Tears and Goosebumps in 2012

As 2012 comes to an end, it's time to reflect on the sports moments that had an impact on me this year. This is not a list of THE "best" moments, you can read the major newspapers and watch sports stations for those. This is a list of moments that brought tears to my eyes and goosebumps on my skin.

I'll start on a sad note with those who left the sports world in their prime.

Much more than a sports reporter to Canada's amateur athletes, Randy Starkman was the fan's looking glass into the athletes' world of training and competition. Husband, father, colleague and writer, he will be missed for years to come. He was remembered this past week in the Toronto Star. You can read the article here.

Canada also lost two Olympic hopefuls in 2012.

Sarah Burke was a pioneer of ski halfpipe.  She was the best at her sport and successfully fought for ski halfpipe to be added to the 2014 Olympics. Winning the first gold medal for Canada was almost a sure thing, until she died doing what she loved to do. Click here to read the article that Randy Starkman wrote after her death.

Nic Zoricic died while racing in a ski-cross race in Switzerland. Since leaving alpine skiing to join ski-cross in 2009, he was climbing up the rankings with two World Cup podiums.  Click here to read the article that Randy Starkman wrote after his death.

On a cheerier note, here are the moments that had me cheering, gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes:

2012 Olympics

Choosing favourite Olympic moments is so difficult because I was thrilled with each and every medal that Canada won. Above and beyond that, I loved seeing the personal bests whether that meant a medal, making a final or semi-final or going faster, farther or higher. I was also proud of the Olympians who came home disappointed that the best they had to offer that day wasn't the best they had hoped for whether that meant finishing a triathlon in tears or on the pavement, flopping on a last dive, stepping on a line, running out of steam or finding the conditions or pressure too tough to handle.

I am proud of all our Olympians but here's an attempt at some of my favourite moments:

Leading the Team
One of my favourite Olympians, Simon Whitfield led Canada into the Olympic Opening Ceremony. Watching Canada walk in is always one of my highlights and recognizing so many of our athletes walking into the stadium in 2012 was amazing.

The Sprinters
Brent Hayden 100m freestyle bronze and Mark de Jonge 200m kayak bronze
Short distances are exciting because everything has to be perfect. There's no time to come back from a poor start. It's all out for the full distance and we won bronze in the water and on the water.

The Long Distance Swimmers
Ryan Cochrane 1500m freestyle silver and Richard Weinberger 10k bronze
The beauty of the long distance swimmer (cyclist, runner, skater or skier) is that a surprise is harder to come by. If you're one of the best, you have a lesser chance of not winning a medal. So although Ryan and Richard didn't surprise me with their medal wins, it's amazing to see them maintain their positions as some of the best in the world.

Meeting Silver Expectations On The Water
Adam van Koeverden, Men's Eight Rowing and Women's Eight Rowing
Winning a medal wasn't a sure thing as anything can happen in sport as we saw many of our favourites stumble so it was wonderful to see our successful rowing tradition continue along with Adam winning his fourth Olympic medal.

Overcoming adversity
THE call during the Women's soccer team's semi-final was a pivotal play that sometimes overshadowed Christine Sinclair's amazing hat-trick against the United States. Overcoming the letdown of their dream being crushed by a referee's call put them in our hearts. They could have also lost that bronze medal match, but they didn't. They kept fighting to the last whistle and came home heroes with a last minute goal by Diana Matheson. Christine Sinclair would be named flagbearer for the Closing Ceremony.

Our First Gold
Rosie MacLennan won our first and what would be our only gold medal at the Olympics becoming our golden girl for 2012.


Give Your Everything
Clara Hughes didn't win her 7th Olympic medal, but she was the epitome of Give Your Everything when she led the road race in the first half of the race and then finished a wonderful 5th in the time trial. Clara's Olympic career will be remembered for her medals but also for her smile as well as her grit and determination.


Thrill of Victory and Agony of Defeat
4x100m relay - even if we didn't get to keep the bronze, the moment when I realized Justyn Warner was going from 5th, to 4th and finally to 3rd down the final straight of the relay had me jumping up and down with excitement. Watching Gavin Smellie, Seyi Smith, Jared Connaughton and Justyn Warner celebrate was an amazing moment that I will not forget. Click here for a blog post I wrote about the race and their journey. Click here to see an early celebratory reaction.

The Reactions
There are moments that stick in your mind for the athletes' reactions. My favourites were:

Mark Oldershaw's shocked hand on his mouth look when he realized that he won the bronze medal in the 1000m canoe. Click here.

Christine Girard coming off the stage after missing her last lift thinking she was not on the podium to reading her lips say "J'ai une médaille?" and her reaction afterwards. (translated as "I have a medal?" I am going by memory of what she said since I can't find a video of that moment)

Antoine Valois-Fortier's tearful celebration when he won the bronze medal in Judo. Click here.

Diana Matheson scoring the winning goal giving them the bronze medal and the celebration happening in front of my husband's parents and uncle and aunt. Click here for a photo that includes his uncle (in white shirt and Tilley hat) and aunt and mother partially blocked by Christine Sinclair. Great seats!

Brittany MacLean hugging her sister Heather at the Canadian Olympic trials when Heather qualified in her last race and would join Brittany at the London Olympics who had qualified earlier.

2012 Paralympics

The television coverage for the Paralympics was disappointing but the team's performance wasn't as the competition at the Paralympics gets tougher and tougher.

Although the major networks made it difficult to catch the action, there were still some amazing moments for our Canadian Paralympians.

Leading the Team
As mentioned above, nothing gets the tears in my eyes like watching Canada enter the Opening Ceremony. Garett Hickling, a five-time Paralympian in wheelchair rugby led the team in 2012. His team would go on to win the silver medal.

Veteran and Rookie Success in the Pool
Benoit Huot won a gold, a silver and a bronze medal in 2012 with three personal bests and a world record. The three medals increased his overall total to 19 Paralympic medals including 9 golds for his four Paralympic Games.

At her first Paralympic Games, Summer Mortimer won two gold, one silver and one bronze. What will her total count be when she has competed at her fourth Paralympics?

Basketball Gold
Winning gold at basketball isn't something Canada does at the Olympics, but at the Paralympics, Canada won gold in 2000, 2004 and now 2012.


Milestones

I have a special place in my heart for the Olympics, but 2012 saw Canadians achieve some amazing milestones and firsts. Here are some of them:

Ryder Hesjedal (cycling)
1st Canadian to win a Grand Tour when he won the Giro d'Italia. Click here and here to read my posts. He also won Male Athlete of the Year.

Jean-Philippe Le Guellec (biathlon)
1st Male Canadian to win a biathlon World Cup. Watch the race here.

