It's a shame Nesbitt had to go outside Canada for key sponsor

When speed skater Christine Nesbitt competed at the world sprint championships last weekend, one of her more prominent sponsors was a Dutch telecom company, Galaxy Group.

You can see them displayed here over her heart and on her left shoulder.

Kevin Jagger, an investment broker turned Canadian long track speed skater, writes about the Dutch deal in his superb blog on amateur sport sponsorship, which is generally written to help out other athletes.

Jagger doesn’t make a big deal out of it that it’s a Dutch company. Quite the contrary. He points out how BCE dropped out from sponsoring the Canadian speed skating team – not an unusual happenstance in the post Vancouver Olympic era – and the absence of the Bell logo meant skaters could get their own deals with telecommunications firms.

Nesbitt is a good fit for the Galaxy Group. She’s a huge name in the Netherlands and speed skating is televised there like hockey is here so they’ll get tons of exposure.

This isn’t unprecedented, either. Jeremy Wotherspoon’s big sponsor at the height of his career was a Dutch company. The Canadian canoe kayak team once had a Hungarian sponsor.

Canadian teams and athletes have to take it where they can get it. There was no windfall even for the Vancouver Olympic gold medallists like Nesbitt.

Nesbitt got a deal recently with a Canadian company that makes compression wear, CEP Canada, but you can bet it wasn't for significant dollars.

One can’t help but wonder what it says about us as a nation celebrating their own that an Olympic champion, world champion, world record holder and winner of countless 2011 Athlete of the Year awards can’t bag a Canadian telecommunications sponsor.

Not only are there Nesbitt’s athletic achievements, but she’s a great role model and one of the country’s big hopes heading to the 2014 Olympics.

Her sponsorship should be a 'Made In Canada' production.

 

Things looking very good for Canada on road to Sochi 2014

It’s just over two years until the Sochi Olympics, but the signs are good right now for another Canadian tour de force showing like we saw in Vancouver.

Canada just finished quite a week on snow and ice, one that shows the country’s had a healthy blood transfusion since the last Games and that many of the stalwarts are as good as ever.

You’ve got to like the attitude of a team that will include speed skater Christine Nesbitt, who set the two fastest times ever in the world in the women’s 1,000 metres but true to her feisty self was not happy with winning the silver medal overall at the world sprint championships in Calgary.

Canada has a reputation for excelling in the new sports at an Olympics and Sochi may prove no exception. Dedicating their victories to teammate Sarah Burke, who played a big role in getting the events into Sochi, Kaya Turski won the gold medal in slopestyle and Roz Groenewoud on the superpipe at the X Games in Aspen. Turski is unbeaten this season.

They weren’t the only Canadians winning gold at the X Games as Chris Del Bosco won the men’s ski cross event followed by Dave Duncan for the bronze and Dominique Maltais won the women’s Snowboard X event. Maltais was a dominant performer heading into the last Olympics but came up short on the big day. Great for Canada that she’s stuck around.

Canada is blessed enough to have enough depth on the men’s moguls freeestyle skiing side that while Olympic champion Alex Bilodeau is missing most of this season to train and focus on his studies, Mikael Kingsbury is lighting things up with victories in all five men’s moguls events this season.

Meanwhile, Olivier Rochon has stepped it up in men’s freestyle aerials in the absence of world champion Warren Shouldice, out for the season with a concussion. Already with a silver medal to his credit this season, Rochon pulled off his first ever victory in a World Cup on Sunday in Calgary.

Then there was the second-place finish by downhiller Erik Guay at what’s become like his home course in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, his first podium in a season where he’s focused on rebuilding his back strength. The cross country skiers have looked, too, this season, headed by Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey and Chandra Crawford.

Then you’ve got the sliders who can be on the podium in any race, luger Alex Gough, skeleton racer Melissa Hollingsworth, and bobsled drivers Kaillie Humphries and Lyndon Rush. Gough has challenged the front-running German women's team like no other luger.

Two years is a long time, but weeks like the one just finished will have us hoping for it to come a lot quicker.

(The picture is of Roz Groenewoud in the superpipe in Aspen: AP Photo/The Denver Post, Kristin Braga Wright)

Tabbing Merklinger to replace Baumann at OTP is right call

Own The Podium isn’t going far to replace departed ceo Alex Baumann – they’ve decided on one of his key sporting lieutenants, Anne Merklinger.

