As the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games already start to fade from our memories, I have one more Olympic post before moving on to a new topic.  I simply call it:

My Top Ten Moments of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games

10. William Shatner telling us about Canadians knowing how to make love in a canoe.

9. Charles Hamelin wins the Gold medal and Marianne St. Gelais runs up to hug him – and he gives her bum a squeeze!

8. Clara Hughes winning the Bronze medal in the 5,000 m Long Track Speed Skating.

7. Marianne St. Gelais’s enthusiasm and wonderful smile! Especially her cheering when Charles was racing.

6. Floating beavers and moose in the closing ceremonies.

5. The display of patriotism across the country and a real feeling of national pride.

4. Jon Montgomery drinking from a pitcher of beer while walking through Whistler Village.

3. Joannie Rochette’s short program, only 2 days after her mother died.

2. The dozens of renditions of “I Believe” highlight reels – made me cry every time.

1. Sidney Crosby’s Gold Goal!

It’s back to the real world for now. It has been a pleasure sharing the Olympics with all of you! And I look forward to hearing about your Olympic moments!

Don’t forget – Thursday night is Networking with Excellence and Integrity.  There are a few spots left, please email me if you’d like a spot.

Own the Podium.  That was the plan for Vancouver 2010. A plan that was almost thrown out the window after 9 days of competition.  Our amazing athletes turned it around, and Canada finished on top of the Gold podium, with 14 gold medals.  More than any other country at these games and at ANY Olympic Games since 1924. Six gold medals were won in the last 48 hours of the games.

In my post from early Saturday morning, I mentioned the ones to watch.  I had no idea they would all win a medal – 4 Gold and 1 Bronze.  Saturday was another wonderful day at the games.  We won 2 Golds within 5 min, first the Men’s Team Pursuit Final, against the USA (we won by 0.20) and second Jasey-Jay Anderson, in Snowboard Giant Slalom. Saturday night, Canadian Curling skip Kevin Martin, completed his domination in the curling tournament with a Gold medal win, 6-3 vs Norway (and their awesome curling pants).  Our 4 man bobsleigh team brought home the bronze.

Sunday was a BIG day across Canada.  Everyone had somewhere to be, whether is was on the streets of Vancouver or Toronto, with friends and family or at the bar or pub. The patriotism seen across the country was absolutely incredible.  We went out to run errands in our neighborhood and people were dressed in Canada gear, and looking to buy more at the Bay. By about 2:30 pm, the country had pretty much shut down, and we started the pre-game show. We had a small gathering at home with friends and family, to watch on our projector (about 80 inches). I have never felt anything like this.

The game started off very tightly, seemed like we might get through the first period without anyone scoring.  Then with only 7:10 remaining in the period, Jonathan Toews scored.  First period ended with Canada 1-0 lead over the USA. Second period was even better, Corey Perry scored goal #2 and we were up by 2.  The US were not going down without a fight, and responded with a goal late in the 2nd.  We went in the the 3rd period, up by 1 goal.  With less than 30 sec left in the game, the US scored to tie 2-2.  Here’s what happened at our place when this occur.  Ironically, the pizza arrived at EXACTLY the same time!

The stress was felt across the nation. We would be going into overtime. One 20 min period of 4 on 4 hockey, sudden-death (first goal wins it all).

I don’t know what was said in the dressing room at the intermission, but it made a difference for our Canadian men, because they came out stronger and more determined (if that was even possible). Sidney Crosby scored the Gold medal goal only a few minutes into the period.  It was the absolute icing on the cake for Canada’s most successful Olympics ever.

This was such a special Olympics for so many reasons. It brought our country together in a way that I’ve never seen in my lifetime. We showed the world that yes, Canadians may be quirky with our poutine and our toques, but we are also fiercely proud to wear the maple leaf!

I hope everyone enjoyed watching the game as much as we did, minor heart attack and all.  Yesterday on CTV they were asking everyone what their favorite moment of the games was.  Now I think the answer for most people just might be Sidney Crosby’s Gold medal goal.

What was your favorite moment over the past two weeks?

I will missing blogging about the Olympics, but I promise to keep things interesting as we move from the cold Canadian winter into spring.

What an amazing Friday night at the Olympics! Talk about Own the Podium – Canada leads the Gold medal count with 10 Golds! We are now in 3rd position in the medal standings, with 21 medals, behind USA and Germany.  I am so proud of our Canadian athletes, who have been able to deliver the results under tremendous pressure – and of course tremendous support as well.  And we are still in a position to earn a minimum of at least 3 more medals (Gold or Silver) – details in What to Watch.