Eugenie Bouchard (tennis)
First Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles championships when she won the Junior Wimbledon Championships.


Filip Peliwo (tennis)
First Canadian to win Junior Wimbledon and U.S. Open. He was finalist at Australian Open and French Open ending the year ranked #1, a first for a Canadian singles player. The future for Tennis Canada is very bright.

Kaillie Humphries (bobsleigh)
Streak of 8 wins, including the World Championships, started at the end of the 2011-2012 season with Jennifer Ciochetti and continued with new partner Chelsea Valois.



I can't imagine 2013 being as wonderful as an Olympic year, but I look forward to seeing the Winter Olympians gear up for the 2014 Games as well as following the summer athletes' journey for the next three and a half years.

Happy New Year!

The Heartbeat

This holiday edition of The Heartbeat is the last one for 2012. With the Christmas holiday, there aren't any live events to attend in Canada. Sports being televised or streamed include ski-cross, cross-country skiing, bobsleigh, alpine skiing, snowboarding and year end review. Events to meet athletes are being held in Ancaster, Oakville and Regina.

The Heartbeat

This week's edition of The Heartbeat includes events in Panorama (alpine skiing) and Canmore (cross-country skiing).

Sports being televised or streamed include cross-country skiing, bobsleigh, skeleton, alpine skiing, biathlon, swimming, soccer, London 2012 Olympics and snowboarding.

The Heartbeat

This week's edition of The Heartbeat includes events in Québec City (cross-country skiing), Nakiska, AB (ski-cross) and Canmore (cross-country skiing).

Sports being televised or streamed include cross-country skiing, bobsleigh, skeleton, alpine skiing, figure skating, swimming and snowboarding.

Events to meet athletes are being held in Halifax, Ancaster and Québec.

If you are participating in or know of an event that could be featured in The Heartbeat, please contact me: suzanne[at]sportcafe[dot]ca or via Twitter @olympichearts.

Sprint Québec Coupe du Monde de Ski de Fond
(Cross-Country Skiing World Cup)
7-9 décembre, 2012
Québec, QC
Plus d'infos
More info
Competitors include: Alex Harvey, Devon Kershaw, Len Valjas, Chandra Crawford, Perrianne Jones and Dasha Gaiazova Click here for full list of Canadian competitors.

Cross-Country Skiing World Cup
December 13-16, 2012
Canmore, Alberta
More info
Competitors include: Alex Harvey, Devon Kershaw, Len Valjas, Ivan Babikov, Chandra Crawford, Perrianne Jones and Dasha Gaiazova Click here for full list of Canadian competitors.

Ski Cross 
FIS Ski Cross World Cup - Nakiska Snowdown
December 8, 2012
The first event of the ski cross World Cup season will consist of 190 of the best skiers from 25 nations.

Among the competitors: Marielle Thompson, Kelsey Serwa, Danielle Sundquist, Dave Duncan, Brady Leman and Tristan Tafel.

The Canadian team unveiled a "blue jean inspired Descente race suit" in memory of Nik Zoricic this week. (Photo from Alpine Canada website)

You can read more about the unveiling here.
More info

Olympic Sports On Television/Internet

World Cup Cross-Country Skiing
CBC Bold (and cbcsports.ca)
Friday December 7 1:55pm Team Sprint from Quebec
Saturday December 8 1:05pm Men's and Women's Sprint Finals from Quebec

CBC
Saturday December 8 1:00pm
Men's and Women's Team Sprint Finals (repeat Monday 1:00am)
Saturday December 8 3:00pm
Men's and Women's Sprint Finals

CBC Bold (and cbcsports.ca)
Thursday December 13 12:50pm Women's 10km from Canmore
Thursday December 13 2:20pm Men's 15km from Canmore
Saturday December 15 2:20pm Men's and Women's Sprint Finals - Canmore
Sunday December 16 12:50pm Women's 15km Skiathlon - Canmore
Sunday December 16 2:20pm Men's 30km Skiathlon - Canmore

Ski-Cross World Cup from Nakiska
Saturday December 8 1:00pm on cbcsports.ca
Sunday December 9 1:00pm on cbcsports.ca S
unday December 9 2:00pm on CBC
Monday December 10 1:00am on CBC

Figure Skating Grand Prix Finals
Saturday December 8 4pm on CBC
Women Free and Pairs Free Programs
Saturday December 8 8pm on CBC
Men Free and Dance Free Programs

Alpine Skiing
Snowtime Highlighting latest news from World Cup skiing circuit every week
Friday 1:30pm; replay Saturday 12:00am; replay Sunday 3:30pm CBC Bold

According to Brian Stemmle:  "Too much snow in Val d'Isere caused a schedule change Sat Dec 8 men's SL @cbcsports Sun Dec 9 GS on @Sportsnet. Women's SG on @Sportsnet Sat"

It may be better to watch live rather than trusting your PVR.

Following is the original schedule to give an idea of timing.
Men's Giant Slalom Val d'Isere
Saturday 2:00pm CBC

Men's Slalom Val d'Isere
First Run live Saturday December 8 3:55am cbcsports.ca
Second Run live Sat Dec 8 6:55am on cbcsports.ca
Saturday on Sportsnet (check local listings)

Women's Super-G St. Moritz
Saturday 5:00pm Sportsnet ONE (repeat midnight on Sportsnet and Sunday)

Follow live results here.

Bobsleigh/Skeleton
Women's and men's skeleton
Friday December 7 Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet (check local listings)
Women and Men Bobsleigh
Saturday December 8 Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet (check local listings)

Swimming Short Course World Championships
Instanbul, Turkey
Representing Canada: Martha McCabe, Tera Van Beilen, Katerine Savard, Brittany MacLean, Noemie Thomas, Chantal van Landegham and Heather MacLean. Zach Chetrat, Luke Peddie, Andrew Poznikoff, Jake Tapp, Warren Barnes, Coleman Allen and Tommy Gossland.

More info
Live streaming

FIS Snowboard Magazine
Monday 8:30pm EST Sportsnet ONE repeated Thursday 8pm EST Sportsnet ONE

Meet/Support Canada's Athletes

Déjeuner des Championnes Rapides et Radieuses
Marie-Eve Croteau (paralympique - cyclisme), Andréanne Pichette (vélo de montagne), Elise Marcotte (nage synchronisée), Audrey Lacroix (nage), Kristina Valjas (volleyball de plage)

Matinée inspirante pour les filles sportives de 9 à 19 ans
9 décembre, 2012
Québec, QC
Plus d'infos

Olympic Bronze Women's Soccer
Christine Sinclair, Karina Leblanc, Rhian Wilkinson and Diana Matheson
Dec 7, 8, 9, 2012
Halifax, Nova Scotia
More info

Melissa Tancredi
December 22, 2012 - hour long playing session for boys and girls age 9-14
December 23, 2012 - speech and autograph/photo session
Ancaster, Ontario
More Info

Heartbeat Highlights

After almost two months of reporting on what amateur sports events are coming up in The Heartbeat, it's time to expand to include what happened in the world of amateur sports.