Merklinger, director of summer sports for OTP, was part of an interim committee holding down the post with Ken Read, director of winter sport, and Joanne Mortimore, director of planning and operations.

Consider this a smart move by OTP because Merklinger is truly respected for her leadership and passion in the Canadian sports community and she’s a very astute manager.

She gets it. She knows what’s required. She’s been there as an athlete, a swimmer and a curler, but even more importantly as an administrator. She did a great job in running Canoe Kayak Canada and two of her biggest supporters were a pair of Canadian Olympic flagbearers in Caroline Brunet and Adam van Koeverden, who don’t suffer fools but had all the respect in the world for Merklinger.

Brunet was thrilled yesterday at the news of Merklinger’s hire.

“She deserves it,” said Brunet. “She’s a very hard worker, very professional. I know those are typical words to use to describe someone, but she’s very mature, she would never bad mouth people. She was always a reference for me.

“If you want to know something is for sure, you ask Anne. If she doesn’t know, she won’t bulls—t you, she’ll find out. She has all the right qualities. I’m glad she was around when I was around. I really like her not only for what she did in the job, but as a person.”

If you think that's impressive, here's what van Koeverden had to say:

“Too many executives aren’t good at following through and executing and having good ideas and putting the right people in place to do the jobs that need doing," said the Olympic champion. 'And that’s what Anne’s really good at. She hires the right people and she recognizes talent when she sees it and she gets the job done.

“She’s just a powerful person. She’s smart and motivated and she works harder than anybody I know, including any of the athletes I know. She’s among the hardest working people I know. I have no more faith in any other individual in Canada than I do in Anne Merklinger. I think it’s very, very good for the future of Canadian sport.”

They could have named Merklinger as Baumann’s replacement right after he left for New Zealand for personal reason – and some thought that was the way to go – but kudos to OTP chairman John Furlong and his group for executing a global search before making their decision.

It was the wise move to see if there was a real catch to be had, perhaps someone even of Baumann’s ilk, but obviously that was not to be.

The fear from this corner was that they would hire a big name just for the sake of having one, but that it wouldn’t be the right fit for Canadian sport.

Merklinger is the right fit.

“I’m not an Alex Baumann, I didn’t win two Olympic gold medals and set world records, but I’m fully committed to winning,” said Merklinger in an interview. “I’ve been committed to winning ever since I can remember as an athlete. As director of summer sports, that was my approach and it will continue in my new role as ceo.”

A Canadian sports official told me recently he thought that Merklinger was the perfect choice to take over for Baumann, but he had one major concern.

“We don’t want to lose her as director of summer sports because she’s doing such a great job.”

There’s the rub for sure. Top find leadership talent is pretty scarce in the Canadian sports system.

Furlong and his board were probably looking at that as well in not plucking Merklinger right away. They didn’t want to lose her from a job she’s been doing so well.

Some have wondered if Baumann’s absence would affect the team’s performance in London. It shouldn’t. The athletes who are in medal contention and their coaches are so focused on getting the job done that they won’t be concerned over such a change. Baumann is a big loss, though, because he was a great leader with very little ego.

How many can say that?

Merklinger is cut from similar cloth and will serve Canada’s athletes very well in her new role. Even without those Olympic gold medals.

 

Patrick Chan -- aka "filet mignon" -- on menu at fundraiser

Chiropractor Mark Lindsay, a soft tissue specialist whose clientele has included Tiger Woods, has been known to describe Patrick Chan's muscles as “filet mignon” after working on them.

Well, you have a chance to watch those “filet mignon” legs in action in Toronto on Tuesday night and help out a very important cause.

Chan is hoping to make an impact beyond the figure skating world – and save some kids from an impact that could have life-altering effects in the process.

He's the new national spokesperson for ThinkFirst, a national non-profit organization dedication to the prevention of brain and spinal injuries. Fresh from his knockout performance at the nationals in Moncton, he's headlining a fundraising gala Tuesday night at the Evergreen Brick Works that also features top Canadian skaters like ice dancers Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje and Cynthia Phaneuf. It goes from 6-9 p.m. and costs $250.

Chan was enlisted to help by the mother of a friend who has struggled with the effects of post-concussion syndrome after a fall while figure skating.

It doesn't seem that Canadians have quite cottoned on to what an extraordinary and rare talent we have in Chan. He's a huge sensation in Japan, where figure skating is at its hottest right now. They flew him over there in late December after the Grand Prix Final to perform in the gala at their national championships.

The lengths Chan and his parents Lewis and Karen have gone to try to maximize his potential as an athlete are impressive.

