The 2009 Canada Games have started!

Hi, my name is Brandie Adams and I am the Reference Librarian at SIRC. I’m very excited to be attending the 2009 Canada Games in Prince Edward Island. If the energy and the weather continue like this they are sure to be the best Games yet! I could be slightly bias, I’m from PEI and it is a wonderful feeling to look around and see the whole Island get involved and support Canadian sport.

The opening ceremonies were in Summerside on Saturday. The athletes entered the Credit Union Place with big smiles waving their provincial flags. Each athlete was able to meet Governor General Michaelle Jean and Prime Minister Stephen Harper. We listened to uplifting speeches and were entertained by a variety of local musical talent.

With the first day of events complete the Games are well under way. Today is sure to be filled with activity. After attending the media briefing I'll be spending time in the Coaches of Canada Coaches’ Lounge before heading off to the watch some of the events. With basketball, beach volleyball, rugby, tennis, rowing, diving, softball, tennis, cycling, soccer and sailing happening there are lots of things to choose from today! In two days I’ve met some fantastic people so I'm looking forward to seeing what today brings.

What a week!!

First off, a big thanks to the publishers to donated materials to the mobile SIRC Resource Centre! It was a hit during week one of the Canada Games and I can only imagine that it will be just as popular next week with the coaches and the athletes!

With Friday coming to a close there is only one day left of week one. Everyone has been enjoying their time on PEI and the weather has been phenomenal! There is a feeling of celebration as the medal rounds are being completed. For the most part everyone can relax and enjoy their final night tonight.

Today I was able to catch wrestling, women’s soccer and beach volleyball. If you are a friend of SIRC on Facebook you will be able to see some of the pictures I’ve taken so far.

Things I’ve notice through week one:
- Every province in Canada is a strong contender in the 2009 Canada Games.
- Some provinces go all out with fan gear to make as much noise as they can during the Games.
- There is a camaraderie surrounding the Games no matter if you are a parent, athlete, coach, officials, volunteer … or librarian.
- People are familiar with SIRC!!
- Coaches like resources. The books and journals I brought are disappearing. It’s fantastic!!
- Volunteers are great! If they are not volunteering they are cheering on the athletes in the stands.
- Fans, there are lots of them. The stands were filled at all the events I’ve attended.

Week one is almost finished and it went by in a blur. I’ve had a great time so far.

Rain, rain, rain

Today is the first day of week two at the Canada Games. The athletes should have an interesting practice day with all the rain PEI is going to get this Sunday. The good thing is that Hurricane Bill should have passed us by tonight.

I'm off to Charlottetown to set up the mobile SIRC Resource Centres in the athlete and coaches' lounges. This week will be an exciting one with men's soccer, athletics, swimming, women's wrestling, canoe/kayak, golf, volleyball and baseball taking place in the Eastern part of the province. If you want to see where it is all happening check out the 2009 Canada Games virtual tour of the campus.

Week Two is under way!

Yesterday was the first day of events for week two. After practices being cancelled on Sunday because of rain and wind (Hurricane Bill) everyone was ready for the week to begin. It seemed like the perfect day for outdoor sport with a mild temperature and very little wind. From the sounds of things the indoor action for volleyball and swimming was equally as exciting.

There are a few first at the Canada Games this year and yesterday was the premiere of the Special Olympics in the 100M and 1500M wheelchair.

The mobile SIRC Resource Centre is set up in three areas this week. You can find me at the Coaches Lounge, Athletes Village Information Centre or the Athlete Entertainment area. Of course, you could also see me at one of the venues cheering on the athletes! One of the highlights for me yesterday was seeing Jeremy Wall, my good friends' little brother, run in the 100M Special Olympics.

After one day I've met quite a few people who are familiar with SIRC and the athletes, coaches and volunteers who have not encountered us before are interested to learn more. One athlete told me "that's really cool" which I thought was a pretty good compliment!

I've taken a more pictures that I'll post to the SIRC Facebook page so check it out later on today!

Sunny, Windy Thursday

The countdown is on now until the closing ceremony of the Canada Games. I came into the Athletes Info and Activity Centre today and was pleased to notice that the athletes have been taking advantage of the materials in the mobile SIRC library.

This morning I was able to catch some of the kayaking. Despite being quite windy and a little chilly there were quite a few people out to watch at 9:30am. After a few mishaps (boat sinking, people falling out) they postponed some of the events until later today.

