. The King's Christian Collegiate Cavaliers, seeded 13th in the boys' A tournament, went 6-0 to win gold. The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders earned silver at the girls' AA competition, while the T.A. Blakelock Tigers boys and Loyola Hawks girls claimed bronze at their AAA championships. Semifinals and finals in all those tournaments were contested Wednesday. See tomorrow's (Saturday's) edition of The Oakville Beaver for more details on the medal-winning teams. CLIP THIS COUPON Join Us For Golf This Season! CLIP THIS COUPON FATHER'S DAY SPECIAL FRIDAY, SATURDAY & SUNDAY CLIP THIS COUPON FOR JUNIORS AND ADULTS Still a few spots remaining in our Junior Summer Camps and Adult Golf Clinics. Book your spot NOW! AFTER 12:30 P.M. AFTER 3:00 P.M. 2 GREEN FEES INC. POWER CART $135 TAX INC. 2 GREEN FEES INC. POWER CART $100 TAX INC. 905-336-3660 CLIP THIS COUPON Visit Us Online: www.hiddenlakegolf.com