Biathlon World Cup Win

Jean-Philippe Le Guellec became the first Canadian male to win a World Cup Biathlon race on Saturday when he won the 10km Sprint. His best previous finish was 6th at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

You can watch the full race here. The race starts at the 10 minute mark of the video. There is not much coverage of Jean-Philippe until he takes the lead after the second shooting.  I believe the first glimpse of him is at the 45 minute mark and the award ceremony is at 1:36.

Watch the post race interview here. Jean-Philippe's part of the interview starts at the 6:55 mark. It's so great to see his reaction and to put a face to the name (for those who have not been watching biathlon).

The following day, Jean-Philippe would wear number 1 as the other racers chase him in the 12.5km pursuit. You can watch that race here.  The race starts at 19:30 mark of the video.

You can follow him on Twitter at @JeeP_LeGuellec and check out his very cool shooting-themed blog here.

Beach Volleyball World Cup Trials

The Hangar at Downsview Park in Toronto was the venue where four new pairings were vying for a chance to represent Canada at the World Cup Final in Brazil in January. This tournament was announced only a month ago. With the 2012 teams splitting up, Canada decided to have the top four teams compete for the lone Canadian men's spot.

In the semi-finals on Friday night, our 2012 Olympians Josh Binstock and Martin Reader with new partners lost their respective semi-finals.

In the first semi, Christian Redmann and Matt Zbyszewski won their match against Binstock and Maverick Hatch 2-1 (21-18, 19-21, 15-12).

In the second semi-final, Chaim Schalk and Ben Saxton defeated Reader and Sam Schachter 2-0 (21-16, 21-14)

You can watch the semi-finals here.

I couldn't make it to the semi-finals but did attend the finals on Saturday night. There were quite a few friends/family/fans in attendance. Most of the crowd were behind the video camera so the video doesn't show the support that the players had.

Redmann and Saxton had a very successful pairing in the past which included competing at the Pan Am Games in 2011. They also qualified for the 2012 Olympics but with Canada only having one spot, they had a playoff that they lost to Binstock and Reader. This time, Redmann and Saxton were on opposite sides of the net.

It was a very close and exciting match. Schalk and Saxton had a 3 point lead half-way through the first set only to have Redmann and Zbyszewski win four points in a row to take the lead. The match then see-sawed until Redmann and Zbyszewski had set point leading 20-18. They couldn't convert however and Schalk and Saxton won the first set 24-22.

The second set was just as close but in the end, Schalk and Saxton pulled off the match win with a 21-18 finish in the second set.

You can watch the final here.

I had a great talk with Christian Redmann the next day. Although he was understandably disappointed, he seemed satisfied with his team's effort. He and Matt had only practiced together half a dozen times since this World Cup trial was announced. He also explained that they are not normally match fit at this time of year. Their performance should give them a lot of confidence for the upcoming season once they get more practice together.

Schalk and Saxton were more match ready having played a Norceca tournament in September that they won winning the five matches they played.

Good luck to Chaim Schalk and Ben Saxton at the FIVB World Cup Final January 9-13.

Speed Skating

Christine Nesbitt won gold in the 1500m at the Long Track Speed Skating World Cup in Kazakhstan. Teaming up with Ivanie Blondin and Brittany Schussler, they won the team pursuit.

Charles Hamelin won the silver medal in the 500m Short Track Speed Skating World Cup in Japan. He has been on the podium for all six of his races this fall, but has yet to reach the top spot.

Canada Cup #1 was held in Québec City over the weekend with national team and development team members competing. The following were the race winners:

Tamara Oudenaarden - 500m (2 races)
Kate Hanly - 1000m (2 races)
Josie Spence 1500m, 3000m and 5000m

Laurent Dubreuil - 500m and 1000m.
Guillaume Blais-Dufour - 1000m and 1500m
Alec Janssens -  5000m and 10000m
Kyle Parrot - 500m (tied) (second 500m race)
Muncef Ouardi - 500m (tied) (second 500m race)

You can read more news and results about all of these speed skating events at the Speed Skating Canada website here.

FIS World Cup in Lake Louise

Larisa Yurkiw and Marie-Michelle Gagnon gave the home crowd something to cheer about when they finished in the points in 25th and 28th respectively in the Super-G on Sunday.

You can watch Larisa's run here and Marie-Michelle's here. CBC also have interviews with them on the site.

I can't talk about the Lake Louise event without mentioning Lindsey Vonn who dominated the whole weekend winning all three races. I have watched her second downhill run a few times now in awe that she actually won after a scary moment that looked like she would crash. She was skidding towards the safety nets and off balance on one ski but she managed to stay on her feet and make up the lost speed and time. She still won by over half a second. You can watch that race here. Sunday's Super G win was the seventh win in a row for Vonn at Lake Louise and 14th overall.

FIS World Cup at Beaver Creek

Canada had four men in the points in the downhill race on Friday. Erik Guay was 15th, Benjamin Thomsen 16th, Jan Hudec 24th and Manuel Osborne-Paradis 28th.

On Saturday Jan Hudec was the top Canadian in 10th followed closely by Erik Guay in 11th.

The Heartbeat

This week's edition of The Heartbeat includes events in Québec City (long track speed skating and cross-country skiing), Lake Louise (alpine skiing), Toronto (beach volleyball) Nakiska, AB (ski-cross) and Gatineau (national team volleyball).

Sports being televised include alpine skiing, curling and snowboarding.

Events to meet athletes are being held in Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto, Ancaster, Hamilton and Québec.

If you are participating in or know of an event that could be featured in The Heartbeat, please contact me: suzanne[at]sportcafe[dot]ca or via Twitter @olympichearts.

Alpine Canada
Women's Downhill and Super-G
November 30-Dec 2, 2012
Lake Louise, Alberta
Admission is free.
More info
Competitors include: Larisa Yurkiw, Marie-Michèle Gagnon and Marie-Pier Préfontaine.

