In heat and humidity, in perfect conditions and in a deluge of rain, track and field athletes from across Canada showed off their stellar qualities at the 2010 Legion Canadian Youth Track and Field Championships, Aug. 5-9 in Ottawa. In the process they broke 14 Canadian youth records and a total of 24 Legion records.

“This is the third year this competition has been the official Canadian youth championships,” said Ontario Lieutenant-Governor David C. Onley during the opening ceremonies. Although known for support of veterans, commemoration and community service, the Legion’s “largest single contribution is to the education and cultural programs for the young,” he said, referring to the competition, the only one of its kind for athletes aged 12 through 17.

A record-breaking 828 athletes competed in the 2010 event, held in co-operation with Athletics Canada and with the assistance of the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club and the Legion Local Arrangement Committee at the newly-renovated Terry Fox Athletic Facility. The Legion funded 318 athletes to represent the 10 provincial commands; the remainder were self-funded open category athletes, also from all across the country. The gold medal winner for the 17-and-under boys 200-metre dash said he is thankful for the chance to compete. “If not for allowing it to be open, I wouldn’t be at this meet, “said Toluwalope Makinde, 16, of the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club. He had some advice for other competitors. “As long as you want it, you work hard for it, you can get it.”

“An astounding 80 per cent of Canada’s teams for both the Olympics and world events are made up of alumni who have competed in these Legion championships,” Onley told the athletes.

Dominion President Pat Varga added, “This is your first step on that ladder and we would hope you continue the climb.”

The close competition fostered by the Legion Nationals helps push good athletes up that ladder, said Jordan Young of the Windsor Legion team in Ontario, who set a Canadian youth record in boys 17-and-under discus with a throw of 60.74 metres on Friday afternoon, the first of 21/2 days of competition. Young went on to win three gold medals—adding shot put and hammer throw to his winning performances.

“There was awesome competition…it’s good to have people push me, it helps me push myself to do better. We were so close in all the events. Competing with everyone from around Canada gives you an idea of how to perform, how to prepare yourself, how to get ready to compete against other people that are really good,” he said.

The next day, Frédéric Demers-Forgues, 17, of Gatineau, Que., had the opposite experience. He won the boys 17-and-under 3,000-metre race walk and achieved a personal best in his very first Legion Nationals, but it was a solo performance. “It’s a little bit boring for the spectators, and there’s nobody to push me.” Without competitors, he did his first two laps too quickly, he said, and it was more difficult to judge pace.

Two more Canadian youth records were set in the first half-day of competition, in the branches boys and girls 17-and-under 100-metre relays. The winning teams were the Ontario boys team—Devon Rettinger, Brandon Mcbride, Nienkel Paljola and Marion Laidlaw-Allen—and the Alberta girls team—Nicky Charlesworth, Jennifer Fetaz, Isatu Fofanah and Leah Walkeden.

Three competitors also smashed Legion 17-and-under discus records that day. Sarah Moss threw 44.80 metres and Rayann Chin threw 43.52 metres, both Ontario athletes smashing the previous girls record of 43.47 metres. Adam Keenan of British Columbia threw the discus 57.44 metres, breaking the Legion record by better than three metres.

The second day of the competition saw a comeback. “One thing I’ve learned from competing in this event is to never give up,” said 16-year-old Sage Watson of Medicine Hat, Alta., a three-time Legion Nationals competitor. “Yesterday after my 400 [metre dash] I fainted…and today I broke a [Canadian youth] record.” She came in at 43.28 seconds in the 17-and-under girls 300-metre hurdles. In 2009 she was a member of the team that set a new Legion record in the girls 15-and-under medley relay.

Canadian youth records were also broken in the boys octathlon and girls heptathlon—records set in 2005. James Turner of British Columbia won gold with a point total of 6,006 (the old record was 5,848) and both the gold and silver winners of the girls event—Nicki Oudenaarden of Alberta and Zarria Storm of B.C. with scores respectively of 5,124 and 5,006, broke the previous record of 4,928.

Many Legion records fell Saturday. In the boys 17-and-under 3,000-metre run gold medallist Eamonn Kichuk of Phoenix Athletics in Toronto edged out Xavier King from Ontario, 8:25:99 to 8:26:31—both under the previous record of 8:28:09. In the 16-and-under branches 1,600-metre sprint medleys, the Ontario girls team of Christian Brennan, Alexis Marsh, Ashley Taylor and Christina Kyritsis took gold with a performance of 4:06:08, shaving 18/100s of a second from the 2009 record of 4:06:26; the Ontario boys’ team of Aaron Stemmler, Joseph Yazin, Jordan Sherwood and Alex Freemantle crossed the finish line in 3:35:30, breaking the old record of 3:36:69 set in 1998.

Four Canadian youth records were set Sunday, the final day of the competition, beginning with Watson’s victory in the girls 17-and-under 300-metre hurdles. In the afternoon Alysha Newman of Ontario jumped 3.91 metres in the girls 17-and-under pole vault, smashing the record of 3.90 metres set in 2004.

Then the clouds turned grey and the skies opened, but the competition went on with only the briefest delay during the heaviest showers, when rain thundered on the track. Despite the soggy conditions, Canadian records were broken in the 17-and-under 400-metre branches relay by the girls teams from B.C., Alberta and Manitoba and the boys teams from B.C., Alberta and Ontario.

