August 12, 2003
The Canadian racquetball team should now all be back in Canada. I apologize for not getting a commentary out for the last two days, but things always get crazy towards the end of the tournament. This time was especially on a tight time frame because we finished competing and had the Medal Ceremonies on August 11th and we left at 5am on August 12th. It was 'wham, bam, get out of here man!'
But, what happened on the last two days? Here it goes:
On Saturday we began the semi-finals. First up, was Josée and Julie against the tough veteran team of Susy Acosta and Rosy Torres from Mexico. Josée and Julie battled close the first game, but in the end the Mexicans found a 'groove' and won in two straight games. Rosy and Susy have been living and training together in the same city for the past two years, and their doubles game has reaped the benefits, so they have become a very difficult team to beat.
Corey and François were next up against the powerhouse team of Javier Moreno and Alvero Beltran from Mexico. François and Corey played as hard as they could, but in the end the Mexicans' shot making ability and amazing court coverage was too much for our Canadian duo. The Mexicans took the match two straight.
The next match was Laura Fenton from the USA against myself. I started out with a lead right from the start (5-1), but Laura caught up and eventually went ahead. She went on to take the first game 15-11. I came back in the second game with a great resolve to do better and focus on things that scored me points in the beginning. I led the whole game, and I maintained a 14-11 lead until the end. I had my chances to finish the game, and at one point I shot a forehand splat kill that just 'popped up' at the end to miss for game point. At this point, Laura let out a huge 'ohhhhhhh,' because it was my patented pinch shot that I rarely miss. She came back to 14-14 before I got the serve back. I called a time-out and checked with our coaching staff to see what serve they thought I should hit. I went in with a drive serve to the backhand in my mind, BUT I was also nervous about hitting it short. This little bit of nervousness caused me to take the focus off my serve and hit a 'safe' serve. I ended up mishitting this serve, and it wrapped around to Laura's forehand, and she gobbled it up, and won the serve back. She ended up winning the very next rally, and took the game two straight. It was very disheartening, because I was so close.
The last game of the day was Mike Green versus Gilberto from Mexico. Mike played well, even though he later admitted to being 'really sore' while he was playing. He took the first game, although Gilberto battled him the whole way. In the second game, Mike was down 14-11 and Gilberto missed a set-up for the game. From that point, Mike got a second chance, and he made no mistakes as he finished in comeback style with a 15-14 win.
FINAL DAY:
Mike Green was the lone Canadian to play on Sunday. Both of our doubles team earned Bronze medals by making it to the semi-finals, and I also earned a Bronze medal for my semi-final singles appearance. There were no play-offs for 3rd and 4th place. All losing semi-finalists were awarded Bronze medals.
Mike looked ready to play. He was matched up against Jack Huczek from the USA who had beaten his teammate, Rocky Carson 11-6 in the tiebreaker the day before. Jack is currently the #4 pro on the IRT, and he has proven himself to be a solid and consistent player. Although, Mike has beaten Jack in the past, he had lost in his last few outings with Jack. The amazing thing about Jack is that he is so fit and so young (19 years old) that he never seems to be out of breath or even break a sweat while he is playing. Mike battled with him the whole way, and both game one and game two were tight, but unfortunately, Mike came out on the losing end. On the bright side, he earned a Silver medal! At the end of the match, he was interviewed by our speed skating Olympic legend, Catriona Le May Doan on CBC TV. Mike was the highest finisher for Team Canada and we were proud of his efforts!
In other matches, on Sunday, Cheryl Gudinas matched up once again versus Laura Fenton. This was a repeat match-up from the Pan Am Qualifier this past April where Laura upset Cheryl in a tiebreaker win. They went tiebreaker again this time, but Cheryl prevailed 11-6 to regain her Pan Am Games Gold Medal from 4 years ago. It really is an amazing accomplishment. She know holds two Pan Am Gold Medals at consecutive Games, and is the current and 2-time World Champion.
