By Pepper Parr
 BURLINGTON, ON October 3, 2011 Today was the Go – No go day for elite cycling in Burlington and because a hard deadline the city had set for a response from the MidWeek Cycling Club did not arrive before the end of the cling events during the summer of 2012 in Burlington. Which is unfortunate because the city’s geography offered so much potential for the development of some sports tourism that the city had dearly hoped to develop.
The Canadian Cycling Association has given the rights to the 2011 and 2012 qualifying events to Mid-Week Cycling who then approached Burlington and the
 We could have become a great place for elite level cyclists to develop their skills. Not this time but the geography we are blessed will be there for the next attempt. city along with the Burlington Hotel Association put up a total of $50,000. to support the initiative that was to see exciting Criterion races in the downtown core of the city o
n Canada Day.
But it was not to happen. In 2010 Parks and Recreation staff bent over backwards to make the event happen. The Halton Regional Police spent hours working through traffic plans and routing possibilities. But time and again the Mid Week Cycling Club failed to deliver documentation and details. The last time around in 2010 and 2011 everyone worked very hard and there was the one race event in the Aldershot areas that most people felt went off very well. But the city tired of never really knowing of the cycling people were going to come through.
At one point in the comedy of errors on the part of the Mid Week Cycling Club a required payment was made to the Halton Regional Police but the cheque bounced.
Police turned a blind eye to the offence and continued with all the field work. It amounted to nothing.
The contract was for a two year agreement and 2012 was to be the year that it all came together. This time the city was not going to be run around in circles. The Parks and Recreation people at the direction of Council established deadlines that had to be met and October 3rd was one of them. If event route data was not in the hands of the city by 5:00 of the 3rd – the event was off and the agreement would be terminated.
There was nothing in hand by 5:00 pm. So no cycling races in Burlington during the summer of 2012. City hall staff were not as disappointed as they had been in the past. They learned some hard lessons last summer and were not going to make the same mistakes twice.
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By Pepper Parr
 BURLINGTON, ON September 15, 2011 – It was a great idea at the time but it got off to a shaky start and just didn’t get any better.
The first step in having elite cycle racing take part in Burlington started during the Jackson administration when a group known as MidWeek Cycling appeared before a Council Committee asking for financial support for a plan they had to run two cycling event in the downtown core and at other venues around the city and elsewhere in the region.
Then Mayor Jackson however didn’t like the look of the idea and was disturbed over the fact that the project wasn’t properly documented and that the promoter hadn’t showed up for a critical meeting. We should have paid attention to that red flag.
On a recorded vote it passed but Jackson didn’t go for it. On that one he was right. More than a year later, a lot of egg on our faces and hours and hours of time pout in by staff and the Regional Police – and guess what? We are looking at the event again.
This time however – it is going to be a lot different. The biggest change is at the MidWeek Cycling club level. Crag Fagan, the guy that drove people at city hall and the Regional police offices nuts, will not be part of the next attempt to bring elite cycling to the city.
Why are we doing this a second time? The original agreement was for a two year period. The thinking at the time was that 2011 races were to be a lead up to the 2012 races which were 2014 Olympic qualifying events.
 Chris Glenn has kept his staff focused on the objective, it wasn’t always easy working with an event organizer who didn’t appear to be able to meet commitments. Many saw this as an opportunity for Burlington to take advantage of the geography and put the city on the map as the place to hold first class racing events. The plans to hold a Criterion event in the downtown core had a lot of people excited. The Burlington Down Business Association and the Burlington Hotel Association were all a twitter over the possibilities.
They liked the idea so much that they petitioned the Region for permission to have retailers remain open for the Canada Day Race. They could just see the dollars rolling in.
Councillor Jack Dennison, a keen cycler did everything he could to make the event happen but it was just one problem after another that had city hall staff doing far more than they should have. That won’t be happening again. The event is actually the Canadian National Road Cycling Championships which are held by the Canadian Cycling Association. That association doesn’t really put on the event. They look for a local association to put on the event and chose MidWeek Cycling to do that job. MidWeek had Crag Fagan lead the project for the club. That was a terrible mistake.
Fagan came close to getting himself arrested when he had MidWeek issue a cheque to the Regional Police to cover some permits. The cheque bounced. Bouncing a cheque made out to the police isn’t exactly a positive career move.
