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B.C.B次元官网网址檚 fastest runner watching provincials from the sidelines

Jack Amos tripped by school sports rule, happy to wait
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Two-time provincial cross country champion Jack Amos of Oak Bay High is on the sidelines for the 2017 Island and B.C. high school cross country championships, as well as the upcoming 2018 track and field season. The Grade 11 is already the provincial favourite to win the XC and 3-kilometre track events in his Grade 12 year. Travis Paterson/B次元官网网址 Staff

Three pairs of socks, long johns, tights, sweatpants, snow pants, two shirts, a sweater, a coat, a balaclava, a neck warmer, gloves and a hat.

This is the outfit Jack Amos wore when the Dawson City teen ran in minus-48 degree Celsius last year. ItB次元官网网址檚 what you have to do if you want to win the B.C. Cross Country Championship when you live within a dayB次元官网网址檚 drive of the Arctic Circle (Yukon athletes qualify for the B.C. event).

B次元官网网址淚 also ran in snowshoes but mostly I went cross-country skiing,B次元官网网址 said Amos. B次元官网网址淵ou run hard or you get cold.B次元官网网址

This weekend the two-time B.C. Cross Country champion was home in Oak Bay, (his new home away from home, that is), despite being the favourite to win the B.C. High School Cross Country Championships, Nov. 4, at Jericho Beach in Vancouver.

As expected, Justine Stecko of Oak Bay High won the senior girlsB次元官网网址 B.C. High School Cross Country Championship, a 4.6-kilometre race, in a time of 17:01. Bridget Mateyko, an Oak Bay resident at St. AndrewB次元官网网址檚 Regional School, came in 19th (18:43) with Oak Bay High runners Alisa Lyesina in 20th (18:45) and Sarah Bryan (18:48) in 21st.

And even without Amos, Oak Bay won the senior boysB次元官网网址 title (a 6.9km race). Findlay Day was 11th overall, Jack Boden (22nd), Michael Barber 34th) and Joe Robertson (37th). Mount DouglasB次元官网网址 Liam Dwyer was the top finisher from the South Island, finishing 7th at 23:47, followed by ReynoldsB次元官网网址 Kalem Delaney in 8th, ParklandB次元官网网址檚 Cooper Langard in 10th.

However, Amos canB次元官网网址檛 wear Oak BayB次元官网网址檚 famous green running pinny until September of 2018 because he needed to have resided with a legal guardian, here in Victoria, for 12 months prior to competition. (He is now registered with his current billet and will be on track for September of 2018.)

He might be the best athlete in Greater Victoria to sit out a school season since Steve Nash moved from Mount Douglas secondary to St. Michaels University School, in 1990-91 (Nash famously led SMUS to the AAA provincial title in his Grade 12 year).

Amos left Dawson City and his family B次元官网网址 dadB次元官网网址檚 a park ranger, momB次元官网网址檚 an educational assistant B次元官网网址 for Oak Bay in August. HeB次元官网网址檚 billeting with a friend of his familyB次元官网网址檚 with a goal of completing Grade 11 and 12 here to focus on training year round. He enrolled at Oak Bay High for its academic reputation as much as anything (fun fact, the school population this year is just under 1,300 students, about 75 less people than the population of Dawson City), he said.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 actually okay with [the ruling], itB次元官网网址檚 all good. I didnB次元官网网址檛 actually know ],B次元官网网址 Amos said. B次元官网网址淭o get here and train with the runners at Prairie Inn and Oak Bay, I love it, itB次元官网网址檚 been great.B次元官网网址

While heB次元官网网址檚 accepting of the rule, Amos did appeal for eligibility, which was turned down. By joining Oak Bay, itB次元官网网址檚 easy to think he sought out the top track school in B.C. on purpose but that is secondary to his primary goal of moving here to run under the tutelage of Saanich-based coach and former Olympian Bruce Deacon. Deacon runs the Prairie Inn Harriers high performance youth running team where Amos trains with the top male runners in town, including his Oak Bay teammates, as well as Dwyer and the .

The latter group were all top-10 at the XC Islands, and Amos outpaced them, and everyone else, at the .

B次元官网网址淛ack proved to everyone that he can beat them all when heB次元官网网址檚 allowed to race,B次元官网网址 Deacon said. B次元官网网址淗e ran a brilliant race, really smart, bided his time and won at the end.B次元官网网址

B.C. School Sports executive director Jordan Abney said thereB次元官网网址檚 been an increase in transfer applications by 20 per cent this year, up from another increase last year. With the growing number, BCSS has moved to clarify the rulings adding to create more tangible definitions.

In the first six weeks of school BCSS has received 338 eligibility applications (as of Oct. 19).

In general, the biggest barrier stopping transfers from playing school sports is if they played that sport in their previous year at the previous school (which Amos didnB次元官网网址檛).

B次元官网网址淲e understand schools and parents get frustrated and thereB次元官网网址檚 no enjoyment in telling a kid they canB次元官网网址檛 play a sport they love, and we often [bear] the negative end [of that],B次元官网网址 Abney said. B次元官网网址淭he big picture is this is a rare situation. Even the number of ineligible transfers is only a handful students in the whole province, .2 per cent of 70,000 students.

B次元官网网址淥ur member schools have to do a good job of ensuring students are made aware of the transfer rules when they transfer.B次元官网网址

Amos will compete at the Canadian Cross Country Championships in Kingston, Ont., Nov. 25.

reporter@saanichnews.com





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