The story of the tournament was the Mexican doubles teams. They came out with one thing in mind: GOLD Medals! The women's final was played first : USA versus Mexico. The USA team of Jackie Rice and Kim Russell were the defending World Champions and Jackie holds an undefeated international doubles record. On paper, they looked almost impossible to beat. However, the Mexican team of Susy Acosta and Rosy Torres were ready, because they regularly train together, unlike many other doubles teams. USA started strong and won the first game. The Mexicans battled back and took the second game handily. The tiebreaker looked to be all USA, as they went up 7-3 right away. Jackie was mixing her serves well, and the Mexicans were having trouble getting a good return. However, the Mexicans stuck with it and made a comeback. You could almost feel the upset occurring as they inched closer and closer to 10. In the end, the pressure on the USA to hold them was too much, and the Mexicans made history and won their first ever Gold medal in a women's division in the history of the sport! The crowd was chanting: 'Mex-I-co! Mex-I-co!' The amount of energy in the building was amazing!
Then, no sooner than the women's final was completed, it was another match-up of USA versus Mexico in the men's doubles final: Rueben Gonzalez and Mike Guidry versus Javiar Moreno and Alvero Beltran. Well, they just built on all that positive energy and came out hard! At one point they had the USA down 14-0! They were going for the donut! But tough veteran, Rueben Gonzalez worked his usual magic to at least get the USA back into the game before they succumbed in two straight games to Mexico. Alvero and Javier were on fire! They were splating and rolling the ball with tremendous power from everywhere. Add to that there amazing court coverage, and they were a sight to see. It was a big day for Mexico with 2 Gold medals!
All in all, Team Canada did well. A few players were disappointed and a few were satisfied. We ended the tournament with a team dinner, and the coaches talked about how proud they were of each of us and our efforts at the Games.
We ended up back at the Athlete's Village late on Sunday night, with just enough time to pack up our stuff, trade a few Canada shirts with other countries, and head to bed for a few hours of sleep. The bus came to pick up most of our team at 5am and off we went, back home to recuperate and take a break before the new season starts up in less than a month. It was a great experience, and one we will not forget for a long time!
August 9, 2003
Another day, another scary Dominican moment. We were warned about the potential dangers, and had just heard a story about a couple of Canadian athletes walking outside of the compound and seeing a guy with a gun chasing a guy with an axe! Then two days ago Brain Istace got chased by some local girls and grabbed; he thought they were possibly going for his wallet. Yesterday, I was riding on the shuttle bus to our venue. I had my headset on, and I was cranking out dance tunes on my MP3 player (this is the way I attempt to block out the loud Latin music on the bus). All of a sudden a loud crash sound occured! I did not get the full effect of it, because my music was turned up so loud. But, the reactions of the people on the bus were all I needed to see! It was looks of concern and panic. Someone had thrown a rock or something that the bus and shattered one of the windows. Fortunately, no one was hurt as they hit the middle window where there was no seat. They stopped the bus and checked things out, and then we went on our way again about 10 minutes later. Just another moment to remind you where you are.
But, now on to the racquetball games of yesterday. I keep getting late game times, which means that I have had to miss a lot of the mid day action. It is so hot at the venue, that it is not to a player's advantage to be there early. Here is what happened:
Brian started off the day versus a local Dominican player. He advanced on. Next up was Jen against Lupita Torres from Mexico. Lupita had Jen 14-11 in the first game, but Jen battled back and took the game 15-14. She then closed out the second game by a wider margin. Corey and François played against Bolivia. And they kicked butt! 15-7, 15-7! The smiles on their faces after the game said it all! This was a very convincing win against a tough team.
Next up it was Josée and Julie versus the Dominicans again. This was their second match-up of the tournament, and much would depend on the Dominicanís dominant player, Claudine Garcia. She plays a cutthroat style with her partner, and covers all over the court. The tough thing is that she is also playing singles and had a lot of long matches during the week. Claudine and her partner played tough and the score was even for a while, but in the end Josée and Julie focused on keeping the ball away from Claudine and they won in two straight games.
Mike Green was up after that game versus Mexico. He was playing their young superstar, Augustin. The Mexicans have two very strong sixteen-year-old players (Augustin and Nancy) that they have taken to the last two tournaments as singles players. This bodes well for their future team as these players just keep improving and getting stronger. Mike finished Augustin off in two straight games, but Augustin battled and dove a couple of times every rally.
It was now time for the last two games of the night: Brian versus Rocky Carson, and Jen versus myself. I did not get to see any of Brian's game as we were playing at exactly the same time, but he lost two straight, and said he did not play badly, but was not 'on fire' either.