He lives and trains in Colorado Springs, working with coach Christy Krall and Kathy Johnson, a modern dance teacher who introduced him to a whole new way to move and breathe. He works with renowned choreographer Lori Nichol and also just recently collaborated with another Canadian great in David Wilson on a new show program "Mannish Boy" that he'll undoubtedly do on Tuesday at the ThinkFirst benefit. It was a smash hit in Japan. (see below)

His training, nutrition and recovery program is overseen by Sidney Crosby's trainer Andy O'Brien and Lindsay.

It's a good thing that as a ThinkFirst spokesperson Chan will be paying more attention than ever to protecting what's inside his cranium as his brain is one of his best assets as an athlete.

O'Brien has had to learn the sport of figure skating in order to best help Chan, who it turns out is a very good tutor.

“When he and I sit together, it's very easy to get a clear picture of where he is and what his specific needs are,” said O'Brien. “Not every athlete knows that, but he's very dialled into what he needs to do.”

O'Brien believes the best is yet to come for Chan and explains from a body composition aspect what makes the Toronto skater so special.

“He's very purely mesomorphic,” said O'Brien. “So what he has is relatively dense muscle on a smaller frame. It allows him to get a lot of height in the air and allows him to be very athletic. He's got a lot of fast twitch muscle fibre.

“When you combine the athleticism of that kind of mesomorphic frame with the fast twitch muscle fibre and you combine it with his fine motor skills, it gives him this unique ability to have a lot of power and also do things that are very finite, like some of the step sequences that he has and some of the footwork that he does and the amount of precision he has to have in executing some of his jumps.”

Chan sees all the preparation in a practical way. He's looking for every edge and uses such recovery tools as compression pants.

“The chances of you feeling optimum at a competition are higher,” said Chan of the various efforts that go into making a world champion. “All these things add up.

“But at the end of the day, you have to do what you have to do on the ice. It doesn't mean I'm cheating. It's just as hard. It's how it makes me feel. I'm just trying out these things to see what makes me feel best so when I'm out on the ice I don't have to worry about having a sore leg or sore muscles. It's so I can have filet mignon legs when I skate.”

Tickets for the ThinkFirst fundraiser can be purchased online here.

Here's a preview of what filet mignon on ice looks like:

Sinclair Pitches In: Soccer star Christine Sinclair has mounted a campaign to help her fellow Canadian athletes training for the London Olympics. She's asking Canadians to donate her #12 for 2012 to the CAN Fund, which helps out Canadian athletes with training expenses.

To know how much CAN Fund means to the athletes and the need that remains out there, you only needed to see the frenzy created when CAN Fund was doling out gas cards and other prizes over the holidays.

Everyone who donates gets a tax receipt and to know the name of the athlete their money went to support.

The campaign page can be found here. Eight member of the women's soccer team received money from CAN Fund and there were 17 who applied in January among the 783 total athletes looking for some support in the critical next round of funding.

 

 (Photo of Chan above is from Sunday's gala in Moncton by Mike Cassese/Reuters)

Sledders soldier on after horrific crash they'll never forget

Canada is fortunate it’s not dealing with two winter sport tragedies at the moment.

As freeskiing legend Sarah Burke remains in a coma in a Salt Lake City hospital, we heard Friday for the first time from Canada’s bobsledders involved in last week’s horrific training crash that spurred the team to pull out at a World Cup in Altenberg, Germany.

“I remember laying on the ice and hearing stuff that you don’t ever want to hear or see ever in your lifetime, really,” said driver Chris Spring. “At the time, I pretty much retired in my head.”

Spring’s sled -- with crewmates Bill Thomas, Graeme Rinholm and Tim Randall -- slammed into the wooden roof after a late entry into the ever dangerous Corner 16 on the track. The aftermath sounds like something out of Apocalypse Now.

“Seeing Bill and Graeme on the ground not moving. Hearing the noises coming from them, which at first I didn’t think was human. It didn’t sound like anything I’d ever heard before. It sounded like things were going bad very quickly,” recalled Spring during a conference call on Friday.

“Seeing the destruction the sled was in, I didn’t think a sled could ever look like that, even if you had a half hour with a baseball bat with it. … Those noises and visuals I have are something that will stick with me a long time.”

Maybe the most remarkable thing is that all four athletes are prepared to do it again. Many reckoned they’d never slide again in the immediate aftermath. But with some reflection and now with all of them out of the hospital, they’re committed to returning to compete.

