News & Events

Weekly Roundup
Weekly Roundup – Jan. 29 – Feb. 4

Hudak takes gold Prince Albert’s Brittany Hudak contributed to one of Canada’s four gold medals collected at the IBU Para...

News
Black History Month 2025

For almost 50 years, February has marked Black History Month in Canada, which celebrates the contributions that Black Canadians have...

News
Newkirk, Wiens named Athletes of the Year at 40th Annual Saskatchewan Sport Awards

Paris Paralympic bronze medallist Shelby Newkirk and Olympic bronze medallist Rylan Wiens were named Female and Male Athlete of the...

Weekly Roundup
Weekly Roundup – January 22-28

Team Saskatchewan has been named for Scotties and Brier It’s official, the teams that will represent Saskatchewan at the Scotties...

Saskatchewan Stories
Oatway returning to top form with eyes on 2026 Paralympics 

By Ryan Flaherty for Canadian Sport Centre Saskatchewan  Kurt Oatway thought he would have success this season, but the amount...

Event
Building A Winning Personal Brand: Webinar Hosted By P&G

As an athlete, you have an incredible platform to share your unique story with the world. Building a compelling personal...

News
CSCS Holistic Athlete Grant Recipients

Congratulations to the ten CSCS registered athletes who were awarded a $1,000 Canadian Sport Centre Saskatchewan Holistic Athlete Grant. The...

Event
Building a Vision Board – CANCELLED

Join us for an engaging and creative two-part workshop designed to help you visualize your future and set meaningful goals!...

Weekly Roundup
Weekly Roundup Jan. 8-14 

Canada claims gold at U18 Women’s Worlds  With a 3-0 shutout victory over the United States in the final, Canada...

News
Saskatchewan Sport Awards Recipients and Finalists Announced

Ahead of the 40th Annual Saskatchewan Sport Awards, a number of Canadian Sport Centre Saskatchewan registered athletes and three high...

Weekly Roundup
Weekly Roundup – During the holiday break

Local teams compete at 2025 Mixed Doubles Curling Trials Three teams with ties to Saskatchewan concluded their time at the...

Saskatchewan Stories
Perseverance pays off for Longboat winner Margo Erlam 

By Ryan Flaherty for Sask Sport, Canadian Sport Centre Saskatchewan When 2024 began, competing at the Paris Olympics seemed like...

Weekly Roundup
Weekly Roundup – Dec. 11-17

Dash to join Canada at Wheelchair Curling Championship Gil Dash, of Wolseley, SK, is set to join Team Canada at...

Saskatchewan Stories
Etta Love: Cleans up on world records

From mirroring the actions of her mother at the gym as a child, to standing on the youth weightlifting stage...

Weekly Roundup
Weekly Roundup – Dec. 4 – 10

Mixed results at Canadian Seniors Curling Championships Two Saskatchewan teams wrapped their time at the 2024 Everest Canadian Seniors Curling...

Weekly Roundup
Weekly Roundup – Nov. 27 – Dec. 3

Newkirk sets two Canadian records Shelby Newkirk, who hails from Saskatoon, set two Canadian records at the Ken Demark International...

Weekly Roundup
Weekly Roundup – Nov. 20 – 26

Norsten named to Canada’s rugby 7s team Waldheim-born, Carissa Nortsen was named to the Canadian rugby sevens team for the...

Weekly Roundup
Weekly Roundup – Nov. 13-19

McKnight named to Team Canada for Pan American Water Polo Championship Brody McKnight, of Regina, was named to help represent...

Weekly Roundup
Weekly Roundup – Nov. 6-12

Saskatchewan fourth at National Women’s U18 Hockey Championship Team Saskatchewan concluded their time at the 2024 U18 Women’s National Hockey...

Saskatchewan Stories
From the Olympic stage, to life after

After committing years to wrestling, Jillian Gallays chose to move on from being a high-performance athlete and was forced to...

Saskatchewan Stories

“She never would have wanted us to miss an opportunity like that”: Competition assists Shane Bradley in coaching through grief

September 21, 2023

Sometimes the best way out is through, even when it feels far from the path of least resistance.

It’s a notion Saskatoon coach Shane Bradley was reminded of in the days after local wrestler Natasha Fox died in a collision between her bicycle and a vehicle earlier this year.

“Probably the toughest thing we had to deal with was — and I’m not sure how many people know this — three days after the accident we travelled to the under-23 Olympic national team trials in Montreal,” said Bradley. “That was one where we really didn’t want to go. The timing was terrible. One of the athletes going [SueAnne Harms] was a training partner of Natasha’s and a very good friend.”

Bradley remembered Fox in part for her exceptional work ethic and also as someone who lived and breathed for her sport above nearly all else. It was that reputation that contributed to a collaborative decision to continue on with the Montreal competition in spite of the team’s collective grief.

“We decided between us it was something Natasha would have wanted us to do because she never would have wanted us to miss an opportunity like that. But to be there just a few days after the crash … was extremely difficult and it still boggles my mind that she [Harms] was able to be on the mat.”

The tragedy also posed other challenges for Bradley, who has coached wrestling at the University of Saskatchewan since 1988, in addition to other current duties as head coach of the Saskatoon Junior Huskies Wrestling Club and as a high-performance coach with Saskatchewan Amateur Wrestling Association.

“It’s a small sport in a sense and we all know each other extremely well,” Bradley said, noting he had known Fox through the sport for the better part of 20 years and considered her “like another daughter to me.”

Fox’s funeral was held six days after the Olympic trials wrapped up. Her legacy and dedication were further honoured when Bradley and several of his athletes held a team practice the morning of the service.  It was how, together, they were able to grieve, and have an outlet.

 

“We were actually at practice when we got the news that Natasha had passed,” he continued. “We finished practice but then that was a real tough drive home. And then news gets out really quick so then it’s a matter of trying to deal with your own emotions and your own grief but also ensure you’re there to support others because that’s what many of our athletes in our wrestling family needed at that time.

 

“You’re never sure what kind of influence you have but obviously you have to work through that and give yourself the opportunity to grieve. You want to recognize that this is something that has occurred but also that it’s something we need to able to talk about.”