This left Jen and myself on a backcourt to kill each other off. When we started the match we were all by ourselves. The coaches decided to just let us play, and focus their efforts on Brian. After Brian's match was over, everyone moved over to watch and they were all painfully 'neutral.' Jen got a lead in the first game, but I managed to come back and win 15-14. In the second game, I was up 14-11, but Jen came back and won 15-14. In the tiebreaker, I ran some points, was able to get a lead, and held it, winning 11-1.
Today, we begin the semi-finals. There will be some great match-ups. First up, will be Josée and Julie versus a tough Mexican doubles team. They beat Amanda Dunn and myself at the Pan Am Qualifier in a tiebreaker, and they also beat Julie and I in the finals at the Pro Nationals 11-9 tiebreaker. It HAS to be Canada's turn, as close tie-breaker matches can only go your way so many times. Also, Julie has had the opportunity to play them before, so she really knows what she needs to do and what to expect.
Corey and Francois are up against perennial finalists, Javier and Alvero from Mexico in their semi-final. They will have their work cut out for them. Both Javier and Alvero are professionals and play racquetball full-time. The win is possible today for our Canadian guys, but they will need to be hot and catch the Mexicans by surprise.
The next match up is Laura Fenton from the USA against myself. I have only played her one time before and it was at my first pro tournament back after my car accident. Laura beat me in 4 games there, but I did well considering my movement and conditioning was not even close to where it is now. I feel good about my chances today. It will be a tough game, but winnable nonetheless.
The last game of the day will be Mike Green versus Gilberto from Mexico. Mike should be able to take this game in two, but Gilberto will make him work for it. Gilberto is the Mexican champion, and he consistently beats out Alvero Beltran, who is one of the top professional players in the world.
And that's how it looks! Thanks again for all your email messages! Keep sending us your good vibes from Canada!
August 8, 2003
Ants! Ants! Ants! They are everywhere in our condo unit! We are happy that we are on the third floor, because at least they have to work harder to get up to our floor!
Once again, we did not need to check the weather forecast this morning. You can guarantee that it will be in the mid-thirties, the sun will be shining, and the humidity will make you sweat like youíve never sweat before. Welcome to summertime in the Dominican Republic.
The racquetball action heated up yesterday with the guys starting Team Canada off on a good note. Brain and Mike are playing awesome! They both had two strong wins yesterday. Most notably, Mike's win versus Rocky Carson. This win has given him the #1 seeding for the main draw.
Josée & Julie faced off against a tough American team. The Americans came out shooting and crushed our girls 15-2. Julie & Josée fought back hard in the second game and held a 10-8 lead at one point. The Americans battled back and ended up closing the game out in two. This is a great showing for a brand new team! The advantage is that Julie and Josée get better every time they play together, and now they have had a look at the American's game style and shot selection. This sets the stage for a potential great 'next' match-up.
Corey and François had an easy game versus the Argentians. Argentina did not put an all out effort because they did not need a win in the round robin. Corey and François got more valuable court time together, which was a definite benefit.
In the evening, Jen and I had the chance to play our last round robin games. I started off first against the #1 Mexican. She is only 16 years old, but she can rip the ball and splat shots from everywhere! I managed to stay focused and beat her 15-11, 15-11. I was lucky in the first game because at 14, I hit a junk lob serve and it cracked out on the sidewall for an ace. She almost did not shake my hand after I won like that. Then in the second game, it was tight for a long time, 10-10. I really focused on my slice drive serves at that point, and I think I aced 3 serves, including the game winner! I was going for the crack ace, but to actually hit it for game point was amazing!
Jen played the final match of the night against USA's Laura Fenton, and it was 'interesting' to say the least. It was a 'nothing' game in terms of winning or losing, because it would not change either player's spot in the main draw. Laura came out and beat Jen the first game, but she was not looking like herself. In the second game, Jen beat her 15-0, and Laura put almost no effort in at all. I was told that she was trying to save herself for the main draw. Jen cruised through the tiebreaker, and Laura just let her do it.