Friday, Nov. 30: Ladies’ downhill (12:30 p.m. MT)
Saturday, Dec. 1: Ladies’ downhill (12:30 p.m. MT)
Sunday, Dec. 2: Ladies’ super-G (11 a.m. MT)

Long Track Speed Skating - Canada Cup
November 30-December 2, 2012
Gaetan-Boucher Oval
Quebec, QC
Among the competitors: Kevin Jagger, Suzanne Hamilton, Alexandra Ianculescu, Dustin Miller, Laurent Dubreuil, Muncef Ouardi, Scott Bickerton, Kate Hanly, Alec Janssens, Léo Landry, Richard MacLennan, Lauren McGuire, Tamara Oudenaarden, Kyle Parrott, Tori Spence and Justin Warsylewicz.
Click here for full list of entries and events
More info

Beach Volleyball World Cup Trials
Semi-Finals
Friday November 30th
7:30pm
Olympian Josh Binstock & Maverick Hatch vs Christian Redmann & Matt Zbyszewski
8:30pm
Olympian Martin Reader & Sam Schachter vs  Chaim Schalk & Ben Saxton.

Finals Saturday December 1st
6:30pm
The Hangar, Downsview Park
Toronto, ON

More info

Ski Cross 
National Championships
December 1, 2012 Nakiska, Alberta
More info
Among the competitors: Kelsey Serwa, Georgia Simmerling and Danielle Sundquist.

FIS Ski Cross World Cup - Nakiska Snowdown
December 8, 2012
The first event of the ski cross World Cup season will consist of 190 of the best skiers from 25 nations.
More info

Team Canada Volleyball
Intra-squad match at Full Time Training Centre
November 30, December 21
Centre Sportif de Gatineau
More info
2012-2013 Roster

Sprint Québec
Coupe du Monde de Ski de Fond 
(Cross-Country Skiing World Cup)
7-9 décembre, 2012 Québec, QC
Plus d'infos
More info

Olympic Sports On Television/Internet

FIS Snowboard Magazine: Season Preview 
Monday November 26th 8:30pm EST Sportsnet ONE
repeated Thursday 8pm EST Sportsnet ONE

Canada Cup of Curling
Wednesday November 28th 10am and 3pm EST TSN
Thursday November 29th 10am, 3pm and 8pm EST TSN
Friday November 30th 10am, 3pm and 8pm EST TSN
Saturday December 1st 1:30pm TSN women's semi-final
Saturday December 1st 7:30pm TSN men's semi-final
Sunday December 2nd 3:00am and 6:00am TSN2 women's and men's semi
Sunday December 2nd 10:30am TSN women's final
Sunday December 2nd 3:30pm TSN men's final

Alpine Skiing
Snowtime
Highlighting latest news from World Cup skiing circuit every week
Friday 1:30pm; replay Saturday 12:00am; replay Sunday 3:30pm CBC Bold

Alpine skiing schedule on CBC, click here for schedule.
Alpine skiing schedule on Sportsnet, click here for schedule.
Follow live results here.

Women's Alpine from Lake Louise
Downhill #1
1:00pm Saturday CBC (live Friday 2:25pm on CBC Bold and cbcsports.ca)
Downhill #2
5:00pm Saturday CBC (live Sat 2:25pm on CBC Bold and cbcsports.ca)
Super-G 3:00pm Sunday CBC local (live 12:55pm on CBC Bold and online www.cbcsports.ca)

Men's Alpine from Beaver Creek, USA
(not seeing television coverage of downhill or Super-G)
Giant Slalom 7pm and 11:30pm Sunday Sportsnet ONE
(also various times on Sportsnet Ont/East/West/Pac)

Meet/Support Canada's Athletes

Simon Whitfield - Barrie Shepley McMaster Tri Clinic
70 min Seminar
Talk Seminar & 1 Morning Clinic
Full Day Tri Clinic including Seminar Talk
Saturday December 1st, 2012
Hamilton, ON
More info

Special Olympic Presentation
Adam van Koeverden and Mark Oldershaw
will discuss their path to Olympic glory as well as dragonboat training and racing strategies.
Toronto, ON
Sunday December 2, 2012
More info

Déjeuner des Championnes Rapides et Radieuses
Marie-Eve Croteau (paralympique - cyclisme), Andréanne Pichette (vélo de montagne), Elise Marcotte (nage synchronisée), Audrey Lacroix (nage), Kristina Valjas (volleyball de plage)

Matinée inspirante pour les filles sportives de 9 à 19 ans
9 décembre, 2012
Québec, QC
Plus d'infos

Olympic Bronze Women's Soccer
Christine Sinclair, Karina Leblanc, Rhian Wilkinson and Diana Matheson
Two hour training sessions for young players
Dec 4 and 6, 2012
Ottawa, Ontario
More info

Dec 7, 8, 9, 2012
Halifax, Nova Scotia
More info

Melissa Tancredi
December 22, 2012 - hour long playing session for boys and girls age 9-14
December 23, 2012 - speech and autograph/photo session
Ancaster, Ontario
More Info

Canada Cup Swimming in Toronto This Weekend

Are you near Toronto this week? Swimming Canada and Etobicoke Swimming are hosting a Canada Cup competition where 13 Olympians will be competing in 36 events! This is your chance to support our Canadian athletes!

I am very excited to go and cheer on our swimmers. I was fortunate enough to be a volunteer in the Olympic Heroes parade, walking along with the swimming float. You can read that post here.

I am very happy to have them compete in Toronto so that I now get to see them compete in the pool. It will be interesting to see them compete against each other though. I'll be cheering for them all.

Competitors include 2008 Olympian Jake Tapp and 2012 Olympians Heather Maclean, Savannah King, Alexa Komarnycky, Zsofi Balazs, Samantha Cheverton, Tera Van Beilen, Martha McCabe, Katerine Savard, Sinead Russell, Colin Russell, Tommy Gossland, Andrew Ford and David Sharpe.

Friday November 23 and Saturday November 24, 2012
Heats start at 10am.
Finals start at 6pm
Etobicoke Olympium

Ticket Information
All Session Passes $20.00
Preliminaries only $5
Finals only  $10.00

VIP Lounge
All Sessions $40.00
Preliminaries only $10
Finals only $20

More Info

For full list of competitors and Friday preliminaries list, click here and click here for race start times.
Click here for live results.

Click here for Saturday preliminaries list.

The Heartbeat

This week's edition of The Heartbeat includes events in Lake Louise (alpine skiing), Whistler (bobsleigh/skeleton),  Toronto/Etobicoke (swimming, beach volleyball), Gatineau (national team volleyball) and Québec (cross-country skiing).

Sports being televised include alpine skiing, bobsleigh, skeleton, figure skating, curling and snowboarding.

Events to meet athletes are being held in Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto, Oakville, Ancaster, Hamilton and Richmond.

If you are participating in or know of an event that could be featured in The Heartbeat, please contact me: suzanne[at]sportcafe[dot]ca or via Twitter @olympichearts.

