Celebrating Sochi

Just when you thought my Olympic stories were done...

Friday, CBC invited 2010 Blue Jackets (the nickname lovingly given to Vancouver Olympic & Paralympic volunteers) to come by the station for the Early Edition radio show. They were very kind to us and gave us all sorts of swag, in the form of pins (with the exception of the bear shown above-I won that one from Petro Canada, online.) and treats.

Here's a selfie I took in their official Sochi Olympic radio broadcasting booth.

As you can see, the event was well attended. A small handful of us arrived at 5:30 am for the start of the braodcast. We were the keeners! It wasn't a problem for me, being an early riser. I was able to catch a ride with my husband, which was memorable because just as he was letting me off, he thought he'd turned backwards up a one-way in the downtown core. (He didn't-some idiot from the City of Vancouver had parked his pick up in the middle of the oncoming lane. It gave of both of us a moment of panic until I realized there was a yellow line down the middle of the street and we were on the correct side of it.)

I did a little on air interview about my favourite memory from the 2010 Olympics. 

VANOC CEO John Furlong stopped by for an interview.

So did Canadian Gold Medalist in Snowboard, Ross Rebagliati.

He brought along his bulldog Logan, who was very sweet.

Photo op! (At this point, I'd changed out of my Blue Jacket and into my down parka because it was freezing!)

Sunday, the Blue Jackets were invited to Creekside Community Center in the Athletes' Village to celebrate the Games.

While we were waiting for things to get started, this reporter from CBC's French TV asked me to do an interview. It lasted about 5 minutes.

There was a parade, singing of the national anthem and then lots of entertainment, booths and food trucks. A whole bunch of reporters from tv and the papers came out. This photo was of the 5:30 am crew from Friday at CBC Radio and someone photobombing us in the background. 

Incidentally, notice the RCMP member's medal? I have one just like it at home. I should have worn mine!

Canadian Gold Medalist Skier Ashleigh McIvor was there, letting Blue Jackets try on her medal and get a photo and she was also signing postcards as a thank you for our service in 2010. She was incredibly patient and generous with everyone. A real class act!

Just before I was leaving, I did a second TV interview with Brian Coxford from Global BC.

Here's a shot of me on French CBC. Having been on CBC TV and CBC Radio over the weekend, I feel like I've been validated as a true Canadian. *laughs* 

One very wonderful thing that I wanted to share with you before I sign off, is that as of this morning, my friend Andrea Bundon  (Or should I say Doctor Andrea!) has officially been named to Canada's Paralympic Team, as a guide for Cross Country Ski athlete, Margarita Gorbounova. I am so incredibly happy and excited for them to compete and I'll be cheering so loud, I am sure they will hear me all the way from Canada!

In the meantime, you really should go check out Andrea's blog about Paralympic Sport, AthletesFirst. Seriously!

Things Worth Celebrating

Back in March, I went to Whistler with the Para Nordic Cross Country Skiing is Believing program to do some photography. My friend Andrea had asked me to come do some photography for them to provide to their funders. There was also the possibly some of the photos being published in a BC XC ski magazine. I was more than happy to support this amazing program. (Which, if you missed it, I posted about here.) 

I now have copies of the magazine! This is it:

It's distributed BC wide.

Two of my photographs appear with an article that talks about the program. One is at the top with the header (two sit skiers racing) and the other is the second down on the right. (A group of sit skiers practicing what to do if they should tip over.)

Here's my photo credit! I am really chuffed about this because it's the first time my photos have been published outside of artistic publications. I am still not quite comfortable labelling myself as a photographer-I am not technical about it at all. I shoot and edit with what feels right to my artistic eye, but I can't for the life of me tell you what a f-stop is, nor do I care. All I know is that I enjoy shooting and editing and I really loved the opportunity to have this experience.

Speaking of Andrea, last Tuesday, I went out to UBC with my friend Courtney to support Andrea as she defended her thesis, which was her work on AthletesFirst. Andrea did an fantastic job staying cool under pressure. I think the Doctors who were hearing her defence were very impressed with her as well because in the end, she was granted her Doctor of Philosophy degree! We are all *SO* proud of her!

This was the final slide of Andrea's presentation. Recognize anyone? It was sweet of her to include this photo. (I guest blogged for AthletesFirst at one point, which is why I was included in the presentation.) Another lovely thing about attending Andrea's defence was that I finally got to meet Josh Vander Vies and Meyrick Jones. Both great guys-Josh is super smart and Meyrick is really funny.

