Olympic Qualification Explanation

I can’t believe how fast the time is ticking by. Already there are less than a hundred days until the big Games and all of us athletes are doing what we can to prepare. Those of us who haven’t been fully qualified yet have a daunting time ahead because we will not know our fate until close to the Games. Use snowboarding for example, Canada Snowboard will not name the team until less than a month out from the first snowboard event.

“How does qualification work?” “What’s up with that?” These are some questions my fellow athletes, our families, and I get asked on a daily basis. Well this is how it works.

Although there is a complicated version that includes different tiers of qualifying, I am going to explain the simple and more comprehensive description. The IOC and FIS (Federation of International Skiing) have opened 24 spots per county for snowboarding athletes and are to be shared amongst 5 disciplines. These disciplines are slope style, halfpipe, boarder cross, giant slalom, and parallel giant slalom.  There is a limit of 14 spots per gender. Ideally each discipline would like to send 4 men and 4 women for their event, but this is not possible. This means that not only am I competing against other halfpipe women and men for a spot, but also with the women and men from the other 4 disciplines.       

To get Canada a quota spot, one needs to have a top 30 finish at a World Cup event, and be in the top 30 for women and 50 for men on the accumulating World Cup standings list, along with having earned 100 FIS points (which is an average of an athlete’s two best results within the last year).

To use one of those quota spots, Canada will take your 3 best finishes at the 4 qualifying World Cup events, New Zealand, Finland, Unites States, and Canada. All disciplines are compared on a points scale to see who are the most successful. The top 24 athletes will make up the Olympic Snowboard Team.

Personally, I have already qualified Canada a quota spot for snowboard halfpipe and so have four other riders, three other women and one other man. However, Canada Snowboard can decide who uses those spots according to the criteria they have set up, and I have explained in the previous paragraph. It is possible that someone will use one of those spots personally without qualifying Canada a quota spot. We still have three more contests to ride in, Ruka Finland, Copper Colorado, and Stoneham Quebec. As of now my coach has calculated that I am in 7^th place to use one of those spots, but nothing is confirmed or certain until January 19^th 2014, which will be the end of the qualification period.

A lot of people ask me why it is like this. I am not 100% sure, but I believe that it is to keep the athletes working and focused right up until the Games…so no one gets to comfortable and complacent, which has happened in the past. But, it is a lot of stress on the athletes and their supporting families and friends. I understand Canada Snowboard’s concern, but I don’t completely agree with the process, I think there is a middle ground available.  

Thus, it leaves other athletes and me in a battle for a quota spot on the Olympic Snowboard Team. I would like to feel that I will know more after the Copper World Cup, but it’s snowboarding and anything can happen in the next 80 days.    

What Ever Doesn't Kill Me

Here, at an altitude of 35,000 feet, I am relieved to go back to Canada. My adventure to Russia was exactly as one who travels the world wants it to be; eye opening, challenging, and making you want more.

Just being in Russia makes you grateful for our friendly North American atmosphere and surroundings. Smiles from the locals were hard to come by and they were not excited to speak to you in English. Actually, they would just speak louder in Russian, some how expecting you to understand, as if the decibels were a type of translation.

The construction there was constant, which brings with it grey and rough scenes from all angles. The buildings that were built were already on the verge of crumbling, as if it were all going to be taken down after the Games…which is true for a lot of the hotels there.

Rumor was around every corner, right from the building scandals of both snow features and infrastructure, how many snipers were in the brush keep us safe, to what actually happens to the town when Vladamir Putin arrives and how much he looks like coach Crispin. It really kept for good dinner conversations.

But on the whole the contest went well, not perfect, but well enough.

The pipe was beautiful, thanks to Development Snowparks and their magician pipe shapper John Melville. Many do not understand the feats these people overcome to make us a safe and superb feature to ride. They shaped the pipe with a Zuagg this time, but there are talks of getting my favorite shapper for the Games, a Global Cutter. I will be so excited for that.

