Story
“The Dalhousie Tigers Track and Field program has been a perennial powerhouse in the AUS conference spanning decades. This has been accomplished with limited resources, in the absence of a dedicated track facility, and with many thousands of hours committed from volunteer coaches. It is time for the Tigers to take the next step forward and be a perennial top three contender on the national U SPORTS stage.”
This past season, Dalhousie celebrated 19 AUS gold medals, a U SPORTS silver medal, 8 major AUS and U SPORTS awards and 26 AUS all-stars.
Part of these incredible accomplishments includes the Dalhousie Tigers women’s Track and Field team winning a record setting 34th consecutive AUS title. We are very excited to share that this is now the longest winning streak in Canadian university sport. This year’s men’s banner is our 21st in the past 22 seasons. During this time, we have also had numerous national individual and relay medalists, countless Academic All-Canadians, and many international level athletes.
While we are very proud of the success that we have earned at the AUS level, our vision and goals extend beyond conference banners. We want to position the Dalhousie men’s and women’s Track and Field teams as perennial contenders at the national level, and we are seeking support from our alumni and community to make this a reality.
Strategy
After a thorough gap analysis comparing our program with the top teams in the U SPORTS league, we have concluded that we need to commit funding to coaching support. Our current model has relied on the tremendous work of Head Coach, Rich Lehman, along with volunteer coaches giving hundreds of hours a year to ensure that those event groups are well taken care of. With this five-year pilot project to add additional dedicated coaching support, we will be able to provide our student-athletes with stability and continuity in training. We will also be able to recruit top level talent from across the country. This will also ensure that we provide consistency and longevity to the full university career of our student-athletes.
Impact
A generous donor has committed to giving the largest ever varsity team gift for the Department of Athletics and Recreation! With a five-year commitment to Track and Field, we will be able to accurately assess the impact this pilot project has had on our program regionally and nationally.
Double the Impact
Thanks to our donor’s support, gifts from individuals will go twice as far. That means that your contribution can have double the impact. We hope we can count on our alumni and community to support this exciting and impactful opportunity.
With your support, our varsity student-athletes will continue to develop, strengthen, and thrive with this additional coaching support. We will be able to continue attracting the best and brightest to Dalhousie who are proud to be Tigers!
“This won’t happen without financial commitment from our track and field alumni. I’m proud to have been a supporter of the team for almost 20 years, but it was time to move ahead with a strong multi-year commitment in hopes that others will follow. After chatting with Coach Lehman, it was clear that having increased coaching support is a strong first step towards fulfilling our dream of a national championship track and field program at Dalhousie. This allows for year-round programming while helping attract strong recruits from right across the country (and beyond!). As we see this become a reality, it is my intention to get behind the next steps as well and provide further financial support. Every dollar counts, so please consider a multi-year financial commitment to make this happen! GO TIGERS!” – Lead Donor
For more information about our program, please visit our website: Dalhousie Tigers Track & Field
If you have any questions, please contact Lija Skobe at lija.skobe@dal.ca or 902-220-3260. Tax receipts will be issued for any donations. Thank you again for your consideration and generous support.
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