World Cup Skiing at Lake Louise This Weekend

Are you near Lake Louise this weekend? The Alpine Skiing World Cup is making a stop at Lake Louise for the first downhill race of the season. It's your chance to support our Canadian athletes!

There is much excitement for the Canadian team with a few skiers coming back from injury and some great results last season that included five podium appearances.

Erik Guay got our string of podiums started when he finished 2nd at Garmisch at the end of January.  Two races later in Chamonix, we had three Canadians in the top 5 (with only three Canadians competing)! Jan Hudec was 1st, Erik Guay was 3rd and Ben Thomsen who started 50th was an incredible 5th. You can read my blog post about that exciting race here (which includes more background about Ben and Jan).  Thomsen wasn't done there however.  The following week he reached his first podium by finishing 2nd at the 2014 Olympic venue in Sochi. Jan Hudec would later add a podium in Super-G.

These results along with the return of John Kucera and Manuel Osborne-Paradis bodes well for the Canadian Ski Team.

Another reason to be excited for the team is that this season is the year of the World Championships which are held every two years.

In 2009 John Kucera won the race in Val D'Isère and Erik Guay won in 2011 at Garmisch. Can Canada three-peat this season?

Erik Guay is only three podiums away from matching Steve Podborski's 20 podium finishes by a Canadian.  In 2010, he won the Crystal Globe for Super-G, the award given to the overall points leader at the end of the season.

He was injured in training back in September and had surgery to repair the ligament damage.  He had his first day on the snow two weeks ago but you wouldn't be able to tell from his first training run today where he was 4th fastest.

With six "Canadian Cowboys" competing this season (an elite group reserved for Canadian skiers who have earned a world podium), hopes are high for continued great results.

Competing this weekend are Erik Guay, Jan Hudec, Ben Thomsen, Manuel Osborne-Paradis, John Kucera, Conrad Pridy, Morgan Pridy, Dustin Cook and Jeffrey Frisch.

If you're near Lake Louise, wear your red and white and cheer extra loud for me. I wish I was there. I have only skied Lake Louise once but it was incredible!

I haven't witnessed a World Cup race (yet), but I was lucky enough to meet Erik two years ago when he was in Toronto with the Crystal Globe. John Kucera was also there. You can read the post about the meeting here.



Here's this weekend's schedule:
Wednesday, November 21 - Men's Downhill training (11:30 a.m.)
Thursday, November 22 - Men's Downhill training (11:30 a.m.)
Friday, November 23 - Men's Downhill training (11:30 a.m.)
Saturday, November 24 - Men's Downhill (11:30 a.m.)
Sunday, November 25 - Men's Super-G (11 a.m.)

If you can't make it to Lake Louise, you can follow live timing here.

The downhill race will be televised on CBC on Saturday 1:00pm Eastern.

The Super-G race will be televised on CBC on Sunday 3pm local time. It will be shown live at cbcsports.ca and televised on CBC Bold at 12:55pm Eastern.

Bobsleigh & Skeleton in Whistler this weekend

Are you near Whistler this week? The Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup is being held November 23 and 24 at the Whistler Sliding Centre. It's your chance to cheer for Canada and support our Canadian Olympians and national team members.

Competitors include Olympic medallists Jon Montgomery, Kaillie Humphries, Lyndon Rush, Lascelles Brown and Canadian Olympians Melissa Hollingsworth and Justin Kripps as well as Christopher Spring who competed for Australia at the 2010 Olympic games, but now represents Canada.

It's an exciting time for the Canadian Team with the season starting with great successes.

Olympic gold medallist Kaillie Humphries has won the first two races this season in women's bobsleigh bringing her total to five consecutive races going back to last season.  Humphries and Chelsea Valois won the season opener in Lake Placid two weeks ago and followed it up with another win at Park City, Utah last weekend. Can they keep it going at home?

Sarah Reid and Melissa Hollingsworth took the first two spots of the skeleton podium in Lake Placid November 9th. Cassie Hawrysh just missed the podium at Park City last weekend in only her second career World Cup race. Can they sweep the podium in Whistler?

Click here to read Melissa's blog post about the Lake Placid race.  Cassie wrote a great blog post about her first World Cup race. You can read it here.

The men haven't been as successful this season...YET! Is Whistler the race that will see them on the podium?

Who can forget Jon Montgomery's amazing skeleton gold in Whistler in 2010? Can he bring those memories back to get to the podium or will John Fairbairn and Eric Neilson who have fared better so far this season be our top Canadian?

The bobsleigh teams are pushing each other with Team Rush (Canada 1) leading the Canadians at the first World Cup in 2-man and 4-man bobsleigh and Team Spring (Canada 2) being the top Canadian team at the second race in 2-man and 4-man.  Canada 3 is led by Olympian Justin Kripps. Click here for full list of bobsleigh team.

Team Kripps' Justin Kripps and Jean-Nicolas Carriere as well as Team Spring have interesting blog posts that you can read here.

If you're in Whistler this weekend, wear your red and white and cheer extra loud for me. As an added bonus, Whistler/Blackcomb opened early for the season and have numerous special events planned this week. Click here for details. It has been too long since my last trip to Whistler. I'm sure that since the Olympics, it's bigger and better than it was the last time I was there. Wish I was there this weekend to catch the World Cup and hit the slopes.

To see the past World Cup performances or to watch the events live online, click here for the skeleton YouTube channel and click here for the bobsleigh YouTube channel. To see it on television, Sportsnet will be broadcasting the events.  Check your local listings for the times.

Here is the schedule for this weekend:

Friday 23rd
Women's Skeleton:  10am
2 Man Bobsleigh:  3pm
Women's Bobsleigh:  6:30pm

Saturday 24th 
4 Man Bobsleigh:  6:30pm
Men's Skeleton:  3pm

Presale General Admission tickets available via Whistler.com for $10. Click here. VIP tickets are $75 and include a gondola pass.
Day of tickets are available at Whistler Blackcomb's ticket kiosk at the base of the Excalibur gondola, or the Whistler Sliding Centre.


Click here for more information.

Go Canada Go!

The Heartbeat

This week's edition of The Heartbeat includes events in Calgary (long track speed skating, bobsled, skeleton), Toronto/Etobicoke (swimming, beach volleyball), Gatineau (national team volleyball), Richmond (fencing) Lake Louise (men's skiing) and Whistler (bobsled, skeleton).

Sports being televised include bobsled, skeleton, figure skating, curling, alpine skiing, London 2012 defining moments and Canadian medal performances.

Events to meet athletes are being held in Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto and Ancaster.

If you are participating in or know of an event that could be featured in The Heartbeat, please contact me:  suzanne[at]sportcafe[dot]ca or via Twitter @olympichearts.

Enough Already!

