Snow Angels II

Passion and Courage

Nottawa’s Kandace Kriese has become one of Ontario’s promising athletes dreaming Olympic dreams. While we were meeting Kandace’s parents, Kandace found some time to share her own thoughts on her journey so far.

“When I first started racing I loved the thrill of the speed”, she expressed in an email from her NSA training camp in Switzerland, “but initially I found myself less familiar with some of the technical details: like tuning, pole lengths etc. Lets just say I wasn't the one people would come to with equipment and technical problems!”

Kandace first skied when she was 2, but immediately realized that her “joy for skiing was short-lived.” (see Snow Angels). When she was 11 her parents signed her up for ski racing: she began in the K1 Category and now, at 17, has become a Giant Slalom specialist.

“I met Kandace a couple of years ago at dry land training. She was full of piss & vinegar: exercising between exercises, being goofy tossing the football around. She had a vivid personality – more than just skiing - and that is the philosophy at Head. I hadn’t even seen her ski yet.” ~ Todd Brooker, Canadian Race Program Director, Head Canada Inc., now Kandaces sponsor and family friend.

“I just tried to do what the coaches told me with whatever equipment I had. During the first years it was extremely difficult to fit in because I was not like the others that came from a family of skiers. I was not familiar with the specialized equipment, and neither were my parents. I just took my old skis and did the best I could with the equipment I had.”

Despite not having come from a ski family, at 17 Kandace has already enjoyed a great deal of on-hill successes, but when asked about challenges she confessed that many of them were off the course. “My challenges were mostly trying to make friends being the new girl. Usually the best thing for me to do was to stand back and observe - which turned out to be the best way to learn. Along the way I made mistakes, mostly learned the hard way, but I think because of that, I have also had huge successes physically and mentally.”

“My favourite memories involve my family attending my races and the moments that I had the opportunity to meet with the best of the best.”

Kandace is currently a member of the National Ski Academy based in Collingwood, a unique and well respected program created to provide students the opportunity to excel both academically and athletically. “Balancing it all is definitely a lot tougher than I had imagined but it helped me make the most amazing friends, and meet so many different people. Of course you win and you lose - certain situations and certain people - but I am very proud of where I am. The main struggle is to keep everything moving, to keep everything constant with no interference and no distractions: to keep things simple.”

She says her journey so far has been a mixture of frustration, success, mistakes and learning. “I have had to conquer probably some difficult obstacles to get here, but I still have a smile on my face. The passion I see in my fellow competitors, my family, and the friendships I have made have helped me build this strong platform.

It has given me the passion and courage I needed to deal with the most difficult most critical most negative and most positive person in the world - myself.”

Snow Angels - A Ski Parent’s Story

From early on Karl & Moira Kriese knew they wanted their children in sport. They signed their daughters up for skiing, but initially, Kandace was more interested in making snow angels. Luckily, she did discover racing, and now is a promising young member of the National Ski Academy with her eyes on making the national team.

Karl & Moira support Kandace in her pursuits, but they also try to keep their eyes on a “bigger prize . “Sport helps children learn about purpose,” Karl Kriese relates. “It teaches personal focus, health, ability and discipline.”

Not to say that they’re not into it: “When she is racing I get so focused” says Moira. “I’m bouncy and going crazy. I’m yelling Go Kandace! I’m fidgety and a nervous wreck. Karl knows not to come near.”

Sport is rarely inexpensive: the better an athlete gets, the more expenses are involved. Training and gear become increasingly important, and travel more abundant. It is a big commitment by both the athlete and their family, so the Krieses have a deal: if Kandace keeps her academics up Karl and Moira will do what they can to help her pursue her dreams.

“Nothing beats sport to help train people for everything life has to offer.”

“As a parent you can look at your own life and do your best to help your kids avoid making some of the same mistakes you did. But kids aren’t always ready to hear what you have to offer,” Karl says. “Sport can help fill those gaps. Nothing beats sport to help train people for everything life has to offer; ups and downs; discipline and teamwork; goal setting and achievement. Even success and failure.”

“It’s about personal development. When they win, you win.”

Vision Protection & Sunglasses (Summer 09 Issue)

UV protection is not only important for our skin, but also for our eyes. Absorption of the sun’s harmful rays can contribute to or cause serious and even irreversible vision damage.

UV Protection and Lens Make-Up:

Although most sunglasses claim to have UV protection, the protection may only be in the coating of the lens and not in the lens itself. As soon as that coating gets scratched, harmful light rays can easily pass though the lens directly into your eyes. Look for sunglasses that have UV protection built right into the lens itself.

Lens Colours

Lenses come in a variety of shades, from clear all the way to dark black or with iridescent coatings.

