Saint John Field House 'game-changer' for university athletics, say coaches
There are 300 of the region's top university track and field athletes at the Irving Oil Field House in Saint John this weekend, but the brightest star might be the facility itself.
The $27-million structure, which opened last fall, is regarded as a "game-changer" for university athletics in Atlantic Canada.
"It just changes the whole season and the whole dynamics of how we do things and set up our season," said Rich Lehman, head coach of the Dalhousie University track and field team.
It's one of 10 schools from the Atlantic University Sport conference in Saint John for the two-day regional meet, which began Friday. It's the first time the regional precursor to U Sports nationals has been held outside of Moncton in 49 years.
Team officials lauded the University of Moncton for its decades of hosting, but the Vance-Toner Stadium and its 166-metre track proved prohibitive.
Lehman said the track length creates sharper turns and more turning for longer races — a problem for athletes because in order to qualify for the national championships they need to match a certain standard.
"There was no way you were going to run fast enough in Moncton," said Lehman.
The 200-metre track at the Field House solves that issue, while also meeting other national and international requirements. That allows the University of New Brunswick to now bid on hosting nationals, something Moncton was unable to do due to the track size.
And that's just what UNB did, successfully bidding to host the 2021 championships in Saint John. It will be the first time the event is held within Atlantic Canada.
"The facility drove everything," said John Richard, UNB's director of athletics.
The 127,000-square-foot complex features two indoor turf fields, each measuring 60 metres by 30 metres, a 200-metre indoor track, a fitness centre and change rooms, a child-care centre and a Newcomer Connections service. It's the first of its kind east of Montreal.
"We're very impressed with the speed of the track and all of the benefits of the facility, just even the free space and locker room space," Richard said. "It allows us to do a lot."
Hundreds filed into the space in east Saint John Friday for the first day of competition, which saw field events held on the artificial turf alongside the blue track. Off to the side is an indoor long jump station, where Victoria LeBlanc made some history.
The fifth-year UNB Saint John athlete broke the AUS women's triple jump record with a leap of 12.01 metres, five centimeters better than the previous record. LeBlanc was thrilled to break it in her final year of eligibility.
She said the team has been growing and improving and a new facility specifically designed for track and field will further that trend.
"Having a facility like this is phenomenal," she said. "This is really good for New Brunswick. It's just going to help a lot with recruiting, hopefully, for UNB."
