Archive for April 2011
Annual Meeting
Posted on: April 29, 2011
Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who attended and congratulated and wish me luck on my travels at the Maple Leaf Curling Club’s Annual Meeting held last night in O’Leary. It was kind of cool walking in and everyone was already applauding for my accomplishments! I will do my best to make my hometown proud!
Em
Edmonton
Posted on: April 29, 2011
Hello everyone!
So about five hours ago I arrived in good old Alberta! I have never been this far west before, so it is kind of cool to be here. Also, everything is so flat! Even PEI is hillier then this! haha.
I had quite the long day of flights. Flying out of Charlottetown was alright, a little bit of turbulance, but nothing major. My flight leaving Halifax was delayed 20 minutes due to fog, and then we had to stop in Toronto. There, someone had checked their luggage but did not board the flight, so we had to wait another half an hour while they searched through all the bins of baggage to try to find theirs, because if they are not on the flight then their luggage cannot be on the flight due to security reasons. So all in all we were delayed about an hour. Also the fact that I was in an exit seat didn’t help too much either. No recline equals no sleep.
Right now it’s about 11:30 at home, so I am getting kind of tired. Hopefully hit some biology before I go to sleep. I have a big day here tomorrow. Our shuttle bus leaves at 7am, and we have video analysis, sweeping analysis and physical fitness tests in the morning. I think by Sunday I am going to be pretty wore out!
All the crew is here, except for Derek. He was competing in his badmitten provincials today and couldn’t get a flight out until tomorrow, so he will be joining us sometime in the morning. I would like to wish him all of luck in his provincials, however I fear they might already be over!
Well folks, I think I am going to go try to get some work done before I pass out! Edmonton is a wonderful place and so far has treated me well!
I am really looking forward to meeting everyone this weekend, and I hope to take a lot out of it!
Em
Happy Easter
Posted on: April 24, 2011
Just wanted to wish everyone a very happy Easter!
Em
I was recently interviewed by my local paper, also by one of my friends (and curlers!) dad, which was kind of cool. Eric has been curling ever since I can remember, so he knew the ins and the outs of what I was saying!!
So here’s the link! Enjoy
Em
Other Newspaper Articles
Posted on: April 20, 2011
These are some of my national teammates newspaper articles from the home provinces/territories!
Weekend Off
Posted on: April 20, 2011
Well, after a very long season I finally have a weekend off!! My provincial team is finally done curling, ending off at the 2011 Sylvan Learning Atlantic Championships! We finished with an unfortunate placing of 4th, losing our last round robin game (to get us into the finals) by a mere inch, putting the game into extra end. However we had fun, and met a few new people! It seems like every curler in Atlantic Canada knows each other!!
I am looking forward to the long 5-day weekend off. There is going to be some well deserved sleeping in over the 5 days!! Next weekend I am on the road again, heading out to Edmunton to train with my national team. We are participating at a camp at the Saville Sports Center (which just happens to be where the Kevin Martin Rink train out off!!) over the weekend. Once that is over I will finally be able to pack up the curling gear and put it away. I will be pulling it out again in August, but hopefully my competitve season will be done a bit earlier next year. My provincial team is only eligable for one provincials this year, so if we win this we go to Ontario for the Junior Nationals in Ferbruary, I believe, and that will be it! That sounds a lot better then curling until the end of April!
Today the West Prince Graphic put out an article about me, so here it is!
http://peicanada.com/west_prince_graphic/publication/o%E2%80%99leary_curler_heads_austria_2012
I hope everyone has a Happy Easter!
Em
Update
Posted on: April 14, 2011
So today, I received a few letters of congratulations in the mail! I would like to thank Muncey and Leah Harris, as well as Cheryl Bell. The cards were awesome, and very appreciated!
Today was also my first day back to work, and I got lots of congrats there! I was really excited to get back and see everyone!
Em
Followers..?
Posted on: April 12, 2011
Hey everyone!
If anyone is wanting to follow more then just me, and more of what the team is up to, you can check out our facebook page : Youth Olympic Canadian Curling Team. The whole team will hopefully be posting pictures, links, and posts on that page!
Em
Regina Weekend
Posted on: April 11, 2011
Hello everyone!
So, my team and I just got back from a weekend in Regina. Here, we met each other for the first time (Corryn and I took a picture together once, and Thomas and Derek played each other at the CWG). In Regina, we got to practice together, get to know each other, and meet A LOT of people. The World Men’s Championships were being held in Regina that weekend as well, so we took in some of the curling games that were going on.
Being in Regina with my new team was just awesome! We all click together very well, and there is so much potential! I am very excited to actually compete with them.
So, right off the bat, when we got there, we went out to supper, and started introducing ourselves (what we do, where we live, etc.). Then we headed off to the last round robin game, featuring Canada vs. Norway. Unfortunately Canada came up short, or should I say about 3 feet too much, and lost the game by one. That night we got to see the TSN truck, and learn all the ins and the outs of what goes on behind the scenes, talk about craziness! We also met Danny Lamoureux that night.