· Common sense tells us that the brighter the sun, the darker the lens you should use to help reduce glare.

· Iridescent coating can help reflect rays in bright light conditions but is not consistent UV protection on it’s own.

· Yellow and bronze lenses are also useful on cloudy, misty days or in darker forest conditions with low light penetration. These lens colours help define contrast, so can actually help with your depth perception when light conditions make it difficult.

· Remember - harmful rays can still penetrate readily through fog and clouds and can still harm your eyes. These are good days for light or even clear lenses – when you don’t need to make things darker but still want protection.

Physical Protection – Lens Durability

Whether you are racing through the woods on your mountain bike or on the volleyball court with someone jump serving at you, you don’t want your lenses to shatter into shards if you get hit. Never do any active sport wearing sunglasses with glass lenses.

I have met people who have suffered severe damage to their vision because they didn’t have adequate protection: one girl suffered from what she called “night blindness” – which simply means that as the sun sets and it grows darker, she begins to lose contrast and depth perception. I met another woman who was suffering from a condition called “Pteryguim “ which was manifesting with tissue growth on the whites of her eyes. If the growth were to continue, her vision would be blocked completely. Both of these conditions are a direct result of too much time in the sun without proper vision protection. Both of these women were in their early 20’s.

Beach Volleyball – in Canada??? (Summer 09 Issue)

By now most people have heard of pro beach volleyball. Most people have probably even seen it. (I heard it was the #1 sport viewed on CBC.ca during the '08 Olympics). Most people may know that it is played with the same height net as indoor volleyball, and with a slightly smaller court. Most people have noticed that it is played with teams of two (unlike indoor teams of six), and that it is played on sand.

What a lot of people don’t know, however, is how athletes from our Canadian winter wonderland, our ice hockey celebrating citizenry, could end up playing beach volleyball.

While I can’t tell everyone’s stories, I can tell you mine.

When I began playing the sport was still in it’s infancy, and I have, in fact, been introduced as a pioneer in the sport (which is both flattering and makes me feel just a teensy bit old). There were no national teams, coaches or development programs, and there were very few public nets. There was however, a group of very driven athletes, and a few tournaments on summer weekends offering small prizes: a free t-shirt and the promise of good competition and a weekend at an Ontario beach town with your friends. I was hooked. (The winners of our events were traditionally obliged to buy a round for everyone else – often the bulk of their prize money - and in the early days I was the recipient of the free round far more often that the provider).

My story is simple. I played: as much as I could, anywhere I could. I played indoors in high school and university. I played beach every day after work in the summers. I played tournaments in Wasaga, Grand Bend, Midland and Toronto. When the tour went national I played in Vancouver, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Calgary, New Brunswick, Ottawa and Montreal. When summer ended I went where the sport could be played year round. A friend and I moved to Sydney, Australia, where we rented a shoddily furnished apartment at Bondi Beach, and played with some of the country’s top athletes. It was at Bondi that I witnessed my first World Tour Event. I would rise, make myself a cup of coffee and head down to watch the world’s best players. I said to myself “I want to do that. I can do that”. I moved to Southern California, to pursue an MBA and trained with some of the US’s top players. During that time I was competing for Canada on the World Tour, (which took me to Brazil, Bali, Australia, Portugal, Chile, Japan and a host of other wondrous destinations). Ultimately I qualified for and competed in the 1996 Olympic Games.


That was then.

Beach volleyball is much better recognized these days, by fans, sponsors and organizations alike. It is regularly the first event to sell out at the Olympics, and has developed huge TV and web audience. Despite the international popularity of the sport, it’s growth had begun to slow a little here in Canada (which I greatly attribute to the loss of a national tour which would provide both opportunity and aspiration to younger athletes).


This is now.

There are, however, increasing opportunities for young athletes. In Canada, indoor beach facilities have sprouted up across the country. (There are at least four such places in Toronto alone). We have a number of provincial level events across the country as well as exciting independent ones. (The Not-So-Pro in Wasaga Beach, and the Midland tournaments are favorites). Volleyball Canada has developed national team training programs and camps, and has in fact, recently hired a new Head Coach for the beach program who brings with him a history of internationally successful program development. Finally there is currently is a group of loosely connected elite athletes, coaches and promoters working to rebuild the Canadian pro tour that was such a great launching pad for so many of our athletes.

Looking Ahead

What does the future look like? The growth of beach volleyball parallels the growth of other “newer” sports, largely driven by the passion, desire and entrepreneurial nature of athletes solely looking to find ways to pursue their sport and do what they love.

Very recently the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) in the US announced that they will be including sand volleyball (as they have called it) to college and university programs. Although the levels, format and structure have yet to be clearly developed, the mere fact that an athlete could play beach volleyball at university is a tremendous step forward for the sport. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that Canadian universities keep pace.