Soon Andrea will be off to the UK to do some post-doctorate work. Congratulations Dr. Andrea!!

Skiing Is Believing: Redefining What's Possible

Saturday, I spent the entire day at Whistler Olympic Park, which was home to the Olympic and Paralympic Cross Country Skiing and Biathalon events. My friend Andrea asked me to come and be the photographer for the Skiing is Believing program and I jumped at the chance. I adore Whistler and I was more than happy to support the important work she and Paralympian Courtney Knight are doing.

The Skiing Is Believing program introduces people with disability to cross country skiing. Paralympians, their coaches and team of dedicated volunteers teach people with a variety of physical and sensory disabilities, (wheelchair users, amputees, people who are blind or visually impaired, people with cerebral palsy) as well as their friends and family to ski. 

Here's a quick peek:

(That was Andrea talking about the program!)

I spent the morning capturing various aspects of the program. It was a bit of a challenge because the weather was absolutely not cooperating-we had a combination of rain, rain mixed with slushy snow and then outright snow. I'd planned ahead though and brought an umbrella, as well as a Ziploc bag, some duct tape and scissors so I could McGyver a way to keep my camera dry. It was a good thing I did because by the end of the day, pretty much everything I owned was soaked. It pays to be prepared!

 

No one seemed to mind the less than ideal weather conditions-they geared up and got out there. What I really enjoyed was the opportunity to observe and learn. The coaches and volunteer guides were incredible. In no time they had their skiers geared up and ready to go. Everyone was assigned a volunteer so they had one-on-one support and instruction for the day. It was wonderful to see someone go from being tentative as they were learning, to gaining confidence as the day wore on. The transformation was amazing to witness.

Late in the morning, I went inside to warm up and see what I had shot so far. While I was sitting there, a skier and guide came in. The guide got her skier situated and then left to grab some lunch. We were the only two people in the room, so we chatted with one another, sharing our stories. It turns out I was familiar with her story because it had been in the news. We had a long conversation about processing and coping with difficult things and how we move forward in our lives. It was one of those moments when I realized the universe had conspired to put us in each other's path for a reason. That conversation was meant to happen. Her courage in the face of terrible adversity is remarkable. I am continually in awe of the resiliency of the human spirit.

After lunch, while everyone who'd spent the morning in lessons went off to ski the trails, I geared up and Andrea gave me my own lesson. I cross country skied as a kid, but that was some time ago and long before damage to my spinal cord made me to lose my proprioception. (The ability to know where your body is in space, which is absolutely necessary for balance.) I was very scared, but I was also determined to ski. I never allow fear to keep me from doing anything.

Andrea was super supportive and patient while I got used to moving on the skis. Even though we were working in what appeared to be a fairly flat area, there were still times when the skis would pick up speed on slight inclines and I would struggle to stay on my feet. Andrea told me to crouch down and put my hands on my knees to maintain balance. Most of the time that worked, but I fell a few times. I slipped and fell backwards once and whacked the back of my head, but I was okay though I think I might have scared Andrea. We got my feet out of the bindings and in less than a minute, I was up and laughing and went right back at it. It never occurred to me to give up.

I figured out that as long as I could keep my center of gravity over the tops of my boots, I wouldn't fall down. I found skiing uphill much easier than downhill. When I was going uphill, my balance was in the exact right place and I felt like I had control over my skis. It was much harder going downhill, but I attempted skiing down an incline (across and down a bridge) just to have the experience. (I'll try anything once!)

I got about 3/4's of the way down the bridge before I
 wiped out. *laughs* I knew falling would be part of the deal and I was okay with that. It's part of the learning process. The best way to describe what being on skis felt like for me is to liken it to when you see someone in the circus balancing on a piece of 2x4 , which is balanced on top of a ball. It took every ounce of my concentration to stay on my feet.

At one point, we were skiing in front of the Olympic rings and Andrea asked me if I realized I was skiing where the Olympic and Paralympic XC skiers had all crossed the finish line. I hadn't till she said it and I loved her for pointing that out to me. She knows how much I adore the Games. She took the photo of me standing in front of the rings at the top of this post. I felt the way I look in that picture-happy and grateful for the experience and personally triumphant that with Andrea's help, I DID IT.

 Skiing Is Believing beautifully illustrated for me how important Para sport programs are. It gives those who live with disability the opportunity to reclaim their physicality, to redefine what they believe is possible for themselves, to connect with others and if they so desire, to train to become competitive.

My experience on Saturday reaffirmed for me that anything is possible and that when life offers you an opportunity, you have to grab it with both hands.