LONG BEACH, California – Canada’s men’s volleyball team lost the gold medal match at the NORCECA Olympic qualifier to the U.S., 28-26, 25-18 , 25-20 on Saturday night.  Only the tournament winner could land a berth for the 2012 London Games.

‘’We didn’t play very well,’’ said Canada’s head coach Glenn Hoag of Gatineau, Que.  ‘’We made too many errors and the Americans really put the pressure on us with their service and their blocking game.’’

Up to that point it had been a remarkable tournament for the Canadians ranked 18th in the world.  They went 3-0 in the round robin, not even losing a set, which included wins over world number-17 Puerto Rico and world number-five Cuba.  In the semifinal Friday, they beat the Puerto Ricans again in a five-set thriller.

But against one of the sport’s true superpowers the Canadians met their match.  The Americans, who only lost one set all week, will now have an opportunity to defend their Olympic title.

‘’We showed a lot of great things over this week,’’ said Hoag.  ‘’But we’re still a team that sometimes lacks finish and some confidence and that can’t happen when you play a team like the U.S.’’

Dallas Soonias was the top Canadian scorer Saturday with 19 points while Fred Winters of Victoria added 12.

Canada’s season is far from over though.  They open the World League tournament this weekend in Toronto at the Ricoh Coliseum with matches against Finland on Friday at 4 p.m., world number-one Brazil on Saturday at 4 p.m. and world number-four Poland on Sunday at 8 p.m.

The World League is a 16 –country tournament that runs until July 8 and offers the biggest cash prizes in the sport.

Hayley Wickenheiser say motherhood saves her from "the disease of me."

Hockey could consume her life. There was a time when it did. The captain of the Canadian women's hockey team says her 12-year-old son Noah is the breeze that parts the fog she sometimes finds herself in.

"When you are an athlete, it's the 'disease of me' because you are so concerned about everything about yourself — your performance, what you eat, how much you're sleeping," Wickenheiser said Thursday. "It's always about yourself. Then you have a child and then it suddenly is not always about you.

"I think I'm actually a more patient person since I've become a mother. I've become more empathetic overall. I've learned to really enjoy my time at the rink and love what I do, but when I leave I really can leave it behind now better than I ever could."

Canada's all-time scoring leader adopted Noah, the son of her boyfriend at the time, when he was an infant. Wickenheiser and Tomas Pacina recently ended their relationship, but share custody of Noah.

"It's working out really well," Wickenheiser says. "Tomas is really involved with Noah's life. We manage together to make it all work, balance the schedules and responsibilities. It's great he's got both of us there to keep things going for him.

"It's not ideal, but you know what? I think we've got a pretty good situation."

Like any working mother, the 33-year-old from Shaunavon, Sask., sometimes has to choose between work and family. When the Canadian team went to Finland for a tournament last fall, Wickenheiser decided she needed to be home in Calgary when Noah started Grade 6.

"I'd felt I'd never turned down Hockey Canada in my 18 years of playing and never missed an event," she explains. "Going into Grade 6, it seemed like it was a really important moment that I really didn't want to miss even though it was one day or just a few days.

"His birthday is April 5 and I've only been physically with him four out of those 12 birthdays. It's those little things that add up over the years and I just didn't want to miss another important moment."

One of the enduring images from the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City is Wickenheiser holding Noah as a toddler in her arms after an emotional gold-medal win over the U.S.

He's joined his mom on the ice for several on-ice celebrations and the most recent was last month's world championship in Burlington, Vt.

After losing the gold-medal game to the Americans at three straight world championships, the Canadian women reclaimed the title with a 4-3 victory in overtime.

Noah, a competitive swimmer, has grown up not liking hockey much because he saw it as something that took his mom away for long stretches. Wickenheiser sees sharing those victorious moments as some payback for him.

"He's young and he's been around hockey since he was born so maybe he doesn't realize how exciting it is in those special moments," she explains. "I would hate for him to be 20 years old and say 'Mom, you never took me in the dressing room or on the ice.' I give him the opportunity and if he wants to take advantage of it, he can.

"I want him to be around that environment where he sees the other girls and grows up knowing women can be strong athletes and also that there's no set way to live your life."

More than ever, Wickenheiser appreciates the example set for her by her own mother Marilyn. When Wickenheiser was eight years old, she wanted to go to a hockey school in Swift Current, Sask., but was told it was boys-only.

"My mom stood up for me and tested them enough that they let me go to the hockey school, which was pretty cool," Wickenheiser recalls. "I was the first girl in hockey school and now there's all-girls hockey schools in Swift Current."

When Wickenheiser was 10, Marilyn moved to Regina for a year to finishing her education degree. Wickenheiser's father Tom manned the fort at home in Shaunavon.

