Hello Jason,
I thought I would send you a quick note from Montreal between heats and
finals. One thing I wanted to mention is the high level of parent
participation from Prince George for those swimmers attending. This is
fantastic and a testament to the commitment of the parents in the club.
Pierre, the CEO for Swim Canada, identified in his opening address Tuesday
night, that a HUGE thank you goes to the parents, grandparents, families
that support these swimmers. There are many sacrifices made over a very
long time to reach and attend an event like this, but the journey is worth
it. As I watch the days unfold, I am seeing this energy growing and
friendships formed.
As we watch all the swimmers in their events, the smiles are very enriching
and for some, the disappointments are life learning. One theme that is
consistent is "NEVER GIVE UP".
We see so many things at this event. Canadian Records broken, tv
interviews, volunteers in the hundreds and hundreds.
I have seen an upset in a Medal final from a swimmer in Lane 8 taking Gold
followed by second place in Lane 7. The ability to dig deep and keep
telling oneself YOU CAN, and NEVER GIVE UP, shows the true character of a
swimmer.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, the Olympic Pool is sold out. Rumours
of scalpers are around.
Buses from all around Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes are coming to
Montreal to watch the events. I thought it was getting louder every night,
but I think the best is still yet to come.
The roar of the crowd makes the hair on your body stand up as the athletes
are announced to their lanes. They disrobe following their long and
practiced warm up routine...bouncing around, slapping muscles, pressing on
goggles, shaking legs. They all have a routine that got them there and
they stare down their lane, until they hear the faint whistle by the
referee and the swimmers stand up on the blocks. And then, like someone
hit the mute button .... silence. You could hear a pin drop as the starter
says "Take your Marks". The swimmer in front of me has muscles twitching,
feet re-positioning to get a grip, hands holding on to the block as they
are about to release like an elastic band, and you hear them breathing - it
is so quiet.
I am holding my breath as they are on the starting block in front of me,
thinking about how many laps these swimmers have done in the pool to reach
this stage. How they applied themselves so diligently in practice to reach
the level that they are at. How they worked on each aspect of swimming to
sew them together to create a great swim.
Then goes the "flash" and the "beep".
The athletes all leap into the air in unison and the unmute button is
pressed
- the crowd releases their nervous tension into a huge GO!!!!!!
I smile. It is Priceless. This is the best swimming in Canada.
I see some swimmers looking nervous as they sit by me. Some of them are
very quiet, and some of them release some of that nervous energy by talking
to me before they race. I listen and say something encouraging - Nothing
new here, same race, different pool. You are here because you are good,
you earned it, now go for it.
Apparently the first night there were over 100,000 viewers in Canada
watching and the numbers of viewers were higher last night (Wed.). This
has been so successful that SPORTSNET looks like they will broadcast
Saturday night now as well, which originally was to be a soccer game.
The deck is very clean - that being - there are no timers, just judges.
Jerzy looks good and is very attentive to the swimmers. Marilyn King is
cooking, organizing, and looking after many of our athletes - supporting
our team well as she always does. Lee Black (and some of his family) is
out in the crowd taking pictures along with Metro and Rose Yakiwchuk who
brought their camera. It is nice to see the 4 University kids - Brian,
Kit, Grace and Katie interact with the club and wear the Cuda Cap. Sharon
Ludlow is cheering and you can see she has reconnected with many parents
from her travels with Danica. Mike and Cathe Moran also made it here,
after just being at CI's a few weeks ago - lots of travelling. Darrel and
Susan Mann flew the "all night flight" to get here to see Katie, and you
can see how proud they are of her accomplishments in the pool and in
academics, and the constant texting going on with Katie's sisters - Kirby
and Kelsey about what is going on in the pool.
These University kids are the same swimmers we watched years ago belly
flopping, learning to tumble turn, having pen tattoos on their back saying
"Eat my bubbles", and waving their hands encouraging the other swimmers to
go for it...and they still do that. You know something is right when you
see Grace Ni and her humongous shining smile come across the bleachers to
give you a big hug, say hi, and sit down and share some stories with you.
Sheila Nelson has been a force on the deck, and I am proud that 2 of the 4
BC officials that are here are from Northern BC. The days are long on the
officiating side, and the evenings longer, but when you look at what the
athletes are doing, it really makes it worth it. Tonight Sheila and I once
again have the greatest seats in the house as we are on deck officiating
and watching the athletes make their way to "get on the bus to London 2012".
Enjoy the next few days watching these events, and remember that great life
lesson - NEVER GIVE UP.