Last night was the AthletesCAN forum. The place was filled with athletes, most from canoe/kayak, to listen to the Ambassadors talk about their ups and downs in sport. The importance of mental training, imagery and building confidence was a theme with most of the athletes. My favourite quote was from Jeane Lassen. After talking about working so hard from the 2000 Olympics and not being able to compete because of an injury she said "hard work doesn't always pay off but it is the only way to achieve success."

Hopefully Facebook will let me post some pictures soon !

Closing of the 2009 Canada Games

The 2009 Canada Games came to a close on Saturday at the UPEI Alumni Place. The rain did not put a damper on the athletes, coaches, volunteers and spectators that filled the stands to enjoy the awards and entertainment of the closing ceremony.

The stage looked like a huge ship paying homage to Halifax, Nova Scotia who will be hosting the upcoming Winter Canada Games in 2011.

The 2009 Canada Games on Prince Edward Island were a success. I had a great time representing SIRC throughout the two weeks talking with many people throughout the Games and learn what type of sport information people are looking for. It was great to know that many people receive and enjoy the SIRC Daily Press Release service and SIRC newsletters.

Everyone is already looking ahead to 2011 in Halifax which should be a fantastic time. The theme is "bring it" and it should be exciting to see what SIRC will bring to the Games!

SIRC and the Centre for Sport and Law announce partnership

The Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC) and the Centre for Sport and Law (CSL) have joined forces to offer quality and relevant educational programming to Canadian sport administrators. Topics for the 2010 calendar year include practical and expert-driven advice on management issues including strength-based planning, risk management, dispute resolution, intellectual property, and social media.

“As SIRC continues to focus on connecting sport leaders with helpful and relevant resources, we are pleased to announce a partnership that will see us collaborating to provide professional development opportunities for sport leaders at our office in Ottawa and our new satellite location in Toronto,” said Debra Gassewitz, President and CEO of SIRC.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with SIRC in offering relevant and practical workshops and seminars that sport administrators can apply immediately as they manage issues, seize opportunities, and navigate their ever-changing and complex external environments,” stated Rachel Corbett, one of the founding partners of the CSL.

This partnership emerged out of the positive experience both organizations had when collaborating on two unique workshops in 2008 – “Preparing for Beijing: Are You Dispute Ready?” in April of that year, and “Not Your Normal Risk Management Workshop” in June. Registration for the 2010 workshops will begin in December and will be coordinated online via SIRC. The partnership will see four to six workshops offered per year at each location, on leading–edge topics relevant to sport administrators.

For more information, please contact Dina Bell-Laroche at 613-591-1246 or 613-294-4118 or Kim Sparling at 613-231-7472

Did you know … SIRC has a regional office in Toronto? You can check books out of the Ottawa and Toronto locations if you are a member of SIRC?

Recently SIRC and SPORT4ONTARIO hosted an Open House at our NEW regional office in Toronto. After consulting with Amanda Street-Bishop, the Information Specialist at the SIRC@SPORT4ONTARIO Office, Nancy Rebel and Brandie Adams brought over 400 books, journals and DVDs from the SIRC Collection to the Toronto office for people to browse through. The event was fantastic! Numerous sport groups in the GTA attended the event to find out about SIRC services and to help choose what they would like included in the SIRC@SPORT4ONTARIO Library. Debra Gassewitz, president and CEO of SIRC, gave a brief presentation and then launched the new Check Out service.

SIRC members in Ottawa and the GTA are now able to borrow SIRC resources on a weekly basis. Currently there are over fifty publications being circulated on nutrition, team building, officiating, mental training, administration, coaching, strength training, leisure management and more. Popular books include:

o Successful Sports Officiating: fundamentals for all officials.
o The Women's Basketball Drill Book: More than 180 drills from the game's top coaches.
o Speed for Sports Performance (DVD)
o Complete Conditioning for Tennis.

SIRC is looking forward to organizing other events in the future. Stay tuned to see what we’re hosting next!!

Also, as a new feature to our blog entries, SIRC is excited to let you know about new titles that have recently been added to the SIRC Collection:

o Actively Engaged: A Policy on Sport for Women and Girls. (Canadian Heritage)
o Rock Climbing. (Human Kinetics)
o Softball Coaching Development Program Level 3. National Coaching Certification Program. (Softball Canada)

Social Media: How do you choose?