I have to admit this was the most emotional contest thus far. My first run delivered one of my best performances and I was not rewarded for my hard work, runs that were inferior scored significantly higher, what I get for not racing I guess. But for a fair chunk of the contest the judging seemed off, there are a few things us snowboarders need to fine tune before we can boost that we have a fair system in place. But I regress.

After seeing the score board on the first runs I was passionately charged with a feeling of just going and riding for myself. I called on the spirit of who is now my riding Saint, Anthony Crute, and dropped with a love that was grater then I have ever imagined. It began to be the prime run of my carrier, but was broken by a major butt drag on my frontside 720. I didn’t fully complete the run. I was heartbroken. I had semi finals in my grasp and I blew it.

With tears filling my goggles I ascended back to the start, disappointed with myself, I had at least top Canadian in front of me and I let it slip away.

Coach Crispin greeted me at the top with delight in his eyes. He was proud of what I did, he always said “Go big, or bail” unfortunately this time I bailed, but it was the first time I didn’t play it safe and took a step out of my comfort zone; the only way to take contests to the next level.

I couldn’t see his point then because I was so hung up over delivering a clean and appropriate first run but not being rewarded for it. Crispin admitted to being perplexed by that outcome, but quickly added that it was not to be dwelled upon, and we were a head of schedule according to our game plan.

Our freeriding adventure immediately after helped to put things into perspective that in the end all we have are the experiences life brings to us, the people who are special in our lives, and the way we choose to handle the outcomes, which sometimes we have no control over.

As of now there is one year, twelve months, or 365 days to make the changes necessary to make myself an indisputable candidate for a Winter Games quota spot. We are even doing work on the plane back to North America to keep my leaning on a roll. Just like Rocky I am ready to take shots and get back up, fight to the end with nothing to lose!

 

Russia or Bust

Russia is such a foreign place to us North Americans so I didn't have any expectations before arriving. I thought I would just take it as it comes. However, I didn't have the same thoughts when it came to my getting to Russia. After years of traveling around I believed that I had planned a smooth trip. Boy, was I wrong.

It started in Summit County, Colorado, at 11:30pm on the 7th when I was called by Air Canada. They were informing me that the first lag of my trip was changing because of the snow storm that was hitting the eastern seaboard of North America. I was not going to fly at 11:30am to Toronto any more, I was now flying to Montreal first...at 9:30am and then on to Toronto. I was a bit annoyed at having to now wake up at 4:30am, but it wasn't a big deal.

With the early start I arrived at the airport with lots of time to spare, checked in and proceeded to the lounge to wait. In the background I heard the mummer of the news taking about the big storm shutting down Boston and parts of New York, but I thought Montreal and Toronto would be fine...I mean we are Canadians, we are known for snow. Again, I was wrong.

 When we touched down in Montreal I was greeted with a very Canadian view, snow plows and blowing snow. My coach and I joked about how Canadian it looked compared to the 14oC weather we had left in Denver.

We deplaned to a scene of panic, terminal monitors with a lot of cancelled messages on them, except for our 4:30pm flight to Toronto. We headed to the lounge to kill the hour between the flights and while checking in the lounge when we saw a horrid red “cancelled” announcement pop up beside our flight.

In an instant I ran to the costumer service desk to see what we could do. We were met with an unhelpful character who was yelling “The airport is shutting down…nothing is flying out of here today”. This set off alarm in me; you see we had a special charter flight that was going to leave Zurich the next day, and it would not be ideal to miss that flight.

The service desk passed us on to a 1- 800 number to rebook. I literally called this number 60 times and was met by a busy signal each attempt. In a fright, with phone on ear, I started running around to the ticket desks seeing which carrier was flying to Europe, it seemed as though the big planes were able to get out of the storm, and I knew time was of the essence of this situation.

Just as I was about to buy a ticket from Porter to Toronto, because my Mom said my original flight was still on time, I finally got though to the rebooking center. I had explained my situation to the nice lady and 15 minutes later we were booked in to fly from Montreal to Brussels and on to Zurich, where we would only have two hours to make the special charter connection. The Brussels flight was leaving at 7:30pm. I had a moment of relief. We checked our luggage back in, went through security, and back to the lounge to get some food. 

