It makes you proud to be Canadian…

We are now in the lull of the storm. The Olympic Games wrapped up leaving two weeks until the opening ceremonies of the Paralympic Games. If you are living in one of the other three Canadian time zones it’s just enough time to catch up on some sleep.

The last three weeks of the Olympic Games were amazing, fantastic, exciting, unforgettable…the list goes on. There were 2500 athletes from 82 competing countries and Canada owned the podium. Not only did we break medal records with 14 gold medals, the most of any host country – ever - but we broke records with spectator involvement. The whole country seemed to be on the edge of their seats during the gold medal men’s hockey game on Sunday. It was a shining example of national pride when we won the gold and of the impact sport can have on a nation.

Some stats from the 2010 Vancouver Games:
- 14 Gold medals for Canada
- The most gold medals to be won by a host country in the summer and winter Games.
- 3 million red mittens sold
- 50 years since Canada beat Russia in the Olympic Games
- 206 athletes competed from Canada
- 86 of the 206 Canadian athletes received a medal

Canada surprised other counties with our enthusiasm and competitiveness. An abundance of news coverage discussed Own the Podium in the last three weeks and our desire to be the best we can be. We are still the country of politeness and modesty but we like our winter sports and we don’t mind showing it at home.

Pole Dancing – not just for exotic dancers anymore!

The “fireman spin”, the “falling angel” and the “hair flip” – not the usual names for work out moves, but there is nothing usual about pole dancing. As a form of aerobic exercise, pole dancing can burn up to 250 calories per hour. It also increases flexibility, improves body awareness and posture, builds confidence, and strengthens muscles. Pole Dancing classes have been compared to Pilates with cardio and they are steadily growing in popularity. Where else can you tone your upper body, legs and core and also get in touch with your “sexy side”.

Pole dancing, also called pole fitness and vertical dancing, has not only become a new form of fitness, but also a fitness event, with competitions held worldwide. There is also a push for it to become an Olympic Sport, but it has a long way to go yet.

Hong Kong-based Ania Przeplasko, the founder of the International Pole Dancing Fitness Association, the sport's fledgling supervisory body, believes Olympic recognition is only a matter of time and would be a victory for underappreciated sports worldwide.

KT Coates, a leading pole dancer in Britain and director of Vertical Dance, is leading the effort to make pole dancing a "test" event in 2012 and foresees a more formal pitch in 2016, when the Olympics go to Rio de Jeneiro.

Not all pole dancers agree with the Olympic push however. Standardizing the scoring and consistency with the naming of moves would be necessary in order for pole dancing to progress on this root, many feeling that this would remove its “rebellious” edge. Snowboarding has managed to keep its edge, however, so you never know.

SIRC Articles on Pole Dancing:

• A Fad with Legs? Cohen, Andrew, Athletic Business Aug 2007: Vol. 31 Issue 8. p. 92-95
• Dancing with the ATHLETIC TRAINERS. Kessler, Sarah, Windy City Sports Sep2008, p40
• Fitness Flirtation. Windy City Sports Oct2007, p17
• Pole Position. Kennedy, Kania, IDEA Fitness Journal Jul/Aug2007, Vol. 4 Issue 7, p7
• Pole Position. Murray, Vanessa, Inside Sport Feb2009, Issue 206, p100
• Pole to pole. Holloway, Andy, Canadian Business 22 May-4 June 2006: Vol. 79 Issue 11. p. 43-144; 146

Canada Day – Let’s celebrate Canada’s Sporting Greats!

As Canada celebrates its 143rd birthday, what better way to commemorate this occasion, than by honouring some the great athletes Canada has produced. Now I am not talking about the Wayne Gretzkys, or the Steve Nashes of the world, they are honoured all the time. I mean some of those lesser known athletes who may not have made millions of dollars, but have accomplished great things in the sporting world.

For Example:
Graydon “Blondie” Robinson who won the 1969 AMF Bowling World Cup by only six pins with a 379-373 aggregate. Robinson was the first Canadian to win the world 10-pin championship and the championship's oldest winner at 41.

Myrtle Cook who was a member of the famous “Matchless Six”, Canada’s first ever women’s Olympic Track team. The year was 1928 and despite public protest, women were permitted for the first time to compete in track and field at the Amsterdam Olympics. Myrtle and her three team mates took the gold medal in the 4 X 100m relay. Myrtle went on to win gold in the 100m in meets in Paris and Philadelphia and also set a 100m world record at the Olympic Trials.

Tommy Burns, World Heavyweight Boxing Champion from 1906 to 1908. Despite being only 5’7”, he successfully defeated 6’ tall American Marvin Hart for the heavyweight championship title in 1906 and successfully defended his title 11 times over the next 2 years.

Lucille Wheeler won Canada’s first Olympic Skiing medal, taking home the bronze in 1956. She was also the first North American to win a world championship title, both for the downhill and giant slalom, in 1958. She paved the way for future skiing sensation Nancy Green.