Things are going to be much tighter and much more disciplined. City hall staff now have a much better understanding as to how these events take place and what the dynamics are and what they need to do and what they need the partners in the events have to do. During early 2010 staff did everything but send a cab to Toronto to pick up Fagan so that he would actually be at meetings. It was dispiriting for the staff and disappointing for everyone involved – but Scott Stewart, currently the Acting City Manager but in real life the General Manager of Community Services could see the potential and he worked with his staff to figure out how they could salvage something from the experience.
Stewart’s team has put together a list of what has to be done and by when – and made it very, very clear that if a deadline is missed – no excuses this time, the deal is off. The deal amount to $30,000. From the city and $20,000 from the hotel association.
The cycling association has to have the following worked out and documentation delivered to the city and the Regional police by October 3rd. No extensions.
If they come up with documentation on the timing, the staging of the event, worked out the logistics that are involved, worked out how residents in the affected areas will be notified, how the general public will be kept aware of what is happening and provide a preliminary traffic management plan – things will go forward. But – the city has made it very clear – the deadline is October 3rd.
Traffic management was a major hurdle that really wasn’t overcome during the 2011 experience. The costs police were looking to have covered were seen as just too high by the MidWeek Cycling people. The belief is that the police have also learned something from this experience and the intention seems to be to make more use of the volunteer police.
Acting City Manager Scott Stewart mentioned that someone had suggested the police volunteer some of their time. Stewart commented that “that one wasn’t on – the idea didn’t fly:, which is unfortunate. Our police are well paid and policing in Burlington isn’t exactly hard work. Giving a little back is part of the Burlington culture that could work its way into the police service.
There were some valuable lessons learned from the summer of 2011 experience. The city now knows that cycling events work best when roads being used are closed with escorting available for those who must drive along the cycling route. There were other lessons learned as well – the biggest one being to insist that deadlines get met by the sponsors of the event. We will know on October 3rd if that lesson has really been learned.
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By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON July 14, 2010 – George Curran has a problem. The roof on the building he looks after needs to be repaired but George doesn’t have the money to do the repairs and he can’t borrow to pay for the repairs because, you see, George doesn’t own the building. The city of Burlington does. The gymnastic club uses the building and pays for the upkeep but there isn’t any rent, which sounds like a great deal but a bit of a problem if the roof is going to leak and you can’t afford to pay for the repairs and the owner of the building didn’t have a budget allocation for roof repairs.
George Curran is Manager of Facilities at the Burlington Gymnastics Club where he makes sure the place runs smoothly and that all the systems work the way they are supposed to work. “We had to install a heavier duty air conditioner a number of years ago and that meant bracing the roof a bit, but we got that done. With this heat – the girls sure appreciate that bigger machine on the roof”, added Curran
 They are like a bunch of little pixies. They scamper about and then suddenly they are flying through the air coming off a spring board. They seem to have bottomless energy and somehow stay focused on the athletic routines they do. Kathy Kline has a significantly different problem, more like a challenge actually. She works under the roof that George Curran knows needs to be replaced. Kline’s focus is on the 25 or so gymnasts that range in age from about 8 or 9 to 18, who take part in the Peer to Peer Program offered by the Burlington Gymnastics Club. The all female group spends Friday afternoons at the gym working through different routines until they have them perfect.
“The program” explains Kline “is intended to build character and skill as an athlete.”
 The first part of this gymnastic routine is to mount the small bar. The athlete has to run towards the small bar on the floor, reach down with her hands and grasp the bar and then swing her body into an upright position and hold her body steady as she prepares to move into the twirl part of the routine. Here Kathy Kline, the athlete who runs the program prepares to steady an athlete.
 Now the actual twirl. Having grasped the bar the athletes then releases one hand and begin to place left hand over right hand and in the process twirling her body – all the while keeping her legs straight up into the air. Getting to the point where the mount the bar, do the twirl and then dismount takes hours and hours of hard work.  Once the twirl has been completed the athlete then has to dismount and have her feet on the floor and be standing perfectly erect with her hands at her side. The complete movement takes a matter of seconds to complete but requires many, many months of practice. It is not as simple as it sounds but when done perfectly the movement is close to ballet and almost poetic. Chris Glenn, Acting Director of Parks and Recreation in Burlington is aware of the problem with the roof, he also very well aware of the program Kathy Kline runs and is delighted it is in place and pleased as all get out when an organization that draws 900 young female athletes to an annual event that takes place in one of the arenas he is responsible for and it doesn’t cost the city a dime. This is win, win, win for Chris Glenn. But about that roof? That will get taken care of and will be part of the new Joint Venture Agreement the city will put in place with the gymnastic club.
