Preparations for 2013 Universiade

I posted a link above of the village tour of the 2013 Universiade! Clearly, watching the movie really hits home to the reality that I will be competing there on the world stage!

The village looks amazing and I’m so excited to meet up with my sporting friends from across Canada. Today, my good friend and University of Calgary Dino teammate, Sam Effah is competing in the 100m! Go Sam!

I start my journey to Kazan in a couple hours. My bags are packed and my travel clothes are laid out. For this trip, I’m packing a carry-on suitcase with all my competition gear to be able to fly without the worry of whether or not my bags will arrive safely.  It’s only a short 30 hour flight to get to Kazan, Russia and after flying to Panama, Brazil, New Zealand & Australia in the last six months I’m not too fazed by the long haul flight. Usually on overnight flights I settle in with a good book for take-off, eat dinner, and watch a movie, then zonk out until breakfast is served. There are a couple days between when we fly and when we weigh-in for our competition so I won’t be worrying too much about my weight during the travel. I have about 4-5 kg to cut when I arrive which is pretty standard for most wrestlers.

If you watched the video, you’ll notice the plethora of delicious foods and treats in the village dining centre. There’s even the standard McDonald’s that seems to pop up at every major games. I won’t be able to indulge until after the competition though... unfortunately.

This morning, I had a great technique session with my teammate Justine Bouchard. She's leaving on Wednesday to compete at the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid. We came in and drilled some specific techniques with the national team coach, Leigh Vierling. Warming up this morning I was pretty stiff and sore but once we got into it I felt great. These pre-comp tune-ups are just about getting in reps of specific wrestling actions that are our "go-to's" in competition and making sure everything is firing properly. Coach will make some small adjustments to our hand-fighting or finishes but mostly it's just feeling good and confident to go out and do what we do best, DOMINATE! 

Stay tuned for my next blog which will be written for you straight from Mother Russia! Spasibo and have a great day!