Kristina Valjas

2014-02-21T17:30:00.000-05:00

Hey, thanks for checking out my blog! I actually have a new website, so please check it out and refer to it for any future updates. See ya there!

Hilton HHonors Beach Volleyball Challenge

2013-11-26T17:26:00.000-05:00

Good morning Waikiki Beach!

Aloha!

I recently got back from an exhibition event in Hawaii. It was such an honour to be a part of the Hilton HHonors Beach Volleyball Challenge November 15-17. It was an event that invited only one men's and one women's team from Canada, China and the US. But because there were only 6 teams involved does not mean this was a small event! We were totally treated like rock stars as soon as we arrived (which was a little later than expected due to a missed connection at JFK airport... haha). We did interviews, attended a luau in honour of the athletes at the event and met a whole bunch of great people along the way!

The venue was beautiful, the weather was perfect and the volleyball was awesome! What a huge experience for Jamie and I. We got to play two of the best teams in the world. For fun. In Hawaii. Is this a dream?

Yes Guy!

The team from the states was Kerri Walsh and April Ross, the Gold and Silver medalists at the Olympics last year. The team from China had just won the last FIVB event we were at in Thailand... and not to mention one of the girls is the reigning World Champion.
So, you could say we were the underdogs... being Olympic hopefuls and not having nearly as much experience as our competition... but what a chance for us to play at the highest level and put our skills to the test! I feel so lucky to have been able to take part in this tournament. I learned so much about myself and our team, and proved to myself that we really do have what it takes to get to the top level in this sport.

Here are some pictures from our time in Hawaii. I miss it already!

Mom, Ben, John, me, Jamie, Ahren and Chaim. Team Canada at the Luau!

Team bonding

Take me back!

Hello Asia... we meet again

2013-11-10T20:11:00.000-05:00

Jamie and I wrapped up our FIVB World Tour season with two stops in Asia. First we went to Xiamen, China to compete in the last Grand Slam of the year. You might recall we kicked off the season in China this year with some pretty good results! (9th in Fuzhou and 17th in Shanghai) so we were looking forward to working hard and getting some more good finishes.

Visa, 15hr flight, jet-lag! Getting to China is a process...

China was good to us again! We played in some of the windiest conditions we've ever experienced, and improved our game with each day of playing. The first day of pool play was a little rough, we lost both our matches to USA and Germany. The next day was much better, we beat Japan to advance out of our pool. Then we matched up against Italy in the first round of playoffs. The wind was so strong, but we used it to our advantage and kept hitting the ball hard when we could. We won that game, which took us to the second round vs. another team from Germany. It was close, but we just couldn't quite pull off a win. We came away with a 9th place finish, which we are very proud of!

Our last World Tour stop of 2013 was an Open in Phuket, Thailand.

Ok, you probably think that as a beach volleyball player, I get to spend all my time on a beautiful sandy beach under the sun. That's definitely not the case, as we usually play at venues that are man-made beach court set up somewhere away from any water... and sometimes it's cold and rainy to the point that we have to wear full-body spandex. Anyway, as the above is all too true, I do have to admit that Phuket is EXACTLY what you'd imagine when it comes to living the beach volleyball dream!!

The courts are on white sandy beaches, the sun is usually shining and the ocean is at the perfect temperature for you to feel refreshed, yet able to swim all day! We love it there. Such a treat to be able to travel there after a long and gruelling season! I'd invite anyone to come down there and cheer us on :) it's a great spot to travel to.

The view from centre court.

Pad Thai and other delicious food every day!

In the tournament we lost to Sweden and Brasil but beat Norway to advance to the playoffs. We beat Vanuatu, but lost to Argentina, landing us another 9th place finish.
This has been our third 9th in a row, and our fourth this season. It's really nice to see hard work paying off, but we already have our sights set for bigger and better things next season. We came pretty close to some even better finishes, we know they are within reach, and that's so encouraging and inspiring for us!

Here are some pics from the trip

Apparently snickers will make you younger and clean-shaven....

....because this looks appetizing! A super pig that moo's...

The waitress was as tall as Jamie sitting down! I had to take a picture

My good friend Heather lives in Bangkok and met up with us in Phuket!

Being cool on Raya Island

Motorcy: the preferred way to get around in Bangkok!

You can never get tired of this view!

September, Brazil and Dragons

2013-10-13T16:50:00.000-04:00

Time for an update.
There was a break in the FIVB World Tour schedule. So for the month of September, Jamie and I were able to take a mini break, spend time with our families and recharge the old batteries. We had just spent a total of nine weeks traveling through Europe and we needed a little down time!
We focused on some quality training with our coach and I think we used the time we had together very effectively.

Toronto DOES have a beach! Early mornings at Ashbridges Bay are some of my favourite moments.

Brazil Grand Slam
So after a month off from competing, Jamie and I were getting hungry for more battles.
We flew down to Sao Paulo feeling refreshed and ready to go.
We were in the qualifier and had to match up against a pretty strong Russian team to advance into the Main Draw. We knew we had to come out aggressively in order to win. It was that mentality that led us to a 3 set victory (21-16, 20-22, 15-12). I had been working on my jump spin serve over the summer and decided to test it out here. It felt good to put something into an high-pressure game situation that I'd been practicing for so long, and with such positive results! Safe to say I have it as a tool from now on!

Jamie being large at the net vs. Switzerland

In the Main Draw, we were pooled with top teams from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We'd played all these teams before, and only managed to beat the Swiss team at our last meeting.
Jamie and I managed to stay strong and confident throughout all our pool play matches and WIN our pool!! This was the first time we've ever accomplished that, and it felt GREAT! Not only did it mean we had secured a top 10 spot in the Grand Slam, we proved that we have what it takes to win four matches in a row and really believe we can compete with some of the top teams in the world.

In the Round of 16 we faced the second ranked team in the tournament, the Salgado sisters from Brazil. This was definitely not our best game... facing a tournament favourite, at home, on centre court..... but we managed to make some plays and figure out where our game can continue to improve. We lost in two sets, but couldn't be too upset for long because we came away from the tournament with a 9th place finish.

