2011 Canada Winter Games – Team Ontario Staging Camp
Waterloo, Ontario | January 28-29, 2011
On the evening of January 27th, the sixteen members of the 2011 Canada Winter Games Ontario Figure Skating Team arrived in Waterloo at the Best Western St Jacob’s Country Inn for a two day staging camp. The team is comprised of four Special Olympic skaters, six Pre-Novice skaters, and six Novice skaters; in addition, the three Team Coaches and Team Manager were also in attendance.
Friday morning began with the participants being transported by bus to the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex where they had the opportunity to meet and work with the team coaches on four separate 45 minute on-ice sessions. Our team coaches for the 2011 Canada Winter Games are Darlene Joseph, Julie Dunlop, Scott Rachuk, and John Briscoe (also Team Manager). The athletes also took part in a specialized nutrition session designed to address dietary habits when staying in a hotel for an extended period of time (as will be the case in Halifax). Nicole Springle from the Cleveland Clinic in Toronto conducted these sessions. Also participating was ISU Judge Susan Blatz who reviewed with the skaters their individual report cards from various competitions over the past season (Sectionals, Challenge, and Junior Nationals). The intent of these sessions was to help the skaters identify areas from past performances where an opportunity exists for improvement especially prior to Canada Winter Games. Susan also spoke to the Special Olympic athletes on the role of the judge.
To wrap up the day time activities, Tracey McCague-McElrea and her associate Annette Markvoort from Carrot Creative facilitated a fun and energetic team building session focused on team work and the importance of The Flag (the prize that all CWG athletes strive to win for their Province). Photos from this team building sessions are included in the following team montages (large PDF files, may take a while to download!):
In the evening, everyone attended a team dinner at the Grey Silo in Waterloo where special guests, Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moskovitch (recently crowned 2011 Canadian Pair Champions) spoke to the skaters on the importance of discipline, passion, and resilience. They emphasized the significance of representing Ontario and Kirsten reflected on her personal experiences at the 2007 Canada Winter Games where she placed first in the Novice Ladies event.
On Saturday morning, Christine Craig, the Team Ontario Mission Staff representative for figure skating, reviewed the all sport workshops on anti-doping and anti-harassment. Team uniforms were also presented to the team and an information session was held for the athletes’ parents. Lunch was then served to the athletes’ and their parents before everyone headed home.
I would like to thank Susanne Morgan and Wendy St. Denis for their assistance during the Staging Camp. Also, thank you to Steve Scherrer for his assistance with our facility arrangements.
I am confident Skate Ontario will be proud of the accomplishments of this talented group of skaters and I am most certain that they will all represent Ontario with integrity and respect for all other participants.
Go Team Ontario!!
Glenn Fortin, Skate Ontario Skating Programs Committee
Note: For more photos from the camp, visit the photo gallery.