Today's matches start at 2pm and run until the evening. Brian is up first against the Dominican Republic, and then Jen plays against the #2 Mexican, Lupita Torres. I have to play the winner of that match, which is unfortunate, because Jen and I will have to kill each other off. I guess there will be no all-Canadian women's final this time around. Corey and François will have their hands full today against a super tough Bolivian team. Corey lost in a tiebreaker to them with former partner Tom O'Brien, at the Pan Am Qualifier in April, so he will be anxious for revenge. The Bolivians took the USA doubles team tiebreaker yesterday, so they are looking sharp.
Josée and Julie play the Dominicans again in doubles, and Mike Green has a bye, but he will probably match into the #2 player from Mexico.
It's getting down to the wire! Today ends the quarterfinals, so everyone who wins today is guaranteed a medal. Send your good thoughts our way today!
Thanks for your support and emails!
August 7, 2003
Day Two of racquetball competition is now done. You can view all the scores in the Results section of Racquetball Canada's web site.
The day started with Brian Istace killing off the local Dominican player in quick fashion. Brian is serving up bombs! Next up was Mike Green versus Chile, and similar to Brian he smoked his opponent as well.
The Women's singles draw ran mid-afternoon with Jen Saunders taking on a very tough local player: Claudine Garcia. Jen battled with Claudine and took the first game. It was a very even match, and it went tiebreaker. Jen worked hard, but in the end never completely found her 'A' game, and had a higher number of unforced errors than we are used to seeing from her. Claudine is a very tough opponent, and at one time was ranked as high as #7 on the professional tour.
I was the next match of the day, and I played against the #1 Bolivian. This was a new player, who we have never seen compete before. I had scouted her match from the previous day, so I was ready for her. She liked to play far up on the court, and rekill pinches and kill shots. I hit a lot of passes and ceiling balls against her, which kept her deep and I had no problem closing out the game two straight. This was great for me because the entire match lasted only 30 minutes, so my body feels fresh and ready to go today.
After I was done, Brian was up again against Chile. Again, he finished off his opponent quickly to save up his reserves for a tough men's draw.
Then it was ROOKIE time! Yeah, Julie and François were finally going to get their Pan Am Games debut and first international game experience. Both the men's and the women's teams were up against the local Dominicans. The Men's game got started over 30 minutes past their scheduled game time, because the local tournament committee decided to give the one Dominican player a rest, because he was 'doubling up' and playing both singles and doubles. This did not seem especially fair to our Canadian players, because they had waited all day to play. Nonetheless, that is what happened. The girls started their match about ten minutes after the guys, so we jumped from court to court to cheer them on. It was very beneficial to us that we had two coaches present! Both matches went the same & Canada won in two straight games. François and Julie both played well and kept their nerves at bay. It was a good day for the rookies!
Today, things are only getting tougher. Brian and Mike both play twice today, with Brian playing a tough young Mexican player and Mike playing USA #2, Rocky Carson. Josée and Julie play mid-afternoon against USA, and Corey and Francois are going to play against the diving Shai Manzuri and his Argentian team. To end the day, Jen and I play; Jen squares off against USA #2, Laura Fenton and I play against Mexico #1.
The games will be tough, but everyone seems ready to roll! Stay tuned for more updates. You can also check out my web site for other commentary: www.powell-performance.com
Thanks to all the people who have written us good luck notes. We have them posted in our condo unit for everyone to see! If you want to send any member on the Team a note, send it to: info@powell-performance.com and I will pass on your note or post it for the team to see! Thanks for your support & it's fun representing Canada!
August 6, 2003
We have finally started competing! Yesterday was Team Canada's first test. There was a surprising amount of spectators and fans at the racquetball venue. It was packed and hot in the stands. The courts were nice and cool, and they have converted two of the courts - one into a player's room, and one into a VIP room. That is the only place inside the venue where we can stay cool before competing.
The Secretary of State for Amateur Sport for Canada, Paul DeVilliers, showed up to wish us luck as well! This was a nice surprise! Our beach volleyball roommates also came out to check out racquetball yesterday and they watched Mike Green demolish the local Dominican player 15-1; 15-1. Mike played awesome!
