Canadian Athlete Family Program

The Team 1040 Sports Interview with Drew Neilson and Judy Hoy

Our CAFP spokesperson, snowboarder Drew Neilson and his mom, Judy, were interviewed recently on The Team 1040 in Vancouver!

In the audio interview embedded below, Drew talks about the work he has to do yet to qualify for the team (the snowboarding team won't be announced until January 25) and how great it is to know that his mom will be able to be there. Judy talks how proud she is of Drew and how excited she'll be to actually be on the mountain to cheer him on in person.

Drew and his mom and step-dad were also interviewed recently in the Vernon Morning Star's story Parental pride to shine at Olympics. Here's an excerpt:

Hoy figured her youngest, Drew Neilson, would never stop loving snow. Decades later and she is counting the days until he races in snowboard cross Feb. 15 at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

“He used to use little fish-scale skis and he would fall face-first into the snow and he would get up laughing,” said Hoy, who through a Petro-Canada Canadian Athlete Family Program, will attend the Olympics for five days with her husband Ben.

“He was always smiling. He would talk to anybody. He loved people. He became a good skier very quickly. When he did something, he put everything into it. Failure is not acceptable with Drew.”

Be sure and check out the full article - and best of luck to Drew on the slopes!

Photo Credit: Drew Neilson's Boardercross Gallery

Canadian Athlete Family Program in the Canmore Leader

We saw this great piece in the Canmore Leader last week about the Canadian Athlete Family Program and some of the 2010 hopefuls whose families we'd be hosting for the Games.

The article highlights biathlete Megan Imrie and what having her family cheering her on at the Games would mean to her. Here's a bit of the article:

The Petro- Canada athlete family program is making it possible for family members to support Canadian athletes during the Vancouver Games in 2010.

The program will host and accommodate two family members from all 500 Canadian athlete's families during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Canadian biathlete Megan Imrie from Vulcan Lake, Manitoba, who now lives and trains in Canmore, knows the importance of programs such as this, and is one of the athletes who will likely benefit from this program and see her family cheering her on from the stands.

"It's great that Petro-Canada has stepped up and provided this for families of Canadian athletes," Imrie said. "Being able to share my first Olympic experience with my family is something I will always remember."

Imrie has already done all she needs to do to qualify for the games, but the official announcement will not be made till January 2010. Her parents Marg and Murray Imrie have been instrumental to her success as a biathlete and when she competes in Vancouver it will be a total team Imrie effort.

We're thrilled to be part of that team effort, making sure families are there to support their athletes. And we wish Megan the best of luck in 2010!

Photo credit: Christian Manzon

Luger Meaghan Simister's Home Turf Advantage Includes Her Parents

According to recent Pique NewsMagazine article Simister Brings Hometown Advantage to Whistler, Canadian luge star Meaghan Simister is looking forward to competing on her home turf at the 2010 Games - and not just because she loves the new Whistler Sliding Centre. 

[F]or Simister the home field advantage is more than the number of practice runs she got at the Whistler Sliding Centre last week. Thanks to a program by Petro Canada, her family from Alberta will be in Whistler to see her compete during the 2010 Games - something that has rarely happened in her nine years of racing, three with the junior team and six with the senior national team.

As Simister says:

"Just the fact that I'm going to have my parents there, my brothers, aunts and uncles, along with crowds of Canadians out there, it's going to be awesome and I know we all hope to draw on that," Simister said. "It should be one of our best experiences ever at a race. We go to some cool races in Europe that bring out thousands of fans, but none of them are ever waving Canadian flags. It's going to be awesome to compete at home and really feel that support."

Simister goes on to talk about the new track and how the Canadian team stacks up against the competition.

...Simister says the team has come a long way in the last few years, and has a lot of potential heading into this season with new equipment and access to the Whistler Sliding Centre.

During international training week the Canadian lugers were getting three runs a day maximum, but when the team is here for a camp it's usually four or five runs over two sessions a day.

"That's really beneficial... the more confident I feel the better I slide," she said. "You don't have to worry about specific lines here or there where you don't know what will happen, like on some European tracks I don't know as well. When you're going 140 km/h you want to know what to expect in every situation.

"I'm just really excited and happy for the season ahead, and really looking forward to it," she said. "I hope to make everyone proud."

We wish Meaghan the best on her journey to the Games - and of course, we look forward to hosting her folks in 2010! Check out the full interview with Meaghan Simister here.

Photo credit: Pique NewsMagazine

Competing, Tweeting & Ode to Mom - Athlete Blog Watch

The road to the Games is a long one and no one knows that better than the athletes themselves. On their personal blogs, they share the thrill of victory, the agony of their feet and the day to day living, training and perseverance that go into being a top athlete.

Here are a few of the Canadian athlete blog posts that inspired us this week:

Alpine skier Dustin Cook tweets! He's also put together a handy list of the other members of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team on Twitter. Keep up to date with your favourite CAST athletes and other notable racers - it's a great resource for CAST fans.

