As a Canadian, the issue I see here is not one of deadlines or times run or venues. A Federation is supposed to SUPPORT, GROW AND DEVELOP the sport.
AC however for years and years, as far back as Drayton days, puts obstacles in the path of athletes. It's hard enough for an athlete to fund, train, stay uninjured, make it to key races, but these damn bureaucrats in their air conditioned offices have no damn clue. Other Federations fight for their athletes.
I look at the depth in Canada these days. Yes, we have good depth in womens 800 (no thanks to AC) and some depth in Womens 10K, but no world beaters like we had with Chalmers, Lynn Kanuka (Wiliams) Leah Pells, Brit McRoberts, Sue Lee, Debbie Bowker, etc etc.
I look at the results in Europe, no Canadians there at all. Meanwhile, Draytons record is 40 years old.
This is a response that someone In PR from AC sent me when I complained about the Fiona Benson issue. Personally, I would fire the lot at AC unless they start having results. In the USA, there is a resurgence in running for both men and women. In Canada? Nothing
"Thank you for your note and for supporting the sport in many various ways over the decades, that’s great to hear.
In terms of Pan Am Games selection, Fiona unfortunately did not meet the entire criteria, which outlined the need to complete the appropriate declaration form by May 1.
The full selection criteria is available here:
http://athletics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2015-Pan-Am-Games-SelectionCriteria-EN-0227151.pdf
In Fiona’s situation I believe it wasn’t a matter of not declaring for Pan Ams, but more a choice to not declare for that team, because her and her coach did not believe she had a legitimate shot at being one of the top two Canadian women in the 800m.
From that perspective the National Team Committee (the group that selects athletes to teams) has no choice but to not name her to the team. It is definitely unfortunate since she had a real breakthrough after the deadline passed.
Athletics Canada’s original intention was to have a Pan Am Trials at the upcoming Canadian Championships, however the COC imposed deadline to name the team was June 28. It’s an unfortunate set of circumstances which negatively affected Fiona, no doubt about that. But just because it’s unfortunate the National Team Committee can’t ignore the criteria and place her on the team, that’s going against following protocol.
We are looking forward to having Fiona represent Canada at the World Championships in August, and we will review policies and eligibility requirements to ensure this type of situation doesn’t repeat itself."
I have backed away from volunteering in the sport the way I used to I'll dedicated my time to where it helps.