Canadian Athlete Family Program

Interview with a Roc - Brad Spence's dad on his son's alpine ski career

Early one morning during our hectic 2010 Winter Games tour I squeezed in a phone call to Roc Spence who is the father of Canadian alpine athlete Brad Spence; Roc works ski crew with my friend Ted. He has worked for 10 days as a volunteer at Whistler and is a National Technical Delegate – a big deal in the Ski Race Crew world. This heavy involvement in Ski Racing has had a huge positive benefit in Brad’s development as an Olympian. Roc is also a Volunteer Director of the Calgary Stampede.

  

Brad loved to play hockey and like most Canadian boys wanted to be a hockey player when he grew up. But Brad’s older brother was already into skiing as was the rest of the family so it was easier for all of them to concentrate on skiing as a family unit. This sounds similar to the Bilodeau’s story – skiing as an inclusive family sport.  

He knew something was special about Brad as an alpine racer when he was 6 years old in the Nancy Green Ski League. At the end of the season the coach had a contest to see who could go the fastest off a jump. “Brad took the jump at Mach 1 and broke both his wrists – but the only thing he wanted to know was if he won – and yes, he did win the prize - shiny new green Bolle goggles.” Roc thought they still had the goggles somewhere in storage.    

Bradley started as a downhiller with the family growing up and racing at Panorama. He had early success on the NorAm circuit in Downhill, GS and Slalom. He graduated to the World Cup circuit in 2004.  

Christine Nesbitt – In the Golden Zone

On Wednesday Feb 17 – the day Christine Nesbitt won Gold – we met with her brother Doug Nesbitt and sister-in-law Adina Szalai. He grew up in London with Christine but they now live in Ottawa.    They were on their way out to see Christine compete in the 1000 metre long track speed skating. 

I asked if there were any special stories about her triumphs and tragedies, and Adina responded “she always triumphs, doesn’t she?” to Doug’s agreeing nod.    

Doug shared his thoughts about when he knew that Christine might some day be a champion.  He said when he was 10 and she was 6, they were living in Manitoba for a year. There was one rink in town and they would all go skating with friends from his hockey team. They played tag on the ice and though they should have been able to easily out run her, Christine would easily catch the boys - some of whom were 5 years older.

Doug said “I thought that was exceptional and was the first time I realized how athletic she was.”  Doug said that she played hockey that year and was getting better and better and eventually switched to speed skating.  

When asked how Christine prepares for races, Adina said, “she is very self motivated and is good at doing the things she needs to do to get ready” including the mental preparation: “she is very good at blocking out the white noise of life.”   Adina also noted that Christine “is not too big on communicating a whole lot during when she is in competition. We are used to that at this point when she is in her Zone”.  And we certainly did see that in her performance later in the day.  Christine became Canada’s third Gold Medalist of the Games when she edged out a Dutch skater by just two one-hundredths of a second!

Canadian Speed Skating: The French Family Connection

On our first night in the Athlete’s Family Hospitality Suite, we had the pleasure of talking with the families of three of our short track speed skaters.   All of the families are French speakers so we did our best with what French skills we have.   

First a little about the suite itself.  It is a very nice “oasis” for the families to have a bite to eat and meet other families and share their Olympic Experience.  I got a picture of me with Quatchi (separated at birth?).   But I thought the best part was the messages for our Canadian athletes from elementary school children. 

The first person we met was Martine Simard, the mother of Valérie Maltais who is a short track speed skater competing in the 500m, 1000m, 1500m and the relay.   Valérie first started figure skating as a child but found her calling as an Olympian in short track speed skating, starting to speed skate at 6 years old.   She competes as a member of her hometown (Le Baie) club - Les F18 de La Baie and at 20 years old is likely to compete in future Olympics for Canada. 

Martine said that she first knew that Valérie was special when she started to get stressed and butterflies in her stomach at Valérie's competitions as she rose through the junior ranks and started standing on the podium. 

Martine’s game day routine includes always sitting at the same place rink-side to cheer on Valérie.  