Blogger, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, YouTube, Widgetbox, MySpace, Picasa, Hipcast, Google Video, Meebo, Gabby, 30Boxes … The list goes on!

Social media is here to stay. With so many choices it can be difficult to figure out what type of social media to tap into. Aspects of social media pepper the literature that passes through the SIRC Collection, examples include:
• Lessons in social media
• Guidelines for sports officials posting on Twitter
• YouTube views during the Beijing Games
• Keeping your members informed through social media
• Marketing your organization, meetings and events
• Putting competition videos on YouTube
• Official team and event blogs
• Using the web as a tool in teaching health and physical education
• Relationship between journalists and bloggers

For the most part blogs (Blogger/Typepad), Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn and YouTube seem to be the essentials. If you are looking for information on how to incorporate them into your organization and/or is it out there!

What you are reading right now is a blog and is part of the Blogosphere. If blogging is where you would like to start check out the following resources to get you started:

Definition: Blog -Wondering that a blog is? Personal blogs, corporate blogs, search engines, advertising and more are summed up in this definition.

Digging Deeper: Your Guide to Blogging -Provides a quick overview of a blog touching on common elements, how to blog, getting your blog noticed and searching for blogs.

Technorati: Blogging Central -Everything that you may need to know and more on blogging. Today’s leading story is Top Ten Tactics for Driving Blog Traffic.

Check out SIRC's other social media sites:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube (coming soon)

SIRC@Sport4Ontario Wins Congeniality Award in SAO’s Torch Competition

Tenants of the Sport Alliance of Ontario building honoured the upcoming Olympics on Thursday with a special celebration. Three tenants of the building will be torch bearers in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. Organizers thought it would be great to bring the Olympic Spirit to the Provincial Sport Organizations. Part of the celebration involved a “design your own torch” competition. SIRC and Sport4Ontario decided to participate in a unique way. Using resources from the SIRC collection, SIRC@Sport4Ontario was able to design a torch that both celebrated the event and the torchbearers from the building. James Worrall was the flag bearer in the 1936 Olympics. SIRC’s entry incorporated pictures from the 1936 Olympics as well as a picture of James carrying the flag. The same was also accomplished for Torch Bearer John Craig; giving SIRC’s entry a personal touch. SIRC was pleased to win the Congeniality award for our torch!

GPS Not Just For Your Car Anymore!

Technology is advancing at a rapid pace these days and there are applications available for almost everything. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are now considered standard equipment in cars and vehicles to help you get where you are going.

Recently, SIRC has discovered that more and more journals in the SIRC Collection are including articles on ways to use a GPS to help you in your sport and fitness training. From running, skiing, cycling, and walking to rowing, soccer and tennis, a GPS can provide a multitude of information to coaches and athletes to improve their training.

A GPS can help you:

• track speed and distance
• track an athlete in team sport
• simulate a race course
• even monitor heart rate when connected to other applications

These are only a few of the ways a GPS and technology in general can help you in your training. There are more innovative ways to use technology to push the envelope and achieve your next personal best.

Check out the following resources to help jump start your GPS training :

• GPS Applications in Sport
• Athletic Sports and GPS
• Get Back in Shape With GPS for Fitness and Training

Be sure to visit SIRC for even more great resources on GPS and training.

SIRC Newsletter - Healthy Holidays!

Check out the latest SIRC Newsletter -Healthy Holidays!

For 11 months of the year we watch what we eat and stick to our exercise routine. Then the holiday season rolls around and the wheels fall off. Tempted by wonderful goodies every time you turn around and overloaded by a hectic holiday schedule it is easy to let your healthy habits slip, overindulge, neglect your workouts and become stressed. But with a little moderation, organization and motivation it is easy to keep on track and have a healthy, active holiday season straight through to the New Year!

http://www.sirc.ca/newsletters/december09/index.html

Sit-up Straight!

Ever find yourself hunched over your computer at work with back pain or rubbing the back of your shoulders or neck to get rid of the knot in your muscle? Many of us suffer from the pains of poor posture at the computer workstation. Those that use computers for more than 5 hours a day can be more than twice as likely to have back problems as those that don’t. These problems could be prevented by an ergonomically correct set-up at your station which aids in proper alignment. If you are looking to improve your posture or to give your tired muscles a break, try some work-based posture exercises for relief.