Since winning Olympic gold in 2010, Wickenheiser has returned to university for a science degree and plays for the University of Calgary Dinos.

"It's funny now I'm doing the same thing years later, trying to finish my degree and going back to university," Wickenheiser says. "She demonstrated to me as a kid that it was OK to go after your dreams."

Wickenheiser spoke to The Canadian Press from Toronto. She's been chosen by Walmart Canada to help select the recipient for a Mom of the Year Award.

The winner receives $10,000 and another $100,000 for donation to a charity. Details of the campaign are at www.momoftheyear.ca.

Wickenheiser is part of a growing community of Canadian female athletes pursuing both sport and motherhood. Her Olympic teammate Becky Kellar had two children during her career on the national team and was actually pregnant with her first child while playing in a world championship.

Hurdler Priscilla Lopes-Schliep aims to compete at this summer's Olympic Games in London less than a year after giving birth to a daughter. Wickenheiser says she and Calgary heptathlete Jessica Zelinka, mother to young daughter Anika, talk about juggling sport and motherhood.

"Pick your spots and know what's important," sums up Wickenheiser. "That's the key."

The potential for athletes to acquire sponsorship, extends far beyond the often narrow focus of simply attaining financial support. Adding an element of creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, sparks endless possibilities for athletes to use their story as a channel of connecting with other pursuits. Making creative connections can in turn build mutually benefiting relationships.

National team pentathlete Joshua Riker-Fox, has a unique and creative sponsor relationship with Canadian artist Real Fourneir. Joshua, uses the less tangible elements of sport, such as personal development and passion, as a way to connect with similar investments Real, makes through art.

For every financial sponsor that Joshua receives, Real will donate an original painting to the sponsor, worth the same value. Real and Joshua, have combined their individual passions to fuel each others successes. After a discussion with Real, he shared that he initially became involved with athletes when he was asked to donated his artwork to fundraisers for various teams and athletes. Since then, Real’s contributions have grown into long-term partnerships, like the one he shares with Joshua.
“I have always loved to help people with strong commitment. When I was young I coached myself and raised money for all my volleyball teams, so I relate to the team effort required. My wife Linda and I are very grateful toward these athletes, to be part of their journeys” – artist Real Fournier

Finding common ground with others provides a unique opportunity to secure sponsorship extending far beyond direct financial contributions. Developing relationships like Real and Joshua’s, initiates a dynamic means of sharing your athletic story and brand, while connecting with other community projects.

As sponsorship professional Jacynthe Simard expressed in her post on contacting potential sponsors, do your research, engage in your community, and continually develop contacts as they could become future sponsors. Finding a unique way to express your value, so sponsors can see the benefit of investing in you, will increase the chance of landing a successful partnership. Real has found an avenue to share his art in a way that benefits not only his endeavors as an artist, but supports Joshua’s pursuit as an athlete.

There is no limit to the type of sponsorship athletes can pursue! Make contacts and add an element of creativity when pitching your story to potential sponsors.

CALGARY, ALTA. (May 10, 2012) – Twenty-nine athletes were named to the Canadian Alpine Ski Team on Thursday as Alpine Canada continues its preparations for the 2012-13 World Cup season and the 2013 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.

The squad of 19 men and 10 women features three new additions and nine racers who have recorded World Cup or world championship podiums – including reigning world downhill champion Erik Guay, who has 17 top-three World Cup results.

Guay, of Mont-Tremblant, Que., headlines a strong men’s team that features several big names returning from injury and is hoping to add to an impressive streak of world championship podiums at the 2013 event in Schladming, Austria. Canada has claimed medals in three straight world championship men’s downhill events, including back-to-back golds for John Kucera, of Calgary, Alta., and Guay in 2009 and 2011, respectively.

Meanwhile, Erin Mielzynski, of Guelph, Ont. – who last season became the first Canadian to win a World Cup slalom race since 1971 – and fellow podium newcomer Marie-Michèle Gagnon, of Lac-Etchemin, Que., are part of a youthful women’s team that is hoping to build on a breakthrough year.

“It’s the start of three very important years for us with world championships, the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games and then the 2015 world championships,” said Paul Kristofic, Alpine Canada’s vice-president of sports. “The goal is come into the season with a healthy team, a full complement of podium-potential racers, and to try to defend our streak of world championship podiums. We’re very much looking forward to that challenge.”

Calgary’s Jan Hudec – the top-performing Canadian alpine racer on the World Cup circuit in 2011-12 – is part of a strong speed squad that includes Guay, Kucera, downhill sensation Ben Thomsen, of Invermere, B.C., returning star and three-time World Cup winner Manuel Osborne-Paradis, of Vancouver, B.C., plus Robbie Dixon, of Whistler, B.C., who came agonizingly close to his first podium with a fourth-place finish in super-G in Beaver Creek, USA, in 2011.