Phil Marchildon Major League Pitcher with the Philadelphia Athletics who had his best season in 1946 after spending two years as a prisoner of war in the infamous German prison camp Stalag Luft III. He finished with a 19-9 record, second in the American League in wins behind All-Star Bob Feller, and even more remarkably-given the state of his health in 1945-Marchildon finished third in the American League in both games started and innings pitched.

Check out these great resources from the SIRC Collection:

• Canada's baseball legends: true stories, records and photos of Canadian-born players in baseball's major leagues since 1879. Shearon, J. Kanata, Ont. : Malin Head Press. 1994.
• Gridiron greats of Saskatchewan. Froggett, L. Hamilton, Ont. : Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum. 1995.
• Canada's Olympic hockey teams: the complete history, 1920-1998. Podnieks, A. Toronto : Doubleday Canada. 1997.
• Canadian olympic alpine teams 1936-1994. Alpine Canada. Ottawa : Alpine Canada. 1994.

Visit Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame to learn about other great Canadian Athletes. Happy Canada Day!

Youth Olympic Games

The first ever Youth Olympic Games got underway this week in Singapore. The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is a sporting event for young people ages 14-18, balancing sport, culture and education. The vision of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is to inspire young people around the world to participate in sport and to adopt and live by the Olympic values. The Games take place August 14-26, 2010 and feature:

• 26 sports and culture & education programs
• approximately 3,600 young athletes
• 205 National Olympic Committees
• 20,000 (approx) local and international volunteers
• an estimated 370,000 spectators

The next YOG will be the first Winter Youth Olympic Games and will be held in Innsbruck, Austria January 13-22, 2012.

SIRC wishes all athletes participating in the Games the best of luck!

And the winner is ... !

The city of PyeongChang, Korea was awarded the opportunity of hosting the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games this week over Munich Germany, and Annecy, France. Needing 48 votes from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) members for the victory, PyeongChang received 63 of the 95 votes cast in the first round of voting (Munich received 25 and Annecy seven.) It was the first time an Olympic bid race with more than two finalists was decided in the first round since 1995, when Salt Lake City defeated three other bid candidates to win the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

This was PyeongChang’s third consecutive bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, having lost narrowly to Vancouver (2010) and Sochi (2014) previously. It will be the first Winter Games in South Korea, and the nation’s second Olympics after having hosted the 1988 Olympic Games in the capital city of Seoul. PyeongChang will be the first city in Asia, outside Japan, to ever host the Olympic Winter Games. Japan twice hosted the Winter Olympics in 1972 (Sapporo) and again in 1998 (Nagano).

Just 180km east of Seoul and in the Taebaek Mountains, PyeongChang, campaigned on the theme of "New Horizons," and how that it deserved to win on a third try. And win they did! There is no doubt that PyeongChang will become the new world class travel destination for winter sports.

The 2018 Olympic Winter Games will be held from 9 through to 24 February 2018.

For more information on the Olympic Games, please visit SIRC.

International Olympic Day - June 23

Join the hundreds of thousands of people around the world on June 23 to celebrate Olympic Day! Olympic Day is not only a celebration, but an international effort to promote fitness and well-being in sport for everyone across the globe regardless of their age, gender or athletic ability.

Due to WWII, the Olympic Games had not been held in 1940 or 1944 so the city of London rose to host the XIV Games after the war.  In January 1948, the International Olympic Committee, (mainly due to the efforts of Pierre de Coubertin), approved the idea of Olympic Day as a sort of “birthday” of the Olympic Movement.  

Celebrated annually to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games at the Sorbonne in Paris, Olympic Day was originally held on June 23, 1948 with a total of 9 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) hosting ceremonies in their respective countries, with Canada being one of the original participants.  This day is meant to inspire people to adopt and apply the Olympic Values (excellence, fun, fairness, respect, personal growth, leadership and peace).

If you would like to join in the celebrations, the Olympic Fair will be held in Ottawa this weekend on Rideau Grounds and will be in conjunction with the CHEO Teddy Bear Picnic.  We are also having a Teddy Bear Prize Pack Giveaway where you can enter to win here.

This is an opportunity to launch a "call to action" to every Canadian to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.  This is also a great time to thank the many volunteers who are instrumental in promoting healthy lifestyles and the Olympic Values.  We look forward to seeing you at the Olympic Fair!

 References from the SIRC Collection

 

1. Celebrate Olympic Day. Parks & Recreation. June 2010;45(6):48.

2. Espagnac S. Olympic Day and a culture of peace. Olympic Review. December 2000;27(36):20-22.

3. Landon C, Leenheer D. Olympic Day Celebrates Coaches. Olympic Coach. Summer2011 2011;22(1):25-26.

4.  Olympic Day 2011. JOPERD: The Journal Of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance. April 2011;82(4):3.