Athlete Profile #2

Holy Smokes! Two in one week after hinting at this feature for over 3 months! Someone is taking notice of that new hit counter!
The rookies are getting profiled first, as they are the biggest mystery's to you (if you're not on the team), us (if you are on the team) and them (if you're a rookie on the UW Nordic Ski team, you fit this category). Anyways, enough of the long and convoluted introduction, and onto the good stuff!

Name: Nolan R.C. Beanlands
Program: Nanotechnology Engineering
Year: 1
Year on the ski team: 1
Favourite muscle: Left Quad
Why?: "Big, strong, used in almost everything I do. The left one because it's the underdog, not being on my dominate leg and all."

Favourite Possession: Skibag - "It's my lucky bag. It carries all my skis effectively, they've never broken in it, it's a bright, easily recognizable colour so I don't lose it, it can double as a pillow if you're in a tight situation. "

Reason for Wearing Such a Ridiculously Bright Hat: "You rarely get mistaken for other people on the ski trail. I end up in a large number of pictures, and you can always tell which one is me. It's very useful when you're in large crowds, as people can pick you out from far away, so long as they're higher up than you. Also, it prevents me from being mistaken as a deer during hunting season. Believe me, a valid concern."


Something you probably don't know about me: I know your results. No, seriously, I do. If you're on Zone4, Sportstats, raced your little brother around the block when you were 6, done a breathalyzer, I know it. Place, age category, lap splits, final time to several decimal places. Don't ask how or why, I just do.

NEW FEATURE - Finally!

Each week we will be profiling a UW Nordic Athlete, catching up a little bit what they are like as people as well as athletes.
Hopefully this will bring a little more insight into the team, and reveal more about them than the fact that they look good in a pair of tights.

Name: Andrew Jeffrey
Program: Kinesiology
Year: 3
Year on the ski team: 1
Favourite movie: Dr. Zhivalgo
Why?: "There are few other movies who so successfully waste your time. I mean, the thing has an intermission its so long! Where else can you get that kind of dedication to using up hours of your life? I mean, other than meth, but that's another story..."

Favourite Food: Oatmeal - "it's powered me through all my races so far this year, its worked pretty well"

Favourite Athlete: Yudai Nakagawa

Average courseload, including labs: 7 - "You know, its not about how much smarter I am than everyone else, its that I'm smarter and I do it all while taking more classes, doing Varsity Skiing, playing Campusrec Ball Hockey and Ice Hockey, being a member of the Outers Club, having a social life, volunteering on campus, helping old ladies cross streets, bowl competitvely, and be Head of the campus Flat Earth Society. I'm pretty busy most weeks."

Something you probably don't know about me: My red blood cells carry on average 1/10th more oxygen than the average persons. Naturally.

Photo of the Week #4

Yudai Z. Nakagawa tearing up the 16km Classic in North Bay.
Snow, cold and suffering - 3 of Yudai's favourite things.
No, but really, he does enjoy skiing. He's just got his business face on.






Thanks to Mark Dewan, via Derek "the heart" Hartman.
Taken in North Bay, Ontario.

OUA Qualifier #1 - Part 2

Sunday morning dawned gray and snowy, but significantly warmer than Saturday. Either that or -14 feels warm compared to -20. With the warmer temperatures, the race start was much earlier than on Saturday, this time with the women going out first. The lightly falling snow had begun to accumulate on the trails prior to the start, and as the OUA women hit the trails, it became evident that the day was going to be a bit of a slog. The 5km skate was not the preferred style nor distance for many on the team, but, led by Nellie Dow, they decided to storm it anyways. Despite the manufactured enthusaisam the Waterloo women had a difficult day, feeling the effects of the previous days great classic race, and the soft, slow conditions. The team persevered, however, and pushed on to finish in style, getting the weekends races over with.

With the women's race complete, and the snow piling up even faster, the men took to the start line. Led by unbreakable and energetic rookie Andrew Jeffrey, the men set out to see what the 10km skate course had to offer. 5km in, most had decided that it offered a lot of suffering, some deep snow and in general a difficult day. Pushing off thoughts of vomiting, dropping out and the desire to eat a good bagel lunch, the majority of the mens team responded to finish strong in the deep field. With the exception of two members, Mike Neilly and Derek Hartman, who are both out with lower body unjuries, the team grinded out the 10km and then got ready to head home.


