The Speed River Track and Field Club has ceased operations.
The club that helped establish Guelph as one of the country’s hotbeds of cross-country and track since being formed in 1998 announced on its web site earlier this month that it was shutting down its registrations and training, but that something new might be in the works.
A statement posted on the club's website, which is no longer active, read:
To All Speed River TF Members, Coaches and Volunteers,
Effective immediately, the Speed River Track & Field Club will not be receiving any member registrations, and the club has ceased operations related to athlete training and development, as well as event hosting.
Moving forward, there are initiatives underway to create a new training platform in which our top priority is to ensure continued programming for track and field athletes in our community in a fun, safe, and caring environment. As these plans develop, we will provide further details to you as soon as practical.
As you are aware, the last few weeks have presented challenges for continued club management, and our registration portal was disabled for 2020. In the short term, we will refund those who had already completed their 2020 registrations. In addition, we will unfortunately need to cancel our Winter Xtreme Team Program for kids aged 5 – 10. However, in the interim, training will continue at the University of Guelph, for those athletes in the Intermediate, Junior and Senior Groups as will be communicated to you by your coaches.
A heartfelt thanks to the tremendous volunteers who have led our membership through these uncertain times and will continue to do so, hopefully under a new sport platform. Our mission is to make the transition as seamless as possible since we know that it is the tireless work of all of these individuals that have had such a positive impact on your enjoyment and growth in our sport.
“There are initiatives underway to create a new training platform in which our top priority is to ensure continued programming for track and field athletes in our community in a fun, safe and caring environment,” the club stated.
It also said it would not be hosting any events, which could put the annual summer Speed River Inferno Track and Field Festival at Alumni Stadium in doubt.
Speed River posted in early January on its web site, which has since shut down, that “the last few weeks have presented challenges for continued club management.”
It said no new registrations were being accepted and that the club has ceased operations.
The move comes in the wake of its founder and head coach Dave Scott-Thomas being fired by the University of Guelph, where he was also head track and cross-country coach, for “unprofessional conduct.”
It did not elaborate on details, only saying the decision was a result of complaints made by current and former athletes.
Scott-Thomas founded the Speed River Track and Field Club in 1998 as a place for athletes to get elite-level training and competition, including high-level university runners once they finished school.
Over the years the club attracted numerous athletes from around the country looking to work with other top runners and with Scott-Thomas, a highly-decorated coach with a high profile within Athletics Canada.
At least six Speed River Track and Field Club runners have represented Canada in the Olympics over the years.
Just prior to news of Scott-Thomas’s troubles at the U of G came to light, at least two Olympic hopefuls who were members of SRTFC left for other clubs.
In 2018 Athletics Canada had named the club and the U of G a “Centre of Excellence,” a designation that came with some funding. That designation has since been revoked in light of the results of the Scott-Thomas investigation at the school.
Athletics Canada did its own investigation and found some historic complaints filed by at least one athlete against Scott-Thomas.
Speed River manager Scott MacDonald did not immediately return a request for comment.