The first event of the evening was the Gold medal match in Women’s Curling, Canada vs Sweden.  The Swedish skip is the defending Gold medalist, World Champion and has a 76% winning record in over 200 international games.  A tough record to contend with.  Cheryl Bernard, Canada’s beautiful and very talented skip, was a rookie coming into these games.  I will admit, I have a new respect for curling after watching this match. It was a great game! Canada actually stole points from 2 different ends, and ended up with a 6-5 lead in the 10th end.  A mistake by Canada allowed Sweden to tie.  They went into an extra end, Canada with the hammer (last shot). Sadly, it was not to be, and the Swedes had 2 rocks in the house when Bernard took her last shot, she cleared one, but didn’t have enough to clear the other. Silver medal for the Canadian team.  You could see the disappointment in their faces when they accepted their medals.  It’s a tough position to be in – in team sports the Silver medal is actually the loser (Bronze had to win their game for the medal).  It’s the first time Canada has ever gotten the Silver in Women’s Curling and for Bernard’s first visit the Olympics – we are so proud of what she accomplished!

The main event started a few minutes later, Men’s Semi-Final Hockey, Canada vs Slovakia. WHAT A GAME!! Things looked really good in the first period, Canada off to a great start with a 2-0 lead after the 1st period.  The Slovaks played tough game, really crowding the neutral zone and making it nearly impossible for Canada to break away.  The Canadians still out-shot the Slovaks nearly 2-1 through the 2nd period.  End of the second period, Canada leads 3-0.  As the 3rd period wore on, you could tell that the Slovaks were down, but not out. Just the opposite, they seemed to be gaining strength and the passion they are known for was really shining through.  As the crowd started to cheer “we want U.S.A.” (i.e. to play them in the Gold medal game), Slovakia scored.  The game continued, the puck moving from one end to the other, Canada taking the shots but nothing in the net.  A short time later, Slovakia scores – again! Now we are starting to feel it – 3-2, with about 5 min left in the period. They were not going down with a a very tough fight. The last minute of the game was a total nail biter. It was amazing (yes, we were yelling at the screen).  As the seconds dwindling and the puck was dangerously in the Canadian end, we held them off and the buzzer sounded. I believe there was a sign of relief from the crowd.  Canada wins, 3-2 and moves on to the Gold Medal game against the USA.

Meanwhile, our men were dominating in Short Track speed skating.  Having yet to get a medal, they were hungry.  We are known for our very powerful short track speed skaters and this year is no exception.  During the intermissions of the hockey game, we watched the men’s races.  First, the 500 m sprint.  Two Canadians in the final, Charles Hamelin and Francois Louis-Tremblay.  Ranked 1 and 2 in the world, respectively. The famous Apolo Ono from the US was also in the race.  Short Track is such a crazy spot with really strict rules about passing, touching and interfering with other skaters. About 20 m from the finish line, the Korean wiped out, knocked Louis-Tremblay down with him and Hamelin stumbled across the line first, Ono behind him for silver.  The Korean skater actually slid across the line on his side, followed by Louis-Tremblay.  It looked like it would be Gold for Hamelin and 4th for Louis-Tremblay.  The officials reviewed the tape of the fall, and ruled that Ono had impeded the Korean skater. He was disqualified, which meant that now the Korean skater received the Silver and Louis-Tremblay, the Bronze.

Still on a high from their double medal win in the 500m. The Canadian Men’s team dominated the 5000m Relay a few hours later. It’s like roller-derby on ice if you haven’t seen it before. I love it! All of the team were VERY careful in this race, not to get DQ. There were 5 teams in the final, which makes it quite crowded. Canada, Korea, China, USA and France.  About half way through the race, the Canadians took over the lead position and never looked back. They had a great strategy of doing their exchanges on the opposite side of the rink from the Koreans (in 2nd) and it really worked in their favor, especially in such a crowed race.  Another Gold medal for Canada!!

Total for Friday night: 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze and the Men’s Hockey advance to the final.

What to watch:

• Speed Skating Men’s Team Pursuit Final, Canada vs US, 3:30 EST
• Curling Men’s Gold Medal Game vs Norway, 6 pm EST
• 4 man bobsleigh sitting in 2nd place after 2 runs
• Jasey-Jay Anderson, Snowboard Giant Slalom starting at 3 pm EST
• Sunday – Men’s Hockey Gold Medal Game, Canada vs US 3:15 pm EST

We are guaranteed 3 medals, either Silver or Gold.  What an impressive last two days of the games.  Where will you be on Sunday afternoon? We’ll be watching on our big screen, with friends and family, as Canada meets the USA again, this time for the Gold!!

