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Press Releases

In the News  Oval Newsletter Event Calendar  Press Releases         Media Fact Sheets	Please contact the Oval for more information on the press releases below.
	August 3, 2010: Volleyball Role Model Named Centre of Excellence Head Coach RICHMOND, BC – The Richmond Olympic Oval announced today that Joanne Ross has been named the Head Coach of its Volleyball Centre of Excellence. Ross, a UBC graduate, athlete and coach, joins the Oval as the first professional Head Coach named to the Volleyball Centre of Excellence. With 10 years of coaching experience from high performance club through to the Team Canada National Program, Joanne’s background will serve the Centre’s vision of full integration of Long Term Athlete Development. Read more.
	July 6, 2010: Canada’s Own World Cup Coming to the Oval From July 13-18th, the Richmond Olympic Oval will host the Yonex Canada Open 2010 - a “World Cup” of badminton - with 254 players from 33 different countries, including four World Champions and one Olympic Gold Medalist. The Yonex Canada Open 2010 is the largest prize money badminton event in Canada’s history, making it a Grand Prix class tournament and attracting players from China, Korea, Malaysia, Denmark, England, Japan as well as Canada’s Olympic hopefuls. Read more.
	July 6, 2010: Anna Rice – Vancouver’s Own Badminton Olympian – to Announce Retirement Canadian Olympian and current National Badminton Champion Anna Rice will retire from the National badminton team at the end of 2010. Rice will be making the official announcement this Thursday, July 8 at the Richmond Oval along with a badminton demo to promote her final tournament on home soil: the 2010 Yonex Canada Open. Read more.
	June 30, 2010: Oval to Become Hockey Canada High Performance Training Centre RICHMOND, BC – The Richmond Olympic Oval will soon host our nation’s most elite hockey players and become a key training centre for our next generation of hockey heroes. Hockey Canada can begin using ice time at the Oval once the facility’s two international-size rinks are ready in September, 2010. Hockey Canada, BC Hockey, and the Oval will be aligned to promote the sport to the local community and to Canada, while providing opportunities to those who have not yet been exposed to the ‘nation’s sport’. Read more
	June 24, 2010: Oval to “Pour” World’s Largest High Tech Sport Floor Tomorrow Richmond, B.C. – Starting at 9am tomorrow, the Richmond Olympic Oval will begin to “pour” the world’s largest continuous high tech sport floor made from a composite material called Pulastic® SP. The 73,000 square foot spike-proof multi-sport flooring, which is poured as a liquid and will take several weeks to cure, will contain 4 FIBA regulation basketball courts, 7 FIVB regulation volleyball courts, 3 FIFA regulation futsal fields, 18 badminton courts, a 200 metre five-lane training track and a 110 metre five-lane sprint track – a unique indoor training element found nowhere else in Canada... Read more
	June 14, 2010: Panther Cheer Athletics Finds New Home at Richmond Olympic Oval Oval will be the home to all Panther Programs beginning in September 2010 - Richmond, BC Panther Cheer Athletics will be relocating their programs to the Richmond Olympic Oval starting in September of this year. Panther Cheer Athletics is Richmond’s only competitive all-star cheer program, and caters to athletes from Richmond and surrounding communities. It is one of the most successful Cheer programs in Western Canada, and will now train in one of the province’s premiere training facilities. Read more
	June 7, 2010: World Wheelchair Rugby Championships Ticket Program Launched Ticket Package Prices Easy on the Pocket Book - Richmond, BC The Host Society for the 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships launched its ticket package today. The prices are quite reasonable running at five dollars for a round robin double-game pass, $10 for the semi-finals day pass, $12 for the gold and bronze medal games day pass, and $35 for a full tournament pass. Read more.
	June 7, 2010: Team Canada Women take on Chile & Sweden while Men tip off against Team China in tune up for 2010 FIBA World Championships - Toronto, ON Canada Basketball announced the 2010 competition schedule for the Senior Men’s and Women’s Teams that will include domestic exhibition games this July and August in Richmond, Abbotsford, and Vancouver, B.C. Both teams are preparing for the upcoming FIBA World Championship events later this summer. Read more.
	May 20, 10: Richmond Olympic Oval to Launch Court Sport Leagues, Powered by Urban Recreation - Richmond, BC Recreational co-ed sport leagues are coming to the courts of the Richmond Olympic Oval this September. The public can register for their chance to play in the world-class Olympic venue starting in June. The court sport leagues will be operated by Urban Recreation Ltd., a local leader with 15 years experience providing sport and social activities to over 32,000 participants annually. Read more.