I can't wait for the NHL lockout* to be over. It's not because I want to see hockey or I want the NHL cities' economies to stop suffering - those are valid reasons.

I can't wait for the NHL lockout to be over because it is driving me crazy to turn on Sportsnet and anytime from 6:00am to 4:00pm one of the Sportsnet stations is showing Hockey Central. On TSN/TSN2, That's Hockey gets almost as much air time.

They talk about hockey every single day, when there is no hockey being played!

Hockey is not my favourite sport but that's not to say that I hate it. I have been to and loved Toronto Maple Leafs games. I travelled to Buffalo for the World Junior Championships a couple of years ago. If the Leafs ever make the playoffs (a girl can dream), I will 100% jump on the band wagon.  So when there is hockey being played, I have no issue with hockey being first on the highlight shows or talk shows dedicated to hockey, even if it's not my thing. Most Canadians love hockey.

I turned on the television a couple of weeks ago while preparing my lunch and started watching Sportsnet. It's a few minutes past twelve and they're talking about the New York City Marathon and whether it should get cancelled or not. I'm quite impressed to be watching a show that is talking about a timely event.  Less than five minutes later, the one host says "I'm so tired of talking about the NYC Marathon" so he ends the conversation. They move on to the next topic which is, you guessed it HOCKEY!

I almost yelled at the television set "aren't you 'so tired' of talking about hockey (when there's no hockey being played)?"

There is a hurricane that hit New York a week before a yearly event, 45000 athletes travel from around the world to compete/participate and there is a debate going on as to whether to hold the race or not. There is so much that could be discussed that is fresh and new, yet the host says "I'm so tired of talking about the NYC Marathon". The host can talk about hockey every day during an 80 game season, but he can't talk for more than five minutes on an event that happens once a year?

I so need a new sports channel that showcases more than the NHL, NFL, NBA and MLB. It's not that I don't love those sports. I watch my fair share of games/highlights/playoffs but there's more to the sporting world than four sports. It's frustrating to see our Canadian athletes competing around the world every weekend with little or no mention on our multiple sports channels.

As the lockout continues, it drives me even more crazy to go to a sports channel and hear them continue to talk about hockey. What can they possibly be talking about? There's a lockout going on. There is no hockey being played. Some days the owners and the players aren't even talking.

So enough already!

Let me know when it's resolved and let's talk about something else until then.

*An earlier version of this blog post called the lockout a strike which has now been corrected. Thx to @EricMacKenzie for pointing it out.

The Heartbeat

This week's edition of The Heartbeat includes events in Victoria (rowing), Toronto/Etobicoke (taekwondo, swimming, beach volleyball), London (boccia) and Lake Louise (men's skiing).

Sports being televised include the ESPN films, bobsled, skeleton, figure skating, curling and London 2012 defining moments.

Events to meet athletes are being held in Toronto and Ancaster.

If you are participating in or know of an event that could be featured in The Heartbeat, please contact me:  suzanne[at]sportcafe[dot]ca or via Twitter @olympichearts.

It's About The Journey

Last week, TSN2 showed a 30 minute program about the 4x100m relay at the London 2012 Olympics.  In a post in August, I explained why I didn't blog during or following the Olympics. You can read it here. I had a lot of thoughts, but once the Olympics were over, I thought it was too late.

Seeing the relay again last week, I was compelled to write my thoughts. It was one of the highlights of London 2012 for me.

I was so excited that Canada qualified for the final. Not to take anything away from the team, but with Canada having only one runner (Justyn Warner) competing in the 100m event, I didn't realize how great our team could be.  I remembered Jared Connaughton from the 2008 Olympics and had seen Gavin Smellie, Seyi Smith and Justyn compete at the Toronto International Track & Field Games in July. You can read the post about that here.

It's sometimes difficult in a 400m race to really know who's leading. You look at the staggers between the lanes to see if there's a runner making up a stagger, but it really only shows the difference between those lanes.

With Canada on the lane to the inside of the Jamaican team, it was difficult to gauge how well they were doing. Jamaica are so strong that they were pulling away from Canada on the back straight, but where was Canada overall?

As Jared Connaughton makes the final turn and passes the baton to Justyn Warner who finishes the turn, we realize that Canada are in about 5th. I was so excited and then Warner passes 4th and is running down the runner in 3rd.  I was jumping up and down watching his incredible run.

For those minutes when we thought they won the bronze, I was so excited. When the disqualification was announced, my heart went out to them and for days and weeks later.

I have often thought of this race since.  You wonder why it happened the way it did.  When I do, I am reminded of the quote: "everything happens for a reason, even if we don't understand the reason at the time".

I also find it ironic that if they had won the bronze medal, there probably wouldn't have been a 30 minute special about the race.  Sportsnet Magazine wouldn't have run a full page story on Connaughton (see November 5th issue).

But then, this is sports: "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat". This is what makes sports so compelling.

The reason we compete in sports and the reason that the Olympics are so special is that the winner is not determined until we compete. The Olympics are every four years.  Dozens of athletes want to win and believe they can medal in dozens of sports. Only three medals are won in each one.  This means heartbreak for hundreds of athletes.

At the Olympic Heroes parade this fall, I was speaking to a swimmer who downplayed his celebrity status. We were discussing whether he wanted to be on the float or walking beside.  I commented that on the float, both sides of the street could see him. If he walked, he should try to be visible on both sides so that if someone is in the crowd was wanting to see him, they would. He made a joke about who would be wanting to see him in particular because he came in 17th.

So much attention is given to medals at the Olympics, but to me (and countless others) it's more than the medals. Each person on Team Canada is an Olympian!! There are millions of people who dream or have dreamed of becoming an Olympian who never did or never will.

People who lined the streets of Toronto to cheer our Olympians' homecoming came to see our Olympic Team, not just our medallists.

Part of the Olympic experience is the journey that gets you there.  I recently thought we had messed up my son's course selection. It looked like he may not get his bilingual certificate at graduation (without some reshuffling of courses). My first thought was, imagining all those years of french courses and he doesn't get the certificate, but it didn't take me long to correct myself. It's not the certificate that's important, it's that he learned a second language. Which brought my thoughts to the Olympic experience.

Competing and training for an Olympic Games is a journey. It's pushing yourself and seeing how great you can be. It's the lessons learned along the way. Being an Olympian is a huge achievement. Performing your best at the Olympics is amazing. Winning a medal is rare and stupendous.

The 4x100m relay team from Canada crossed the finish line 3rd. The disqualification took away the bronze medal, but it doesn't take away the achievement or the journey.

The Heartbeat

This week's edition of The Heartbeat includes events in Calgary (speed skating), Victoria (rowing), Toronto/Etobicoke (swimming) and Lake Louise (men's skiing).

