Canadian Athlete Family Program

Snowboarder Alexa Loo on Sharing the Olympics with Her Parents

Top Canadian Olympic snowboarder Alexa Loo is getting ready to compete on her home turf at Cypress Mountain for the 2010 Games.

In this article from her hometown paper, the Richmond Review, Alexa talks about how excited she is to be able to share her Olympic experience with her biggest fans and supporters - her family! She's thrilled that Petro-Canada's Canadian Athlete Family Program is making that possible.

"I will be able to completely focus on my event, knowing that my parents will be looked after—from the Listel Hotel in downtown Vancouver where they will be hosted, to their meals and their transportation to the event," says Alexa.

"It takes a load off my mind to know that Petro-Canada is taking care of the logistics so that I don’t have to. In Torino, I went to their hotel to make sure that their room was appropriate for them, I booked flights, and bought tickets for my parents, and I had to worry about how they were getting to the hill on race day. Now I don’t have to concern myself with all of that, and I can just focus on racing."

Loo says her family has supported her for years and the chance to share the Olympic experience, "hearing the roar of the crowd and feel the magic of the Olympics first hand," makes their sacrifices even more worthwhile.

"It also helps them to understand me better—what it is that has driven me for so many years to do all of the work that I have done," she says.

Alexa's mom, Toni Loo says:

"Being able to stay close to the action and Canada House will allow Charlie and I to meet other parents of athletes and share with them the Olympic experience."

"This will also help Alexa because she will not have to worry about how we are going to get to the events, and if I am calm I can help calm Alexa—even at a distance."

Alexa came by her passion for sport honestly. Her parents met and fell in love thanks to their passion for skiing and were sure to pass their love of sports on to their kids.

Charlie and Toni Loo have always believed that competitive sport prepares young children for the "real world, where everyone competes to get ahead whether in business or for job promotion."

"And it is one of the best tools for keeping fit, with all that implies for one’s ability to enjoy a healthy and active lifestyle over the years,” dad Charlie says. "Alexa’s mother and I still have a passion for skiing, having skied over 35 days in each of the past two years."

"Having her biggest race here at home is going to be a great thrill."

We wish Alexa the best in her Olympic journey - and we're looking forward to hosting Alexa's parents at the Vancouver 2010 Games!

In the video below, Alexa Loo talks about Olympic competition with her parents.

Supporting Our Own "Great One"

Story from Michael Southern

My story is less about receiving support, but rather of trying to give it.  Our 6-year old daughter is determined that she is going to be a hockey player.  I have no idea where this comes from, since I don’t play hockey and I don’t think we’ve ever watched hockey on TV.  I don’t recall having seen Cinderella trying to elbow the Wicked Stepmother in the corner, but somewhere she decided skating was easy, and thus hockey was a cinch!

Last year, we signed her up for the CanSkate program, and I think she stepped onto the ice for the first time assuming that she’d be the next Great One.  She was not.  My wife and I sat up in the stands, and I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.  In the first 50 feet, she likely fell with every step.  If it is possible, she fell more than once with each step.  After that first hour, during which she spent as much time sitting and crawling on the ice as she did standing on it, the smile never left her face. 

As the lessons continued, a new part of our weekly skating ritual came after her lesson when we would stay to watch the first period of the teenage boys and girls games that followed.  We never knew what the teams names were, but it didn’t matter.  She always had fun coming up with her own names.  One week it was the Cardinals against the Blue Jays; the next it was the Skunks against the Bumble Bees.  We had fun cheering no matter who scored, and she was learning by watching and we were having fun together.

For the next several months we were back in the arena every Friday evening.  No matter how tired we all were at the end of the week it was something we looked forward to and by the end of the year, she was zipping (though I can’t really say gliding) around the rink.  It won’t be long and I imagine she’ll want to take the next step from just skating lessons to being on a hockey team of her own.  I wonder if it will be the Cardinals or the Bumble Bees?

Michael is a Suncor Employee.

Photo Source: istockphoto

Learning Good Sportmanship from My Dad on the Links

Story by Brad Palmer

If there's one clear memory in my mind about family sport while growing up it would probably be about golf. I remember always watching the final round on Sunday with my Dad rooting for his favourite players. I also remember when we got out and played as a family on nice days. I can't believe how patient he was with me as a kid trying to learn a golf swing ... something I still haven't figured out yet! I always wanted to do better than my older brother. That's probably one of the first competitive thoughts I ever had.

That's why I was so excited to hear the great news about golf and the 2016 Olympics. While some may think golf isn't much of a sport, the players on tour would argue otherwise. Like any sport, the training and mental game required to play at the professional level is immense. I owe golf for showing me what sportsmanship, training, practice and competitiveness are all about.

Knowing the commitment that the PGA has shown to charity and the community, the PGA will be a great fit with the Olympic spirit and values. See the video below to see the exciting announcement about 2016.

Brad is a Suncor employee.

Memories of Sport

Story from Dave Wilson

Time truly does enhance memories. I am a grandfather now, but I still vividly remember getting up at 4:30 on a Saturday morning in the dead of winter to bring my five year old to hockey practice. It seemed like the younger the player, the earlier the practice - why did the "old timers" get to play at 10 at night when my son and I had to get up in the wee hours on a weekend?  I remember that the only heated place in the rink was in the dressing room, and they locked that during the "on ice" time.

So I shivered and drank many many cups of coffee for quite a few years.

But, as I started out to say, memories today are not all of those cold mornings, but of the unhesitating way my son was out of bed and ready to go each Saturday morning. He loved to put on his skates and hockey equipment and he reveled in the practices. And when he got to play in scrimmages and games he was truly in his element.

And that is what I really remember ... the games, the wins, and some losses for sure, but the ultimate spirit and passion these kids had for hockey at such a young age and the joy on their faces when they made a goal (or stopped a goal). And this kept on for the rest of their youth.

So I think to myself, if I am as proud and have such great memories of my sons when they played recreational sports, how proud can a parent of an Olympic athlete be after the many many more hours and early mornings they have spent with their kids. I would imagine the thrill of victory as they say and the sharing of the agony of defeat is magnified 1000 times. I can not join in their joys, but I can imagine and support the immense commitment that every parent of every athlete has made to the success of not only their kids but of the Olympic Sport Family as well.

Kudos to them all.

Dave is a Suncor employee.

Photo Credit: Jug Jones