Some of our success could be attributed to the Brazilian diet we treated ourselves to. One night before the tournament started, a bunch us of Canadians went out for all you can eat Brazilian BBQ. I can definitely say I've never eaten so much delicious meat before in my entire life. It just kept coming! And trust me, it was hard to say no.
Also, I always look forward to going to Brazil for one of my all-time favourite treats: Acai! They prepare it in a way so that it comes in a slushie form, with sliced bananas on top. And apparently it's a superfood, so I'll take ten please!!! yummmmm

Next up: China!
We're home for 5 days, then we take off for Xiamen, China. We're definitely looking to keep our momentum rolling!!

But before we leave...

Way back in April this year we were asked to participate in an episode of Dragon's Den, showing off some pretty sweet bikinis.
Karu Design was born from a need for simple and practical bikini design that maintains performance, quality and style. Founder and designer, Kaoru Matsui, has combined her active way of life with her appreciation for design to create the swimwear line for today's dynamic woman.
If you're interested in getting your hands on some sweet style, check out her website: www.karudesign.ca
> use the promo code "teamcanada" to get 25% off!

The episode airs this Wednesday, October 16th at 8pm, so be sure to tune into CBC to see us hang out with the dragons!

This was such a neat experience, I'm a huge fan of the show, so I was a little star struck when it came to meeting the dragons!! We all had a great time :)

August: Eurotrip 2.0

2013-09-05T18:13:00.001-04:00

I can't believe September is already here! And it's definitely making itself known. I was lucky enough to spend the long weekend up north with family and friends. The weather was fantastic... until September 1st. Then temperature dropped about 10 degrees and the rains came down! Alright, alright, I get it! Summer is over :(
But that doesn't mean that our competition season is over.
Before I get in to what we have coming up, I'll share a little recap about where we were in the month of August.

First stop: BERLIN, Germany

We were in the qualifier for this Grand Slam and we faced a feisty team from Greece. We had to show some real grit and determination to win the first set. We managed to come out on top with a score of 32-30! Then we solidified the win with a 21-13 win in the second set. Because of so many game experiences we've endured together in the past (both wins and losses), we were comfortable and confident in ourselves and our abilities, even under some pretty intense pressure. This win felt really awesome. We even gained a few German fans who were watching!

A bird's eye view of some of the competition courts in Berlin.

Jamie and I even had a day to explore the city. Good food, great coffee and lots of history.
Definitely worth checking out!

Imitating a piece of the Berlin wall.

Apparently this is legal? A keg bike powered by drunk guys.

Next stop: OLTEN, Switzerland

Fact: You can open a bottle of wine using only a shoe.

After the event in Berlin, we headed to Switzerland to participate in a national tour event. Before making our way to Olten, Jamie and I crashed on my friend's couch in Zurich for a couple of days to recover. Thanks Andres for opening up your apartment to us! Our little break (which included an outdoor movie night, chilling by Lake Zurich and jumping off diving platforms was just what we needed for a little down time before getting back into training and competing.

Such poise. Such grace.

Terror.

The event in Olten was so much fun! One court was built with stands surrounding it, right on the main road! Tons of people came from all over to watch some awesome volleyball. The vibe was pretty different here than in world tour events. There was definitely a party atmosphere, and you could tell that everyone involved was having such a great time, from the players to the fans to the DJ/announcer who was there all day every day (and night!). Unfortunately we ended up losing in the quarterfinal, but Maverick and Christian won the event on the men's side. Congrats boys, that was some seriously good volleyball. A well-deserved win!

Last stop in August: MOSCOW, Russia

The view from our hotel....

Russia is always... interesting. For some reason, Jamie and I flew into Moscow at 2am this year, so we were really hoping somebody would be there to pick us up from the airport to transport us to the tournament hotel. Luckily there was... a very large, very sketchy Russian dude who we had to convince that we were in fact the people he was looking for. No, of course he didn't speak English. And no, he didn't understand any of the universal hand symbols for "volleyball". Or if he did, he was unaware of the fact that he was sent to pick up two volleyball players.
Eventually he just grabbed Jamie's suitcase and we followed him to his black, unmarked car. I fell asleep almost immediately, but Jamie was on watch, terrified for our lives because a) he was going an average of 160km/h on the highways and roads and b) we still weren't totally sure if he was taking us to the right place.... Anyway, we made it to the hotel in one piece.

This made Russia all the more enjoyable!

We had a tough pool this tournament, playing teams from Germany, Russia and the Netherlands. We lost our game to the Neds by two points in the third set. Had we won that would have moved us on to playoffs! But, it was not meant to be, so we ended up with a 25th place finish this time.

So what's next? We are home for the month of September and will be training for the tournaments coming up in October and November. FIVB events in Brazil, China and Thailand are coming up! Followed by the NORCECA Finals in Trinidad and one last FIVB in South Africa. This month of training and being away from international competition will no doubt make us hungry to play hard come October.
I'm also so happy to be home because I get to spend some quality time with my friends, my family and my dogs!!! ❤❤

Little bro with poutine!

June and July

2013-07-31T14:04:00.003-04:00

Euro trip. 6 weeks. 6 countries. 2 girls with giant suitcases. Let the games begin!

Little Broder in her PRIME!

First stop: Lille, France.

We flew into Brussels, Belgium and got picked up from the airport and taken to Lille, France. Once we got there we were told we would be playing 3 matches the following day, jet lag and all! Not a great tournament, we ended up losing the bronze medal game and taking a 4th place finish. But the atmosphere of the this tournament was absolutely awesome! The crowds were so energetic it was infectious, despite the fact that we were so drained. Not only that, Jamie was lucky enough to have her birthday during the tournament, so she got some special treatment :)

Next we went to Holland

...a spot on the coast called The Hague. One of the windiest places I have ever played! Not a great tournament for us here either. We lost our qualification match against Italy so we didn't make it into the tournament. 33rd place finish.

Next up: ROME! One of our favourite stops on tour.

Qualified, won a game in main draw, but lost the tie break. bruuuuutal
25th place finish.