Devon Kershaw - Cross Country Skier for All Distances

Tonight we had our first opportunity to meet the Athletes’ families in the Petro-Canada Hospitality Suite and we had the pleasure to also do our first official Video interview with Maureen Kershaw, mother of Cross Country skier Devon Kershaw.   

Maureen had Devon out skiing 5 days after he was born and he showed his competitiveness at a very early age.  Watch the complete video interview below for the story of our Cross Country skier who competes in all distances but enjoys the team events the best.   

Congratulations Maureen on bringing up a true Olympian.  All of our best wishes for Devon – we will be cheering him on at every one of his FIVE events. 

Photo Source: DevonKershaw.com

Weasel Workers – Volunteers and Other Unsung Family Heroes

Have you ever heard of the Weasel Workers?   No, they are not the latest VANOC anti-rodent patrol.   This is the affectionate name for the volunteers who prepare the Whistler ski race courses, keep the course in good condition during the race, run the race and clean up afterward.

Of course there are many very dedicated volunteers taking part in the Games, but since I am a Level II Ski Race Official in Ontario, the Weasels are near and dear to me.

I want to talk about the Whistler Weasels and the Volunteers from around BC - the Mt Washington Marmots (a REALLY fun crew), Apex Sun Dogs, Lake Louise Sled Dogs and a smattering of other race vollies - that will be at Whistler.  Especially my friends Ted and Laurie Spearin from Vernon BC.   

 

Our Personal Opening Ceremonies in Whistler and Plan for Extracurricular Family Interviews

In addition to the excellent Olympic Adventure provided courtesy of Petro-Canada, we are going to Vancouver early and staying later to indulge in our passion for skiing. Anne-Marie has never skied at Whistler and it has been 8 years for me, so getting in a day before the opening ceremonies will be the first priority.

Our plan is to head to Whistler almost right away. We are still working out the logistics and finalizing our accommodations but right now plan to wake up in Whistler on February 11th to ski!

On Opening Ceremonies day (AKA Feb 12th), we have an invitation to the Ski Cross House party at the Ocean Club in North Vancouver. This will be an excellent time for us to snag some interviews with the families of the Olympians … at least the ones who do not go to the Opening Ceremonies. If you are going to be at Ski Cross house on the 12th, please let us know … although I do not think we will be shy when we are there.

We plan to stay in Whistler for 2 more nights. Starting with first tracks on the 13th then we will settle into the free slopeside viewing areas for the Men’s Downhill event, hopefully we will be able to see something, or at least hear lots of swooshing. From there we will be reporting / tweeting on the racers as they whiz by us. We will finish up the day skiing, then head out into the Village to the inevitable parties – starting with Canada Alpine House where we hope to get additional interview material - Maybe even meet my Hero The Uber Cool Golden Manuel Osborne-Paradis - that's Manny even though it may look like me :)

That will be a long day and hopefully we will be celebrating medals by Canadians…

PAINT WHISTLER RED!

We will have a nice leisurely day on Valentine’s (a very appropriately red day) going to Le Scandinave – which will only be in its first week of operation at Whistler. This Sauna Monster will give it a good initiation (I did win a Gold Medal in Sauna Olympics in University). Anne-Marie and I went to the Mont Tremblant Le Scandinave last year … I am afraid she is going to start to expect it for Valentine’s Day. Thankfully the other one is at Blue Mountain which will be relatively easy and cheap to do next year. I highly recommend Le Scandinave – especially after a hard day of skiing – and plan a leisurely stay (we were 5 + hours at Tremblant). Click for video tour.

If all goes we will have a few good family interviews, a couple of days of great Whistler Skiing, rejuvenated bodies and some of the best memories we could ever want. The highlight for me – and probably one my best days ever – will be seeing the Olympic Mens Downhill at Whistler …. Cool!

Then we meet up with the Petro-Canada people and the next chapter will begin.

Now to plan our last 4 days.