Michael Janyk, of Whistler, B.C., Julien Cousineau, of Lachute, Que., and Calgary duo Brad Spence and Trevor White lead an experienced slalom team, while Jean-Philippe Roy, of Sainte-Flavie, Que., returns as the team’s giant slalom specialist. Overall Nor-Am champion Erik Read, of Calgary, is one of several talented youngsters on the men’s squad, which also includes national team newcomers Trevor Philp, 20, of Calgary – a student at the University of Denver who is a former member of the Raymond James Alberta Ski Team – and Whistler’s Conrad Pridy, of the B.C. Ski Team. Pridy, 23, is the older brother of fellow national team member Morgan Pridy, 21.

“Trevor (Philp) was a named prospect athlete and he showed he’s an amazing talent,” Kristofic said of the 2012 Canadian slalom champion. “We are working with him to balance school in the U.S. and starting to race in the World Cup. Conrad is a great story of an athlete who fought his way from invitee status to full-time status. For him, building consistency will be the key.”

Philp is looking forward to completing the step up to the national team after making his World Cup debut in Adelboden, Switzerland, in January.

“I’m very excited,” said Philp, who is currently wrapping up his school year in Denver. “The plan is to come to Calgary in June and start working out. I’m very pleased to be joining the Canadian team.”

On the women’s side, veteran speed stars Kelly VanderBeek, of Kitchener,Ont., and Larisa Yurkiw, of Owen Sound, Ont., will continue their comeback from long-term injuries. Newcomer Elli Terwiel, of Heffley Creek, B.C., a student at the University of Vermont, made six World Cup starts last season and was crowned the overall ladies’ Nor-Am Cup slalom champion.

“We have two new podium athletes on the women’s side so it’s important to keep the momentum going,” Kristofic said of Mielzynski and Gagnon. “For them, as well as Ben Thomsen on the men’s side, it’s the first time they are going into major events as podium contenders. It’s great timing to have a big event like the world championships this year so they can learn to deal with that kind of pressure before Sochi 2014.”

The 2012-13 FIS World Cup season is due to get underway in Sölden, Austria, at the end of October. The 2013 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships are due to be in held in Schladming from Feb. 4-17, 2013.

Men’s Canadian Alpine Ski Team:
(Athlete, Hometown, Ski Club)

Philip Brown, Toronto, Ont., Craigleith
Dustin Cook, Lac-Sainte-Marie, Que. , Mont-Sainte-Marie
Julien Cousineau, Lachute, Que., Mont-Tremblant
Robbie Dixon, Whistler, B.C., Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Erik Guay, Mont-Tremblant, Que., Mont-Tremblant
Jan Hudec, Calgary, Alta., Banff Alpine Racers
Michael Janyk, Whistler, B.C., Whistler Mountain Ski Club
John Kucera, Calgary, Alta., Calgary Alpine Racing Club
Manuel Osborne-Paradis, Vancouver, B.C., Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Trevor Philp, Calgary, Alta., Banff Alpine Racers
Conrad Pridy, Whistler, B.C., Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Morgan Pridy, Whistler, B.C., Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Erik Read, Calgary, Alta., Banff Alpine Racers
Jean-Philippe Roy, Ste-Flavie, Que., Mont-Comi
Brad Spence, Calgary, Alta., NATC/Panorama Ski Club
Ben Thomsen, Invermere, B.C., Windermere Valley Ski Club
Andy Trow, Canmore, Alta., Sunshine Ski Club
Trevor White, Calgary, Alta., NATC/Fortress Alpine Ski Team
Sasha Zaitsoff, Queens Bay, B.C., Red Mountain Racers

Ladies’ Canadian Alpine Ski Team:
(Athlete, Hometown, Ski Club)

Thick, wet flakes of snow fall heavy from the sky, slowly dotting Chris Spring’s body as he lies on the ice in a pool of his own blood. The source of the leak is a massive cut on his right buttock, starting at his hip and stretching down almost to his upper leg. A shard of wood—20-cm long and five-cm thick—has sliced his right glute in half and left a thick flap of flesh hanging off of him like a portion of rare roast beef when carved halfway. The snow makes white freckles on his blood-drenched face as he squirms on the ice, looking for his teammates. One is gone entirely, run off in search of help. The other two are just 10 feet away, crumpled on top of each other in another red pool, motionless, letting out low, terrible moans that will fill Spring’s head for weeks. At least the sounds mean they’re still alive.