Many Legion records were shattered Sunday, including winners of the boys and girls 17-and-under 2,000-metre steeplechase. Katelyn Hayward of B.C. claimed gold with a time of 7:01:37, over 11/2 seconds better than the previous record of 7:02:91 set in 2004. In the boys event, both the gold medalist Xavier King and silver medalist Ryan Cassidy of New Brunswick broke the 2007 record of 5:59:42 with times of 5:53:17 and 5:53:57, respectively.

In addition to the competitions, the 318 Legion-sponsored athletes took part in separate programs that included athletic clinics and commemoration. The day before competition began, guest speaker runner Glenroy Gilbert, five-time Olympic competitor and gold medal winner, told the young athletes that talent is not enough to get them to the podium. “Work ethic will trump talent any day,” he said, adding it’s one of five ingredients in athletic success, along with commitment, persistence, belief in themselves and trust in their coaches and support team.

Clinics later that day covered nutrition, injury prevention and Canada’s anti-doping program.

Later that evening, the athletes took part in a touching candlelight vigil at the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa, accompanied by music of the Central Band of the Canadian Forces and ending as the sun set with a piper leading the hymn Amazing Grace.

“The 34th Legion Nationals commemorate the end of the Second World War and the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands,” President Varga told the athletes. Erik Boer, deputy head of Mission Netherlands and Dutch expatriate Bert Hilkes talked of the terrible conditions suffered by the Dutch during five years of German occupation in the Second World War and how the country to this day reveres Canada for its liberation and the generosity and decency of Canadian troops.

Candles were lit from the Torch of Remembrance which has been handed down in solemn ceremony from Canada’s last First World War veteran John Babcock to successors from the Second World War, Korean War, the Afghanistan mission and to the youth of today. “We light the torch to remember all Canadians who’ve died in defence of freedom at home and abroad,” said Varga.

Then the athletes, coaches, chaperones and Legion officials wended their way in a block-long procession to the memorial where the Act of Remembrance was said by Varga and John Ladouceur. Afterwards, athletes gathered around Dominion Honorary Chaplain Rabbi Reuven Bulka who made the connection between athletics and the sacred ground of the war memorial. Freedom—including the freedom to compete in athletic events—was one of the ideals for which so many have sacrificed their lives. “They gave their lives so their children and grandchildren would be able to enjoy the freedoms they were fighting for. They didn’t know who you are, and it didn’t make a difference—they wanted a country where people have freedom.”

The connection was made even stronger Monday, the last day of activities for Legion athletes, during a tour of the Parliament Buildings and the Memorial Chamber in the Peace Tower, where many paused to reflect on the seven Books of Remembrance containing the names of more than 100,000 Canadians who have given their lives for their country in military service dating back to 1884.

Spirits were high at the closing banquet, where athletes traded their uniforms for dress duds, anticipating a dance to end the evening. They looked every inch “leaders of tomorrow” as described by President Varga in her closing remarks. “The Royal Canadian Legion cares,” she said. “We care about our veterans, we care about our currently serving military, we care about our communities and we care about you, our youth.”

After thanking head chaperones Helen and John Ladouceur and all who helped LAC Chairman Barry Young in organizing the event, she thanked the athletes for competing. “Just by being here you have proven that you’re all winners.”

It was an idea repeated by guest speaker Warrant Officer William MacDonald, recipient of the Star of Military Valour and the Conference of Defence Associations’ Vimy Award for his leadership in Afghanistan. “It’s not about the medals…it’s about being here and being competitive. At the end of the day, not everybody gets a medal, but everybody’s part of the team.”

The importance of belief was his theme. “The folks that marched off to war…believed what they were doing was right. They believed in our way of life and they believed in the youth of the nation.” Those currently serving in Afghanistan also carry that belief. “I want to echo the president’s words that everybody here is a winner. You’re here because you believe in yourself. You need to believe in yourself—that word ‘believe’ guides us in what we do and how we live our lives.

“For you, future leaders…belief, respect, decency, loyalty and humility will see you through the rest of your lives.”

The two Legion athletes of the year were presented their awards at the closing ceremony by Encounters With Canada representative Eric Saxton. Xavier King from Ontario was selected as top male Legion athlete, having won gold in the boys 17-and-under 2,000-metre steeplechase and two silver medals—in the 17-and-under 3,000-metre and 1,500-metre runs.

Christian Brennan, 15, of team Ontario, credits her stunning five gold medals in her second Legion Nationals to patience, though “obviously, trying my best helps.” In the 15-and-under category she won the 100-metre dash with a time of 11.88 seconds; the 300-metre dash with a time of 37.17 seconds and performed a winning 5.73-metre long jump. She also shared gold performances with Ontario teammates Ashley Taylor, Nicole Setterington and Alexis Marsh for their 48:48 second performance in the 16-and-under 100-metre branches relay and with teammates Marsh, Taylor and Christina Kyritsis in the 1,600-metre sprint medley with a time of 4:06.08, a Legion record.

Ottawa will again host the Legion Nationals in August of 2011.