A new voice

Like many readers of Now That's Amateur I had ambivalent feelings when I saw that its author had taken a new position with the COA. I was thrilled that the COA had hired someone so clearly passionate about amateur sport for such an important role, but I was disappointed that the great resource that is Now That's Amateur could potentially be lost.

In Canada, the amateur athlete is too often overlooked. With the MSM seemingly more interested in covering Tie Domi's sex life, it's up to sites like Now That's Amateur to pick up the slack. When I saw that the site may have to be put on hiatus, I was compelled to offer my assistance.

And Now That's Amateur was crazy enough to take me up on my offer.

My name is Duane Rollins and I am a journalist. I currently am the news editor at a weekly newspaper in SW Ont., but I'm better known (relatively speaking) as the CIS football guy. I publish the website CollegeColours.com, the only news source in Canada dedicated to covering university football in Canada, year round (please forgive the look of the place, it's currently undergoing some renovations and is being housed on a very basic blog skin in the meantime).

I won't bore you with all the things we have accomplished with CollegeColours, but it has taught me a great deal about covering a "niche" sport in this country. I hope to bring some of that knowledge here.

To be clear, I'm not taking over. I'm just helping out. I invite you to visit often as we endeavour to provide you with the same high-quality coverage of Canadian amateur sport as you have come to expect from Now That's Amateur.