Training week in England

There was a week with no scheduled competition, so instead of paying for expensive flights home and having to deal with jet lag, we were lucky enough to hang out with our good friends Lucy and Zara from Great Britain. What a week! A lot of driving, sightseeing, meeting some great people and of course fitting in some training too.
Apparently the Rome airport was on strike, so we were bag-less for the entire week in England. But thanks to VISA insurance we got to go on a little shopping spree (for essentials... and some cute clothes too obviously).

World Championships in Stare Jablonki, Poland

Pre-game hail storm out of nowhere. Wait, what?

This was such a great experience. It was volleyball at it's highest level, only second to the Olympics. The atmosphere and intensity in this little Polish resort that hosted the tournament was awesome. The crowds were enthusiastic and there were a lot of them. Definitely saw my fair share of speedos and rat tails... but that's another story. We battled against two American teams and a Dutch team in pool play, unfortunately not managing to pull out a win, but learning each and every day. Canada's men's team of Ben Saxton and Chaim Schalk had a great tournament, taking down teams as they advanced through playoffs. We got to watch their quarter final match versus Brazil in the Warsaw airport lounge. A close game that they almost won! They ended up 5th, which is alright I guess. Way to go boys!

Gstaad, Switzerland

Team Canada's Swiss Chalet (unfortunately it did not come with delicious rotisserie chicken and chalet sauce)

We love Gstaad! What a beautiful town. After taking a scenic train ride from the Geneva airport, we settled into our awesome chalet with a bunch of other Canadians.
We beat a Czech team in the qualifier to advance to the Main Draw. Then we were pooled with the top teams from Holland, Austria and Slovakia. A tough pool, we were definitely the underdogs, but we battled hard and showed some of our stuff to make the matches close. Unfortunately we lost and took a 25th place finish. But you really can't stay down in Gstaad for too long, it is too beautiful! Especially when you take on the mountains with your rented moped.

post-loss nutella waffles :(

So that capped off our Euro trip! We flew back to Canada (Jamie to the west coast and me to Toronto) for a little recovery and down time before meeting up again in California for the next FIVB stop in Long Beach. We got there early to get some training in before the tournament started. I want to send a shout out to Celeste for being an awesome hostess and putting us up for a couple of days before the tournament covered our hotel. THANK YOU!

We had enough points to get straight into the main draw this time, which was so nice! We could just focus on the games we had in pool play. First up, we met up with a US team on centre court... not our best performance.. we lost that one pretty quick. But then we picked it up and had a better game against Brazil. Lost that one too, but managed to do some good things. Finally we played a team from Austria and beat them to advance to the playoff round, where we fell to the same Slovakian team we met in Switzerland. An unfortunate cross-over, but we will be looking for revenge if we ever meet up with them again!! Ended up with a 17th place finish here.

'til next time, California!

Shout out to our 2013 partners

2013-06-16T04:12:00.001-04:00

A big part of how we get through each season is through the help of sponsors, whether it's through products or financial help. We are so excited to be working with these awesome companies:

Competition gear at it's finest

Overkill at Canuck Stuff

I've already mentioned that we've partnered up with Canuck Stuff, a Canadian volleyball specialist store that offers sweet clothing from Overkill. These guys have been so supportive of us and we are proud to be a part of their team.
www.canuckstuff.com

These babies kept us nice and toasty in Holland

2XU

These tights are awesome. Not only do they keep you nice and warm on cold training/ competition days, the compression that is built into them is key for long flights. They are also really comfortable and reflective! So many features! We love our 2XU tights.
www.2xu.com

Jamie rocking the Dawn Top, one of our faves!

Sensi Bikinis

Jamie and I know bikinis. We wear one almost every day. So when we found Sensi, we got pretty excited. Not only are these bikinis sporty and functional (as they're 'designed for girls who rip') they also look really really cool. There are so many sweet styles. We can't get enough of them!
If you contact either one of us, we can get you a promotional code for a discount on anything on their website. OMG! Definitely worth checking out!
www.sensibikinis.com

Adopt an Athlete
One last bit of exciting news... if you like being kept up to date with our adventures and want to help out, here's your chance! Every little bit of help goes a long way... more than you know. It's also nice to see people's support. It means so much to us, and you may be the difference that gets us a couple more wins on tour. Not only that, you can be eligible for a tax receipt! Win/win!! Here's a link to the form: Adopt and Athlete
A couple of things to note: In order to offer a charitable tax receipt Volleyball Canada requires donors specify a sport (not an athlete) to direct the funds to; the donations cannot be earmarked for any individual athlete. However, donors can add a note of who they would like to see their money go towards and Volleyball Canada will do their part in providing expense reimbursements to those athletes. So please consider looking into this. If you feel like you want so spread some love or earn a few karma points, keep Jamie and Kristina in mind!

broderjamie@gmail.com
kvaljas@gmail.com
Facebook us!

Argentina

2013-06-06T17:05:00.000-04:00

On the road again, and it's time for another update. After coming home from China and visiting our favourite respective islands (Victoria and Maui), Jamie and I had 6 days to train and prepare for the next stop on the world tour: Argentina! Specifically, the city of Corrientes. This is a place that neither of us had competed in before. On doing some (light) research, I was delighted to see that there was only a mere hour time zone difference from Toronto. MUCH better than the 6 hours to Europe and 12 hours to China. Despite the time zone being in our favour, I didn't quite realize how far south our destination was.
After enduring a 24 hour travel day to get to Corrientes from Toronto we finally made it.... to find that (to borrow from the Game of Thrones) Winter was coming. Upon stepping off the plane to a frigid gust of cold wind, our thought process went something like this: Man that was a long trip. We are so far down south!... Southern hemisphere.... Our spring is their fall. Riiiiiight... Cold weather... Why did I pack shorts?

Flying over the Andes should have given me a clue.....

Anyway, we made it in one piece and got a couple of training days in before our qualification match. Unfortunately that match did not go our way and we lost to England in 3 sets. That was a tough loss. I'm sure I would have enjoyed being in Argentina more if I had a win or two under my belt. But it was not to be this time, so we changed our flights to come home early and leave winter behind.

A cool shot of the venue at night. www.fivb.org

We met with our coach and mapped out the 10 days we had in Toronto to maximize training before leaving for the next competition.