A great article in the SIRC Collection that will help you set up your workstation and gives you some posture exercises is:

• Desk Posture. SportEx Medicine. Issue 41 (July 2009), p.17-19.

And for those of you who are looking to create a happier and healthier work environment, remember that research from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has shown that workers are more productive and work better with others after an exercise break. So get up off those chairs and start moving!

At SIRC You Learn Something New Every Day!

The SIRC Collection receives new publications everyday and it is always exciting to see what new research and fun facts are being published. It is very common to hear one of the SIRC Staff start a sentence with “Did you know…” As we come to the end of 2009 here are a few items that have completed the “Did you know…” sentence.

• About 25% of athletic trainers use pickle juice to treat muscle cramps. Some report, that 1 to 2oz (30-6- mL) of pickle juice relieves cramps within 35 seconds. The mechanism is illusive because rapid relief must mean that pickle juice empties from the stomach very quickly, yet a gastric-emptying study with pickle juice indicates it empties very slowly from the stomach.


• Simply rinsing the mouth with sports drink helps runners run faster. After an overnight fast (13-15h without food) and before and during a 1-hour run, 10 trained runners rinsed their mouth for 5 seconds with a sports drink, and then spit it out. With the sports drink mouth rinse; they were able to run 365 meters longer during the hour.


• A study of 634 nutrition supplements indicated that about 15% contained a banned substance, even though the supplement came from a factory that did not manufacture the banned substances (i.e. steroids, ephedrine). The products most likely to be contaminated with illegal compounds include bodybuilding supplements and weight loss products.

If you liked these did you knows make sure that you check out the SIRC Newsletters! Not only do they have a Did you know … section but they contain many interesting articles from the SIRC Collection.

Baby It’s Cold Outside…

We will see 150 competitive events in the upcoming Winter Games in February but that doesn’t cover all of the activities that are available in the winter months! Winter weather has arrived in Canada and across the country temperatures can range from +9°C to -45°C. For most of the country this means it is cold outside – freezing cold – and you have two choices stay inside or go outside and play! If you are prepared for the weather, Canada can be a winter wonderland with never-ending possibilities of things to do.

Thinking it’s too cold outside? There are so many things that can keep you toasty while enjoying the outdoors. Developments over the years have led to thermal fabrics using body moisture to generate heat to boots and gloves with heating mechanisms to keep your digits nice and warm. Try not to get too overwhelmed by all the options and don’t forget there are review guides that can help you.

You may have been skating, skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, running, snowboarding, or dog-sledding but there are other possibilities. Why not try heli-skiing, snow kiting, and ice climbing. As we ring in the New Year and recover from the holiday season why not give these new winter activity a go in 2010? Information about all of these activities and many more can be found within the SIRC library.

Keep reading because there will be much more featured on winter fun in the upcoming months!

What’s on your playlist?

Now that you’ve made that resolution to have a fitter 2010, it’s time to lace up your trainers and get moving. A great way to get into the exercise groove is to listen to music, which will help to motivate you through our workout. Music can help you ignore the aches and pains or fatigue and also help regulate your pace. Science now tells us that songs with the right characteristics can increase our exercise performance by up to 20%. (Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology 31(1), p. 18-36 Author: Karageorghis, Costas I. et al, available through SIRC)

The article entitled “Ergogenic Tunes” (Canadian Running 2(5) July/Aug 2009, p. 30) provides a helpful chart of song selections from Rock, Pop, Soul/R&B and Classical music to help you reach a variety of exercise intensities. It’s important to find music that not only addresses your personal taste but provides lyrics and beats that match the intensity and length of your workout. Need help deciding what the right tempo is? Check out this chart which explain factors that go into selecting the appropriate beats per minute (BPM) for a variety of activities (walking, jogging, running, cycling, stairclimbers, ellipticals, and yoga/pilates).

Another way to freshen up your music is to ask your friends, colleagues and other fitness enthusiasts for their favorites. So plug in and let’s get on the move.

Here are a few of the many websites out there that provide training and exercise oriented music:
Run2Rhythm (http://www.run2r.com/)
PODRUNNER (http://www.djsteveboy.com/podrunner.html)
Motion Traxx (http://motiontraxx.com/)

New mail is always exciting!

New material is always arriving for the SIRC Collection. Today one of the latest issues of British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) arrived in the mail. As soon as it arrived the SIRC Librarians took a quick scan through and it looks good. In fact, it is sure to be a popular issue in the SIRC Collection over the upcoming months. This issue is the Vancouver Olympics issue covering sports such as alpine skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey and ski jumping as well as many other interesting research articles.

