Today I will be flying solo to join the rest of the Canadian national wrestling team at the senior world championships in Budapest, Hungary. My day is not typical of any high performance athlete or university student... But for the many student-athletes out there... They know the careful planning that goes into balancing out my life as a student-athlete with the eye on the prize. Today was a busy day like usual: 6:45am wake up 7am Breakfast 8am Technique session on the mats at UofC 9am Grab a coffee, take back textbooks, buy new textbooks, print off and assignment 9:30 drive to Winsport facility for a lift 10am 4x2 snatch, 4x1 power cleans 10:45 cold tub Noon shower, eat, head to school 1:30 coffee with my best friend and teammate 2pm lecture 3:30 get picked up by bf and head to the airport NOW: board flight to WORLDS!! Today was a little crazy but also pretty standard for me. I am driven to always seek the next adventure and excel in the next challenge. For the next 4 days my mind will switch completely to prepare for domination on the world stage. I'm excited and nervous. It's a beautiful feeling indeed.
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The time is quickly approaching to board a plane and fly to my first ever Senior World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
On Monday September 16th I will depart for this epic event and I cannot believe how fast this summer has blown by! As I am alluding to in the title of this blog, I feel very much in the calm before the storm, simply waiting for the clock to countdown. My effort over, truthfully the last 7 years since living in Calgary has been building towards this day. I have always taken a go hard everyday kind of attitude and all those long, hard hours on the mats and in the gym will culminate in this one day competition. I feel "calm" because I know I have worked hard building into this event and that the hard work will carry me through. From this point forward, it's about keeping myself sane and positive. I am lucky to have a network of support to rely on and keep me thinking positively as I approach this competition. Things have been great going forward. I have been reflecting on the international summer season and the craziness it was for me... this included missing flights, losing luggage, and sleeping in for matches. And I've come to realize that these things do sometimes happen and even though I have definitely shed some tears of frustration; it all works out in the end the way He intended! In the days leading up to the flight, I will be keeping my schedule pretty much the same and focusing all my energy keeping healthy and happy. I plan on writing another blog in the days leading up to the world championships. I weigh in on the 19th and compete on the 20th and I am so excited to go out and wrestle! At the halfway point of most European training camps, our battered bodies are given a day off. This usually involves a morning ran, sauna, and the afternoon spent shopping in the nearest town. In Poland this week, we decided to spend our day a little differently and loaded up onto the bus at 8:30am to travel to the most (in)famous German concentration camp, Auschwitz. After several hours on the bus we arrived at the site and joined an English walking tour. Our Polish guide toured us through two of the three major camps at Auschwitz and into various exhibitions and historically preserved sites. Only 20-25% of the people brought to Auschwitz were given what our guide called, "a small chance at living".These were the people who passed initial screening and were deemed "fit to work"... The others were sent straight to the gas chambers. The day was heavy with emotions and reflection. While wandering through the camp I couldn't help but imagine what day to day life was like for these imprisoned people. How did they cope with the physical and emotional pain they endured day after day while living in the most disturbing of conditions. Some of my questions were answered during our tour and the others in a book one of my teammates purchased on the way out. The book was Viktor Frankl, "Man's Search for Meaning". Written by a psychiatrist by profession and concentration camp survivor details how he strived to maintain a sense of meaning in his life despite the dark circumstances. Frankl deftly explains his perspective while living within Auschwitz as saying yes to life, in spite of everything and because of this message, the book becomes an account of hope rather than despair. I read this book on the long drive home and reflected on my experiences of the day and how this one man could maintain such tragic optimism. He told accounts of how he had to find small day to day humours to survive the ultimate bleakness of his own reality. He wrote “It does not matter what we expect from life, but rather what life expects from us.” It is in our response to the day to day opportunities and challenges that ultimately dictate our life's profession. These messages are no less meaningful today where we live in a society with so many blessings. At the concentration camp, we also learned that the best position to be assigned was in the warehouses where all the confiscated possessions people had brought with them were taken to be sorted and re-distributed. This job meant working inside away from the bitter weather and provided the possibility to steal away pieces of food or warmer shoes, or maybe a better jacket. These warehouses were called Canada 1 & Canada 2. Because at the time Canada represented a place of opportunity & freedom. A far off land with the possibility of a better life. Still today, Canada is recognized as as these things if not more so. And I am so honoured to represent these values everywhere I go. I am so lucky to be able to live the life I have and am continually grateful for these opportunities. This trip to Auschwitz was an important experience for me to continue moving forward from the past and to carry on the message of the survivors. That message of courage, inner strength, and hope. That idea of saying yes to life, in spite of everything. It is something I will carry with me forever. I had been planning on writing a new update prior to departing to Poland this morning but alas in the furor of packing, training, and work I didn’t quite find the time.
