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SLAM! Sports '99 Pan Am Games PAN AM GAMES INTERACTIVE CONTESTS ALSO ON SLAM!  |
Sunday, November 28, 1999Games leave rich legacyPan Am surplus going to sports centreWhen Dominique Bosshart was competing in taekwondo at last summer's Pan Am Games, she met a woman from her hometown of Landmark. The encounter became one of the bronze-medal winner's most memorable moments. "She came up to me and she said that she's been following my life since she's moved there and I had already left there," recalled Bosshart, 22, who has qualified for next year's Olympic Games. "And she was crying. I was so touched by that. Sometimes it surprises me how much people actually care." It was the bonus of competing at home, which more than 50 Manitoba-born or trained athletes got to do during the July 23-Aug. 8 Games. AWAY FROM HOME It's something that doesn't usually happen often, and many of the athletes are also away from home when they're training. But that may be about to change. With the announcement yesterday that a minimum $3 million of Pan Am Games surplus is going to the National Sport Centre-Manitoba, centre officials hope to keep local athletes within the borders to train and compete at the new and renovated facilities. The centre -- which has a yearly budget of $500,000 -- provides services such as massage therapy, chiropractic care, nutrition programs, counselling, sports psychology and weight training to more than 200 high-performance athletes. Centre general manager Alex Gardiner said the surplus is a nice windfall and services will be boosted. A sports scientist has already been hired. "High-performance sport is no different than Jacques Villeneuve climbing into his Indy car," Gardiner said. "There's a pit crew needed to help the athlete perform. "We need to strengthen our pit crew." Gardiner also hopes Winnipeg can become the base for sports such as judo, wrestling and squash. "I think (the surplus) is going to keep Manitobans who can train in Manitoba here," he said. "And it's going to say to all young Manitobans who aren't quite at those levels that there are sports heroes in my community ... they can succeed here and we can do the same." Bosshart was at yesterday's announcement with shooter Henry Gerow (Pan Am bronze) and softball player Sandy Newsham (Games silver medallist). All have used the centre's services. 
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