Viareggio-Livorno, Italy Sept. 11 - 19
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PRECOMPETITION SEPTEMBER 10 - 14 Friday September 10 – Travel Day The flight over the Atlantic was interesting with a medical emergency on board. At one point we were going to touch down in Greenland, but luck was on our side. There were several doctors on board to help the gentleman out, thus we made our destination. Two of the athletes competing for Canada missed the flight to Germany because their flight from Halifax to Toronto was delayed. We have no way to contact them so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that they’ll be on a later flight. We left Germany on Air Italia. Once on board they served orange juice which was dark red, looking more like tomato juice. Despite its appearance, it did taste like orange juice. Saturday September 11 Originally when Italy won the bid to host these games, there was going to be a a 8 lane 50 meter pool put right on the beach, similar to the pool for the 2004 U.S.A. Olympic swimming trials at Long beach California in June. However, the organizing committee did not receive the required environmental approvals. Thus, the pool events have been moved 45 minutes away at the next city, Livorno. After practice we waited another 70 minutes for the chaperone to return with one of the 2 vans. She went off to get groceries for the group during practice but got very lost. Getting lost here is a very east thing to do as the maps are sometimes very inaccurate. The team returned to Viareggio for a great dinner on the beach. It was Saturday night and the beach has an extensive. It seems like the entire city comes to the beach for the weekends. It was great, kids playing, live bands and performances on the streets by actors and magicians. A very long day came to a close at 11:30pm. Sunday September 12 The athletes were allowed to sleep in this morning to start the process of getting over the jet lag. We quickly found out that everything is closed on Sundays. We had a team meeting, chose team captains and had a 2.5 hr practice on the beach. We then had a late lunch and after some smooth talking, swam at an outdoor 6 lane 25 meter pool, right on the beach 10 minutes from our apartments. Our attention was so focused on the beach It was interesting that we were on the beach all day, at 6 pm at night one of the swimmers came up to me and told me to look up away from the beach, there were the mountains, which are breath taking! The day finished with another team meeting, dinner in our apartments, and off to bed. Monday September 13 – a very challenging day! It was a 6:45 am wake up and into the vans by 7:00 for the 10 minute drive to the pool. We had a 2 hour swim practice at the 8 lane 25 meter pool which is only a 10 minute drive from our apartments. The pool was great, but there are a few things which are very different than back in Canada. Every person who swims must wear a cap. It does not matter how short your hair is, you are not getting in the pool without one. From the change rooms to the pool, the hallway has a constant shower from the ceiling and the wall. This way no matter what, you are having a shower before you get into the pool area. I really liked this feature, as I was not planning on getting wet this morning. We came back to the apartments for a break and some food. The coaches then went off to registration which was very well organized. You know you are in Italy when you walk into registration and the first thing you see is a cappuccino machine! We met at 2 pm for the beach practice which went very well. The surf is the biggest thus far. The locals say the surf is big only when there are thunderstorms coming into shore. The beach practice was used to confirm the beach relay events, of which there are 4, and for those who are using the surf skis and paddle boards to get use to this location and tides. We were then to travel to the 50 meter pool when we encountered a small problem. The keys to one of the vans changed hands several times and no one could find the keys. After 45 minutes of searching for them, we prioritized who had to go to the 50 meter pool and who could wait until the following day. We raced off to the pool and had a great practice considering we were now an hour behind schedule. The airport was our next stop as we needed two things. The luggage from the 2 athletes who were delayed in their connecting flights arrived (well most of it did), and then we needed to inform our rental agency about the lost keys. I will not tell you which company we used, but I think they could have “tried harder”. For some reason the second set of keys were in Rome (2.5 hrs away), but it would take 2-5 days to be delivered to us. Thus we rented a new van. The women cooked a fantastic pasta dinner for the group. We had another team meeting, individual meetings with the athletes, and off to sleep. This was a very long day indeed! Tuesday September 14 6:45 wake up and in the cars at 7:30 am for a swim practice at the 25 meter pool. Line throw by Vero looks great! The 4 X 25 manikin relays for men and women are solid (Jen Ellison and Steph Hatt’s transitions are the best I have ever seen). John Eddolls is swimming very well. He swam all summer, many times by himself, a very difficult thing to do. It was worth it as he seems very confident about his swimming. Down time until 2pm for another beach practice. A storm came in when we were on the beach. The ocean was totally flat but within one hour it was very rough, bigger waves than yesterday! John Eddolls is very good in the waves considering he usually only gets to practice on flat lakes in and around Guelph. Sandra, who spends most of her time in California, is Canada’s best paddle boarder and surf skiier. She has been in the California circuit of ocean races for the past 4 years and it shows. Jason Cross from Halifax is equally as good as he lives and trains in Halifax full time while at univerity. Dustin Hersey (who Jon Carkner beat in Montreal at Nationals) has been struggling a bit in the bigger surf. Vancouver does not get 6-9 foot waves, ever. After 2.5 hrs on the beach Dustin, Jeff Arthurs , a.k.a Tank (from Albert) and John Eddolls all swam in the outdoor 25 meter pool for a long warm down. They needed this as they were very cold from the cold air temperatures of the storm and the water temperature. Tonight the men cooked the meal and as guys usually do, they turned it into a competition trying to out do the women from the previous night. Being politically correct, I would say it was a tie. This is the first night since we have been here when the daily activities have been completed before 9 pm. Tonight we were finished dinner at 7 pm! We enjoyed a relaxing night before the SERC competition tomorrow. SERC - SIMULATED EMERGENCY RESPONSE COMPETITION SERC is an event in which 4 team members from each country have 2 minutes to assess and treat as many victims as possible. Each team comes out on the pool deck, sees what is going on, and then try to help as many as possible. Most teams do not get to all victims. Everything the team does is judged on a point scale. Team Canada has practiced this several times. In South Africa, Canada won this event. 3 of the 4 members in this competition are the same as the team that competed in South Africa. Our own John Eddolls is one of the team members!
JOHN EDDOLLS SETS A NATIONAL RECORD John's Canadian record was in the 100 m Rescue Medley in a time of 1:11.97. John's record was set in the preliminaries, placing 14th. In the finals, he was only a few 100ths slower and finished 12th. This event involves a 50 meter swim (25 meters under water, 25 meters carrying a 50 lb manikin) while you swim to the wall. The face of the manikin must be above the surface of the athlete will be disqualified. This is a very tough event as the athlete goes into oxygen debt very quickly but must still race to the finish line while carrying the manikin. John broke his own Canadian record by 2 seconds which he set in the 2002 Championships in South Africa. John had a great race. John has been practicing 25 m underwater swim after a 50 sprint for the past year. He had mentally and physically prepared himself for the race!
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