Sports being televised include the NYC marathon, the Steve Nash directed documentary Into The Wind about Terry Fox, The Canada Sports Hall of Fame gala, internet stream of swimming and London 2012 defining moments.

Events to meet athletes are being held in Toronto, Ottawa and Winnipeg.

Keep reading for more detail.

If you are participating in or know of an event that could be featured in The Heartbeat, please contact me:  suzanne[at]sportcafe[dot]ca or via Twitter @olympichearts.

Flip a Coin

Alexandre Despatie posted the following on Twitter today:

"When in doubt.. Flip a coin! Once it's in the air you will know what side you're hoping for!! #lovethisquote"

How true!

Basically, follow your heart (or your gut)!

I have never heard this quote but will definitely try it next time I am grappling with a decision.

The Heartbeat

This week's edition of The Heartbeat includes events in Montreal (short-track speed-skating), Windsor (figure skating), Whistler (skeleton) and Calgary (long track speed skating).

Sports being televised include triathlon, short-track speed skating, figure skating and Olympic rebroadcasts (men's hockey and women's soccer).

I've added a feature which includes opportunities to meet past, current and future Olympians. Events are being held in Toronto, Ottawa and Winnipeg.

Keep reading for more detail.

If you are participating in or know of an event that could be featured in The Heartbeat, please contact me:  suzanne[at]sportcafe[dot]ca or via Twitter @olympichearts.

The Heartbeat

This week's edition of The Heartbeat includes events in Vancouver (rowing testing), Calgary and Montreal (short-track speed-skating), Niagara Falls (running) and Windsor (figure skating).

Sports being televised include triathlon, short-track speed skating, figure skating and Olympic rebroadcasts (men's hockey and women's soccer).

The Heartbeat

This is the first edition of The Heartbeat which will be a regular feature where I will list upcoming competitions being held in Canada where you have the chance to see our amateur and Olympic athletes in action.

I will keep an updated list on the right side of my blog while giving more details in the blog posts.

I will also include television and internet listings for amateur or Olympic sports events and programs.

Heading to Algonquin Park

It was a year ago that I read an article written by the late Randy Starkman about Adam van Koeverden's love of Algonquin Park.  You can read the article by clicking here.

Accompanying the article, was a video of the beautiful scenery and Adam talking about his days spent at his cabin in Algonquin Park.


Something he said in the video hit me at the time:

"If you've never been up here before in the fall, then you're missing out because it's pretty spectacular"

How have I not been to Algonquin Park before?  I am originally from Northern Ontario but when I drive on Highway 11 from Toronto to go home, it's normally to get from point A to point B not necessarily wanting to add to the 9 hour drive.  Those trips were normally in the summer though.

I am in awe of the fall colours in Toronto.  I love walking around in my neighbourhood looking at the trees or driving down Bayview Avenue or the Don Valley Parkway and seeing the changing colours. When Adam says, "it's not the Don Valley Parkway" it makes me want to see "what I've been missing" - although I don't think Adam was envisioning the fall colours along the Don Valley Parkway when he made that comment.

That's not to say that I have only seen the colours in Toronto.  I have gone on scenic drives to see the fall colours, going as far north as Collingwood, but these were day trips. The 400Eleven website is great for getting fall colour routes.

This year, my love for the Olympics (hence seeing the Randy Starkman article) combined with my love of Tom Thomson (and the Group of Seven) is resulting in a Thanksgiving weekend trip to Algonquin Park.

I may even ride a canoe or kayak if the weather cooperates, but more Tom Thomson-style...not Olympic style.

I can't imagine seeing picture perfect scenery like Randy Risling of the Toronto Star captured.

 I will be blown away if I do.

Call Me Maybe

In my last post, I mentioned that the Swim team sang a lot of the song Call Me Maybe while on the parade float for the Toronto Olympic Parade.  You can read that post here.

The result of this singing was a video posted on YouTube by the Canadian Olympic Team.

On a personal note, I have to add that I did make the final cut of this video by singing "But here's my number" at the 1:57 mark.  Pretty memorable for an Olympic enthusiast to be in a video with the Canadian Olympic team.

Toronto Olympic Parade

My day volunteering at the Toronto Olympic Parade started at a breakfast and briefing (you can read that post here). I was assigned the swim team for the Olympic parade.

Afterwards, we walked to our float where we had half an hour waiting for the parade to start, which meant posing and taking photos. With everyone's cameras out (and the athletes out in the public), I felt okay taking photos (unlike at the breakfasts which to me were private moments).

One of the best moments from the Olympic trials was the moment when Heather MacLean qualified after her sister Brittany had already qualified for London 2012.  The joy and tears that flowed were felt throughout the country. I was thrilled to get a photo of the two of them together.

Richard Weinberger (bronze in 10k swim) was a highlight during the parade ensuring he (and his bronze medal) were in every photo that fans were taking of the float. He also took every opportunity to encourage the fans to go out and "swim". He took a moment to pose before the parade.

Taking a walk along the other floats, I spotted one of my favourite Olympians Jean-Luc Brassard (1994 gold medal - moguls) who was gracious and posed for a photo.

The women's soccer team (with their bronze medals) posed with a young fan.

Five minutes before the parade, the Olympians are onboard and ready to go.

The crowd was overwhelming, it gave me goosebumps.  There were so many people cheering with flags and wearing red and white.  There were countless signs.  I especially loved that the swimmers called Richard from the other side of the float to make sure he saw this sign (I was a little late getting my camera out, but the moment was priceless).

The swim team was so much fun. I loved how the men would raise a woman who would swim in the air. 

They also sang a lot of the song Call Me Maybe which would end up on a video (more on that in a later post).  There were also countless times where the crowd came up to the float to high-five the athletes.

There were a few quiet moments when there was time for photo ops.

I thought this was a lovely spot for a photo with city hall in the background so I took a photo of the beach volleyball players who were in the truck behind us.

At one point, I realized I didn't have a photo with me in it, so I asked the other volunteer to take one (without asking the athletes to pose). There is a better one of me, but I love the energy in this one (thanks to Savannah King for making this photo memorable).

As we approach the end of the parade, my sister is in the crowd and took a couple of photos.  I especially love this one that shows pure joy in my face as I try to get back to the float.

One of my favourite Olympians Simon Whitfield was just a couple of trucks behind me.  I had seen him at both breakfasts (and lunch) but had kept my distance. As we approach the bottle neck at the end, I walked back to take a photo...just to prove that I had seen him (and Paula Findlay).

There was a large crowd waiting at Maple Leaf Square where some of the athletes would be interviewed onstage.