Springtime at Ashbridges Bay

It was also nice to be home because it was my birthday! I am so lucky to have such fabulous friends and it was such a treat to spend time with them while I was in town. I love you ALL!!
Not to mention my awesome family! They managed to surprise me by flying Len in for my birthday dinner :) The timing worked out perfectly and I couldn't have been happier (actually, it would have been nice if my youngest brother Austin was there. Apparently he needs to "study" for exams. Trust me, we're all shocked.) Although I think some of the motivation is my fault.. if he does well in school this year I owe him a very lavishly expensive dinner.... yikes.

One last bit of exciting news: We are pumped to be partnering up with Canuck Stuff as our team apparel sponsor! We are proud to wear the Overkill brand and are so happy to have their support!

And so, I've packed my suitcase once more... this time for a longer trip than usual. Jamie and I are heading to Europe for 5 weeks! I'll be sure to update our adventures. First stop: Lille, France! An exhibition tournament to get us warmed up for the four FIVBs in the weeks that follow. Huzzah!!

Fuzhou & Shanghai CHINA

2013-05-07T03:54:00.000-04:00

So much has happened since our victory in the Cayman Islands! Here's a quick recap:

We went directly to the next stop on the NORCECA tour in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic. We had some solid games in pool play but had a tough match in the quarter finals vs Mexico and ended up with a 5th place finish. Disappointing after such a successful previous tournament, but there was lots to learn from this experience, stuff that has made us a stronger team now having gone through that.

We were home for two weeks, where we continued to train hard, and get organized for our trip to China. This included getting our Chinese visas and lots of food (camping meals, protein bars, oatmeal, nuts, etc). Our suitcases were pretty heavy!

Overlooking some of the courts at the Fuzhou venue.

The first stop on the FIVB World Tour was Fuzhou, China. It was a new stop, somewhere we hadn't been before and it was actually really nice. On the first day we participated in the Qualification tournament. We had to win our one match against a team from the Netherlands to earn a spot in the Main Draw. After getting over some nerves in the first set, we eventually won (18-21, 21-18, 15-7). This put us in a pool with 3 other teams. We played Brazil and another team from the Netherlands on the first day of Main Draw action. We lost both, definitely not playing our best, but still managing to do some good things.

It was especially tough for me that day because I heard about my grandfather passing away between matches. I'm very close with my grandparents so this was tough being so far away from home, missing the funeral and not being with my family. I like to think my grandpa was looking out me for though, because the next day we beat Kazakhstan to make it out of our pool. And not only that, the Russian team we were supposed to play in the first round of playoffs pulled out due to an injury, so we advanced to the second round. Eventually we lost to the top team from Italy, taking a 9th place finish. A career best!

This was a super emotional tournament, but one I'll remember fondly, knowing my grandpa is up there with front row seats to my games. Love you grandpa, miss you.

...Ok, before I start crying again, back to volleyball! After Fuzhou, we flew to Shanghai for the Grand Slam event, which meant there were more points and prize money to be earned! But first… qualification. Grrrr…

Well, we took down Spain in a 2-set heated battle, then beat Columbia in the final round of qualification to earn Main Draw again! We were pumped about that!

Again we had a rough start in pool play, losing to a Chinese team and the same Netherlands team we faced last week in the main draw. But we managed to pull out a win against a Czech team to advance to pool play! Here we lost a tight battle against a team from Brazil. We fought hard, but just couldn't manage to keep control of the game in the third set.

Mav and Sam playing China on centre court in Shanghai.

Jamie out-jumping the competition, as usual.

What a game, the lines people were SO into it!

Overall, we are very pleased with our performance over the past two weeks. It feels awesome to qualify, and even sweeter to win a couple games in the Main Draw. This gives us confidence for the rest of our season, we're ready to keep working hard and improving our game!

Now I'm on the road (...air?) again, heading home after making a quick pitstop in Maui to visit my brother. Aloha!!!!!!

Out with a bang!

2013-03-26T16:56:00.000-04:00

It’s been a long, cold winter, but we managed to survive! We were so excited to get to go to the first event of the year, a NORCECA in the Cayman Islands. We were really looking forward to getting back outside and getting used to the heat and wind. Cayman definitely has it’s fair share of both!

Jamie and I arrived a week early to get used to the conditions. We also ran a two-day beach clinic for the local kids who are into playing indoor volleyball and want to check out what beach is all about. It was really fun getting to know everyone, we all had a fun time.

Definitely some super talent here! We better watch out... :)

The tournament organizers also offered complementary dolphin excursions, so I got to swim with a dolphin and kiss him too! (yes, this place IS paradise).

Getting things started at the technical meeting.

The tournament started on Friday with pool play. We defeated Mexico 2 and Barbados, and on Saturday morning we took down El Salvador to win our pool. Later in the afternoon we matched up against a Cayman Islands team in the quarter final to advance to the semis.

We were matched up against USA2. The sun was out, the wind was strong and Jamie and I were ready to battle!
Kind of. We had a shaky start, losing the first set 16-21… This team’s aggressive serving took us off guard a little. But we fought back in the second set and won 27-25 (despite a few questionable calls from the ref…). We found our groove and got a grip on the wind in the third set and finally beat them 15-11.

Then we had a couple of hours to rest before meeting USA1 in the finals. We had done all the hard work leading up to this game, so we were able to let ourselves enjoy being in the finals. The atmosphere was crazy. I took a deep breath and looked around before the first whistle blew. The stands were packed with so many Canadian fans. This was my first time in the finals at a NORCECA and I was SO PUMPED to be there. Jamie and I played like we were on a mission, playing smart with the wind and hitting balls as hard as we could whenever we had the chance. We beat the Americans 21-16, 21-13. Jamie served an ace to win the match. What a great feeling! We were exhausted and thrilled!!

The water spider and the beast.

We started working with a personal coach this year, John May, and flew him down here to help us out with this tournament. It was great to have someone with us to keep us focused (and entertained in the down time!). I can't thank John enough for his support. We've learned so much from in the short time that we've been working with him, and we're looking forward to more big things in the future!

The next day we took a boat cruise with fellow Canadian teammates Heather and Liz. We checked out sting ray city and did some snorkelling. It was a nice recovery day, relaxing for the most part (except when we had to hang out with the sting rays. Those things are CREEPY!)

