Athletics Canada continues down slippery slope
By Christopher Galakoutis Wednesday, February 27 2008 6:56:48 PM

William F. Buckley Jr., the American conservative author and commentator who passed away today, once said that he would rather be governed by the first 200 names in the Boston phone book than by the Harvard university faculty.

No doubt there are several Canadian track athletes who feel exactly the same way about Athletics Canada (AC) and the Ottawa phonebook.

In a letter sent out yesterday, which we have obtained, AC issued what they are calling the “AC National Relay Team Athlete Agreement,” which is intended to develop a “common understanding” of the relay program, and lay out AC’s expectations of the athletes who might be willing to be a part of the relay pool.  That “pool” is a list of eligible athletes for Canadian relay teams, such as the ones that will be picked later this year to represent Canada at the Beijing Olympics.