Last fall when the Executive Director of the Club, Betty Tate, appeared before a city council committee asking if the city would allow the club to sell their own Gatorade and power bars during the weekend Spring Cup competition the city had a bit of a problem.
Chris Glenn, Acting Director of Parks and Recreation, was in the process of entering into a new contract with a concession that would handle all food and beverage sales at the Central Arena. “All they wanted” explained Glenn, “was the right to sell the kind of treats and liquids they were good for athletes. This was an easy request to go along with. I could live with every request being that simple to fill.”
Parks and Recreation is about providing a service to the community. The challenge for Glenn is to provide that service within the budget City council approves; runs programs relevant to the community and do the longer range thinking that will position the city to be able to meet the needs of a changing demographic.
The link between the Peer to Peer class that Kathy Kline runs and the roof that needs repairs at the gymnastics club and the work Glenn is doing to put better Joint Venture agreements in place with the community organizations that provide services is pretty straight line – just a matter of following the dots.
The city of Burlington doesn’t have a soccer program or a baseball program. The city has facilities that are used by different groups that create the programs. “Burlington is a community where different groups of people set up programs and then work with the city to ensure that the facilities needed are in place. George Curran will explain to you that the gymnastic building was put up some 40 years ago by the city. “We use it and take care of it”
The parents whose children are enrolled at the Gymnastics Club are a resourceful lot. The scan the supermarket flyers and whenever Gatorade is on sale the word goes out and the parents buy the limit and store the stuff in their basements – come Spring Cup time they have a low cost inventory that generates revenue for the club.
 Kathy Kline runs the Peer to Peer program at the Burlington Gymnastics Club along with her associate xxx xxx. The two know the strengths and weaknesses of each of the athletes and work tirelessly to help each one advance to the next level. Values, determination and constantly striving to do your best and reach new goals are a large part of the Peer to Peer program Kline runs along with her helper Jenna Gleza. “Character isn’t something you measure on a scale”, explains Kline. “A person isn’t a 1 or a 7 – character gets built over time and consistent interaction with adults and their peers. “I can tell in almost an instant if there is something that is bothering one of my girls. This is a very tightly knit group of kids,” adds Kline.
“The girls are expected to work hard and to be consistent in getting to classes. They are here to train and to become top flight gymnasts. Kline, who was an active gymnast in her younger days, understands how hard it is to complete some of the routines but “you master a skill by practice, practice and more practice”, explains Kline and “you have the constant support of your peers throughout your growth as an athlete.”
These young girls are not female “jocks”. There is a sense of determination in every routine they go through. They are at the gymnasium to become better athletes and in the process develop perseverance, depth of character and an ability to start something and follow though until the task is done.
 Claudia Bartoszek rings the cowbell to signal to her peers that she has perfected a routine and wants to show her peers what she is now able to do. The bell doesn’t get rung often – it takes hours and hours to perfect a routine – and it all comes together at the Burlington Gymnastics Club Spring cup event where Burlington athletes compete against others in the province. Whenever a gymnast perfects a routine they run into a little closet space and pick up the cowbell that sits in a shelf and give it a little ring – everyone in the gym knows that the athlete has achieved a new level of perfection and they all share in the joy and the knowledge that they too will be supported by their peers. It doesn’t get much better than that.
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By Pepper Parr
 BURLINGTON, ON June 15, 2011 – Alton, a neighbourhood in the upper east part of the remaining developable lands in Burlington where a number of construction projects are underway, was the site of a sod turning ceremony with Mayor Rick Goldring and the Ward council member for that part of town, Blair Lancaster on hand to dig a little dirt.
 Construction crews can now get onto the sit and begin shaoing it as a soccer field and a play area with plenty of shade trees and parking. The site that construction crews were finally able to get to into now that the sun is drying up the fields will be home to a soccer field a playing field with plenty of parking spaces and some housing along one edge.