As I was about to take by first bite, I saw the orange “Delayed to 9:50pm” message come up beside our flight on the monitor. I took a peek outside the window and saw the winds blowing swirling snow in front of the lights, again I had an “Oh no” feeling. I also thought that we would be okay because we had the tail winds on our side, which were strong tonight, and if we ran we could make the connection because our bag were checked through to Zurich. However, 30 minutes later another delayed message came up, and then I knew to kiss that flight from Zurich to Sochi good bye.

Our flight finally left the ground at 12:15am, I was very happy I got my requested upgrade. I was pooped.

The plane landed in Brussels while our connector to Zurich was leaving, as I deplaned I was handed my ticket for my rebooked flight to Zurich, which was leaving in an hour. I called the head of FIS travel that booked the charter to Sochi and explained my position. He relayed that it would be impossible to hold the flight for that long and that I was on my own. 

With no moments to spare I ran to the ticket desk and asked if they could take our bags off the flight to Zurich, I had decided to book a new ticket to Sochi from Brussels because it was cheaper then from Zurich. I am not afraid to tell you I had to beg a little because the bags were already on the plane, but it I managed to swing it. Our bags were being pulled I booked the next ticket to Sochi, a real painful ordeal booking tickets to leave on the same day. They were not cheap, but I couldn't miss practice.

Finally after the eight hour layover in Brussels we boarded for Moscow at 11:30pm on the 9^th, and nine hours later we landed in Sochi on the 10^th. The whole trip was close to 48 hours.

Its’ worth it in the end, I arrived with all by bags, safely and happy to explore a new place. I just didn't expect my planned trip of Denver, Toronto, Zurich, Sochi to end up the hectic Denver, Montreal, Brussels, Moscow, and finally Sochi adventure it turned out to be.

As outrageous as it was I stayed in high spirits, knowing that savoring each moment was important, because I am grateful to be doing what I am doing. Storms disrupting my neatly planned travel are a first world problems and I am lucky to have them.   

Using Minerals for Rock Solid Results

As of now, I am on the road with a plethora of contests ahead of me. This month I have already competed twice, Copper World Cup and Quebec City World Championships.  The Park City World Cup is where I am now, making it the third this month, one every ten days, and with lots of travel in between.

All of this action takes a lot of energy and spark to keep going. Over the years I have noticed how minerals play a huge part in maintaining the strength I need to keep up with training, competing, and traveling.

Here are only a few facts about minerals to get you thinking about their role in your life no matter how active you are.

Why minerals are important:

Ø       Minerals act as cofactors for enzyme reactions. Enzymes don’t work without minerals. All cells require enzymes to work & function. They give us our vitality.

Ø       They maintain the pH balance within the body.

Ø       Minerals actually facilitate the transfer of nutrients across cell membranes.

Ø       They maintain proper nerve conduction

Ø       Minerals help to contract and relax muscles.

Ø       They help to regulate our bodies’ tissue growth.

Ø       Minerals provide structural and functional support for the body.

There are two types of minerals, Macro- minerals (major minerals) and Micro-minerals (trace minerals). Here is a chart to help you understand what they are and where you can get them

Major minerals
Mineral	Function	Sources
Sodium	Needed for proper fluid balance, nerve transmission, and muscle contraction	Table salt, soy sauce; large amounts in processed foods; small amounts in milk, breads, vegetables, and unprocessed meats
Chloride	Needed for proper fluid balance, stomach acid	Table salt, soy sauce; large amounts in processed foods; small amounts in milk, meats, breads, and vegetables
Potassium	Needed for proper fluid balance, nerve transmission, and muscle contraction	Meats, milk, fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes
Calcium	Important for healthy bones and teeth; helps muscles relax and contract; important in nerve functioning, blood clotting, blood pressure regulation, immune system health	Milk and milk products; canned fish with bones (salmon, sardines); fortified tofu and fortified soy milk; greens (broccoli, mustard greens); legumes
Phosphorus	Important for healthy bones and teeth; found in every cell; part of the system that maintains acid-base balance	Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk, processed foods (including soda pop)
Magnesium	Found in bones; needed for making protein, muscle contraction, nerve transmission, immune system health	Nuts and seeds; legumes; leafy, green vegetables; seafood; chocolate; artichokes; "hard" drinking water
Sulfur	Found in protein molecules	Occurs in foods as part of protein: meats, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, legumes, nuts

The body needs trace minerals in very small amounts. Note that iron is considered to be a trace mineral, although the amount needed is somewhat more than for other microminerals.