To Spring’s right is what’s left of his bobsled. It is 250 kg of destruction, a mangled, white mess of shredded fibreglass and twisted steel, resting on its side. Its front axle—the strongest point of the sled, responsible for holding in place the two long steel front runners it glides on—is lodged upwards into the sled’s body and jammed into the back axle. That’s not right, Spring thinks to himself, seeing the metre-long gash the axle tore into the sled’s underbelly like a can opener. That’s not supposed to look like that.

Nobody has reached him yet. Minutes feel like hours as he lies here at turn 16, slowly bleeding out, waiting for someone to come carry him away. He’s overcome with shock but feels no pain. His senses are strong, vivid; his thoughts as clear and true as ever. He takes it all in and thinks a lot about how he got here. How he came to Canada for a few months on a work visa six years ago and never left. How in late 2007 a newspaper story inspired him to try bobsleigh on a whim. How he made it to the Olympics just three years later as a world-class pilot. All of it led him here to the hard ice of this feared track in Altenberg, a tiny German border town where he just might die. But more than anything, Spring’s thoughts keep coming back to what he’s going to do next. “Because there’s no chance I’m f---in’ bobsledding again, that’s for sure.”

Canada Who?

That’s the self-coined nickname of Spring’s team, Canada Two: the country’s second entrant into the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing World Cup this past winter. Essentially, they are the second-stringers to Lyndon Rush’s Canada One that won bronze in the four-man bobsleigh at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Spring competed at those Games, too—for Australia. He was born there 28 years ago in Darwin, one of the northernmost points of the warm island. A lack of funding and coaching drove Spring to switch allegiances to Canada, where he was living as a permanent resident in Calgary. It took just a year and a half for the perpetually unshaven Spring to become Canada’s second-best pilot and qualify his team—all close friends—for its first World Cup.

In Spring’s four-man sled, 25-year-old Tim Randall sits second. A thick fullback on the football team at the University of Guelph, he was watching the Vancouver Olympics bobsleigh one afternoon and told his roommates he was going to do that. They laughed and told him he was an idiot. It took just one tryout for Bobsleigh Canada to invite him to the national development camp in Calgary, where Spring offered to put him up at his house. The two quickly bonded and now, less than two years later, Randall is one of the best pushers in Canada.

Sitting third is Derek Plug, a former Jr. B hockey player who first tried bobsleigh in 2008 when he was just 18. Today, he’s one of the fastest-rising pushers in Canadian bobsleigh and the horse of the crew. He’s the athletic freak from your high school who could beat the sprinters in a 100-metre dash and bench-press more than anyone on the football team. He drinks three Red Bulls before every race and aggressively slaps his thighs and arms when he’s standing at the top of the hill, yelling at the top of his lungs. His teammates call it getting “Plugged up”—doctors might call it a caffeine imbalance. Either way, you can practically see his tail wagging whenever he’s near a sled.

The fourth seat belongs to Graeme Rinholm, a blindingly fast converted sprinter—he once ran the 60-metre dash in 6.78 seconds—whose role is both mindlessly easy and crucial to the team’s success. He pulls the brakes. Rinholm lives in two worlds. The 26-year-old already has a biochemistry degree and hopes to someday add another diploma to his resumé. But for now, he spends most of his time in a sport that, by his own admission, “provides very little mental stimulus.” He simply can’t bring himself to give up on his lifelong dream—to compete in the Olympics.

The final member of the team, Bill Thomas, is an alternate. A former linebacker at McMaster University, he gets into a training run here and there, giving Plug or Randall a rest. He decided to try bobsleigh in 2009 after watching the Disney classic Cool Runnings. There had to be at least one, right? All five spend the majority of their time away from the track together. On Sunday nights they meet at one of their homes to cook up a bounty of food, play video games and watch movies well into the night.

Together, they set out this past November for Europe and their first World Cup. No one was expecting much. Going into the season, these five had just 11 years of sledding between them. Bobsleigh Canada wanted the crew to gain experience; results were secondary. But they shocked the tour, finishing in the top 10 at the first three World Cup stops against bigger, faster, more experienced competition. They were even sending a message to Rush and Canada One, beating them in each of the first three four-man races.

The team, growing moustaches and mullets during their European trip, were the talk of the tour, on the track and off. Word quickly spread about the fun-loving Canadian crew that could be found in little European pubs on any given night entertaining the masses with a cappella renditions of “Wonderwall” by Oasis. “We were loving life,” Spring says. “Other teams started to notice. That’s a lot of where the name came from. People were like, ‘Canada who?’”

For the rest of this story please visit http://www.sportsnet.ca/magazine/2012/05/04/sportsnet_magazine_bobsled_accident_zwelling/