Have a great weekend everyone and I’ll catch you on Monday for the recap.

What a different experience this Olympics has been, especially in terms of technology. Two years ago, during the Summer Olympics, Twitter was still in its infancy.  iPhone was still new to Canada. Streaming web live was still a bit painful. Fast forward to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games: iPhones seem to be everywhere, Twitter has truly become a global phenomenon, and the live web stream provided by the CTV/Rogers Media consortium has been excellent.

One of the things I have really been enjoying is connecting with people from all over the world, in real time, on Twitter. There is something about feeling like you are connected not only across Canada but to Canadians in other countries when you are cheering GO Canada GO! from your living room.  And it’s great to see others cheering for their countries and their athletes.  It’s all about the perspective I mentioned in an earlier post.

Last night should have been called Terrific Thursday.  Gold medal game – Women’s Hockey – Canada defeats USA 2 – 0.  Three Olympics in a row! The men looked on – and they look HUNGRY for their own Gold Medal. And Joannie Rochette won a Bronze medal in Women’s Figure Skating.  I did stay up to watch her skate, it was hard not too.  What a phenomenal accomplishment! Anyone else remember when Elizabeth Manley won the Silver medal in 1988? That was the last time a Canadian woman stood on the podium in singles Figure Skating.

Setting up today and tomorrow – wow – we still have many medal opportunities.  Here’s the summary for you:

• Canada vs Slovakia – Men’s Hockey 9:30 pm EST
• USA vs Finland – Men’s Hockey 3:00 pm EST
• Canada vs Sweden – Women’s Curling 6 pm EST
• Short Track Speed Skating – 500m Men’s 9 pm EST
• Short Track Speed Skating – 5,000 m Men’s relay 10:50 EST
• Other events today include 4 man Bobsleigh, Alpine Skiing (slalom) and Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom

Should be a great few days to cap off an already amazing Winter Games for Canada.

Stay tuned, I may publish another post tomorrow as we move into the final days of the games to keep you all up to date, in case you’re not as obsessed as I am.

Quick reminder – email me to register for Networking With Excellence and Integrity on Thursday March 4th, 7 pm @Burlington Central Library.

Have a super day and catch some of you on Twitter!

What can I say about Women’s Wonderful Wednesday? After an amazing day by our women in the Olympics, we are tied with the US and Germany with a total of 7 Gold Medals. Maybe it’s not too late to give up on Own the Podium?  And the domination of our Men’s Hockey team against Russia really was the icing on the cake.

Now I do realize that there are many other important things going on in the world, there is still a disaster in Haiti, we are still dealing with a recession and housing crisis and the winter weather is still playing havoc in the US and Canada – but isn’t it way more fun to enjoy the Olympics right now?  I think that more than anything, we all needed a feel-good story. 2009 was a very difficult year for so many people, especially my generation who had yet to live through a recession (almost depression) as adults. There has already been a change of energy in 2010, and you can feel that people are more optimistic and more open to taking a bit of risk and having more fun too!

I have to admit, I am really blessed to have a split schedule, so that I can watch some of the events in the afternoon when I’m not teaching that afternoon.  Yesterday, I found it hard to tear myself away from the computer (where I watch the games thanks to CTV) and even spent time watching tv at the mall in between clients! Anyone else having the same issues?

Just in case you missed it, or live under a rock, or aren’t as obsessed with Canada – here are the highlights from Wednesday Feb 24:

• Women’s Bobsleigh Gold – Kaillie Humphres and Heather Moyse
• Women’s Bobsleigh Silver – Shelly-Ann Brown and Helen Upperton
• Women’s Long Track 5000 m – Clara Hughes
• Women’s Short Track 3000m relay – Marianne St-Gelais, Tania Vicent, Jessica Gregg, Kalyna Roberge
• Canada vs Russia – Men’s Hockey Quarter Final- 7 -3 Canada!

Clara Hughes is truly a phenomenal athlete.  She is the only athlete in the world to win multiple medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympics. What a way to end her Olympic career!