Trace minerals
Mineral	Function	Sources
Iron	Part of a molecule (hemoglobin) found in red blood cells that carries oxygen in the body; needed for energy metabolism	Organ meats; red meats; fish; poultry; shellfish (especially clams); egg yolks; legumes; dried fruits; dark, leafy greens; iron-enriched breads and cereals; and fortified cereals
Zinc	Part of many enzymes; needed for making protein and genetic material; has a function in taste perception, wound healing, normal fetal development, production of sperm, normal growth and sexual maturation, immune system health	Meats, fish, poultry, leavened whole grains, vegetables
Iodine	Found in thyroid hormone, which helps regulate growth, development, and metabolism	Seafood, foods grown in iodine-rich soil, iodized salt, bread, dairy products
Selenium	Antioxidant	Meats, seafood, grains
Copper	Part of many enzymes; needed for iron metabolism	Legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains, organ meats, drinking water
Manganese	Part of many enzymes	Widespread in foods, especially plant foods
Chromium	Works closely with insulin to regulate blood sugar (glucose) levels	Unrefined foods, especially liver, brewer's yeast, whole grains, nuts, cheeses
Molybdenum	Part of some enzymes	Legumes; breads and grains; leafy greens; leafy, green vegetables; milk; liver

Other trace nutrients known to be essential in tiny amounts include nickel, silicon, vanadium, and cobalt.

Referenced From: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/minerals_their_functions_and_sources-health/article_em.htm

Basically minerals play a huge part in the function of your body, especially when it comes to high performance situations. The fact that minerals contribute to the nervous and musculature systems alone convince me to be diligent with proper intake of the amount of minerals in my diet or supplement if I need to, especially because your body cannot produce minerals on its own.

There are many factors to consider when you are being aware of your mineral intake. Like what minerals and vitamins needed to be taken together so your body absorb and use the minerals in the proper manner.

Calcium is a great example if this; your body needs to be in an ideal state (acidic, has sufficient vitamin D3 and fatty acids, and balanced hormones) for it to absorb the calcium. Otherwise you can take all the calcium you want and never use it properly.  You need calcium because it is huge in bone development and maintenance, nerve impulses, and much more. 

So, there is good reason to research more about minerals, but I can almost guarantee that you are deficient magnesium, zinc, and calcium. It is a good idea to get on re-mineralizing your body now because it can take up to a year to get things back in order.   

For me and all the jumping, moving, and shaking, I do, I still supplement with calcium, magnesium, a multi-vitamin with other minerals needed, a trace mineral solution I add to my water called Concentrace (as I have mentioned in my hydration blog) with trace minerals, and iron for a week once a month ;), even after eating a whole food diet.  

Having my body in the best state possible really makes a difference when I am on the road and constantly throwing down runs. With my next stop being the Olympic test event, the Sochi World Cup in Russia, I want to be in high performance mode so I can put my best runs down and get a spot for myself and Canada.

Find out more about what I am doing now here http://www.ktathletics.com/

Check out my FIS SNOWBOARD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS VIDEO BLOG  

   

Elevation and Hydration!

I have been in Colorado for a few weeks now, and it has turned out that the Park City World Cup has been cancelled due to lack of snow.  Therefore, my time here has become a very useful training block where we have had long days on snow and some time in the gym. 

Lately, all this training at elevation has brought my attention to the state of my hydration and how easily I can become dehydrated. 

Up here in Summit County I am living and training at around 9,000ft/2,700m, even higher when I head to Breckenridge. When you are at elevation like this it means your body is working overtime, putting even more emphasis on keeping it hydrated.