The street leading into the soccer field, Palladium Way is separated by a stretch of employment lands, that have yet to be developed, and the 407 on the north with the project itself east off Walkers Line and north of Dundas. Residents in the area have been waiting for the soccer fields to get built and if the weather holds those fields should be accessible well before the kids are back in school.
 Always making a fashion statement – the pink boots Councillor Lancaster wears on a construction site turn an eye just as well as the tiara did. These “ceremonial events” are pretty hum drum but if you pay attention there is usually something that can be picked up for what the politicians call the “photo op”. In this situation the photographer from “another news source that get published in Burlington” wanted to frame people in front of a large crane. Here is their intrepid photographer in action.
Becky Ellis, a city landscaping technician was on hand to show the Mayor and the Council member around the site which has houses within a very short distance allowing parents to wander over to the park and playfield where there children are.
What was missed and so typical of what Councilor Lancaster does(she does have a sense of fashion) were the pink construction boots she wore on the site.
The neighbour hood is going through significant growth – a storey we will tell you about later in the month.
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By Staff
BURLINGTON, PM May 28, 2011 – With the weather threatening throughout the day, the Hamilton Thunderbirds made it even – a game apiece – with the Burlington Twins by taking the Saturday game 8 to 3.
The first inning showed some promise for the Twins when they got a run but they couldn’t match the three runs the Thunderbirds got in the first and fourth innings.
The Twins rallied a little bit in the 8th and the 9th – with a run in each but it wasn’t enough to catch the Thunderbird lead.
The league schedule is still working through all the rain postponements. But sunny days are surely ahead from weather point of view – and hopefully sunny days for the Twins as well.
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By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON May 27, 2011 – One could argue that it is still early in the season and that there have been a lot of games postponed – but so far this season, with 4 games played, the Burlington Twins have managed to win one game – we beat Hamilton nicely but got totally shellacked by the Barrie BayCats 13-1 in that disaster and lost to the Ottawa Fat Cats 7-4 and then again to the Brantford Red Sox 12-4
The Twins are back in Burlington this Saturday and providing the weather holds the Big B spirit should infuse the boys on the field.
 The Twins are up against the Hamilton Thunderbirds – we’ve beat them once before – could be a good day for the boys with the bats.
Game starts at 2:00 pm Nelson Park. Play ball.
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By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON May 18, 2011 – Burlington has parks galore. How well are they used? Do they matter? The question asked was if parks and open spaces were “very important” or “extremely important”. Parks certainly mattered – but what stuck out in the answers to this question was how more they mattered to the people in Ward 2 when measured against the importance to people in the other wards.
 Burlington has great parks – but are the right people using them? Those residing in ward 2 were significantly more likely than those in wards 2,3,5 and 6 to consider parks, open spaces and sports fields important.
Not surprisingly, resident aged 18 – 34 were more likely to make use of parks, open spaces and sports fields on a regular basis when compared to those 55+ – 73% compared to 49%
A clear recreational development and health improvement opportunity and need is to get seniors out into the parks and open spaces.
Ward 2 is the smallest ward in the city and covers all of the downtown core.
The importance of parks, open spaces and sports fields relative to other services is show in the list of ten items that are summarized below.
The Quality of Service Survey was done for Burlington in 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2011. The data is based on a random and representative telephone survey of 752 residents over the age of 18 and is considered to be accurate to within plus or minus 3.6%, 19 times out of twenty. For the full survey CLICK HERE.
On balance people in Burlington are happy with the services provided them by the city.
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By Pepper Parr
 BURLINGTON, ON May 16, 2011 A usually reliable source advises that the Midweek Cycling Club event promoter made a payment by certified cheque to the Halton Regional Police Service before the noon deadline of May 16th, to the surprise of many.
The event promoter has missed so many deadlines that everyone expected him to miss this one – and had it been missed, the city would have withdrawn its support for the event. Burlington had originally agreed to put up $30,000. to help fund the event with another $20,000 coming from the Burlington Hotel Association.
When the five scheduled races were cut back to two races the Hotel Association cut back their amount to $10,000. and the city cut back its contribution to a total of $10,000. with $5000. attached to each race.
This event has perplexed council, maddened staff and driven the police to near distraction with the number of hours that have been put in and extensive community consultation.
