The Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) announced today that Jean Blackie of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, is the recipient of the Investors Group National Volunteer Sport Administrator Award.

For nearly 20 years, Blackie has donated her time, skills, and knowledge to Newfoundland and Labrador�s curling community. She started curling in 1966 and competed in several provincial championships as an athlete, but by the late 1980s, she decided to take on the role of Junior Coordinator for the Gander Curling Club. Since then, there was no stopping her.

Blackie is a NCCP Level 3 certified coach and is working on her Level 4 Tasks. She is also a Level 2 official and has been trained as a Competition � Introduction Learning Facilitator.

No matter what her role, Blackie�s time and dedication has made a significant difference in her province�s curling community. Through her efforts as Provincial Junior Coordinator (1994-2003) and conducting numerous junior development camps, the number of junior curlers more than doubled and the Provincial and Atlantic 17 & under championships were launched. In 1999, as manager for the boys� team in her third Canada Games experience, the team won a bronze medal. As Provincial Technical Coordinator (1995 � present), she introduced the first of many high performance camps and the first NCCP Level 3 coaching clinic in the province.

Furthermore, the success of competitive teams in Newfoundland and Labrador has greatly increased. Since 1999, the province has won two bronze, four silver, and two gold medals nationally, three World Championships, and the men�s team secured a spot in the top ten to compete for the Olympic Winter Games.

She is a tireless volunteer who has also donated her time and support to the Scott Tournament of Hearts and the Curling Trials. She was honoured in 2004 by being inducted into the Gander Sports Hall of Fame.

The Investors Group National Volunteer Sport Administrator Award has been presented to volunteer sport administrators for the past 15 years. It recognizes the contribution to the community sport programs made by dedicated volunteers who give their time so that coaches and athletes can enjoy the benefits of well-organized sport.

CAC is a not-for-profit amateur sport organization with the mandate to improve the effectiveness of coaching across all sports and at all levels of the sport system.

www.sportnl.ca

-30-

For more information, please contact:
Julie Tam
Director, Communications
Coaching Association of Canada
613-235-5000 ext. 9-2378

2006 11 01                                                      4:25 p.m.