Everything is very professional. We are using four of the courts to play the matches. The other two free courts are for hitting and getting ready for your match. When we are called to our court, we are only be allowed two minutes to hit and warm-up. Once the game time arrives, the athletes and referees are marched in and are announced over the loud speaker. I was the first one to compete for Canada yesterday, and my 'moment' was lost when they gave the wrong name for me in the introduction! Very nice! I played against the #1 player from Columbia and won in straight games, 15-4, 15-8. She was a stronger player than I expected and she made me 'work' for the second game.
Next up was Jen Saunders. She matched up versus the #2 Columbia girl and won 15-7; 15-2. Jen was playing well and she was simply too much for the inexperienced Columbian. Jen had the toughest round robin draw of all Team Canada members, and it was to her advantage that she finished that match quickly, because she would need to save all of her energy for her next round which was versus a tough Chilean player, Angela Grisar.
Mike Green played his match in between and as I mentioned above, had 'no problems' in annihilating his opponent.
Next, it was time for Jen's second match of the day. Jen started off slowly and got down 10-0, but battled back to 10-3 and held Angela for a long time before Angela closed out the first game. In the second game, Jen got a lead early on and went up by a few points and maintained that difference until it reached 10-10. Then Angela got to 14-12 and was ready to close out the match. Jen took a time-out, came back in and scored two points quickly. Then they went back and forth, and Jen eventually came back 15-14. In the tie-breaker, Jen lost 11-4 despite her valiant efforts. She fought to the end, but was not able to make up points.
Julie & Josée, and François & Corey all begin their doubles round robins today. Needless to say, they are SUPER ready to play! I think Julie & François are especially excited to get the competition going, because today will mark their first ever international matches! Both teams are playing versus the Dominican Republic, which means the bleachers will be packed with fans and the noise level will be high! To add to the pressure, they are likely to play on one of the glass show courts as well.
This is also Brian Istace's first day of competition, and he has to play twice today. Welcome to the tournament Brian!
We have all met most of the other Canadian athletes now in our Village. At night, many of the athletes hang out in the Canadian Village and play volleyball, soccer, and Frisbee in the center of the village. There is also an international athlete's area, complete with a disco, movie theatre, and live bands with dancing performances every night. The South and Central Americans have dance moves and styles that we have definitely never seen in Canada!
The pools are tougher than we have ever seen, partially due to the fact that there are fewer teams competing (only the top 10 countries qualified to play). Each country has strong players and everyone seems well prepared for this tournament. Canada will face a tough task to match the results we have had at previous international events, but we are up to the challenge!
August 2, 2003
The Games are now underway! We attended the Opening Ceremonies last night and they were great! It started with a procession of athletes into the sold-out stadium. This was a long procession, because there are over 5000 athletes here! The great part was that we all got sit in the stands for the full three hours; apparently, this is a lucky thing because at many Games you have to stand. The Ceremonies started off slowly with lots of speeches in Spanish, but they saved the best for last. The show they had on the field was an amazing spectacle, which was capped off by a baseball player hitting a úball of fireî out of the stadium, only to have it ricochet back in the complete opposite direction and light the Pan Am Games flame! It was very unexpected and it was breath-taking to see. The Ceremony ended with lots of fireworks and then a mad scramble to try and find a bus that would take us back to the Village. On the way out of the stadium, CBC interviewed us, so I hope a few of you caught it on TV today! It was so exciting!
Our two rookies, Julie Neubauer and Francois Viens also managed to "rook" themselves by getting a couple of the tree costumes from the performers on the way out of the stadium, and they wore these with pride for the full walk to the bus and in the Athlete Village. We got some great pictures of them, which will hopefully be posted later!
Three new roommates arrived today : the men's beach volleyball team and their coach. It was a nice surprise for our "girl's only" room to have a couple of volleyball studs staying in our condo unit! As it turns out, not only are they the "buffest" guys around, but they are actually really nice too.
We went back to the club today to hit and practice some more. I think everyone gets a little more comfortable on the courts as each day passes. Some players have felt a bit tired and sick from the extreme heat and humidity, but nothing major as far as illnesses or injuries has occurred so far.
It has been truly unique having our whole team staying in one condo unit. Everyone has had to learn to get along and be courteous to everyone else. We have many different sleep schedules, and I have noticed that people like to spend their free time in many different ways. All in all, we have been one, big happy family. Even Loren Prentice our diligent manager and assistant coach has been relaxing, and I think he is actually reading a book right now! (This is good to see because I think he has 6 full time jobs in his usual life!)