Ward 2 Councillor Meed Ward commented at the last Council Committee meeting that the two events really weren’t in Burlington but others on Council felt that the promoter should be given a chance – and he seems to have made it under the wire.
There is a contract in place and Council at its next meeting will have to decide if it wants to follow through. It may have to honour the contract even though the promoter has twisted it so badly the original intent is hard to see.
The marquee event was to be a fast flashy races through the streets of downtown Burlington on Canada Day– but that event is off the table. It is being held at the CNE grounds instead.
My friend Margaret Lindsay Holton gives a take that many in Burlington seems to share. She says: ah, ‘Sport tourism’ , the big ‘sexy’ ever-elusive money-maker … Seems like the reality of our aging demographic is forgotten by those who want to pump up the region. I’m not opposed to sport of any kind, but I have doubts when it’s focused around ‘downtown’ ambitions that conflict with many of the reasons that people choose to live here in the first place, like a safe, tranquil, and somewhat sedate ‘quality of life’ … Wouldn’t it make more sense to pump up those ‘values’ then spend hard-earned tax-dollars on soliciting ‘out of town’ ‘invitational’ youth-orientated tournies?”
Stay tuned – this isn’t over yet.
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By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON May 16, 2011 – More than 1200 young girls took part on the 23rd Annual gymnastic event hosted by the Burlington Gymnastics Club at the Central Recreation Centre and according to Betty Tate, Executive Director of the club the event was a “fabulous success. “No one was hurt and I am thrilled with the results.” The event, known as the Spring Cup, is Canada’s largest invitational gymnastics event three years running.
 Members of the Burlington host club handed out the awards to their peers. There were 125 Burlington families and their sibling participating in the event that had clubs from 32 communities across Canada. Not only was the event an athletic success but it was also a financial success and raised several thousand dollars for the club that needs a new roof on their Maple Avenue location.
“We are now at capacity in terms of the number of people we can accommodate at this location.
One of the really nice touches at this event was the having Burlington Club members hand out the medals. In the past, politicians or public personalities would do this task and they always serve as a draw but watching the Burlington kids drape the medals around the necks of their peers was something to watch. Good move on the part of the club.
While the event is an athletic one, it really isn’t about developing Olympic level athletes. Some of the girls do go on to advanced levels but the Burlington Gymnastics Club focuses on developing character and confidence. Meaghan Rice who won a Gold Medal for her floor performance and a Bronze for her work on the bars was more thrilled with the Bronze medal because it was the best bars work she had ever done.
 Kathy Kline, a parent who was once a gymnast keeps a close eye on a gymnast doing vault work. Kathy Kline, a parent working with the Burlington girls doing vault work and on hand to catch a child that might falter, had a young girl say she was sorry for not doing as well as she wanted to. Kathy was quick to point out that “she had done her very best and next time she will do better. “We focus on developing their confidence” said Kline – “the skills follow.” Kline, in an earlier life was a gymnast and knows what this kind of activity does to build character and confidence. She, like many of the Mother’s on site helping out, did gymnastics and enjoy being part of the sport but, as Kline points out, she “doesn’t fly over a vault any more” Kline is both a parent with a child in the program and a competitive coach with BCG
 Every move made on either the floor work, bars or vaults was photographed and available to the participants. Two gymnasts look at a performance deciding if they want the picture. The event is very much a family thing. Teams are created for the set up and take down of the equipment; there is an awards team and a concessions team. Tate explains that the woman working the concession table will watch for sales and when they see a really good deal they will tell their colleagues who will then go out and buy up as much as and be well stocked with low cost food and drinks. This is about as community as you can get.
Tate, who works as a teacher at the Canadian National Ballet School and serves part time as the Burlington Gymnastic Club Executive Director, manages a collection of parent volunteers “without who none of what we do would ever get done”.
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By Sports Staff
BURLINGTON, ON May 7, 2011 – It wasn’t one of his best moment but Mayor Rick Goldring was there throwing the ceremonial first ball at the home opener for the new to town Burlington Twins semi pro baseball team. The ball landed a foot or so into the ground before home plate – but the catcher as able to scoop it up.
 New bleachers will soon be in place at Nelson where the Burlington Twins played their league home opener on Saturday. There was a nice enough crowd and it was certainly a family event. The weather will be a little more cooperative as we get into May. The beer garden was open – need to gussy that up a bit, but the hot dog vendor was doing a brisk business.