	May 12, 10: RACA and Oval Agree to an Ice Usage Framework - Richmond, BC Richmond community ice sport user groups will have ice time at the Oval starting in the Fall. The Richmond Olympic Oval and Richmond Arenas Community Association (RACA) have agreed on a framework for community use of the Oval’s Legacy ice sheets during the 2010-2011 season. The plan will provide RACA and its member groups with 30 hours of ice time per week. Additionally, the usage framework emphasizes coordinated and non-competitive arena programs and schedules for the benefit of the community. Read more
	May 7, 10: Canlan Signs Exclusive Agreement with the Richmond Olympic Oval - World-class facility is newest Adult Safe Hockey League satellite location - Burnaby, BC Canlan Ice Sports Corp. (TSX: ICE), industry-leading providers of on-ice experiences to youth and adults across North America, today announced they will be the exclusive provider of adult recreational hockey leagues at the Richmond Olympic Oval, the crown jewel venue of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Download PFD>>
	April 20, 10: Volleyball Centre of Excellence to be Established at the Richmond Oval - Richmond, BC The road to Canada’s inaugural Olympic Summer Games medal in Volleyball will now go through the 2010 Olympic Winter Games’ crown jewel venue. The Richmond Olympic Oval announced today that it will operate a Volleyball Centre of Excellence – a leader in superior coaching, technical leadership and competition hosting – that will guide athletes and coaches from community grassroots participation to high performance opportunities with Volleyball BC and Volleyball Canada. The Centre is endorsed by Volleyball BC and will open in September 2010. Download PDF>>
	March 4, 10: Record Setting Richmond Olympic Oval to Open in April - Richmond, BC Conversion of the Richmond Olympic Oval into a centre of excellence for sport, health and wellness has already begun, with the re-opening of public programming planned for early April.. Download PDF>> February 12, 10: Meet Simon Whitfield, Clara Hughes in the Oval Pavilion at Richmond O Zone - Richmond, BC Meet over 60 Olympic and Paralympic heroes for autograph signing sessions, play on ICON’s “Playground of the Future”, take on Fitness Challenges for prizes and learn about the Oval’s Legacy. Download PDF>> January 12, 10: Richmond Olympic Oval Continues to impress industry leaders - Richmond, BC The Richmond Olympic Oval continues to collect awards for its design, construction and integration of sustainable building practices. The latest honour came on January 6th, 2010 from the 2009 Wood Design and Building Awards program, a North American-wide award that celebrates wood building innovation and achievement. The Richmond Oval was selected as an Honor Award recipient, the highest level of achievement possible. Download PDF>> November 27, 09: Richmond Olympic Oval Continues to Win Recognition, Richmond, BC The Richmond Olympic Oval continues to collect awards for its design, construction and integration of sustainable building practices. The most recent recognition comes from The Canadian Institute of Steel Construction, which presented the Oval with the BC 2009 Steel Design Award of Excellence in the Engineering category November 19. Download PDF>> November 24, 09: Last Opportunity to Skate Olympic Lap at Richmond Olympic Oval, Richmond, BC On Sunday, November 29th from 12:00 pm – 8:00pm the Richmond Olympic Oval will offer the public one last chance to skate on Olympic Oval ice at its “Celebration of Ice." Download PDF>> October 12, 09: Richmond Olympic Oval Wins Major International Award, Richmond, BC The Institution of Structural Engineers awarded the Richmond Olympic Oval its top award for Sports or Leisure Structures on Friday, October 9th at its annual awards gala. The Oval took top honours in a field of such outstanding international nominees as the 2008 Olympic Games’ Beijing National Stadium (a.k.a. Bird’s Nest), Beijing, China; the Wimbledon Centre Court roof, London, England; and, the New Elephant House, Copenhagen, Denmark. Download PDF>> September 8, 09: Award-Winning, Local Instructors to Offer Free Fitness Demo Classes at the Oval, Richmond, BC Throughout the month of September, the Richmond Olympic Oval will be offering free demo fitness classes to members of the media and public. Demo classes begin September 8 and feature top level instructors. Download PDF>> September 3, 09: Canada's National Women's Ball Hockey Team to Demo Floorball at the OVAL, Richmond, BC On Friday, September 4 from 1-2 pm members of Canada’s National  Women’s Ball Hockey Team, BC’s Provincial Floorball Team and the Sentinel Hockey Academy will be demonstrating Floorball at the Richmond Olympic Oval. Download PDF>> July 20, 09: 80 International Skaters Take Pre Olympic Spin at the Oval, Richmond, BC In a scene best compared to NASCAR, the ice at the Richmond Olympic Oval will host up to 50 skaters at a time whipping around the 400m track at speeds up to 80 km/hr. July 20 to August 2, 2009 is one of three international team access periods at the OVAL. The others are September 21 – October 4 and November 15 – 30, 2009. Download PDF>>  July 14, 09: Oval Welcomes Fastest Growing Sport in the World, Richmond, BC Starting Wednesday, July 15 from 7-9pm members of the public age 15 and up will have a chance to experience the fastest growing sport in the world: floorball – a fast-paced, safe and spectator friendly combination of hockey and soccer, Canada’s two most popular sports. Download PDF>>  June 25, 09: Richmond partners on 2010 aboriginal art program, Richmond, BC A contemporary structure of glass and cedar, over six metres tall (21 ft) and carved with First Nations’ imagery, is one of the spectacular works of art by Canadian aboriginal artists already selected to grace the Richmond Olympic Oval site through the Vancouver 2010 Venues’ Aboriginal Art Program. Download PDF>>  June 17, 09: Richmond Olympic Oval Precinct Public Art Celebration The artistic component of the Richmond Olympic Oval Precinct represents the largest investment in public art in the City's history. Please join the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Richmond and artists Susan A. Point (Buttress Runnels), Buster Simpson (Ice Blade) and Janet Echelman *Water Sky Garden" this Sunday, June 21, 2009 from 3 to 5pm on the Richmond Olympic Oval Legacy Plaze (South East). Download PDF>>