Athletics Canada severs ties with Speed River and U of Guelph

Athletics Canada has terminated its partnership with the SRTFC and UofG Centre of Excellence

Canadian Running December 17, 2019

On Tuesday, December 17, Athletics Canada announced that it has given a termination notice to the University of Guelph and Speed River as the home of the Canadian Centre of Excellence.

The Centre of Excellence, based out of Guelph, was part of Athletics Canada’s plan to set up multiple track and field training hubs across the country. The dissolution of the partnership comes hours after the university’s announcement that former track and field head coach Dave Scott-Thomas had been fired over reports of professional misconduct.

Athletics Canada reports that over the years Scott-Thomas served as a volunteer coach on the following national teams:

2005 FISU Games – Head Coach
2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Head Coach
2006 Coach European B Tour
2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Team Coach
2009 FISU Games – Team Coach
2011 NACAC Cross Country Championships – Head Coach
2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Head Coach
2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Team Coach
2014 Commonwealth Games – Team Coach
2015 Pan American Games – Team Coach
2015 IAAF World Athletics Championships – Team Coach
2016 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships – Team Coach
2016 Olympic Games – Team Coach
2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships – Team Coach
2018 Commonwealth Games – Team Coach
2019 FISU Games – Team Coach

Athletics Canada says that neither it nor the independent Commissioners’ Office has received complaints about Scott-Thomas, SRTFC or the University of Guelph since the Office’s inception in 2015. “Athletics Canada is completing a thorough review of records to identify if complaints were received prior to 2015,” it said in a statement. AC doesn’t investigate claims, which is why the file has been redirected to the external Commissioners’ Office.

As of now Athletics Canada has no plans to relocate the Center of Excellence.

Should athletes, coaches, or sports personal have anything to report, they can do so at Athletics.ca.

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