The Twins were home to the Ottawa Fat Cats who won the opened 7-4. The game got just a little bit exciting when the Twins brought in four runs in the final inning but by that time the Fat Cats had too comfortable a lead.
Pitching with both teams was allright, some very good batting but the base players and those in the field need some work and help on both sides. The ground was a wee bit soggy which didn’t help. But it was a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Meet friends ands- schmooze with your neighbours and let the kids tear around knowing they were safe. Michael Burgess gave a very, very spirited rendition of Oh Canada – held every note and we all got to feel the hair on our skin bristle just a bit as we all stood tall.
 Burlington Twins rest up in the bull pen before the home opener at Nelson. Field was just a little on the damp side but it was a good game of baseball – final score of 7-4 for the other guys wasn’t very good though. Elliott Kerr, team owner was seen watching over a bunch of young kids – think he was eyeing potential for a really young farm team.
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By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON May 6, 2011 – It was no great surprise but with considerable disappointment that Council meeting as a Committee learned that the promoter of the planned Championship level cycling events scheduled for late June and on Canada Day will not take place.
The Mayor and Deputy Police Chief Bob Percy were advised by letter that two of the four remaining events were going to take place elsewhere, which led Councillor John Taylor to say that he was going to vote to with draw Council support for the event. The police, who at this point were just totally fed up with Crag Fagan, head of Mid Week Cycling, the promoter of the event.
Two events were still a go – the event at Rattlesnake Point and the event in Aldershot/Waterdown but they won’t happen when the city pulls it support. The Hotel Association and the City had put up $50,000 in the way of grants – that money was held in escrow – so it isn’t lost.
Fagan didn’t have the decency to call either the Mayor or the police and thank them for their support and explain why he was moving two of the event, including the Canada Day marquee event, to some other location.
Chris Glen, chide parks guy in Burlington advised the Council Committee that they were not able to reach Fagan by telephone or email, which was pretty standard procedure for him. When there was a problem – Fagan faded.
The Halton District Police Service should now issue an arrest warrant for Fagan due to the cheque that he bounded.
Sports cycling has a future in Burlington – we just need the right promoter – and Mid Week Cycling wasn’t it.
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By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON May 6, 2011 – The Burlington Twins got off to a slow, slow start in Burlington this week. The team was to take to the field Wednesday evening for a solid warm up, but while the grass had been cut and the mounds raked – the ground was just a little too soggy – so they spent their time cleaning up equipment.
Assistant coach Jamie Trull thinks the “boys” will be out later in the week to warm up for the home opener which takes place on Saturday – starts at noon – at Nelson Park on New Street.
The Intercounty Baseball League is the oldest in the Country – started organizing games in 1919. solid ball played by up and comers and guys who just like to swing a bat and chase a ball.
Burlington is welcoming the Twins who moved west to the third best city in the country to live in. The team has to rise to what Burlington is – and of course Burlington has to support the team. With a ticket price of $4.00 for adults and kids get in free it has to be one of the best deals in terms of family entertainment.
Elliott Kerr, team owner, has plans for a lot of side show entertainment with kids running the bases during parts of the game and prizes for catching foul balls.
There are plans for a small beer garden and later in the season improved bleachers will be installed.
Toronto Maple Leafs played the Hamilton Thunderbirds. Toronto took that first game 3-2; much like the hockey team with the same name – they can now say they are “unbeaten”. The Burlington Twins might put an end to that scoreboard.
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By Staff
The crack of the bat and all eyes follow the ball. Is it a pop fly or a bouncy grounder and did someone just slide into third base?
 It is Spring time and that means baseball and for those who love the game – things in Burlington just got better. The Burlington Twins, formerly the Mississauga Twins have made Nelson Park their home turf and will play their first home game on Saturday, May 7th at 2:00 pm
The team schedule for this year is Thursday’s at 7:30 pm and Saturdays at 2:00 PM. Full schedule is available at https://www.mississaugatwins.ca/mt_calendar.shtml
The ball team is part of the Intercounty Baseball League announced today the franchise will move to the City of Burlington and will operate as the Burlington Twins with Nelson Park as their home field for the 2011 season.
Doug Kelcher and Scott Rogers will manage the team as General Manager and Assistant General Manager respectively.