Spring was in Konigssee, Germany, on Friday with his teammates, where Olympic champ Kaillie Humphries won a silver in the women’s two-man bobsleigh World Cup event and Mellisa Hollingsworth won a bronze in the women’s skeleton.

Spring said from Germany it’s been a huge help that the team brought their sports psychologist Frank van den Berg to talk with the athletes. He said they waded through a lot of the “deep and meaningful stuff here and brought up a lot of feelings that I didn’t I think I wanted to revisit ever again.”

It’s also clear that they hope to stay together as a team.

“Chris Spring is one of the best pilots that I’ve ever had the chance to be in a sled with,” said Rinholm. “I have no hesitation jumping in behind him.”

Randall, who like Thomas is from Toronto, thought he was finished with the sport at the time of the accident, but he’s now as determined as ever.

“Going to the Olympics has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid,” said. “As severe as this crash was, I’m not going to let it get in the way of my dreams.”

You can bet if Sarah Burke is fortunate enough to recover fully from her severe head injury, she’d voice similar sentiments.

That’s the way these athletes roll.

(The pic above shows L to R: Bill Thomas, Graeme Rinholm, Tim Randall, Tom de la Hunty, Chris Spring.)

 

Last Woman Standing a compelling look at women's boxing

Mary Spencer and Ariane Fortin shut their hotel room door and whooped it up like boisterous school girls.

They hollered, jumped up and down, slapped some hard high fives. Their gold medal triumphs at the 2008 world boxing championships in China were something they could only truly appreciate and celebrate together.

They had been reserved that week around their teammates, who had not fared as well, not wanting them to feel as if they were rubbing it in. They roomed together for a reason – they were kindred spirits, singularly driven in chasing their Olympic dream.

As a story in today's Star details, the once close friends don't speak a word to each other now.

Spencer is a three-time world champion. Fortin is a two-time world champion. Only one can go to the Olympics.

It's a compelling drama and one that rookie documentary makers Lorraine Price and Juliet Lammers of Montreal knew right away was the perfect storyline to delve into the world of women's boxing.

Price and Lammers are in full production on the documentary Last Woman Standing, they're at the Canadian championships this week in Cape Breton, N.S., and will follow the two fighters through and just past the 2012 London Olympics when women's boxing debuts.

“They’re both incredibly driven they both want the same thing so badly that it’s very compelling,” said Lammers.

Both women are no strangers to boxing. Price has fought competitively and Lammers trains regularly at the same gym. It was Price who first heard about the story of Spencer and Fortin shortly after the Olympic poobahs decided to go with just three women's weight classes instead of five.

Price sees the battle Fortin and Spencer are waging against each other right now for the spot in the 75-kg class as more psychological than physical, but doesn't think their once close friendship is a factor anymore.

“They have to train themselves mentally to the same extent if not more that they have to train themselves physically,” she said. “Whether or not they are torn up about it, they certainly try to control those feelings in order to do what they have to do. They’ve done it on many occasions. It’s business.”

The documentary makers certainly haven't picked sides and display a fondess for both fighters, whom they describe as being very similar in a lot of ways as people – determined, incredibly clear about what they want, sweet and funny with an easy laugh but at the same time focused and driven.

Price says they're both good examples of sport building character and they see the documentary as a representation of women's boxing that goes far beyond the stereotypes. Lammers said they want to show people who are champions and that the athletes just happen to be women.

They've witnessed an incredible resilience in Fortin and Spencer.

“Especially Ariane right now, in the position she’s in, she keeps coming back to challenge Mary,” said Lammers. “That takes a lot.”

They went with Spencer to the Pan Am Games in Mexico, where she triumphed, and travelled with Fortin for training in Europe, where speaking to coaches from Holland and Sweden and Germany they learned that the situation Fortin and Spencer are facing is not unique.

“We want to look at the long term effects of what it means to be only given three weight categories for the Olympics, which is why they’re in this predicament in the first place,” said Price. “I mean they’re pitting world champions against each other when really they both deserve to go.”

Prospector Films are the producers. Price and Lammers expect to have the film done in the spring of 2013 and will be preparing a broadcast version for the CBC documentary channel and also a theatrical version.

It has all the elements of a great doc. Can't wait to see it. Plan to be First Man Standing in Line.

 

"The Dream Has To Be Bigger Than The Pain" -- Chris Lori

“The dream has to be bigger than the pain.”