We started off the next day with media training with Joan. It was kind of cool just to hear some of the things we get to say, ‘ it’s an honor to be selected ‘ (which it really is!) was one that stood out in my mind. After media training, we went downstairs and met a bunch of CCA people, sporting our new Team Canada sweaters. They all congratulated us, and said how cool it was for us to be there. We then went to practice at the Callie Club. I don’t think I have ever worked so hard in my life! Helen pushed us to the max with out sweeping, but it definitely paid off! After practice, we got a bite to eat and then had a game against the Saskatchewan Canada Winter Games Female curling team. We now have an awesome record of 1-0 (wins-losses)! After that was all over, we went inside to get change, and guess who walks in! Jill Officer! Corryn and I were just sitting there, and she walks in the club and just says hey to us! We later introduced ourselves, and talked to her a bit. We then headed back to the hotel to get ready for the big presentation. When we were ready, all spiffy in our Provincial and Territorial jackets, we set off for the arena, by VIP shuttle as well! Once we got there, we met someone from the WCF (I believe.. We met so many people this weekend it’s hard to keep track!) who was going to walk out with us and present us our Team Canada jackets (which we didn’t know about!) at the fifth end break. We went and sat in our seats, and anxiously waited until the fourth end. We then went backstage, got the final preparations over with, and waited to get marched out. During the fifth end break was our first appearance as Team Canada (the press release went out earlier that day) to a sold out crowd at the arena. It was amazing, there is no other way to describe it, and even that doesn’t come close. As we were waiting to be marched out, Steve Gould walked by and patted everyone on the back and said congrats. When we got out there, TSN was recording, and we were smiling and waving. We were presented out Team Canada Jackets, got a picture taken, and then headed back. But, before we even left the carpet, Jeff Stougton and Steve both came up and said congrats. Wow. We then went backstage to the ‘media scrum’ (consisting of Jill Officer interviewing Corryn and Thomas, and then headed back and went to out seats again. When we finally headed home we ended up meeting up with Linda, Vic and Russ, the comentators for TSN. They just randomly walked by and we introduced ourselves to them. They were really interested in the Junior Olympics, and wished us the best of luck. I can’t remember if we met anyone else that night, but we must have.
The last day in Regina was more of a chill day. We didn’t have anything scheduled until about 1 in the afternoon, so we went to breakfast at Smitty’s. Most delicious breakfast I’ve ever had! We then took a walk around, searching for a particular I <3 Regina sign, which we did find, and did a team photo with. After that we headed back to our hotel and hung out in the guys room until Helen was done with her meetings downstairs. We went right into sports psyc with a lady named Penny. She was really down to earth, and I am really looking forward to working with her again in the fall! After that we got geared up and headed to the arena for practice. Curling on arena ice is insane. The TSN lights were up, there were random teams that were competing walking around, and there was a game going on shortly after we left, so the stands were starting to fill. We did about an hour of practice, and then got our pictures done (they turned out awesome!). As we were walking to the home end of the arena, this lady comes up and asked us for our autographs. They had put a picture of us in the Daily Insider, and she wanted us to sign it. Way cool! That was our first autograph ever as Team Canada (or for me anyways hah) and it felt great! We continued to the end of the sheet, where Thomas Ulsrud (skip of Team Norway) came over and started talking to us. He was asking questions about what Junior Olympics was and whatnot, but the fact that he just randomly came over and started talking to us was insane! We left and got changed, walked up the stairs in the seating area and at the top Jeff and Reid Carruthers were just kind of standing there. We introduced ourselves to them and talked to them for awhile. After the shock of that, we headed to our seats. We ended up sitting beside two Canadian die-hard fans! They were decked out in Canada gear, and asked me some questions about Junior Olympics, no big deal, right? Well, then they got us to sign two Canada Flags, alongside Amber Holland’s signature. So neat! After the fifth end we headed up to Amber Holland’s skybox to watch the rest of the game. When we were walking to the stairs, a section of people applauded for us. At first we thought it was just someone making a good shot, but then we realized they were clapping for us! We met all of Amber’s team, along with some of their family and watched the rest of the game with them. Afterwards we ended up meeting Cori Bartel, and got pictures with her and her silver medal from Vancouver, took some pictures with Amber Holland and her world silver medal, met a few other people from the COC and the WTC, met Brewster (skip for Team Scotland), and even picked up the newspaper with our picture in it (thank God for Helen!). We ended off the night by ordering pizza and chilling at the hotel.
Unfortunately the weekend had to come to a close at some point, and on Sunday morning everyone boarded a flight with the destination for home. We are together again in about two and a half weeks for a training camp in Edmonton, and I can’t wait to see my team again!
Em