Joining Elliott Kerr as part of the ownership group is local Burlington businessman Scott Robinson, COO of Burlington based Interior Design House, a fixture in the Burlington community for over 20 years and Backspin Marketing Group.
Season tickets for 17 home games will be available for only $75 (that’s just over $4.00 a game – great deal) so make sure you get yours today. Follow the Twins at www.burlingtontwins.com
The IBL was founded in 1919 with just four teams—Galt, Guelph, Stratford and Kitchener—and is the oldest amateur men’s league in Canada. During the early years, the league expanded to include the cities of London, Brantford, Preston and St. Thomas, Ontario. It was previously known as the Intercounty Major Baseball League and the Senior Intercounty Baseball League. The league has been home to a number of aspiring major league players, and the league has continually graduated players into the major league ranks each year. The league includes franchises in Toronto, Brantford, Barrie, London, Kitchener, Hamilton and Ottawa, who joined the league prior to the 2010 season.
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By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON March 31, 2011 – Nobody particularly likes the guy, few trust him but he’s the front man for Mid Week Cycling Club and they are the sponsors chosen by the Canadian Cycling Association to hold a multi-day event in the Burlington community around Canada Day.
 The planned elite cycling event planned for late June and Canada Day could still come crashing down – but there is now a contract in place. So, a council committee held their noses tightly and passed a Direction enabling Community Services Manager Scott Stewart to sign the agreement with Craig Fagan and the Mid Week Cycling Club to hold the six scheduled cycling races in Burlington.
Once again, Halton Regional Police Deputy Chief Bob Percy was on hand to get their concerns on the table and then tightened up the financial requirements considerably. The $115,000 it is going to cost to cover policing has to be in the hands of the police by noon of May 16, 2011 or the Halton Regional Policed Service will withdraw their support. That puts a squeeze on the Mid week people but bouncing a cheque made payable to the policed doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
This event has been a problem that created its own problems and Scott Stewart General Manager Community Services, has been stretched to the limit to make this happen. “This is how it goes and it shouldn’t go like this” was the way he summed up the working relationship with Mid Week. Ward 6 councillor Blair Lancaster didn’t have much faith in the financial capacity of the Mid Week people when they were before council last and she had even less this time. However, Ward 4 councillor Jack Dennison thought he had a better feel for the way athletes register for events. “The time frames are tight” he agreed, but “there is a pent up demand for this event – there are people waiting with baited breath to register but they can’t do so because Mid Week doesn’t have a contract with us.”
 The cyclists, who move at up to 75 km an hour, are going to have to compete with people who want to pick strawberry’s on June 23 – should be fun. This key issue this time was the closure of Bell’s Line for the Time trials and the operation of the strawberry fields at Spring Ridge Farm on June 23rd, a prime strawberry picking day. They have an event that is expected to draw 1,800 cars that day – and police aren’t entirely sure how they are going to manage all that traffic.
Ward 1 councillor Marianne Meed Ward wanted to know why this concern had not been ironed out months ago. Ward told the meeting that “if this issue were being voted on tonight, I would not support it” – and she didn’t but enough council members did and the city is going to sign the agreement that appears to have more than enough clauses for the city to get out of the deal if they are not happy.
For Mid Week, the promoters, the signed contract is something they have been working towards for more than two years. With the contract signed, explained Craig Fagan, head of Mid Week, we can open up registration and registration fees will begin rolling in and Mid Week will have the funds in hand to give the Halton Regional Police a cheque for $115,000. by the middle of May – they hope
This seems to have been one of those chicken and egg situations. With a contract we can begin bringing in some revenue” explained Fagan while Ward 6 councillor Blair Lancaster said several times that she just didn’t believe Fagan’s organization had the financial capacity to make this happen.
Councillor Taylor took a more sanguine approach. “We have this unique topology” and this event is going to happen. “If it’s a bad experience we won’t do it again.”
Mid Week has their contract, registrations can begin, cash will flow – but the fear is that there will be yet another problem that should have been foreseen. Scott Stewart says we are covered legally and we won’t lose a dime.
Mid Week could look for a better front man for their organization.
[retweet]
By Pepper Parr
 BURLINGTON, ON March 23, 2011 – There is a better than even chance that the elite cyclists will not race around downtown Burlington on Canada Day or hold events in the roads outside the city for that matter.