For more information check out:

http://www.ontariovolleyball.org/
http://www.volleyball.ca/
http://www.fivb.ch/

Sunscreen - A Remedial Class (Summer 09 Issue)

“Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’97 … wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.”

Remember that quote? From Mary Schmid of the Chicago Tribune, turned urban legend, turned pop song? Over a decade later, she’s still right. By now we are all aware of the damage that sun can do to our skin, but just in case:

Sunscreen 101: a remedial class:

· Sun Protection Factor (SPF) on the label can range from 2 to as high as 50, and refers to the product's ability to screen the harmful rays of the sun. If you use a sunscreen with an SPF 15, you can be in the sun 15 times longer before burning.

· Sunscreen photo degrades (breaks down) and rubs off with normal wear. It needs to be reapplied at least every two hours.

· Dermatologists generally recommend using a sunscreen with an SPF 15 or greater year-round for all skin types.

· Choose a "broad-spectrum" sunscreen that protects against UVB and UVA radiation which are two types of harmful rays:

o UVA (which can pass through window glass) can cause suppression of the immune system interfering with your ability to protect yourself against the development and spread of skin cancer, as well as age spots and wrinkling.
o UVB (which are blocked by window glass) are the primary causes of sunburn.
o *Memory trick: UVA = Aging UVB = Burning.

· Choose a sunscreen that is "waterproof" or "water-resistant," if you expect to be sweating or swimming.

· Don’t let the clouds fool you. Even on cloudy days, up to 80% of the sun’s UV rays can pass through the clouds.

o Sand reflects 25% of the sun’s rays.
o Snow reflects 80%.

· Apply sunscreen liberally, 15-30 minutes before going outdoors.

· Reapply! Reapply! Reapply!

Every time you tan, you damage your skin. The damage accumulates over time, and in addition to accelerating the aging process, also increases your risk for all types of skin cancer.
There is no safe way to tan. Listen to Mary. Wear sunscreen.

Source: American Academy of Dermatology

Knights Riders (Summer 09 Issue)

Marianna Knights is a busy woman. She is busy as a wife. Busy as a teacher. Busy as a mother. And busy as an elite mountain biker. She and her husband Greg (also an elite mountain biker) were kind enough to somehow make time for me earlier this spring and invite me to their Collingwood home to talk to me about the sport and the lifestyle it has created for their young family.

MM: You’ve accomplished a lot in the last few years. Have you always been an athlete?

MK : Not so much. I’ve always been “energetic”, but never really found my sport. I don’t think I’m that coordinated (she is laughing as she says this) at ball or racquet sports. When I bought a mountain bike, I didn't know where to ride it.


MM: That’s not the case anymore. What changed?

MK: It took me a year. I finally got the courage to go to a local bike shop (Squire John's) where they had Saturday morning bike rides. While I was there I met my now husband - after getting over my not so initial attraction to "guys in spandex”. The next weekend we had our first date. Before we knew it we were riding every weekend and finally, riding away from the church on our wedding day.

MM: So you fell in love twice over - with the sport and with Greg. I won’t ask about Greg, but what is it about mountain biking?

MK: I instantly fell in love with the sport. I loved the fact that you can have so much fun, increase your heart rate and give yourself an adrenalin rush like you've never had before. And be proud of surviving the numerous endo's!



Marianna’s tip: The more flexible you are the better you recover from falls. Do yoga!

MM: You and Greg have managed not only to add competitive training into your own schedules, but have incorporated the sport into your family lifestyle as a whole.

MK: Yes. It has been a great family activity. My husband used to race but was away from it for a while. Then, seeing how I quickly embraced the sport, it sparked new interest in him. He saw that it would be enjoyable for us both to (re)discover the passion for the sport together.



Marainna’s Bio in Brief:

Mountain biking for 8 years

2003–04 club member, then sponsored racer with Fly Gurlz

2005-present Arrow Racing (a not-for-profit cycling team from the area).

Raced one year Elite2005 1st place Tag Team at 24hr Race

2006-08 2 years off to dedicate time to have baby

2008 2nd place at Nationals (Mt St.Anne Quebec).

MM: And now you have two children in the picture?

MK: Yes, now we have two young daughters: Caralina (4) and Maea (2). Obviously we have gone through changes in our racing, but it really just brings another element to it. I took time off to get pregnant then returned to racing. Greg took time off racing to allow me time to get competition ready again. Training can be challenging and we take turns a lot: “who will wake up at 5am for our 5:30 workout today” or “who will prepare dinner while the other trains”? Our daughters come to many of our events, and even ride in the kids divisions. In 2005, we raced the Tag Team 24hr Race and brought our 6 month old daughter. We were camping, and she was feeding in between laps - too crazy! We will sometimes bring along sitters or invite family & friends to races and make a day or weekend of it. This year there was a race on Mother's Day - I fought and placed 2nd and at the same time my daughter rode the kids course. What a great way to celebrate Mother's Day and the outdoors.