Dustin's teammate on the Canadian Alpine Ski Team, Emily Brydon, is getting ready to compete in her third Games. In her post Olympics - 3 Times a Charm, she talks about her previous Games experiences and how she feels that Vancouver 2010 will be the best Games yet: 

For some, this event has little meaning outside the unjustifiable spending of money but for many this is a chance to show the World what Canada is all about.  The value of the Olympics Games transcends the medals and the shows.  Instead, it breaks down limiting barriers between people, cultures and countries; it is the biggest unifying event in the world in my eyes. I am so proud to be Canadian and I think that Canadians should be proud too. By being given a chance to represent my country doing something that I absolutely love to do, is an opportunity beyond words and I hope that I can do it with honour, humility, success and passion.

And last but not least, cross-country skier and Olympic gold medallist Chandra Crawford did a little ode to her mom Louise on her blog awhile back, complete with awesome photos!

Born in Nordegg, Alberta and raised in Edmonton, Louise hooked up with Glen in Banff in the 70s and had Canmore's first hair salon, Hair Spinners. I grew up amidst magazines and hair clippings when we weren't adventuring in the mountains. Louise does a lot of awesome work for Fast and Female as the Volunteer Coordinator and lives the Empowerment Through Sport mission herself with a capacious love of cross-country skiing.

We'll be highlighting Canadian athlete blog posts every week, so stay tuned!

Family Support Inspires Confidence

Story from Kirsten D'Souza

Family is extremely important in shaping who we grow to be. The support I've had of my family growing up has been part of my core and who I am today.

I've never forgotten how much my Dad did for me growing up as kid. He would take me to my ballet classes, tap dancing class, swimming, Girl Guides and gymnastics. He'd always be in my corner, supporting me and cheering me on, and that meant a lot to me.

It is that kind of support that inspired confidence in myself and encouraged me to always push myself to do better and today, a lot of that support and encouragement has allowed me to achieve great things in my life.

Kirsten is a Suncor employee.

Photo credit: pupismyname

Join the World's Largest Wave!

Show your support for our Canadian athletes by joining the World's Largest Wave!

It's easy to join - all you need is a few minutes and webcam. Record yourself doing the Wave, submit your own Wave moment, then watch the Wave roll across Canada from coast to coast.

Be sure to tell your friends and family to join too - let's show the world our Canadian Olympic pride!

Visit iwilldreambig.ca and join the Wave today!

Fighting, Fundraising & Family Support - Athlete Blog Watch

The road to the Games is a long one and no one knows that better than the athletes themselves. On their personal blogs, they share the thrill of victory, the agony of their feet and the day to day living, training and perseverance that go into being a top athlete.

Here are a few of the Canadian athlete blog posts that inspired us this week:

Bobsleigher Lisa Szabon had a rough week and was hundreths of a second away from qualifying for the National Women's Bobsleigh Team in Whistler. But she's not giving up on her dream of competing at the 2010 Games. In her heart-wrenching blog post Post-National Team Selections, she talks about the races last week, not making the team and the next steps she has to take to try and qualify for the Games in Vancouver.

I left Whistler with the knowledge that I am a fighter, sometimes just a little slow to rise up, but still a fighter. I left knowing that in the next two months I need to be fighting the hardest fight I may ever face.

Cross country skier George Grey lost a sponsor when the City of Rossland, his hometown, decided not to continue sponsoring amateur athletes. Fortunately, as he writes in his post Rossland Fundraiser, his hometown ski club put on a successful fundraiser to help him on his way to the Games. 

I always feel at ease in Rossland and love going back there.  Not all athletes can say this about their hometown.  The people are easy-going, kind, and supportive.  This kind of town makes you want to give back and that’s a good feeling. 

In her post Kitewing and XC Pictures, alpine skier Kelly McBroom writes about her training regimen coming back from her knee injury, her early ski career and how crucial the support of her family and friends has been in her recovery.

I'm getting back to the early days of my youth, running all around the nordic centre and going on many adventures. Each day I run around, I am reminded of all the amazing times I have had as both an alpine skier as well as a cross country youngster. Its amazing how much time you have to think when you're training on your own for hours at a time.

We'll be highlighting Canadian athlete blog posts every week, so stay tuned!

Making Memories at the Pool

Story from Joanne Manser

My favourite memory is when my parents and I would go to my brother and sister's swim meets. They both swam competitively with the University of Calgary Dinos swim team, and I loved to watch them glide through the water and win their races.

Over the summer months, the swim meets tended to be really early in the morning and there was still a chill in the air. My parents and I used to snuggle under this big wool blanket we would bring with us and cheer for Jennifer and Steven from the stands.  It was a great time and one I always looked forward to.

Another great experience for me was that Mark Tewksbury was also part of the Dinos swim team while my brother and sister swam with the swim club. I remember going to watch Jennifer and Steven compete and would also be able to watch Mark Tewksbury either training or racing. 

Watching him win his gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona was extra exciting to me and my family after having the opportunity to see him and meet him when he was a Calgary Dino!

Joanne is a Suncor employee.

Photo credit: Xenophod