9 days until Opening Ceremonies

Photo Credit: manuelracing.com

Dream! and Thank You's on T-minus 10 and Counting

Actually the time for Dreaming is over and our athletes and cheering fans will soon be called to action!

Here is some long overdue recognition of assistance in creating our original Video entry. Consider it an addendum/credits to Anne-Marie’s first blog post.

First I would like to than the Gardiner Sisters. For the background soundtrack we used their song, Dream, which they wrote and recorded for the 2010 Winter Games. I listened to 5 plus different songs for the Games, and I found theirs most inspirational and in keeping with the Dream Big and Family theme of the Petro-Canada program. 

Here is a snippet from their website about the song  

‘Dream’ is an original song written specifically for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. We envisioned an inspiring and uplifting song about finding inner strength, following destiny, and reaching human potential ... The music is performed by a professional 47-piece orchestra, recorded in Prague.

Look for them around Vancouver during the Olympics. According to their site they are booked to perform at “a bunch of venues”. You can also buy Dream on iTunes.

I would also like to thank Lianna Gunn for camera work (when both Anne-Marie and I were in the shot), Stephania Meyer for additional camera work, my daughter Vanessa for being on camera, and the Ives family of Rodle Mountain Luging in Bancroft for the excellent day of natural Luge and providing us with some key footage ... like the Helmet Cam. 

If you have not seen it yet, you can see our Ultimate Luge Video below:

10 days to the Games!

Clara Hughes – Inspiration for our “A” Team

I am thrilled that Clara Hughes will carry the Canadian Flag into the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games' opening ceremonies and will consequently be the face of Canadian winter athletes to the world.

I have always admired Clara Hughes because of her medal wins in the Summer and Winter Olympics.   The fact that her flaming red hair is a match to my daughter Vanessa and me means she holds a special place in our hearts as an inspiration for Canadian spirit and athleticism.  

Many of Vanessa’s friends’ names ended in an “A” so we coined the term “A Team”.  Back in 2000 when Vanessa was just 4 years old we were watching the 2000 Summer Games and were so inspired by Clara that we made her an honourary member of the “A Team” – a great inspiration for my red headed Canadian Girl.  

Now that I’ve read about her hard times as a wild child I am even more inspired by how someone can change their life by dedicating themselves to a Big Dream.  I also admired her Mother’s decisive action that capitalized on 16 year old Clara’s desire to speed skate while watching the 1988 Olympics.   Her dedication now to sport, competition and charitable work is an inspiration to all Canadians…. especially the Red Haired ones

Clara – You Go Girl!!   Leading the Canadian “A-Team” - Our Winter Olympians!

We will be cheering for you from Red Coast to Red Coast! 


Check out Clara Hughes' great personal website

And the background story of her teenage years

Photo credit: Clara Hughes' Photo Gallery

Congrats to Our Family Correspondents

We’re excited for the winners of our Family Correspondent Contest: Rob & Stephanie Brown, Mike & Daniel Radoslav and Anne-Marie Finn & Denis Van Decker!

We’re looking forward to having them report LIVE from Vancouver, and share the experiences of families participating in the Canadian Athlete Family Program.  You can see their winning videos below.  

Plus, make sure you're following them on Twitter:

• Rob Brown - @4RGB8
• Stephanie Brown - @Stephb10
• Dan Radoslav - @DJR_7
• Mike Radoslav - @picante
• Anne-Marie Finn - @BigFamilyDream

We’d also like to thank the rest of our finalist family members - Jean-François Frenette, Eric Arseneau, Nicole Stuber, and Sonia Stuber. To show our appreciation, these finalists will receive a Petro-Canada 2010 Olympic Fan Package which includes a set of Petro-Canada glassware, a variety of coin cards, Petro-Canada pins, and $100 in gas. 

Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to everyone who participated in our Family Correspondent Contest. We’re looking forward to seeing the Petro-Canada Family Correspondents in Vancouver shortly. Stay tuned for more details.

Updated on Jan 9 to include additional winners.