Being properly hydrated is so important for everyone, especially people like me, athletes.  Water plays a vital role in the functioning of your body including the excretion of toxins, lubricating your joints and muscles, contributing to healthy cognitive function, and transporting oxygen and nutrients around your body. For me, all these things are huge when I am boosting in the pipe, carving up the mountain, or pushing heavy weights.

Here are ways I make sure my hydration level is kept up: 

 1.) Pre-hydrate: - The best offence is a good defence; this motto is also good for water. I am sure to drink a pint before bed and nearly two pints in the morning with my breakfast. This way I am certain my body has water over night, key for that eight hour gap (you can lose up to 16oz over night), and extra to get it kick started in the morning.

2.) Listen to Your Body – I understand that we all get busy, and so do I…but staying conscience of what the body is telling you about water levels will pay off. The best sign that you need some water is if your mind feels cloudy or you feel tired. As soon as I get this feeling I am sure to stop take a few sips. If you feel thirsty then dehydration has probably already set in, and if you get a headache or nauseated then you better make it a priority to get some H2O!   

3.) Add Electrolytes – By adding electrolytes to your water you can help maintain proper hydration levels because of the way your body will use the water.  I use a product called “Concentrace”which has important trace minerals and trace elements like potassium, phosphate, magnesium, calcium and sodium. I use this concentrate because you only need 10-15 drops per litre of water.  This is awesome because I can stay away from expensive sports drinks which have a lot of sugar.  If I want a something like a sports drink then I will mix half a litre of juice in my litre water bottle as well as the electrolyte concentrate.  

4.) Keep Stimulants to a Minimum – Stimulants like sugar and caffeine have the tendency to be acidic and dehydrating.  I try to limit myself to one coffee per day, mostly in the morning.  When I have my cup of coffee I am sure to follow up with some water. If I feel like I need something in the afternoon I switch to green tea. I also stay well away from syrup sodas and strong juices.  Maintaining proper PH balance will help in many ways…but that is a whole other blog!

Because I like to stay realistic, a word of warning comes with a great hydration plan. You will pee. When I am on the mountain I pee almost every third run, just ask my coach.  It can be a hassle, but I like to keep this machine well oiled and in top working condition, that way I am staying safe and healthy.

Being properly hydrated is just one more thing to help you achieve your everyday goals, whatever they may be, and for me to achieve mine…Getting to the 2014 Games!!      

5 Ways to Boost That Metabolism

The metabolism is a misunderstood and overlooked aspect of losing weight, but its relevance is huge. As the dictionary tells us, metabolism is the sum of the physical and chemical processes in an organism by which its material substance is produced, maintained, and destroyed, and by which energy is made available.

 Basically it is how the body takes in and uses food for energy and to support and sustain the body and its functions. This is a complex process which requires simple steps to keep it fired up and burning those unwanted calories and soft spots.

5 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism  

Move – Do any activity that picks up your heart rate and lets you break a sweat. High intensity workouts for 30-40mins three times a week should be enough to keep the burn up. It is said that morning workouts are best, but really, anything your can squeeze into your day is awesome. I suggest picking a contest to train for, this way you can find focused workouts with varying intensities, and you will stay self motivated a lot easier. There are always trainers at gyms or other professionals to help.

Drink Water – Water is the lubricant and a main transport system for nutrients and waste in our bodies, if this is low so is our body’s efficiency. Being properly hydrated will help speed or maintain your metabolic rate therefore its calorie burning capacity too. I like to pre-hydrate with at least a pint, around 500ml, of water before doing activity, and am sure to keep a water bottle close while doing my thing.

Eat Frequently – Eating 5-6 small meals during the day is a great way to speed things up. The idea behind this is that your body will not be storing calories because it knows it will be getting more soon. When we wait all day to eat our bodies start to go into survival mode, storing calories as fat, this is not good. Measurements for meals should be around the size of your fist for meats, half a fist for carbs and two fists for veggies. Lastly, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day…Eat it!