Results
Men
1. Chris Hamilton, Lakehead 29:07.6
2. Scott Sullivan, Lakehead 29:45.6
3. Colin Abbott, Carleton University 29:52.2
UW Results
25. Andrew Jeffrey 33:40.4
29. Cam Moore 33:55.3
33. Kieran Jones 34:27.3
34. Yudai Nakagawa 34:35.6
40. Nolan Beanlands 35:29.6
Derek Hartman, Day-to-Day, quadricep strain
Mike Neilly, Day-to-Day, ankle tendonitis

Women
1. Alana Thomas, Carleton University 16:43.1
2. Adele Lay, Carleton University 17:10.5
3. Mary Thompson, Laurentian 17:21.9
UW Results
22. Nellie Dow 19:43.5
26. Kelly Skinner 20:39.7
34. Jessica Stevenson 22:32.4
36. Martha Sutton 22:46.2
37. Svenja Morgan 23:16.9

Next up on the OUA schedule - Sudbury, Feb. 7-8, hosted by Laurentian University.
Be there.

OUA Qualifier #1

What: Ontario University Athletics Qualifier #1/Ontario Cup #1
Where: North Bay Nordic Center, North Bay, Ontario
When: Jan. 17-18, 2008
Who: The pre-selected University of Waterloo Nordic Team
Why: It seemed like a really good idea to get on the bus at the PAC when it arrived at 8:45. Oh, and to do two races, an Individual Start Classic on Saturday and an Individual Start Skate on Sunday.
How: Well, the transit to North Bay was done by bus, but all the skiing was done on cross-country skis. Funny, seeing as that's what kind of race weekend it was.

In the week leading up the the races, North Bay, like the rest of Ontario, had been gripped with viciously cold temperatures. Reports of it reaching as cold as -34 without the wind chill were reported by local resident/UW ski team member Cam Moore, currently doing coop in beautiful, scenic and cold-as-hell North Bay. Regardless, the team exited the bus on Friday quickly, either fresh with excitement for the first real race of the season, or simply glad to be off a confined bus half-filled with Guelph skiers whose favourite movies don't extend much beyond Transformers, anything with Paris Hilton, or Joe Dirt.
After a hurried loop of the 8km course for the men, and a frantic 5km for the women, it was back on the bus to avoid the -25 weather and excessive, rampant porta-pottie placement. An evening of eating, team meetings and drinking water followed for the athletes, while the triple-threat coaching staff of Justin Faulkner, Glen McIntyre, and athlete/coach or coach/athlete Colin Rhodes tackled the perfectly prepared race skis for the next mornings race.
The next morning, the cold temperatures pushed back the start for the mens 16 km and the womens 10km races. After dithering about, the men managed to get their cheese together and motor off into the cold. The field was large and talented, as 66 men from 8 universities showed up. The perennial skiing powerhouses Lakehead and Carleton Universities posted a combined 6 men in the top 10. The UW men also brought their A-game, with 3rd year pro Kieran Jones leading the charge in 19th place, his best showing on the OUA circuit since he was a rookie. In 20th, right behind Jones, was the unstoppable, ever-surprising, slightly insane rookie Andrew "Slow" Jeffrey who in his first year skiing competitively at any level has shocked the competition. Cam Moore finished in 32nd, and, when interviewed post race said "I was spurred on by my new hometown crowd, had some fantastically grippy wax, and had a great sleep last night". Moore was closely followed by Yudai Nakagawa, who finished in 34th and again walked away with the OUAA category. Rookie Nolan "Results" Beanlands, new to classic skiing and tired from exhaustively researching the competition finished in 42nd while skating specialist Derek Hartman crossed the line in 50th. Unfortunatly team leader/captain/trianer/hardman Mike Neilly was injured, and could not compete. With the men done, it was the time for the baby-producing side of the team to get down to business.
The women's field produced a similar depth to the mens, with 49 women getting at least as far as the start line of the 10km. Carleton dominated on the womens side as well, putting 4 women in the top 10. Even before the results rolled in, it was a great day for the UW women's team, as a whopping 5 women made the trip to North Bay to race. UW's Nellie Dow, who has time and again proved her value to the team with top results continued her great classic skiing performances, posting a solid 6th place. Kelly Skinner, continuing her comeback on the OUA circuit, posted a strong 24th, while rookie Jessive Stevenson was 32nd. Martha Sutton, who was last years Female Rookie of the Year, has been struggling with injury all fall but still skied to 35th, just ahead of Svenja Morgan, who was 36th. After a cold, tough, first days racing, the team fueled up, in Moore's case with cheap hotdogs, in Morgan's, soy nut butter and headed back to the hotel in the vain attempt to catch the end of the World Cup races happening in on the Olympic trails in Whistler.
Results Day 1
Men
1. Colin Abbot, Carleton U 49:39.7
2. Scott Sullivan, Lakehead 50:22.6
3. Chris Hamilton, Lakehead 51:25.2
UW Results
19. Kieran Jones 57:38.9
20. Andrew Jeffrey 57:42.8
32. Cam Moore 59:50.0
34. Yudai Nakagawa 1:00:18.0
42. Nolan Beanlands 1:03:00.6
50. Derek Hartman 1:05:43.8
Women
1. Alana Thomas 35:24.4
2. Mary Thompson 36:04.1
3. Zoe Braul 36:27.0
UW Reults
6. Nellie Dow 37:47.1
24. Kelly Skinner 43:25.6
32. Jessica Stevenson 45:09.5
35. Martha Sutton 46:43.6
36. Svenja Morgan 46:47.0


And thats all from day one of racing! Check back tomorrow for Day 2, and stay tuned for both the Photo of the Week and a brand-new, never-before seen feature! (Hint: It may have been talked about already, but seriously, this time its really coming.)