Here are a few highlights:

• The adoption of new rules for ski jumping based on research outlined in the article “Towards research-based approaches for solving body composition problems in sports: ski jumping as a heuristic example.”
• It takes 30-45 minutes for a swimmer (and several helpers) to dress in an expensive polyurethane swimsuit that malfunction and tears easily.
• The knee (68%) is the most injured body part in Alpine skiers followed by lower back/pelvis/sacrum (22%), lower leg/Achilles tendon (22%), hand/finger/thumb (17%) and head/face (16%).
• Full Facial Protection in ice hockey provides the best protection against overall head injuries.
• Several risk factors can combine to increase injury in Alpine skiing: low speed, high readiness for risk, new skiing equipment, old and powdered snow, and drug consumption.

If you are looking for additional information on injury prevention and sport medicine you can find it in the Online Resources Injury section which highlights past newsletters and full-text articles.

Let’s talk about cricket!

As a Canadian that’s not a statement you hear too often, but the sport of Cricket is growing in popularity in this country by leaps and bounds. For example in the Toronto area alone the Toronto and District Cricket Association is the largest amateur club in North American and has over 1300 players on 92 teams. One of those players, Rizwan Cheema, a recent immigrant from Pakistan, who only played at the club level in his home country, not only plays for the National Team here in Canada, but is also getting international recognition. He is currently one of 51 players through to the final phase of the Indian Premier League auction. (This is like the NHL draft of cricket). Mr. Cheema owes this honour, not only to his skills but to the support and training he has received in Canada.

As Cricket Canada president Ranjit Saini stated in a January 6th , 2010 press release “This is a proud moment for Cricket Canada and its members" he later went on to add “Should Rizwan get selected and becomes part of IPL, the boost in Cricket Canada brand name will be phenomenal and the public awareness about Cricket in North America and particularly Canada will grow significantly. "

Interesting Cricket Canada Information:
The Canadian Cricket Association (now called Cricket Canada) was established in 1892.

The first recorded game of Cricket played in Canada was in 1785 at Ile-Ste-Helene in Montreal, Quebec.

In 2009, over 20,000 children throughout Canada played cricket in both school and community based development programs.

Cricket Canada’s head office is located in the SAO building along with SIRC’s new regional office in Toronto. The staff memebrs of Cricket Canada are avid users of the SIRC collection and borrow materials on a regular basis. SIRC is happy to help Cricket Canada with their research needs.

What's going on at SIRC’s Toronto Regional Office

SIRC@Sport4Ontario, SIRC’s Toronto Regional office, is located in the Sport Alliance of Ontario Building where close to 50 provincial sport organizations call home. This building is unique as it provides the organizations with office space and full office services, plus there is meeting room space available to tenants which allows them the space to run training sessions, coaching clinics and of course professional development programs for organization staff.

Yesterday, (January 13, 2010) Sport4Ontario held their monthly lunch and learn forum, which included guest speaker Barrie Claude Shepley. Barrie was Canada’s first National Triathlon Coach and was the first Olympic Triathlon Head Coach for Canada in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games where Simon Whitfield won his historic gold-medal. He has been named Coach of the Year in Canada on three occasions, Coach of the Year in Ontario two times, been inducted into Triathlon Canada’s Hall of Fame and has also been named a High Performance Coach from the National Coaching Institute.

On January 28th, 2010, SIRC’s Toronto Regional office will also be taking advantage of the meeting room space to hold an Information Session and Luncheon. Participants of this hands-on session will not just learn about SIRC, they will also participate in exercises designed to show them how SIRC can help them in the daily operation of their provincial sport organization.

Professional Development and Learning – That’s What’s Goin’ On!!

SIRC Newsletter -The Top 10 Most Requested Topics of 2009

Check out the latest SIRC Newsletter -The Top 10 Most Requested Topics of 2009!

SIRC is your national sport library and in 2009 you proved that learning and staying informed are important. You came from over 800 different cities and towns in Canada (view map) to find information on injury prevention, coaching techniques, motivation and much more. Last year we added over 30,000 new sport related articles to the library (which were reviewed and indexed by our information specialists) and we noticed some intriguing trends. The most requested and sought after topics were:




http://sirc.ca/newsletters/january10/index.html