With my volunteer duties finished, I managed to catch the end of the parade where Mark Tewksbury and Sylvie Bernier were in a convertible just ahead of the Hall Of Fame float.

One more photo of Jean-Luc Brassard with Rory Bushfield (Sarah Burke's husband).

I stayed in the square to hear some interviews where I saw Adam van Koeverden on stage, another favourite Olympian of mine, and interestingly the first time I had seen him in my two days of volunteering.  When a friend had said to me that I might see him (before I volunteered), I had replied that since I had seen him race last year, and seen him with his 2012 silver medal at a store appearance a few weeks ago, he wasn't top priority. I was hoping to see Olympians I had never seen before. So I found it funny that I didn't end up seeing him up close.

I left with a huge smile on my face not believing that I had spent the last two days volunteering with the Canadian Olympic team.  I'm hoping that it won't be my last.

Olympic Volunteer Day #2

After an incredible day volunteering at the Olympic Heroes Tour (you can read that post here), I was back with Olympians for the Toronto Olympic Parade.

The day started at a breakfast and briefing where once again Olympian spotting was at its best.  I kept my distance and respected their space; but I was smiling on the inside (and perhaps on the outside too). There were a few instances where saying hello or congratulations to some of my favourites was possible and I did take advantage of those moments.

There was an awkward moment for me though, not involving an Olympian but in our volunteer duties.  The day before we were assigned Olympians for the school tours.  Today, the head of our group asked us who we wanted to be assigned to for the parade and wouldn't you know it, I was the first who was asked.

Just like at the Olympic Block Party in June when I was interviewed by a journalist (who would later write - I'm including the whole segment for context, but the important part is the highlighted lines):

With her signature freshly scrawled on the board, Suzanne Sewell walked away and smiled to herself. To say she is an enthusiastic supporter of Canada's athletes would be an understatement.
"The Olympics are every day for me," said the Toronto woman.
She was first bit by the Olympic bug in 1988 and since then has turned the Games from a pastime into a passion.
"I'm here to support the Canadian team and wish them luck. I'll be watching every minute," said Ms. Sewell, who attended the Vancouver Winter Games in 2010.
To prove her passion, Ms. Sewell was asked to name her favourite Canadian athlete.
"Just one," she asked, before listing five.
Ms. Sewell follows the highs and lows of Canada's amateurs day-in and day-out, keeping track of their personal bests and following them on Twitter. She's even got her own Olympic-themed handle: olympichearts.

I couldn't pick "just one".  Names rattled in my head and I couldn't name one knowing I was not saying another. Next thing I know, the other volunteers pick up the signs we had brought over that said which athletes were in which groups.  There it was, I hesitate and I don't have a group.

I still felt okay, because there were volunteers who really wanted a specific group, so I was happy that they were getting the ones they wanted. When they were looking for a second volunteer for athletics, I raised my hand along with another volunteer. When she was picked, she gave me her sign that said "swimming".

How serendipitous that I was "assigned" swimming. I watched every moment of the National Championships on television in the spring that were held at the Montreal Olympic Pool. I was so excited for the swimmers who made the Olympic team and at the same time so sad for those who didn't. I was almost more emotional about the Olympic trials than I was for the Olympics. Athletics would have been cool as well since I saw many of them compete in Toronto before the Olympics (you can read that post here), but back to swimming.

Knowing I was going to a small town 30 minutes from Montreal in the summer for a family reunion, I vowed to go to swim (and dive) in the Olympic pool.

I had previously visited the Olympic pool, but had never been in it. The week before the London 2012, I arrived at the Montreal Olympic Pool (on my birthday).

It was a quiet Friday afternoon, so there was no problem taking photos (they don't allow other people in your photos so if it was busy, we would not have been able to take photos).

I can't remember the last time I was on a diving board so I was pretty nervous at first. I jumped in from the end of the board (the water is so warm and the pool is painted this beautiful deep blue colour). So many times in my diving days and even years later, I would dream that I missed the board on my last hurdle. I was a little nervous taking those steps for the first time, but eventually, it came back to me.

We almost forgot to document me swimming in the pool, but luckily did for my last couple of laps (we could only swim the width of the pool, not the length).

A happy girl in the Montreal Olympic Pool.

Before the Olympics, I had planned to post about the athletes and when they were competing.  I posted about the swim team (you can read it here), naming every Olympian with their races (including predictions) but then got too busy watching the Olympics and reading about them to post any more.  So once again, it's funny that this is the team I ended up with for the parade.

Well, that was quite the tangent I went on, but I think it was just to explain that although I didn't end up with one of my five all-time favourite Canadian athletes, I was thrilled to spend the day with the Canadian swim team.  Silver medallist Ryan Cochrane wasn't there, but bronze medallists Brent Hayden and Richard Weinberger were.  I was also thrilled to be surrounded by so many Olympians, because for me, realizing the dream to attend an Olympic Games is as valuable as winning a medal.

This post is long enough, so I will continue the parade part in a separate post.

Olympic Heroes Tour

A couple of weeks ago, the Canadian Olympic Committee sent a call out for volunteers to assist with the Olympic Heroes Tour this past Thursday and the Olympic parade yesterday.

I was thrilled to get a phone call confirming that I would be volunteering for the events.

I started my day thursday at the Olympian breakfast in the old Maple Leaf Gardens where they spent time with kids from the KidSport and Boys and Girls Club programs.

There was a period where the volunteers didn't have anything to do but look around and spot our favourite Olympians. I was so happy to see some of my favourites in person.

It was also interesting to see them interact with each other. You get reminded that they don't all know each other. They meet in competition once every four years where all the sports are featured at the Olympics.

After the breakfast, I accompanied kayaker Hugues Fournel and Paralympian judoist Justin Karn to a high school in Scarborough where they told stories about their childhood, their love for sport and their achievements of becoming 2012 Olympians.

In the afternoon, judo bronze medallist Antoine Valois-Fortier and swimmer Charles Francis joined us to visit a middle school in Mississauga.

Once again, each Olympian took their turn telling their inspiring stories and Antoine thrilled the kids when he showed them his bronze medal.  The Olympians then went around to each classroom to give the kids a chance to see them up close and take a class photo.

The kids at both schools were thrilled to have Olympians visit their school. I'm sure that the Olympians helped the students to be more inspired to follow their dreams.

You would think that driving to Scarborough and back, then Mississauga and back would make for a boring day, but sharing a ride with Hugues and Justin made the time pass so quickly.  They are both funny and personable. I especially loved hearing about their experience in London 2012 - the incredible highs as well as the less than ideal experiences.

I was thrilled to have spent the day with Olympians and seeing the difference they make off the playing field (and out of the water).

Give Your Everything.
Giving Back.