notreallyafan wrote:
I think a big part of the blame has to be on Athletics Canada. Without them, a lot of the problems could never have happened. An accountable and fair governing body doesn't create conflicts of interest in every single committee and decision it makes, or play favourites like AC has been doing, and likely has always done. Certainly, Speed River staff have exploiting that and ought to be ashamed of themselves, but it's on AC, and almost certainly that means specific people at AC, that they even had the opportunity to do so.
For issues directly related to AC, yes it is reasonable AT FIRST to suggest "a big part of the blame has to be on Athletics Canada." And if the issues Speed River is connected to were only occurring within the AC arena, then such a statement would hold some weight. However...
When the CIS rules are bent without a formal vote from coaches, enabling an additional member onto the FISU team (turned out to be a Guelph athlete), we're now in a different arena. And while many people, including myself, are generally in favour of going further down the list to fill out a XC team, the manner in which it was done and the athlete it benefited raises concerns. Athletics Canada has no involvement in such a matter.
When Guelph/Speed River athletes show poor conduct at the OUA 3,000m 2015 - not just on the track in the execution of their team tactics, but off the track when their coaches would admit no wrongdoing on their part, trying to overturn ALL appeals against them while working to DQ non-Guelph athlete(s) - we see examples of their morals and the potential impact on others in yet another arena, the OUA. The posts by Guelph team members on this topic clearly showed the sense of entitlement pervasive to many members of that program. The blame for creating such a culture rests solely on the leadership of the Guelph/Speed River program.
When Speed River athletes are nominated for provincial carding despite not meeting the basic eligibility criteria two years in a row, we once again see instances of nepotism and corruption outside of the AC arena, this time at the provincial governing body level.
While it may have seemed that way at first, it is abundantly clear that the common denominator here is Speed River. The reality is that Speed River cannot get away with all of this without people outside of their club either actively helping them, which without question now includes AC leadership, but they also cannot get away with this if other members of the Canadian Athletics community would consistently stand up to them instead of silently standing by, likely because they are not immediately, directly impacted by these improprieties.