I’m sitting here now, back at home... almost two hours after my flight was scheduled to depart... due to a rookie mistake on my part. Who knew if you showed up with no baggage to check 44 min before your flight you can’t make it on! Well now, I know at least. I'm frustrated and upset with myself for only allowing so little time to make the flight but I now have a new flight booked later this evening through Frankfurt so in that sense, I am very lucky! My appreciation goes out to our High Performance manager, Stephanie Buchan and our travel agent, Stage and Screen Travel for ensuring I still arrived to Warsaw, Poland with ample time prior to weigh-ins. And of course, thanks to my good friend, the Visa for always being there for this struggling amateur athlete. I weigh-in Saturday afternoon and compete Sunday in the Poland Open. Here is the tournament document http://www.fila-official.com/images/FILA/infos/2013/infos_08_spala.pdf For the Senior Women’s & Men’s World Team, this is the last tune up prior to the World Championships in Budapest, Hun in September. I’m so excited to step onto the mats and wrestle for Canada! The spectrum of emotions that come with competing make every moment of training worth it. Another perk of departing later (trying to stay positive here everyone) is that I get to get anothe I’ll try and write an updated blog post once I arrive in Spala, Poland. Although I’ve travelled to Poland numerous times, I haven’t been to this training camp location yet. So it’s always intriguing to go to a new venue and town. Enjoy the rest of August and relish those last couple weeks of Summer! I had promised myself going into the 2013 Universiade I would try and blog as much as possible... but alas somewhere between cutting weight, competing, watching three disciplines of wrestling, waterpolo, rugby, and basketball, trading team gear and closing down the bar (more than once) I couldn’t find the time to sit down and write a blog post. Luckily for you, this means I will be trying my best to summarize my 10-day experience in Kazan, Russia at the 2013 Summer Universiade into one succinct post! It’s a tall order but I’m always up to the challenge.
My first and foremost revelation was that travelling to Russia is a long, difficult ordeal. After getting delayed 18 hours leaving Calgary due to an engine malfunction, our entire travel route was messed up. This caused our 8 person wrestling delegation to negotiate an alternate route into Kazan. We arrived 24 hours later than scheduled and for me, without any luggage. This isn’t my first rodeo however, and I had everything I needed to compete handily packed in my carry-on. The delay caused some minor hiccups in our preparation process but was nothing we hadn’t overcome before. In the sport of freestyle wrestling with the way the international draw is set up now, to win a tournament you have to be the best person on the day. To place well, some people do sneak up and place well depending on how good or lucky their draw was. Unfortunately I had my toughest competitor first match and wasn`t the best person that day. I came back in the repechage and won a bronze medal. I was so proud to win for my team and my country. It is the culmination of so many years of hard work, discipline, and support from so many people. Without my teammates, training partners, coaches, and support staff there is no way I would be where I am today. It was the first time I`ve stood on a podium at a major games and to watch my flag being raised was an unforgettable experience. This feeling of intense pride for Canada carried through the rest of the Games. There was a mix of athletes representing Canada... from our Men`s Basketball team who were handpicked from Senior Men`s squad to a rag-tag group of soccer players from the CIS. Even though there was a range of experience levels and long-term goals present, the shared honour of wearing our country`s symbol was widespread. The Canadian gear was a widely sought after commodity on the trading grounds where all the countries gathered inside the village and I loved sharing stories with the athletes from other countries as I traded for items for my friends and roommates back home. The eclectic mix of culture and attitudes was ever present in the dining hall which had different stations set up carrying European, Local, Halal, and Asian options. I tried it all (after competing of course) and am a little ashamed to say, I had more free McDonalds over the past week than ever in my life! It seemed to be a post-competition tradition for pretty much every country present. After our competition was done, our team tried to make it to as many events as possible and my two favourite sports to watch were Rugby and Waterpolo! I have a new level of respect for those athletes. On the last night of the games, our flight left at 2:30am. This meant we would be cutting it close to make it to the closing ceremonies but this was something I did not want to miss. We arranged to march in and simply march out... being home to the village by 11pm and giving us a reasonable cushion of time to make it to the airport for our flight. It was a little stressful but we packed everything up and put on our Team Canada gear to head to the closing ceremonies. Marching into the stadium in front of thousands of people was SURREAL. We waited patiently for over two hours, did a little bit of last minute trading outside the stadium, and then had probably the most memorable moment of the entire event. It was truly like putting icing on the cake of the entire Games experience and has truly got me fired up for what is to come.... 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! For the last couple of weeks, my mind has been a constant whirl of thoughts and emotions as I prepared for the World Team Wrestle-Off. Due to an unforeseen serious injury to the 2012 Olympian in my weight class and after winning the National Championships back in March, I was forced to defend the spot as Canada 1 and the opportunity to represent Canada at the Senior World Championships in a best of 3 wrestle-off format.