Here are a few photos.

Busting through the winter blahs

2013-03-02T11:43:00.000-05:00

It's official! Jamie and I will be heading down to the Cayman Islands in a couple of weeks for the first event of the 2013 season. I can't tell you how excited I am to start competing again. We have been training hard all winter long, just itching to get back outside and play!!

The Cayman Islands NORCECA was my second international competition ever, in 2010. I actually played in it with Jamie, even though we weren't partners at the time!

It's been a pretty solid winter. We've both managed to stay healthy and improve our strength, fitness and team tactics. The national beach program also welcomed a new head coach in early January. We're thrilled to have Steve Anderson take over and share his philosophies and unique coaching style. He worked with the Australian beach team for 17 years and helped them earn Olympic bronze and gold medals. His energy and belief in Canadian athletes and our program is infectious... and I have to say, it's it's been pretty fun working with him so far.
It's also been nice having a routine, staying in the same city for more than a week, not dealing with jet-lag, and knowing I will always be able to get my favourite foods from the grocery store whenever I want. Having said that, I'm really looking forward to racking up the air miles :)

Although our training has been great, I can't deny that sometimes it's hard to stay motivated in the cold winter months when we're bundled up in our training centre for practice and the sun seems to set so early that sunny summer feels so far away! I have to give a shout out to somebody who has been an inspiration to me. My younger brother Lenny is a member of Canada's national cross country ski team and he's one of my best friends. His competition season starts when mine ends (November) and he's been in Europe since then, so we don't get to see each other very often... but we manage to keep in touch through skype and funny emails. Lenny is one of the coolest people I know. He's always so chill and level headed and he actually gives really great advice. Not to mention he is kicking some serious butt on the World Cup tour! So when I'm stuck at home, freezing and longing for summer to return, I feel lucky to be able to tune in to my brother's season and watch him ski like a champ! Every success he has makes me more and more excited to compete again!!
Mahalo bro!!!

Throwback! circa 1992 and 2012

Snow Day!

2013-02-08T22:40:00.000-05:00

The forecast called for "Toronto's biggest snowfall in years".... and I have to say I was a little bit skeptical. It seems that people tend to over-exaggerate a predicted snowfall these days. I had planned a road trip to visit a friend in Ottawa this weekend, so I was really hoping the weather man was wrong with this one.

When I woke up, the city was covered in snow and it was actually coming down pretty steadily. Our coach cancelled training, so I enjoyed my first real snow day since being back in school. It was great!

I decided to hit the streets and take some pictures.

At the end of the day, the amount of snow that hit Toronto wasn't completely ridiculous. I guess the city panicked because of the amount that got dumped in such a short time. Over a foot of snow fell today and it did give drivers a hard time on the roads. I think I made the right call by postponing my road trip for another weekend.

I am missing the sun and sand more than ever!

March Break Indoor Volleyball Camp

2013-01-31T10:58:00.000-05:00

I have some exciting news!
I will be helping out with a really cool week-long March Break volleyball camp. If you are a kid, you DEFINITELY want to get in on this opportunity to meet and work with current Canadian National Team members.

I will be coaching alongside my partner Jamie Broder, Olympian Josh Binstock and his partner Maverick Hatch.

Here is what you need to know:

This camp aims to deliver the full range of skills necessary to compete and excel in volleyball as the certified, elite level instructors will expose you to new methods and tactics while taking each individuals knowledge of the game to the next level.

Within the 5-days/30 hours of camp, athletes will work to improve techniques, physical and tactical aspects of the game as well as decision-making abilities. Mental training, strength and conditioning, & nutrition guides will be incorporated into each daily session, as these commonly overlooked aspects are imperative when striving for excellence and consistency.

Also, Julie Bednarski, RD, MHSc - Vega Nutritionist and East Coast Rep (myvega.com) - will be at the camp educating campers on nutrition as well as providing Vega sample products!

Register early if interested in attending as space is limited!

This March Break Camp will be divided into two divisions, however athletes will be moved up or down if necessary (based on skill), and all athletes will work with every coach.

Ages 11-14:
Athletes here will gain valuable technical knowledge allowing them to build a strong foundation in all skills. The drills and focuses are designed for athletes to find quick success and a desire to continually improve. Along with base techniques athletes will be exposed to a high intensity environment allowing for maximal benefit and learning opportunities.

Ages 15-18:Athletes in this group will be introduced to volleyball on a deeper level; learning what makes elite athletes perform at their best on a consistent basis. This will include the fine-tuning of developed skills, the introduction of new skills, as well as situational theory that will teach athletes how to successfully perform during high-pressure situations.

This is an OVA sanctioned camp, for further information and registration details you can visit the OVA website or see below… Hope to see you out during March Break!

Location: Havergal College – Upper School, 1451 Avenue Rd., Toronto ON M5N 2H9

Date: March 11-15, 2013

Time: 9AM-4PM (1hr Lunch Break)

Ages: 11 – 18 years

Cost: $300 total (includes HST)

Registration Payment: Cheques payable to Maverick Hatch or email transfer to promotions@maverickhatch.com.

Any questions? Contact Maverick!

October update

2012-11-14T10:07:00.000-05:00

After a deliciously large turkey dinner at Thanksgiving, we only had a couple of days to recover before having to perform the best we could at the National Team tryouts and physical testing. Along with ball control and skill testing, we had to hop hurdles, throw med balls, run an agility course and do the yo-yo test, among other tests.

All this went down at our Full-time Training Centre at Downsview Park.

Jamie and I then had a week at home to train for our upcoming tournament in Thailand, the last stop of the year on the world tour. We trained with the other Canadian team that would be traveling, Vee and Sophie, since everyone else had decided to start their break a little early.

Thailand is always one of my favourite stops on tour. Instead of being held in Phuket like the last couple of years, this FIVB took place in Bang Saen, a town just one hour outside of Bangkok.