MM: What about the future? I think you said you had some big plans?

MK: I'd like to qualify and race in the World's Master's Mountain Bike Championships. Also our family is doing an Exchange to Australia next year and we plan to race there as well.

MM: But you’re coming back right?

MK: We have ridden all over Canada, US, in Italy and will have ridden in Australia. But we appreciate the community we have right here in Collingwood, and the excellent riding in the area. Three Stages and Kolapore in particular offer amazing training ground and fun for all levels and abilities. We wouldn't choose another home in a million years!! We live in a cycling Paradise!

THE850race: Doing the Impossible (Summer 09 Issue)

Running two marathons a day - six days in a row?
Raising $1Million for charity doing it?

That’s exactly what Brain Culbert and David Battison plan to do this September.

Between September 13th and 18th, 2009, Brian and Dave will run from Niagara Falls to Tobermory, the 850km length of The Bruce Trail, in an attempt to raise $1 million for children’s health programs globally.

A Dream Team

Brian Culbert is a world class endurance athlete. Sharing his time between his Toronto home and his Wasaga Beach cottage, he has been competing at national and world level events as an endurance mountain biker for 5 years.


Dave Battison competed as a professional triathlete, and represented Canada three times at the World Ironman Championships in Hawaii, widely regarded as the most prestigious triathlon event in the world.


Dave also happens to be one of Canada’s top coaches, and has been given Professional title status from the Coaching Association of Canada, one of only five active coaches in the country with this designation.

If anyone can run the equivalent of a dozen marathons in six days and raise one million dollars doing it, these two can.


The Bucket List

Last fall, while on a 10 km trail run, Brian and Dave decided to create their own “Bucket List” like Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman had done in the film of the same name.

One of the list items was to run The Bruce Trail. The whole trail. All 850 kms of it.

If that wasn’t enough, the pair decided that they ought to do it in only six days - which, when you do the math, is like running two marathons a day, six days in a row. THE850race was born.

Challenging the Perception of Possibility


Running two marathons a day for six days sounds like an impossibility to most people, but so does eliminating global childhood poverty. Brian and Dave are setting out to prove those perceptions wrong and push the limits of possibility.


Brain’s own drive stems from his commitment to the The Hospital for Sick Children and their work for children everywhere. When Brain’s son was born, his family spent almost two weeks at SickKids and was witness to the seemingly insurmountable challenges faced by so many children testing their own physical limits daily. He suddenly understood courage in a way he hadn’t before; “God, give me my son and I’ll go help these children for the rest of my life. This is my covenant to you”.


Working in conjunction with The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, the Global Child Health Program at HealthyKids International is a collective strategy for international outreach activities charged to solve the global paediatric healthcare crisis. By focusing on developing and training key healthcare workers, improving opportunities for health leaders and institutions to share knowledge, and creating healthcare delivery systems that reach out to the most underserved communities, the Global Child Health Program will ultimately improve the care received by the world’s most in-need children.



When Brian and Dave decided that running The Bruce Trail was their next goal, they also decided to turn the run into a fund raiser. They gave themselves an extremely demanding time frame and set their sites on raising $1 million in support of the Global Child Health Program run by the SickKids Foundation.


For more information go to http://www.healthykidsinternational.com/

A link between passion and common sense

Common sense.

It is such a simple, universally accessible concept yet regularly seems lacking in everyday life. The health care system is under fire - in both Canada and the US. Obesity is rampant. Chronic illness is common. There is ever more media chatter about this state of affairs, but it doesn't seem to penetrate deeply enough to have an effect on everyday lifestyle choices. Isn't it simple common sense: eat healthfully and in moderation & get and stay active. Your life will be better (and possibly a little bit easier). You might live longer. You may even tax the health care system and your loved ones less.

I have recently been writing for a publication that serves what they like to call a four season resort area - skiing and winter sports in the winter and a myriad of golf courses, mountain biking trails, and watersport in the summer. I have been meeting a variety of passionate and active minded people and have been profiling them in the publication. I wanted to share them here.

It is my opinion that it doesn't really matter what your passion is, so long as you have one. When you share passion, it is contagious. When someone is excited about something - genuinely and truely enthusiastic - it is hard not to absorb some of that energy and passion yourself, and perhaps a transfer of that passion might be inspirational to some. After all - trying to stay healthy is not rocket science. It's common sense.