For weeks I prepared to wrestle my teammate and friend and battled the emotions that ensued in a difficult circumstance such as this. We would battle it out every day in the wrestling room at U of C and in the back of our minds, surely that future fate-deciding match was always present. It was the typical scenario but it has been a pressure that has both elevated us to new levels of success. I had wrestled my teammate numerous times and had never won. Always been so close but it was never enough. I knew I had to make a change going in and so I developed technical plans and a mental strategy for success. Every day I played out a different scenario of how I would be successful. It was often hard, conjuring images of something when I had too many play-by-plays of the exact opposite. But I was relentless and determined. I had planned for everything going into yesterday morning...well, everything except the jolting wake-up call I received. I bolted up in the hotel room bed and reached over for the phone and heard my coach on the other line, “ERICA, WHERE THE #@%$ ARE YOU!?” My body and mind went into overdrive as I pushed away the clutter of water bottles and snacks from the hotel room side table and looked at the time, 9:14am... my wrestle-off was to start in exactly 16 minutes. I jumped out of bed, threw my stuff into my knapsack, yanked up my singlet and ran with my best friend and teammate out the door, Jasmine Mian. It wasn’t one of the scenarios I had so meticulously prepared for but alas, that is the nature of sport and life. You can only prepare for so much and beyond that, it’s whatever you do in that moment. I arrived at the venue by 9:21am and started doing some quick warm-up drills to quickly get me ready to go. It was not the ideal warm-up, (I didn't even have time for a coffee?!) but that’s what makes this sport so great. When the whistle blows, all bets are off and in the dynamic, tactical, sweaty chess match that is the sport of wrestling... anything can happen. Being the current defending national champion, I was up a match in the best 2 out of 3 series and all I had to do was win one match that day. With the new rules instated by our international governing body, I dominated and won that match 7-0 in 1min 47 seconds. That was all I had to do to secure the spot to represent Canada at the Senior Worlds. It was a surreal moment and afterwards I asked Jasmine, “Am I still dreaming?” It certainly still feels dreamlike but so does most of my life. I leave in one week to compete at the FISU Games in Kazan, Russia, then home to prepare for the Senior World Championships in Budapest, Hungary in September. You're probably wondering, how did you sleep-in?! How is that possible on the morning that determines so much. Well it was a perfect storm of occurrences, Jasmine set the alarm but her buzzer on her phone was turned to silent, I turned my phone off for the night because I didn't bring a charger, Jasmine and I had planned to drive to the venue ourselves, and all my coaches and teammates assumed since I was wrestling-off my teammate I was just hiding away somewhere during the warm-up to help stay mentally focused. It fortunately worked out for the best but as my coach suggested, I should always stick with my usual routine and set my own alarms. Thank-you for all the support and love I have received so far and I’ll continue to blog on about my days living the dream. You can`t say I didn`t warn you guys.. but yes it is true. I have decided to take on the pleasure of sharing my thoughts and happenings with the real wide world of the web. It`s not simply a step in reducing the frequency of my phone calls home; it`s a step towards taking my life as an amateur athlete more seriously and committing myself to the full process for the next four years.
I will keep my blogs concise, honest, and attempt to be witty. If nothing else, I promise there won`t be too many spelling mistakes. The blog will chronicle my life as a wrestler and the roller coaster ride that it always seems to turn into. This summer I have so many exciting opportunities on the horizon. First and foremost, I have a wrestle-off with my teammate, Leah Callahan for the 72kg World Team spot. This will decide who competes at the World Championships in Bulgaria in September. I'm really excited for the opportunity to compete in my first ever Games experience. on July 8th I'll be flying to Kazan, Russia to wrestle for Team Canada at the FISU Games. It is the 2nd largest sports participation event in the world and is a competition restricted to only student-athletes. I will be joined in Russia with many other Dino athletes and will be proud to represent my university and country at these world-class event. If you are reading this, thank you for giving in to your curiosity just enough to check out what my website is all about. I hope you like what you see and are also understanding as I struggle to take the first baby steps in this process. If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact me (e-mail or DM on Twitter are both great)! |
AuthorErica Wiebe is a Canadian freestyle wrestler and Bachelor of Arts student at the University of Calgary. Her passion for wrestling and writing combine in the words of this blog, sprinkled with a strong opinion on certain matters and a hint of feminist thrown in for good measure. Archives
August 2017
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