Since the timing is kind of weird for this event (it's almost a month after the previous event) and especially because it's an Olympic year, a lot of the usual teams decided not to come to this tournament, and Jamie and I took advantage of this situation. We'd accumulated enough points this season that we were the top-ranked team in the qualifier. And because so few teams showed up, we got a bye into the Main Draw, which was pretty awesome. On qualification day, we went to cheer on Vee and Sophie. It was pouring rain on the day of their game, and unfortunately they could not pull out a win against Norway.

A view of the venue

We played the next day, and the weather had cleared up by then so it was sunny and hot. Our first game in the Main Draw was against a team from the Netherlands. We took the match in 3 sets (19-21, 21-19, 15-12). It was really exciting to win such a tight game! We played a decent game, staying aggressive and attacking whenever we could, but there are definitely still things to work on. The win was so exciting because it meant we were guaranteed to at least match our best ever result at an FIVB. Such a great feeling!

Next we played Brazil, a familiar opponent, as we had just played them in Finland a few weeks ago. This time around we played much better, almost taking the first set, and probably catching them off-guard. We lost in 2 (20-22, 11-21) but felt like we had improved since our last match against them.

Finally, we played Vanuatu. This is a team that we have gotten to know through training sessions at many FIVB events throughout the year. I personally had a bad game that day, I'm not sure if it was the heat, fatigue or just an off-day for me. I was really disappointed with the loss (15-21, 15-21) because I know this is a team we are capable of beating, but I will just have to keep training hard and wait until our next match up to prove it! That loss took us out of the tournament with a 17th place finish, the same as in Finland and one that I am proud of, but believe we can continue to improve!

I was lucky enough to have my parents come to this tournament and cheer us on. It was their first time attending an FIVB and I think they had a pretty good time!

This bad boy was lent to my parents by the owner of their hotel. Yes, it has flames. And yes, it is called the Phantom.

After the tournament, my parents and I planned to travel to an island called Koh Samui together. We arrived in the morning, rented motorbikes (for a daily rate of $5 each!) and toured around in search of a place to stay for the night. I'd say we found a pretty awesome spot. I still can't get over how beautiful Thailand can be!

$65/night goes a long way in Thailand! We had our own villa by the beach.

Later that day, we swam in the ocean, hiked up a trail to check out a waterfall and started to head up a mountain to take in a sweet view of the island. Unfortunately, my mom had an accident and crashed her bike on the way up the mountain. The rest of the day was spent in 2 hospitals getting stitches and x-rays. Turns out she broke her humerus bone. She spent her first night on the island in the hospital, a huge bummer! However, armed with her recently purchased new iPad from a shopping day in Bangkok, she was a trooper and managed to return to the hotel in a cast and sling so she could enjoy the last couple days on the beach as intended.

After a few days on the island, my parents flew home and I stayed with my good friend Heather in Bangkok, just as I did last year. This was such a great way to end my trip. I got to do some Bangkok essentials before I left (you know... thai massage, mani, pedi, another massage, shopping, etc). I am so grateful to both Heather and her boyfriend Greg for letting me share their space! Thank you for being such wonderful hosts, it was such a treat to be able to spend time with you!

I have to say, I really didn't want to come home. When I arrived, the weather was cold and rainy and brutal! The one good thing about coming home though was that I got to hang out with my brother for a day. It was one of those rare times when we're both at home. He came to get me from the airport, and he next day I dropped him off there for his flight to Sweden. But in between we got to hang out and get caught up in each others' lives. Just as my beach season ends, his ski season picks up! The timing is pretty funny.

Now that I'm home, I've had a week to rest before training starts up again. Still feeling some of the effects of jet lag too. My roommate thinks I'm crazy, unable to keep my eyes open past 9pm and waking up at 6:30 every day. Oh well, I guess I'm a morning person now!

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

2012-10-07T17:35:00.000-04:00

Autumn is definitely the best season of the year (even if it's a little too cold to keep hanging out and training on Canadian beaches)! This thanksgiving weekend, like every year, I headed up north to our cottage with my family.

Just look at the colour of the trees! And this is just the beginning....

So when it's 7 degrees outside and you're about to put the boat away for the winter,

what better to do than go for one last wake surf ride of the year!

Gangnam Style!!

Oh yeah. That was awesome. Next up, turkey dinner! That is the best part of the weekend, after all.

Looking forward to stuffing my face with delicious food.

Gobble Gobble!

San Diego NORCECA

2012-10-02T15:53:00.001-04:00

On the second day of our tournament we beat Guatemala in our last game of pool play. Later that day we took on Trinidad & Tobago in the quarters to make top 4 in the tournament.

San Diego was experiencing a heat wave this weekend, so each day was hotter than the last. It didn't help that most of our games were played in the middle of the day either!

On the final day, we were matched up with another US team in our semi final. They got off to strong start both sets and we couldn't manage to hold a lead against them. We lost in 2 sets and had to face Mexico in the bronze final. We started off great, dominating the first set, but then the momentum shifted and we ended up losing in 3. SO disappointing!

On a happier note, the Canadian men did great! Ben and Chaim won the tournament while our second team of Mike and Cam took the bronze. They both beat American teams in the finals. Way to go boys!

We managed to do some sightseeing before heading home. The day after the tournament, Mike, Cam, my mom and I decided to hit up the World Famous San Diego Zoo. We wandered around for hours, it was a really great time! We also managed to squeeze in a quick visit to the beach on Coronado Island. I hope I get to come back to San Diego, this has been a pretty fun trip!

My mom, so pumped to be at the beach! Coronado Island, CA.

2012-09-29T13:15:00.001-04:00

I love Vancouver.

...so it's no surprise that I came back! We decided to have a week of training out west before our next tournament; a NORCECA down in San Diego. The weather has continued to be sunny and clear in Van since I left at the end of August. We've trained almost everyday (sometimes twice!) with Chris Densmore, an awesome coach that has helped us out so much.

On our day off, we decided to hike The Chief in Squamish. Such an incredible view! (You just can't get this in Toronto!)

Always up for a training session!

Kits Beach was pretty quiet this week, now that summer is winding down, so it felt like we had the place to ourselves. The week of intense training was much needed. I think it successfully set us up for the NORCECA.