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OUA Race Team

The race team for OUA #1 in North Bay has been announced.
Earlier this week, in a press release with local media representatives, university officials and local athletes in attendance, head Coach Justin Faulkner presented this years Waterloo Varsity Nordic Ski Team.

Women's team:
Nellie F. Dow
Kelly Skinner
Martha Sutton
Svenja Morgan
Jessica Stevenson

Men's team:
Mike Neilly
Kieran T. Jones
Derek Hartman
Yudai Z. Nakagawa
Cameron W. Moore
Andrew P. Jeffrey
Nolan R.C. Beanlands

Immediatly following the naming of the team, Faulkner spoke on the selections and answered a few questions.
"Our team this year is deep, dedicated and experienced" Faulkner said. "With a few notable exceptions, such as rookie Andrew Jeffrey, our team is mostly returning athletes who have experience on the local, provincial, nation, international and galactic scale." On this years crop of rookies, Faulkner said "exceptionally strong and fast, after a few races I have no doubt they will have the whole thing figured out."

The North Bay OUA Qualifier goes this weekend (Jan. 17-18) Expect a full report on the first day of racing later tonight.

Winter Camp Report Part #2

Part 2 - Sorry for the delay, the author did not attend much of monday, and needed to conduct in depth interviews, review tape, and in general procrastinate.

Ahhh, the gift exchange. A Waterloo tradition which usually means finding the best crap in your house and re-gifting like a champ. Depending on the person, who either receive quality, thoughtful gifts, or equally quality, thoughtful, environmentally sustainable but un-economically stimulating super-presents. A bit of an epic this time around, as Justin and Kelly had some serious wedding-present re-gifting to do. Highlights were Surabhi generously donating a laundry hamper, received by Team Faulkner, Nellie gifting some solid food as well as cupboard leftovers, and Mike Neilly receiving a well-loved, piece-of-Barn history frying pan. After everyone had revelled in their new toys, and Colin and Derek had continued to wrestle with the hot tub which was determined to stay dry, the team wrapped it up and headed to bed.
Monday welcomed in the third variety of weather for the weekend. With high winds and plenty of rain, as well as near double digit temperatures, the trail conditions had deteriorated to a disgusting mess. However, Waterloo being the keeners they are, it didn’t prevent the Activity of the Day. A skating race with the style of an inverse pursuit was on the schedule, and the athletes grudgingly headed to Larry’s Glacier for the race. Most spent the way up questioning just what the heck they were doing, mainly due to the conditions being absolute trash. The trails were soft and littered with branches. As well, there was a nice surprise on the trails as it was necessary to ski across a monstrous lake (at least 20 ft deep) which had formed on the trails. Finally arriving at Larry’s Glacier, the collective combined brainpower decided that the conditions were less than ideal for a race and it was cancelled, resulting in thunderous applause from the gathered team. The time trial was replaced with skiing one lap of the course and heading back to the Woolner house. This signalled the end of the camp for a number of athletes as those with the larger brains headed on back to Waterloo.
However, in the continuing trend of the camp, the weather had other plans. Instead of staying warm, the temperature dipped rapidly to below freezing. This resulted in the top layer of the snow becoming very icy. With continued high winds, the conditions were perfect for some tarp skiing on the crust. Despite the fantastic idea, there was no tarp available, making the past two sentences entirely redundant. Instead, some nice crust skiing was accomplished, with biblically fast conditions.
Back at the house, the hot tub was finally filled up and operational. Unfortunately it takes longer to heat up than it takes an Arts student to do basic math, so it would be at least another day before all of the hard work getting it to operational would finally pay off, and the team could successfully have a hot tub.


Thanks to D-Rok, who proved an invaluable asset to this entry. You win a living spot in the Barn for the Winter 2009! Congratulations!
All others, apply within for your chance to win.

Photo of the Week #3

Although a slightly dated photo, Justin still has a child.
Justin and Natalie (freshly birthed, and by fresh I mean months, not seconds).
Justin calls it extra training for him. I call it encouraging laziness in his child.





Thanks to Nellie Dow for the photo.
Taken at the fall camp on the Bruce Trail.