Few know this better than former Canadian bobsleigh ace Chris Lori, who still bears a scar on his face from the horrific crash he suffered in 1987 in Cervinia, Italy.

Lori shared his vast insights and experience about last week's crash involving Chris Spring's Canada 2 sled in training for a World Cup in Altenberg, Germany, which caused the stunning withdrawal of the Canadian bobsleigh team from the race after three athletes were seriously injured – Spring, Bill Thomas and Graeme Rinholm.

Turns out two of their teammates, Tim Randall, who escaped serious injury, and Derek Plug, who is normally in the sled are staying in Germany to accompany their teammates home. As Canadian skeleton coach and Olympic champion Duff Gibson tweeted: “Unbelievably classy move by Derek and Tim. THAT is a team. Honored to be a part of the same organization.”

(The pic above shows L to R: Bill Thomas, Graeme Rinholm, Tim Randall, Tom de la Hunty, Chris Spring.)

We caught up via email with Lori, now a registered commodity trading advisor and fund manager who is currently travelling in Indonesia.

Here's the interview:

Were you surprised by the move? What do you think of it?

Chris Lori: “I'm not surprised by the move of Tom Delahunty. He bears a lot of responsibility over the livelihood of his athletes and has to act in the interest of their safety. You have to consider the consequences if a similar incident were to happen. I think it was a prudent decision by Tom. It is possible that another sled could have the same fate, which would have compounding effects. The combination of such high speed and the massive pressure at the entrance of corner 16, will see any crash out of corner 15 push the sled straight to the lip of 16, as indicated by all the scuff marks on the lip of 16. I suspect the sled hit a weak spot on the lip. "Freak" accidents are common in the sport. It is natural for the athletes to want to compete and it would have been difficult to comply with the coaches decision. This is a time when the drivers have to be strong leaders. The time when the crew become concerned for their safety. Chris is relatively inexperienced and would have to make adjustments with the 4man on such a difficult track. When the other competitors witness the fallout of an incident that causes harm to the athletes, anxiety may build up and the drivers have to show strong leadership to optimize performance.”

De La Hunty said he was concerned about the athletes welfare because of the conditions, but also wanted to send a message to the FIBT re the issue of athlete safety. Do you believe that's been needed?

Chris Lori: “Safety consciousness in the sport of bobsleigh has been a long road. In the 80's and early 90's, if there was a potential issue that was raised, we would continue to slide whether the matter was attended to, or not. There are countless stories of avoidable severe injury that did not draw action. The athletes won't take a stand, because (most of them) want to race. There is also the pressure to perform put on the athletes by their own federations. There is always the next athlete in line who is ready to step in if someone goes home. So, the responsibility to initiate change is on the leaders of the organizations. There are territorial issues, as well. Altenburg, for example; the Germans won't take a stand, because they're comfortable there. It 's not their problem the others are too scared. It is also important that the sport maintains its disposition as a physically and mentally challenging sport that may result in the death of an athlete (as do many sports), otherwise, it's just another sport. If the danger is  obvious and high probability risk to the athletes, the system should be prepared to take action. Once Bob Storey was elected president of FIBT, safety issues became more respected.”

Do you think the move will gain the Canadians respect or ridicule from their peers? 

Chris Lori: “I don't have enough details on the circumstances, but if Tom felt the action taken to prevent a similar incident was insufficient and careless, then the others would have respect for the stand he has taken. Tom is a passionate leader and has a lot of experience and respect in within the group. It was Tom Delahunty who took a stand against the Swiss illegal axels at the 96' Worlds. If not for Tom, they would have gotten away with it and kept their medals, unlike the incident of the illegal German and Austrian sleds at the 92' Olympic games who kept theirs.”

Can you recall one of the upper level teams ever pulling out en masse from a World Cup before?

Chris Lori: “Yes, there were several years that teams pulled out of World Cup races in Cervinia and Altenberg.”

You went through that horrific crash in Cervinia, how does an athlete build themselves back up again after such a devastaing accident?

Chris Lori: “Chris Spring is still at the early stages of development as a driver. He has a deep desire to succeed and will certainly move passed this incident. A driver simply views a crash as a frustrating error and feel badly they subject their team to injury and disappointment. After any crash, harmful or not, the driver just wants to get back in the sled and overcome the challenge. Chris will view this as an isolated incident that will not affect his tenacity as an athlete for future challenges.  It is rare a driver will leave the sport, because they are fearful.

“The dream has to be bigger than the pain.”