We have seen most of the other countries competing in racquetball by now, and itˆs going to be an awesome competition. Only the top 10 countries are here and everyone wants to medal. I expect to be watching and participating in some awesome racquetball matches.
Three more days until we start the competition. We have seen our draw schedules for the round robin play and they are definitely "interesting". All of the seedings are based on the Tournament of the Americas from two years ago. Everything is "unofficial" until tomorrow night's technical meeting. But, if everything stays "as is" our Women's Doubles team will be seeded #1, Bolivia #2, and USA #3 (this is because Karina Odegard and I placed 1st in doubles two years ago). This makes for a tough round robin for Josee and Julie because they now have #3 USA in their round robin pool. Julie says that it will be 'good practice' for them early on.
In Women's Singles, Jen Saunders has a very difficult round robin. Based on the placing from two years ago, she has Claudine Garcia (DR), Angela Grisar (Chile), Laura Fenton (USA), and Claudia Ramirez (Col). This will be a tough warm-up for Jen, but it could prove to be helpful in later rounds, as she will have had some tough, grueling matches to get her ready. As for myself, I have a tough player from Bolivia (#1) and the #2 player from Mexico, Lupita Torres in my pool.
In Men's Singles, Mike Green gets the #1 seed position based on a first place result by Kane Waslenchuk two years ago. The Men's Doubles plays into an always-tough Argentina team in their round robin.
Another new day tomorrow, with more stories to come!
July 31, 2003
We are here and things are great! Hot, but great! Most of our racquetball team arrived late last night. We received all of our accreditation and were bused to the Athleteˆs Village. This part was a little bit disorganized as we had to wait at the airport for over two hours before we left. Much to our surprise everything else was organized, set up and ready to go!
The Athleteˆs Village is comprised of condo units and suites divided into sections according to country. Team Canada has a secure area of the Village to itself, with many Athlete Services available such as Internet access, physiotherapy, massage, chiropractors and doctors. Our racquetball team is staying in a condo suite, which has a TV area, kitchen area, three bathrooms, two showers, and three bedrooms with four bunk beds in each. The air conditioning is only available in the bedrooms, which is great because at least we have some cool air for sleeping at night! A few of us feel like kids again, as we climb the ladders into our upper bunk beds!
We have now tested out the cafeteria on a couple of occasions and the food has been great. There is a lot of variety and choice. We definitely will not be úunderfedî.
Staging took place for our team this morning and we received our Roots clothing and Mondetta bags. Awesome stuff! It was like watching kids opening up gifts at Christmas time. The Team Canada Mission staff was very organized and had extra sizes available, as well as an alterations person on site to make sure everything fit and looked great.
Later this afternoon, we are testing out the transportation to the racquetball venue, which is supposedly 45 minutes from the Village. The pictures we have seen of the facility look great, so we are looking forward to testing out the actual facility.
All in all, everything has been a pleasant surprise. We are all sweating to death, but it is just great to be here and we are looking forward to representing and making Canada proud!
Please check out my web-site as well: www.powell-performance.com for more Pan Am Commentary.
July 29, 2003
It's time to go! We are off tomorrow for Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic! This will be my last official commentary from Canada, so please look for updates direct from the RC site in the next few days.
One exciting event that recently happened is that our #2 singles player, Brian Istace of Calgary, just had his second child! He named him Canon Istace! What an appropriate name! For any of you who have never watched Brian play, he is one of the hardest hitters in the world; you might almost say his serve is like a canon. If you want to congratulate Brian, please feel free to send him an email to: info@powell-performance.com. Brian does not currently have his own email account set up, but I would be glad to forward any messages on to him.
We found out this past week that water skier Jaret Llewellyn of Innisfail, Alberta, was named Canada's flag bearer for Pan Am Games. I had always secretly hoped that a racquetball athlete would be asked to do this because like water skiing, we are one of the few Pan Am-only sports competing. But, it's great nonetheless, to see a Pan Am-only athlete getting to carry the flag.
The Games will be a big challenge for us, because the majority of the best racquetball players in the world hail from South, Central and North America. A Gold medallist at these Games, is also likely to win a Gold medal at next year's World Championships. The competition will be that tough.
