The road to Rio not taken has cost Liam Middleton his job.
The contract of the Langford-based Canadian men鈥檚 rugby sevens team coach has not been renewed after the team failed to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
sa国际传媒 had two chances under Middleton but fell short in both the North American and Caribbean qualifier, losing last year to the rising U.S. in the final at North Carolina, and placing fifth in the last-chance world qualifier last month at Monaco.
鈥淚t was a difficult decision. But we felt it was the time to make the change leading into the new Tokyo 2020 quadrennial,鈥� said Jim Dixon, Rugby sa国际传媒鈥檚 GM of operations and performance.
鈥淲e thought Rio was very attainable and are very disappointed not to go. This is a tough time for the players. There are a lot of disappointed men who had aspirations of playing in the Rio Olympic Games,鈥� added Dixon, in a conference call Wednesday with the Canadian sports media.
鈥淔or some, the Olympic dream is over and they will go on to other things. Other players are looking beyond out to Tokyo 2020.鈥�
Dixon said the move was not to assign blame.
鈥淭here were a multitude of factors, some driven by coaching and some the responsibility of the players鈥� he said.
Qualification tournaments have a singular type of pressure and intensity.
鈥淲e have to perform under pressure and perform on demand. We have to make sure we can do that. We have to get results at the times that are critical,鈥� said Dixon.
鈥淲e had a strong chance and believe we should have been there in Rio. Our review made us look hard at leadership and player depth. We know we have to do a lot more work to be ready to fight for Tokyo in four years.鈥�
Dixon thanked Middleton for 鈥渢he culture of excellence, commitment and discipline established.鈥�
Middleton was hired in 2014 after Geraint John was hired away by the Australian sevens team after he took sa国际传媒 to the No. 6 world ranking. The soft-spoken Middleton, who coached the Zimbabwe men鈥檚 sevens from 2004 to 2010 and professionally in XVs in England, exited with class: 鈥淚 wish [the people in the Canadian men鈥檚 sevens program] well and look forward to watching their progress.鈥�
Dixon said the global search begins immediately and he hopes to have a new head coach in place in Langford by Oct. 1. The 10-tournament 2016-17 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series begins Dec. 2-3 with the Dubai Sevens.
Meanwhile, the world No. 3-ranked Canadian women鈥檚 rugby sevens team continues its preparations for the Olympics under lofty expectations at Westhills Stadium in Langford and Pacific Institute of Sport Excellence on the Camosun College Interurban campus.
鈥淸sa国际传媒] has qualified in five teams sports for Rio and our women鈥檚 sevens rugby team is at the top of the list for medal potential,鈥� said Anne Merklinger, CEO of the federal Own the Podium funding program.
Despite the high-profile misses in men鈥檚 basketball and rugby sevens, the five team sports qualified by sa国际传媒 for Rio is the most since the five at Sydney in 2000.
鈥淪uccess in team sports [at the Olympics] has a tremendous impact . . . and is felt coast to coast,鈥� said Merklinger.
One of those five Rio Olympics-bound Canadian teams 鈥� the men's field-hockey squad which includes University of Victoria Vikes grads Keegan Pereira, Matthew Sarmento and Brenden Bissett 鈥�- will be conducting a community clinic for Island players of all ages and genders Thursday at 6 p.m. on the UVic pitch. Suggested donation is $20.