Larry Chrobot
I thought I would send you a quick note from Montreal between heats and
finals. One thing I wanted to mention is the high level of parent
participation from Prince George for those swimmers attending. This is
fantastic and a testament to the commitment of the parents in the club.
Pierre, the CEO for Swim Canada, identified in his opening address Tuesday
night, that a HUGE thank you goes to the parents, grandparents, families
that support these swimmers. There are many sacrifices made over a very
long time to reach and attend an event like this, but the journey is worth
it. As I watch the days unfold, I am seeing this energy growing and
friendships formed.
As we watch all the swimmers in their events, the smiles are very enriching
and for some, the disappointments are life learning. One theme that is
consistent is "NEVER GIVE UP".
We see so many things at this event. Canadian Records broken, tv
interviews, volunteers in the hundreds and hundreds.
I have seen an upset in a Medal final from a swimmer in Lane 8 taking Gold
followed by second place in Lane 7. The ability to dig deep and keep
telling oneself YOU CAN, and NEVER GIVE UP, shows the true character of a
swimmer.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, the Olympic Pool is sold out. Rumours
of scalpers are around.
Buses from all around Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes are coming to
Montreal to watch the events. I thought it was getting louder every night,
but I think the best is still yet to come.
The roar of the crowd makes the hair on your body stand up as the athletes
are announced to their lanes. They disrobe following their long and
practiced warm up routine...bouncing around, slapping muscles, pressing on
goggles, shaking legs. They all have a routine that got them there and
they stare down their lane, until they hear the faint whistle by the
referee and the swimmers stand up on the blocks. And then, like someone
hit the mute button .... silence. You could hear a pin drop as the starter
says "Take your Marks". The swimmer in front of me has muscles twitching,
feet re-positioning to get a grip, hands holding on to the block as they
are about to release like an elastic band, and you hear them breathing - it
is so quiet.
I am holding my breath as they are on the starting block in front of me,
thinking about how many laps these swimmers have done in the pool to reach
this stage. How they applied themselves so diligently in practice to reach
the level that they are at. How they worked on each aspect of swimming to
sew them together to create a great swim.
Then goes the "flash" and the "beep".
The athletes all leap into the air in unison and the unmute button is
pressed
- the crowd releases their nervous tension into a huge GO!!!!!!
I smile. It is Priceless. This is the best swimming in Canada.
I see some swimmers looking nervous as they sit by me. Some of them are
very quiet, and some of them release some of that nervous energy by talking
to me before they race. I listen and say something encouraging - Nothing
new here, same race, different pool. You are here because you are good,
you earned it, now go for it.
Apparently the first night there were over 100,000 viewers in Canada
watching and the numbers of viewers were higher last night (Wed.). This
has been so successful that SPORTSNET looks like they will broadcast
Saturday night now as well, which originally was to be a soccer game.
The deck is very clean - that being - there are no timers, just judges.
Jerzy looks good and is very attentive to the swimmers. Marilyn King is
cooking, organizing, and looking after many of our athletes - supporting
our team well as she always does. Lee Black (and some of his family) is
out in the crowd taking pictures along with Metro and Rose Yakiwchuk who
brought their camera. It is nice to see the 4 University kids - Brian,
Kit, Grace and Katie interact with the club and wear the Cuda Cap. Sharon
Ludlow is cheering and you can see she has reconnected with many parents
from her travels with Danica. Mike and Cathe Moran also made it here,
after just being at CI's a few weeks ago - lots of travelling. Darrel and
Susan Mann flew the "all night flight" to get here to see Katie, and you
can see how proud they are of her accomplishments in the pool and in
academics, and the constant texting going on with Katie's sisters - Kirby
and Kelsey about what is going on in the pool.
These University kids are the same swimmers we watched years ago belly
flopping, learning to tumble turn, having pen tattoos on their back saying
"Eat my bubbles", and waving their hands encouraging the other swimmers to
go for it...and they still do that. You know something is right when you
see Grace Ni and her humongous shining smile come across the bleachers to
give you a big hug, say hi, and sit down and share some stories with you.
Sheila Nelson has been a force on the deck, and I am proud that 2 of the 4
BC officials that are here are from Northern BC. The days are long on the
officiating side, and the evenings longer, but when you look at what the
athletes are doing, it really makes it worth it. Tonight Sheila and I once
again have the greatest seats in the house as we are on deck officiating
and watching the athletes make their way to "get on the bus to London 2012".
Enjoy the next few days watching these events, and remember that great life
lesson - NEVER GIVE UP.
Larry Chrobot