We're in California now and loving it! We played our first pool play match against a US team yesterday (W 21-11, 21-14) and we have two games today. The venue is pretty incredible, it's an Olympic Training Centre for many different sports and it has housing and food and laundry on site. Not to mention a sweet athlete lounge with pool tables, xbox, computers and board games. Our moms also decided to come down and watch the tournament, so we have a cheering section too!
Our next game is against Guatemala this afternoon. Let's keep it rolling!

The awesome venue in Chula Vista, CA.

Fast and Female

2012-09-04T17:02:00.000-04:00

Chandra Crawford - 2006 Olympic Gold Medallist, Cross-Country Skiing

I am happy to announce that I have partnered up with a fantastic organization called Fast and Female! It's a non-profit organization that works to inspire and motivate girls aged 9-19 to stay hooked on sports and lead a healthy lifestyle. Fast and Female was started by my friend Chandra Crawford and offers programs and events for girls to participate in all over Canada. It is so important for girls to gain confidence and leadership skills to help them reach their full potential. I am honoured to be named an ambassador!!

Check out the website for more information!

Finland FIVB

2012-09-02T12:40:00.000-04:00

I just got back from the FIVB event in Aland, Finland. This was a trip full of excitement from the start. On the day I was scheduled to depart from Toronto, I had the honour of being a bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding. Unfortunately, I had to leave the party a little early to catch my flight and make it to the tournament on time. (The wedding was awesome by the way. The bride was gorgeous and everything was so perfect!)

So my flight left at 11:20pm for London. Luckily, I was upgraded to first class (thank you Aeroplan!) so I feel asleep right away, for pretty much the whole trip. It was only after landing in London that I found out our flight was delayed 2 hours and I missed my connection to Stockholm, where Jamie was waiting for me. The next flight left 5 hours later, so I had some time to kill (you may have noticed the blog layout has changed a little.. yay boredom!). I eventually made it to Stockholm, rolling into our hotel room at about 1am. The next morning, we caught the ferry to Aland. Why this tournament is on an island is beyond me. The town is very quaint, just tough to get to!

Anyway, we did our best to adjust to the time change and the weather, which was freezing compared to what we'd been used to this summer.

We only had one round of qualification to make it into the main draw. As usual, if we had lost, we'd be out of the tournament. But we managed to pull out a 3-set victory over Norway and earned our way into the main draw for the first time as a team. This was a pretty exciting moment for me too, because it was my first main draw appearance ever.

The next morning we were pretty pumped to play our first match, which was against the top Swiss team, ranked third in the tournament. It was definitely a learning experience! We lost 21-13, 21-16, but managed to do some good things. I think our nerves got the best of us and we could have performed better, but it was very cool to play such a dynamic team. Main Draw is set up in Double Elimination format, so our loss put us in the loser's bracket and if we lost our next game, we were out. As it turned out, we were matched up against fellow Canadians Heather and Liz! It's always a shame when two teams from the same country have to play each other, especially when one team gets knocked out of the tournament. Sometimes the draw can just be unlucky like that. Well, we had just played these guys at Nationals, so we were looking for revenge this time around. It was a good battle and we managed to take the win 21-19, 21-16. We were so pumped because this meant we were able to stay alive for another day in the main draw.

The next morning, we faced a team from Brazil. It was tough to get our rhythm going because this was a very strong team. They beat us 21-16, 21-12 and eliminated us from the tournament with a 17th place finish.

I think I could have played better if it wasn't for an accident that happened the morning of our first Main Draw match. An hour before game time, I banged my foot pretty hard on a ledge. It was bleeding quite a lot, so I went to the medical room and got them to tape it up for me so I could play. After our 2 matches, I went back to get the tape removed and get it cleaned up a little. It was a pretty gnarly gash. They took a closer look at the cut and told me I should probably go to the hospital. Turns out, I got 6 stitches in my baby toe! I felt the pain from the stitches even more than the injury itself, so playing on it the next day was pretty brutal. But, I have a rad souvenir from my first main draw! This is definitely a tournament I won't forget.

2012-08-26T13:59:00.000-04:00

I would like to take this opportunity to thank an organization who has helped me to get where I am today. The Estonian Foundation of Canada offers scholarships to students and athletes of Estonian descent, and I am honoured to be selected for the scholarship this year. The basic funding we get through our sport federation is not enough to cover all of my expenses, so this has helped us pay for flights
to important tournaments so I can compete in the sport
I love and ultimately reach my goal of competing in the
2016 Olympics.

Nationals 2012 - Bronze Medal

I am extremely proud of my Estonian heritage. Although I was born in Canada, I feel a strong connection to this tiny country, especially through my grandparents who were born there. Some of my relatives are still in Estonia, but many of them also live in Toronto, where the Canadian-Estonian community is quite strong. I attended Estonian night school as a kid so I am able to speak, read and write the language. It's important to me to stay connected to my roots, so it means a lot to me when I am recognized and supported by organizations like the Estonian Foundation of Canada.
Suur tänu!

2012 Nationals

2012-08-20T20:38:00.003-04:00

Here's a breakdown of what went down on the weekend of August 17-19.
Friday August 17 - Day 1
We had only 1 game on the first day of the tournament. We were matched up against Mel and Taylor, a team we have seen quite a bit of this summer. They beat us in the finals at the Vancouver Open, and we beat them in the finals at Centre of Gravity in Kelowna. Needless to say, it was a bit of a grudge match to settle our 1-1 standing with them. Jamie and I started playing aggressively, attacking whenever we could and really going after our serves. We're proud of the way we played, and it won us the match, 21-14, 21-16.
Saturday August 18 - Day 2
Next we faced last year's national champs, Kacie and Julie, our good friends and a team that also competes on the World Tour. We fought hard but couldn't manage to beat them. They took us in 3 sets, 18-21, 25-23, 12-15. This put Jamie and I in the loser's bracket of the Double Elimination set up. We played another game, essentially our second chance at a quarter final, and our ticket to the Semis on Sunday. We played the scrappy team of Jackie and Tori. I think we unleashed some of our pent-up frustration from the previous match, and we took this match 21-12, 21-9.