What is even more special is that we have many more true medal chances in the last few days of the games. Here are some of the highlights of what is coming up:

• Women’s Hockey Gold Medal Game – Canada vs USA 6:30 pm EST
• Curling Semi-Finals – Women’s vs Switzerland @ noon EST
• Curling Semi-Finals – Men’s vs Sweden @ 5 pm EST
• Joannie Rochette skates the long program in Women’s Figure Skating, 8 pm EST – She is currently 3rd
• Men’s Aerials Finals – 3 Canadians competing at 9 pm EST
• Friday night – Men’s Hockey Semi-Final Canada vs Slovakia (big upset here as well – Sweden is out) 9:30 EST
• Short Track – there are events for both women and men on Friday, starting at 9 pm EST

Hope that helps you plan out the next two evenings. Time to get back to work! Don’t forget – next week is the Networking with Excellence and Integrity seminar, on March 4th.  Email info@julieboyer.com to confirm your spot.

Here’s to a Terrific Thursday for Canadian Olympians!

It’s true what they say – you can set the tone of your day by what you think and feel when you first wake up in the morning.  Wake up thinking it’s going to be a great day – and it usually is.  Wake up on the wrong side of the bed, and things usually go downhill from there.

Yesterday I had a challenging day, it started off with one negative thing in the morning, and completely spiraled out of control from there.  Have you ever had a day like that? Where nothing seemed to go right? And no matter how hard you trying to get out it, you just seemed to slip even further into negativity? These days are becoming more and more rare for me, but when it happens, it really throws me for a loop.

There were a few things I did to help me get through it, so I thought I’d share them with you, so that if you do find yourself in a similar situation one day, maybe it will help.

• I took a bubble bath. Something about the water and relaxing, helps to calm me down.  I also like to read in the tub – great place to catch up on my reading!
• I pulled out one of my favorite books – Magic Of Thinking Big by David Schwartz.  If you haven’t read this book, get it from the library or your nearest bookstore.  It is one of the classics, in the neighborhood of Think and Grow Rich.  I find it easy to read and it has some fantastic nuggets of inspiration and action.
• I took some time to rest and meditate.  This is important in order to bring adrenalin and cortisol levels down (stress hormones, which aren’t always good for your body)
• I connect with close friends and family. Although I may not always listen to their advice, it’s nice to have those people in your life that you can just talk to, without judgment. And of course those who will kick you in the rear when you need it!
• Finally, I finished the day with a great live event for Agel.  I had been feeling down and tired, and was ready to make excuses not to go out. It’s amazing how connecting with like-minded people can completely turn your day around. If you don’t have something like Agel, take a look at Meetup.com – you can probably find a few groups on their that have similar interests and may be fun to hang out with.

Not only that, the Canadian Men’s Hockey team won 8-2 over Germany last night, so that also helped.  From a day that started on the negative side, it ended on a high note! I had a great sleep and woke up this morning, knowing that today is going to be a Great Day!!

Question of the day: What do you do when you are having a bad day? Please share your suggestions!

Have a Great Day everyone!

What a weekend at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics! I had such a hard time tearing myself away from the coverage. One thing I noticed this time is that the coverage from CTV seems to be much better than the coverage we’ve had in previous years from CBC.  Now, I am loyal to both our Canadian stations, but it must have something to do with the fact that the games are at home that means that is all Olympics, all of the time on CTV. We still don’t have cable, so I rely on all the internet for all of my Olympic viewing (same for 2008 in Beijing).

I’m going to admit something:  I have a serious obsession with the Olympics and have a very hard time doing anything else while the Games are on.  Did we have plans together during the Games? I just might have canceled on you, using another excuse.  Or maybe our plans involved watching the Games together.  The best excuse I had for watching the games was in 2000, when the Summer Olympics were in Sydney, Australia.  I conveniently had surgery the day after the opening ceremonies! I even remember watching CBC in my hospital room later that evening.  And of course, with two weeks off work – I got to watch as much as I wanted. There, the secret is out!

There are two interesting points I’d like to share about my Olympic viewing experiences over the past few years. First, I watch ANY Olympic sport.  I have ZERO interest in curling, and I don’t even really understand how it works beyond getting the rock as close to the pin as possible. Yet I have watched at least 4 full matches. It doesn’t really matter what is on, or who is playing, I will watch it. Over the past week, I have viewed (live) speed skating (both long and short track), figure skating, curling, bobsledding, skeleton, luge, alpine skiing (snow-cross, downhill, super G), ski jumping, cross-country skiing, snowboarding and of course, hockey.  It would be completely Un-Canadian of me not to watch Olympic hockey.  Actually, I really enjoy Olympic hockey, I prefer the style of the game compared to NHL hockey. Does anyone else find that they will watch whatever sport is on, just because it’s the Olympics?

