Rosemary's Diary: Pre-Olympic Program

COURTESY OF ROSEMARY BRYDON

Rosemary, Emily, Mounties and their hats.

Those of you who follow this blog – a rare breed, indeed – might remember “Chuck in China” from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Chuck Hayden, whose son Brent was swimming’s world 100-metre freestyle champion in 2007, wrote for us along the way to give us a parent’s perspective.

Well, alpine skier Emily Brydon’s mom, Rosemary, has agreed to pick up the torch for the 2010 Vancouver Games. If you’ve ever been to a women’s alpine skiing race in Canada, you’ve probably seen Rosemary. She’s the one wearing a goofy hat – that’s she made herself – screaming her lungs out for the Canadian skiers.

Much thanks to Rosemary for doing this. If anyone else wants to lighten my workload, please send an email to rstarkman@thestar.ca

Rosemary’s First Entry:

I am the mother of a two-time Olympian. My excitement is growing about seeing her and hundreds of other Canadians compete in their own country. What an opportunity for Canadians to experience the atmosphere of an Olympic Games in their own backyard.

It’s important as a parent not to add any extra pressure. I think Emily knows I’m coming along to have a good time, enjoy the whole event. Enjoy everything. It’s not just focusing on Emily’s races. It’s focusing on all the events and all the good things about the Olympics. Rather than doing the negative. It’s about the positive.

I have started my “Pre-Olympic Program” already – not only athletes have to prepare! My first task was to find accommodation in Whistler – this was not easy! Finally through a friend’s brother’s friend’s friend I found a three bedroom townhouse! It is not cheap to watch one's daughter compete in Whistler at the Olympic Games.

An important part of Olympic preparation is practicing deep breathing. I attend Yoga classes to help me prepare for race watching!! The Ocean Breath is supposed to relax one - at the bottom of a Downhill Course it is a challenge to achieve this state.

My next ongoing challenge is to buy tickets for the three events that my daughter will be competing in. I will let you know how this transpires.

Comments

[wr]

Good luck with the "pre Olympic training"...keep writing so we can follow your progress Rosemary!