Cold morning game. (photo: Blair Shier)

Sunday August 19 - Day 3
We faced the top ranked team of the tournament in our semi. Heather and Liz won nationals in 2010 and have been working their way up the rankings on the World Tour ever since. Jamie and I are disappointed with our performance against them. It was definitely not our best game, and it's a shame we had to play so poorly at that point in the tournament. We lost 21-12, 21-13... which meant we were out of the running for claiming the National Championship title for this year. That was a tough realization, but we had to move on from it and focus on the bronze medal game coming up. As it turned out, Mel and Taylor worked their way through the loser's bracket and earned their way into the semis, taking on Kacie and Julie. They played great and won in 2 sets (28-26, 21-17). This meant we would play Kacie and Julie for bronze. It was such a battle!! It was clear that both teams wanted a spot on the podium. We won the first set 21-19, then they came back to win the second set 21-17. The third set was intense. At one point Jamie and I were down 3-8 but we fought hard and managed to come back for the win, 17-15!! We were thrilled, and exhausted, and glad the tournament had finally come to an end.

Bronze!

I sincerely want to thank everyone who has supported us this year, and especially those who came out to cheer us on. In particular, my parents, Austin, Julie, Blair, Amy, Mike, Nadia, Kat, Karlee and Sam. It means so much to see you in the crowds and hear you guys losing your voices for us. THANKS!!
I also want to mention that this was Julie's last tournament as a National Team athlete. She has made the decision to take her life in a new direction. She will be seriously missed in the beach volleyball community. It was such a pleasure to get to know her over the past three years. There are few athletes who have such a great positive and competitive attitude. I totally admire her as an athlete and I'm honoured to call her a friend! Best of luck Julie, may you be successful in whatever you choose to do!

We had the loudest fans. You guys are the best!

Thanks for the pictures Wayne!!

Centre of Gravity CHAMPS!

2012-08-17T12:03:00.000-04:00

We're pumped to be holding up another giant cheque!! We went undefeated this tournament, which made it extra sweet. Now we're setting our sights on Nationals at Spanish Banks. This is the last domestic tournament of the year, and it's a big one. It's a 3-day tournament in double-elimination format. We play our first game today at 3pm against old friends, Mel and Taylor. I sense another battle... and we're ready for it!!

Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna

2012-08-03T01:23:00.000-04:00

After getting back from Korea, we had a couple of days to adjust back to Vancouver time. We spent a lovely day stand-up paddling boarding along English Bay with Mila, enjoyed some delicious, familiar food that we missed in Korea and watched the start of the Olympics!

Dandelion coffee. Who knew?!

My friend and UofT teammate Elodie at opening ceremonies!

Shortly after that, we competed in BC Provincials July 28&29. We had a blast playing under a sunny sky at Kits, and ended up winning the tournament! Many thanks to our cheering squad, Kat and Karlee!

Karlee, Kat and me with our celebratory Caesars :)

Passed by nude cyclists on my way home.... awesome.

We decided to take a little break after Provincials, so Jamie took me to her hometown Victoria, on Vancouver Island. It was my first time taking the ferry over to the island, and I have to say, it was really beautiful. I wish I had more time to explore!! I have a really good feeling I'll b back there some day soon!

A few sights from the trip to Victoria... sigh

Now we're in Kelowna, gearing up for what is probably the most fun tournament of the year. It's part of Centre of Gravity, a multisport festival with music acts and parties all weekend long. Some of the top teams from Canada will be here to the competition will be tough!! Jamie and I are ready for anything, so bring it on!!

Korea 2.0

2012-08-03T00:51:00.001-04:00

Jamie and I just got back from competing in 2 Korean exhibition tournaments occurring over 10 days (August 16-25). There were teams from Spain, Norway, Czech, Austria, Netherlands, New Zealand and Korea.
The first tournament was in Busan.

First Venue

The way the first tournament was organized was a little bit strange... The organizers only wanted 6 teams playing, 2 of them being Korean teams, so they drew seeds out of a hat for the remaining international teams. The thing was, there were 4 available spots and 7 teams hoping to play. We were lucky enough to draw a spot in the tournament. But Norway, Spain and China weren't so lucky. They had to sit this one out. Good thing we pulled a lucky ticket, because we ended up winning the first tournament! It felt really good to stand on top of that podium.

Immediately after the finals, we were supplied with Big Macs for lunch and herded on to a coach bus that was to take us to the next venue. Little did we know, it was going to be an 8 hour bus ride! That was fun....

When we finally got to Gyeongpo Beach, we had a day off before the second tournament started. This location was actually pretty cool, there was a boardwalk along the beach that we walked to get from our hotel to centre court. This tournament was set up in a double-elimination format. We went undefeated all the way to semis, where we lost Spain. Later on, we beat Norway to take the bronze.

This was such a fun experience, we got to play some great competitive volleyball and make new friends. I hope we get a chance to participate in these tournaments next year... even if that means it will be Jamie's 7th trip to Korea!

Sunset on a lake by our hotel

Celebratory waffles and gelato. Too good.

Mandatory post-tournament karaoke.
(Jamie and I won this competition too, with our rendition of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody)

2012-07-26T14:48:00.003-04:00

The Canadian Olympic Trials were held at Ashbridges Bay in Toronto on July 7th. The two matches determined which teams would be representing Canada at the London Olympics.

Josh Binstock and Martin Reader qualified for the men.

And Annie Martin and Marie-Andree Lessard qualified on the women's side.

It was such an exciting day of awesome volleyball!

You can catch up with them on their blogs and websites:

http://www.lessardmartin.com/

http://martinreader.blogspot.ca/

http://www.road2london2012.com/http:/www.road2london2012.com/start-of-my-olympic-journal

The Beach Volleyball in London starts on Saturday, July 28.

Here's a link to some of the info: http://www.london2012.com/beach-volleyball/about/

After the trials, Jamie and I got to spend some time off in Toronto, so I was able to catch up with friends.

Dinner at the CN Tower with Austin

My roommate, Alex!

Vanessa's wedding shower :)

Then Jamie and I flew out to Vancouver where we set up camp in our second home... aka Mila's apartment.

Mila and Jamie

We competed in the Vancouver Open July 14-15.

Kitsilano Beach

Game plan

It was a really successful tournament, we ended up coming in 2nd!