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Adults figure in skate ban
Elora Mulligan, who recently received a 1998 Canadian Figure Skating Association skater-of-the-year award, apparently was informed hours before the Oakville club's annual children's Christmas party last week that she no longer was welcome at the club.
"She was in tears when we told her," Mulligan's mother, Tammy, said. "This is a problem between adults. The children should not be affected."
The dispute stems from a taping of a figure skating piece that recently aired on CTV Sportsnet. Mulligan and several Oakville skaters were filmed performing their routines. Mulligan also spoke on camera about her coach and club.
The OSC board of directors apparently became upset upon discovering that no one had asked permission to film the skaters, and threatened to suspend the skaters from competition for one year.
A community paper in Oakville -- The Abbey Oaks -- recently ran a story on the situation. The OSC board of directors, through its lawyer, accused Tammy Mulligan of leaking the story and asked that she and her family quit the club.
When the Mulligans refused, OSC president Kathryn Belchers informed them, through a letter, that their membership had been terminated, including that of Elora Mulligan and her four-year-old brother.
Belchers could not be reached for comment yesterday.
"We're still looking for some answers," Tammy Mulligan said, adding that her daughter has joined another club in Mississauga. "We have been trying to distract her from the situation as much as we can. But she hasn't been able to say goodbye to her coach or her fellow skaters. Those were her friends. She spent 10 hours a week at the club. The whole thing is just awful."
100-MILE HIGH: A group of Canadian runners shattered the Guinness Book of World Records' 100-by-one-mile relay mark this past weekend at York University.
One hundred of the country's top distance athletes took turns running one mile around York's indoor track. The team, which included Canadian record-holder Graham Hood, completed the run in seven hours 35 minutes 55.4 seconds -- 15 minutes 19 seconds better than a U.S. team's performance in 1997.
"It was incredible," event organizer and York University cross-country coach Harvey Mitro said. "We all came together when we had to. It was great to see."
SOUTHERN EXPOSURE: The Burlington Havoc under-18 boys soccer club will be the only Canadian team taking part in the Tampa Bay Sun Bowl, starting Saturday. The tournament will allow Havoc players to showcase themselves in front of about 200 U.S. college coaches ... Mike Labinjo, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound running back at Toronto's St. Michael's College, made a recruiting visit to the University of Wisconsin this past weekend. Labinjo, who is one of the top high school recruits in the Toronto area, was chaperoned by the Badgers' all-American running back Ron Dayne. Labinjo is expected to make a decision on his scholarship plans in the new year.
COMING UP: The Bramalea Boxing Club and Youth Centre plays host to one of North America's largest amateur boxing tournaments, Feb. 5-7. More than 70 clubs from Canada and the U.S. will take part in the event, which features divisions for male and female fighters from 11 to 30 years of age ... The fifth annual Jim Freill Boxing Day charity golf tournament, Dec. 26 at the Richview Golf Club, is hoping to raise money for the Good Shepherd homeless shelters. Anyone wishing to play a round of golf and help a good cause should call Paul Foley at (905) 827-8009. The cost is $49, which includes golf, dinner and a donation to the Good Shepherd Centre.