Eat Right – Make sure those 5-6 small meals consist of quality ingredients and are low in fat. Meals should be packed with protein and fiber  Protein, to keep your body’s repairs up from the killer workout you had the day before and for whatever you did today. Keep in mind the body can only process 20-30gms at a time. Fiber is important because it will stabilize your blood sugar so cravings for items with sugar, or fat, should go down. Don’t be afraid to supplement with protein shakes, vitamins, and Omega 3-6-9. A vitamin B complex is a great choice to help your metabolism and decrease stress levels, even coffee has been linked to burning fats; I like to have a cup before workouts.

Relax – Stress can cause havoc in your body, including slowing your metabolism. Stress causes the adrenal gland to produce cortisol which causes your body to store fat, sort of like when you’re starved. So be sure to do what you need to do to unwind and find the ability to reset in stressful situations. Sleep is included in relaxing, be sure to get restful undisturbed sleep, this will help keep your hormones in check and reduce things like hunger cravings. Sleep and rest will get and keep your engine burning hot and efficiently. 

As you can see there are some simple steps to kick up a complex process. So, get healthy by Moving, Drinking Water, Eating Frequently, Eating Right, and don't forget to Sleep it off!! 

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Getting to the Core

 Snowboarding, and most sports, is very dynamic in movement which requires a great amount of leg strength and that is normally one of the first things we train. However, a lot of people out there neglect their cores, no matter what you are doing, from playing soccer to desk surfing. Check what I have to say about that.

 
Reasons Why You Need To Train Core

1.) You can do it any where – Most core exercises do not require any equipment or a membership to a gym so there are no real excuses not to do core exercises. Anything that involves coordination of ab and back muscles counts as a core exercise.

2.) You will do everything better – Having a strong core will make everything you do better. It is the base for all physical activity, be it swimming or playing golf, and especially snowboarding. This definitely includes everyday life like running to catch a bus or picking up kids. A weak core means being more susceptible to muscle injuries and pain, particularly when if comes to your posture or lower back.

3.) You can reach those fitness goals – Fitness goals can be elusive but you can make them more attainable if you have a great program to get you there. This program should include an array of core exercises to compliment the other exercises in the program. As I mentioned before, core strength will help you be better at anything.

4.) You will improve your balance and stability - Training every piece of your core, not just your abdominal and oblique muscles, but including your pelvis, hips, lower back to work in synchronization will provide your body with greater stabilization. Then you could do stronger dynamic movements or hold static positions for a longer time.

5.) You want to tone that belly – There is a lot of emphases on aerobic activity to lose flab, but you still want that six pack to show once you’ve burned that unwanted layer off. Core exercises will make that toning happen and you will love your mirror again. 

If these reasons have inspired you to get down on some core strength then here are a few of my favourites, just grab some floor space and get to it.

Top Ab Crunch – modified from a traditional sit up

• Start on back, knees bent so feet are flat on the floor, elbows are bent and hands are touching side of head at ear level 
• Lift upper body, while thinking of lifting the chest and chin to the ceiling in a smooth motion by engaging the abdominals and keep the upper back flat 
• Only lift until the top of the mid back is off the ground and then return to the starting position 
• Try 3 sets of 15-20 

Lower Ab Crunch

• Start on back with knees drawn up so knees are close to chest and feet are as close as possible to your bum, hands at your side 
• Use lowers abdominals to rock knees close to your shoulders while keeping your feet close to your bum and shoulders on the floor, then back to the starting position 
• Feel the crunch in your lower abdominals 
•  Try 3 sets of 40- 50 

Superman

• Start on front with arms and legs out stretched in a flying superman position
•  Bring legs and arms as high as possible off the ground and hold for 20 seconds before returning to the starting position 
• Try 3 sets of 20 seconds 

V-Twist  

• Start seated on the ground with knees bent to 45 degrees and feet flat on the ground 
• Twist to one side and reach behind as far as possible and touch the ground then rotate to the other side to reach as far back as possible and touch the ground again. 
• Try 3 sets of 40 touches 

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