 Burlington may not see this level of elite cycling on Canada Day An event that many hoped would be the start of a “sports tourism” business in Burlington has not lived up to the promise despite untold hours of time on the part of city hall staff and the Halton Regional Police, who reportedly put in more than 300 hours of volunteer time and sent a deputy chief to a council meeting to speak on behalf of the event.
But last week the race promoters, Mid Week Cycling, failed to show up at a scheduled meeting to go over the outstanding issues which are critical to the city and the police.
General Manger of Community services Scott Stewart reported that they were pretty close to having the definitive agreement in place and that he felt the matter of insurance was under control but that there was very serious concern about the routes that were going to be used for the events and the financial capacity of the organization.
What Stewart didn’t reveal at the meeting was the that Mid Week Cycling had bounced a cheque for a reported $769. that had been made payable to the Halton Regional Police.
Ouch!
Craig Fagan is lucky he isn’t in handcuffs for that one.
Burlington has been at this opportunity for more than a year, they have done everything a city could do to make it happen but council decided Monday evening that the deadline of March 31st was to be firm. If the four issues are not fully resolved the city will pull the plug and there will be no elite cycle racing in Burlington on Canada Day this year or in 2012.
What is particularly disappointing is that the 2012 races were to be qualifying events for the 2014 Olympics. Were those races to be held in the Burlington community, the city would certainly have benefited from the world wide media exposure.
Some felt that Mid Week Cycling, the event promoters, were playing a game of “chicken” with the city in the hope that the city would buckle and put up more than the $50,000. that has been promised by both the city and the Burlington Hotel Association.
The council meeting, which was being cable cast live by Cogeco, saw the Mayor look directly into the cameras and tell Mr. Fagan that he had until March 31st to make everything right.
Burlington withdrew from talks that had the potential to lead to the Hamilton Tiger Cats moving into a stadium complex in the Aldershot community. When the numbers didn’t look right – the city walked.
Only a fool would take this council as a bunch of rural rubes.
Mais Oui monsieur,
that is a beret I am wearing.
By Staff
Burlington, home of the Canadian National Road Cycling Championships – sort of a mini Tour de France – we could call it Tour de Burlington and we’d all wear berets. Ok, so the name needs some work but there is a very good chance that Burlington will become the home of this event for at least two years during which time thousands of cyclists will get to peddle around our back roads and street, stay in our hotels and dine in our restaurants. This is all good for Burlington.
Well just what is a National Cycling Championship?
This kind of competitive racing has very distinct categories and classifications. If this can be made to happen here Time Trials, Road Racing, Para and Criterium racing.
We will see two levels of talent. The Elites – theses are people who are superb riders and in 2011 they will compete in the following: Men and women in Road Racing in a Rattle Snake Point/Burlington/Milton route
The Para, Junior and Masters class will do Time Trials on Walkers Line on June 30th. The Junior Master class will do Criterium on July 1st in downtown Burlington and the Junior, Master class will do a Road Race on a Rattle Snake point/Waterdown/Aldershot route.
Road Races – These are mass-start events held on open roads. Racers ride in groups or ‘pelotons’, corner at high speeds, take turns ‘pulling’ at the front of pace lines, and pick tactical spots to try to break away. The first rider across the finish line is the winner. The course may be from point to point, from town to town, or on a circuit (the start and finish are in the same place.) Usually the course is closed to traffic in the area of the race. Road races can be up to a couple hundred kilometers long (over 100 miles.)
Criterium – A criterium is a short road race on a circuit – usually city streets – closed to traffic. The distance per lap may vary from 1/2km to 3km (1/3 mile to 2 miles). Races are of varying numbers of laps. The mass start, high-speed cornering and sprinting make criterium exciting for participants and spectators alike. Because criterium pass the same point each lap they are better spectator events than road races.
Time Trail – A time trial is an individual or team race over a fixed distance against the clock. Rider start individually at timed intervals and the rider with the fastest time wins. Distances raced vary from 1km to 100km. The course may be from point to point, from town to town, or on a circuit (the start and finish are in the same place.) The course is closed to traffic in the area of the race.
It’s exciting stuff, it’s good business and it will certainly be different for Burlington. You might see clothing like this at Tumblewood or Joelle’s on Brant Street. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take one of those sharp left turns and get us on the same road the Pan Am Games took.
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