So, how do we stack up? In Men's Singles we have Mike Green and Brian Istace. They will both be competitive, and have a shot for a medal. The competition will be very tough though, because the field is deep. The favourite would have to be Jack Huczek from the USA. He has the highest pro ranking, and has consistently been one of the most difficult people for our Canadian guys to beat.
In Men's Doubles, we have a new rookie team comprised of Francois Viens and Corey Osborne. Corey made the Pan Am Qualifier tournament this past April as a doubles player, so he will have some experience behind him, and he has also had a good look at the other potential teams. Francois on the other hand, is a complete rookie. This will be an amazing experience for him, and if he can keep his nerves under control it will be interesting to see how far they can go. Corey finished 5th at the Pan Am Qualifier with Tom O'Brien, so a medal is definitely within reach for these Games.
In Women's Singles, Jen Saunders and myself will be going for Gold. The favourite is #1 seed, Cheryl Gudinas who has won all major titles in the last few years. She is also the defending Pan Am Games champion. Jen and I are working together to help each other with strategies and game plans. The goal: an all-Canadian final. We want to make history! Keep your fingers crossed for us!
In Women's Doubles, we have Josee Grand'Maitre and our other new rookie, Julie Neubauer. Josee competed at the last two Pan Am Games, so she has a good deal of experience on her side. She knows what to expect, and she will be helping Julie through the process. Julie is VERY excited to say the least. We have been training together in Calgary, and her game and fitness level has improved considerably. She is ready to go. With Josee's help, Julie should be able to calm her nerves at her first major competition, which will give them an excellent chance to medal.
Josee and myself are the only players, who competed in a previous Pan Am Games, so for everyone else this will be their first 'Racquetball Olympics!'
The next commentary will be from the Dominican Republic! Wish us luck!
If you want to send a good luck message or a note to any member of Team Canada, please feel free to email: info@powell-performance.com. I will forward all messages to the appropriate people!
July 24, 2003 - Competing in the Dominican Republic - The Ultimate
Challenge!
'Comfortable
in Chaos' is the slogan I have read our Chef de Mission, Gene Sutton, has
dubbed for this year´s Pan Am Games. We are not really sure what we are walking into to when we
arrive next week. There have been
numerous stories in the press about transportation problems, venue construction
delays, ticketing problems, and on and on.
Add that the tropical storm 'Claudette' rammed through the area last
week, things are likely even farther behind.
We as a Canadian Team are looking at it as the 'ultimate challenge'
It will be like our own 'Survivor': 'Outsmart, Outplay,
Outlast' We are preparing
ourselves for the worst, and anything that works out will just be a bonus!
We
have received detailed information from our Canadian delegation in the past few
days, which has instilled confidence in all of us.
They are prepared and will be taking good care of us.
Our Canadian portion of the Village will be air-conditioned, thanks to
the COC sending down $60,000 worth of air conditioning units for the athletes.
At the last Pan Am Games in Winnipeg, we stayed in a Village with no air
conditioning during the extremely hot Winnipeg summer, and it was tough to stay
energized when you were just struggling to keep cool! I think the COC learned it´s lesson on that end, and is
being much more careful this time.
One
'cool' thing that I will be participating in is the hanging of the 'Lucky
Horseshoe' in the Canadian Village. Last
year, I was presented with a lucky horseshoe at the annual COC conference.
It was passed on by two Summer Games athletes who competed in Sydney, to
myself who represented the Pan Am Games athletes.
I have proudly displayed this horseshoe over the past year in my home and
I am looking forward to it bringing and hanging it in the Canadian Village as
good fortune and good luck to my team-mates in the Dominican.
I
am sure many more stories will abound before the Games actually get started.
Please check back
in the next few days for a final pre-Games story!
July 21, 2003
It's the middle of summer, and most of you are probably outside enjoying your backyard, local parks, cabins, lakes, etc. But, for a few of us, we are spending our days indoors on the racquetball courts preparing for the upcoming Pan Am Games. This write-up is the first of many commentaries to come from me! I will be writing a daily commentary on all the stories and action live from Santo Domingo. Consider is a 'bird's eye view' so to speak!