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CAO Trailblazer coaching award for 2018
In September, during National Coaches Week, I received the 2018 Trailblazer Coach of the Year award from the Coaches Association of Ontario at a ceremony held at the University of Toronto. Receiving this recognition from the Coaches Association of Ontario for my work in advancing the coaching of brushing in the sport is truly very special. At the same time, it is also very humbling to share the stage with the other outstanding 2018 award winners. All of the award recipients had short films made about them – you can find them on the CAO’s awards page – and each of them tells an inspirational story, the very best that amateur sport can offer. My warmest thanks to everyone who took the time to wish me congratulations. Along with the video, each coach had a large motion picture playbill made up for them, put together by Hiep Vu Photography. Each poster was unique, suited to each recipient and their coaching
Thanks to our season sponsors
This season we’ve spent a great deal of time practicing, as the team’s competitive schedule has been challenging to coordinate with all four of the players now in university. However, with Team Kiemele’s qualification to the Ontario U21 Provincial Championships at the Annandale Curling Club in late December, we can take a bit of a break, the team can catch up on some school work, and we can thank our sponsors for supporting our team through this season. Our sponsors this season are: En-Pro International, Oshawa BFG Enterprise Services Morris & Shannon LLP Barristers and Solicitors, Elora Elora Curling Club (our home club) Top-Line Pavement Marking, Elora Wall’s Piano Gallery, St. Jacobs Hybrid Hair & Detox Spa, St. Jacobs Thermo Seal (Kawartha Lakes), Lindsay Pizza On Earth, Dorset Portico Properties, Muskoka Ontario Curling Council In this post I’d like to highlight two of our season sponsors, Wall’s Piano Gallery in St. Jacobs, Ontario, and Hybrid Hair and Detox Spa, also
Information for asthmatics
I was diagnosed with severe asthma when I was but two years old, something of a rarity in 1962 but much more commonplace today. So I have a great deal of empathy for competitive athletes who try to excel at the highest levels of their sport despite the debilitating effects of this disease. For myself, today I have only 62% lung function and I feel that loss of ability each and every day. For competitive athletes with asthma it is particularly important to pay attention to the World Anti-Doping Agency and the current 2018 Prohibited List for drugs that are, and are not, permitted for use by an athlete both in- and out-of competition. The drug Salbutamol is routinely prescribed to asthma patients for help in opening bronchial passages during bouts of asthma – my own prescription for Teva-Salbutamol is a 100mcg dosage with DIN 02326450. For competitive athletes, Salbutamol is a prohibited, Beta-2 Agonist both in- and out-of competition.
2017-2018 Junior award winners announced
At our Junior closing at Elmira on April 17, we presented achievement awards to those young athletes who distinguished themselves over this past curling season, in recognition of their dedication, commitment, sportsmanship, and performance. This year’s award nominees and the winners are as follows. The Ken Watson Sportsmanship Award, presented to the player in each age category that exhibits the highest levels of sportsmanship both on and off the ice. Little Rock nominees: Emma Penston, Declan Johnson, Jelissa Riel, Leia Wrigglesworth. Winner: Leia Wrigglesworth. U15/U18 nominees: Thomas Kraemer, Linden Jorna, William Henry, Larissa Musselman, and Kyle Henry. Winner: William Henry. The Sandra Schmirler Rookie of the Year Award, presented to the Little Rock and Bantam/Junior player who exhibit the best mastery of the skills of curling in their first year in their specific program. Little Rock nominees: Sam Brown, Adelyn Wilk, and Jackson Lowther. Winner: Sam Brown. The Vera Pezer Most Improved Player award, awarded to the player who in
2018 Elmira U18 OJCT Bonspiel Summary
On February 2-4 Elmira hosted our fifth annual U18 OJCT cash spiel with 16 rinks participating from across southern Ontario to compete for OJCT tour points and for $2600 in prize money available to qualifying teams. On the womens’ side, in Pool A cumulative draw-to-the-button scores were not required as teams Poluck from Galt Country and Ensing from Elora finished the round robin with matching 2-1 records, but with Erin Ensing earning first place honours via a win over Alison Poluck in draw 3. Similarly, in Pool B, Team Veronica Bernard of Elmira were undefeated at 3-0, followed by Hannah Don from Oshawa at 2-1, and both of these teams qualified for playoffs without the need for tie-breakers. In the men’s draw, in Pool A, Daniel Del Conte and his rink from Hamilton Victoria finished round-robin play at 3-0, followed by Team Prenevost out of Milton at 2-1. Skip Matthew Prenevost made some outstanding shots during the tournament, including a
Junior update – December 2017
Our Junior Curling season is well underway at Elmira, with thirteen Little Rockers and twenty U15, U18 and U19 athletes. Our next practice will be Sunday, January 7 after the Christmas break. Our Little Rockers have been practicing hard since the end of October. On Saturday, December 16, Mackenna Riel, Emma and Lauren Penston, and Hannah Wilk participated in their first bonspiel of the season in Milton and earned a third-place finish. Congratulations girls! We have a number of Little Rock events coming up after the New Year, with exhibition games planned with Little Rockers from the Ayr Curling Club and Acton Curling Clubs, and the Westmount Rob Shepherd bonspiel in early March. For the older athletes, our first Interclub of the season was held at the Kitchener-Waterloo Granite Club on November 25, and three more Interclub days are planned this season with our next Interclub event scheduled for Saturday, January 13 in Elora. Two long-time Elmira Juniors, and their