The second point is about the emotional part of the games, from my own perspective. Even though I am not participating in the games, I find that I am very emotionally involved. Last night, during the hockey game between Canada and U.S.A., I found myself yelling at the screen several times – my husband reminding me that my screams probably weren’t going to make a difference.  Or during the last few heats of the Ladies 1,500 m long track yesterday, when we had 3 Canadians in the last 3 heats.  My heart was pounding! I wanted them to win and be on the podium!! I’m sure that we all want this for our athletes. And I started thinking, doesn’t even country want it for their athletes? When our Canadians are on the podium, Olympic fans in other countries are wishing it was their athlete, like we often do when a Canadian is 4^th or 5^th.

I think back to the emotional challenges I faced when completing Ironman, yet although this was a very mentally challenging race, it is nothing compared to what some of these athletes have been going through.  Through the support of initiatives like Own the Podium, many of them have been groomed for 4, 6 or 8 years for this one event.  Imagine their personal disappoint and feeling of failure when they don’t make it to the podium. It was heart-wrenching when I saw a tearful Mellisa Hollingsworth after falling from 2nd to 5th in her last skeleton run.  She was the favorite for the gold and she was noticeable crushed.  Or the interview with Chris Del Bosco after he fell, just 1 jump short of the bronze medal in ski-cross. And to top it all off, the massive disappointment felt around the country when the Men’s hockey team lost to U.S.A. , final score 5 -3.

Of course, the flip side of this is that there are many wonderful events to celebrate at the Olympics – including Alex Bilodeau receiving the first Olympic Gold medal for a Canadian on Canadian soil.  Or how about Jon Montgomery, who decided in 2003 that his goal was to represent Canada at the Olympics, and why not try Skeleton?

The Olympics is all about emotions – what is disappointing to one country is cause for celebration in another. That is why I love the Olympics so much! For the rest of this week, I will continue to watch sports I love, sports I don’t much care for and scream and cry at the screen!

Question of the day: What has been the best Olympic moment for you so far?

For me, it all started the year I was born.  1976 – Montreal hosted the Summer Olympic Games (I was born in St. Bruno) and even though the home team didn’t win one single Gold medal, there was a defining moment during those games.

Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to receive a perfect 10 in gymnastics, and she won 3 Gold medals.  This inspired a whole generation of young girls to start training to be an Olympic gymnast.  I started gymnastics at the age of 4 and by the time I was 8 years old, competed at the elite level, training 24 hours a week.  Seems a bit crazy when you think about it now, but that’s just what we did.  I followed the Olympics closely every time they came around – this was during the era when both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games were held during the same year.

The boycott of the 1980 Olympics in the Soviet Union meant that there are few memories for me from those games but I still have very fond memories of Mary Lou Retton, American’s golden girl, at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles.  She was the perfect gymnast, she had everything – the power, the grace, the skill and the smile (and the same coach as Nadia). Gymnastics has changed tremendously since that era, and when I left the sport in 1988, it was partly because I didn’t have the guts to do the new and challenging tricks.  I still enjoying watching it, but not with the same level of enthusiasm as I once did.

For me, it doesn’t matter what sport it is, if it’s part of the Olympics, chances are that I will watch it. Both Summer and Winter games appeal to me. I remember when the IOC decided that the games would alternate, so there would be an event every 2 years, starting with Lillehammer in 1994.  I was so excited about this – no longer would I have to wait four years to watch! I remember how well our Canadian Figure Skaters performed in Lillehammer, the era of Elvis Stojko and Isabelle & Lloyd.

My passion for the Olympics was lit at a very young age.  My mom also loved the Olympics and passed it on to me.  I have always loved sports and have tried my hand at many of them.  Sure, I wanted to be an Olympic gymnast, but when I quit the elite team at age 8, I knew that dream had passed.  I often would think of what sport I could pick up so that I could one day participate in the Olympics, but as I get closer to 35 years old, it’s highly doubtful that my Olympic dream will come true. For now, I live vicariously through our Canadian athletes, I cheer when they are competing and cry when the don’t make it – or when they do! I’m so proud of our athletes – they have worked hard and sacrificed for their dreams and have helped the rest of us to realize how powerful goals and dream can really be!

Here is one of the best moments so far in my opinion (there are so many!) – Marianne St-Gelais wins Silver in Short-Track Speed Skaing.  Thanks to ctv.ca for the live broadcasts over the internet!

Questions of the day: What is your favorite Olympic sport? Did you have a dream to be an Olympian and in what sport? Are you obsessed with Olympic fever too?

Share your thoughts and let’s cheer on our athletes from around the world together.