In 2012 I was a Saskatchewan women’s coach at Nationals.
This year, I was a Saskatchewan men’s coach.
Bleeding green. Cheering the Regina Roughriders. 🙂
Category: gymnastics
Gymnasts at Emma Lake
Warren and Sandra hosted Warren’s group of gymnasts from Taiso up at their Emma Lake cabin this weekend.
The highlight was time spent trying not to drown. 🙂
Spring has sprung at Emma.
Millions of dragonflies. Millions of mosquitoes.
Food was GREAT. Thanks Sandy.
See a few more photos.
Colin Lorback gone walkabout
My old friend Colin, many years at University of Winnipeg, returned to his burned or burnt country of Australia for retirement.
March 4th, 2013 he said goodbye to his 93yr-old Mom and jumped into his used 19 foot pop top Caravan. It has a 3-burner gas cooktop and gas gorilla, built-in fridge, a roof mounted air conditioner
He (and friends at times) are on the road in Aussie for a year.
Follow Colin on his blog
departing Abuja, Nigeria
The new, planned city of Abuja is impressive.
“… the best purpose-built city in Africa as well as being one of the wealthiest and most expensive … “
Last day we made a driving tour of the modern city center. The National Cathedral is close to the National Mosque.
The highlight for me was a children’s park and small zoo at the foot of Zuma Rock.
My last night, some of the expat parents took me out to a new, gorgeous Club and restaurant. They had plenty of stories describing the challenges of living in Nigeria. But have no worries about their children living in Abuja. It’s safer than Las Vegas, Chicago or Toronto.
more interesting photos tagged Abuja, Nigeria
I’m off to see my friends in Senegal. Another week long Gymnastics Camp.
Abuja … first impressions
Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. …
… a planned city, … built mainly in the 1980s. It officially became Nigeria’s capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos …
Similar to Brazil’s planned capital, Brasília.
… the unofficial metropolitan area of Abuja is well over three million …
In light of the ethnic and religious divisions of Nigeria, plans had been devised since Nigeria’s independence to have its capital in a location deemed neutral to all parties. …
Abuja is known for being the best purpose-built city in Africa as well as being one of the wealthiest and most expensive …
I arrived one day prior to the start of my gymnastics coaching course. Have not yet had much time to see the city.
First impressions: Churches, buses, chickens, music, relaxed, smiling people. Touts all tried to wave me on to the various different night buses to Lagos.
One rat in the trash, looking quite relaxed, too.
The rainy season is just starting.
Rick at Great West Gym Fest
I’m proud to have been a part of Dave Adlard’s Great West Gym Fest, easily the best gymnastics competition I know.
Again for 2013 I was responsible for website – GreatWestGymFest.com – and social media.
Most of each day you’d find me wandering the gym with cameras.
Our Facebook page was very active. But our Twitter feed nearly dead. It’s not caught on yet amongst gymnasts in the Pacific N.W.
Our best photos are posted on flickr. Most were taken by Victoria.
I posted a number of videos, the best of which is my entry into a new contest.
The Great West Gym Fest is AWESOME.
Click PLAY or watch a promo video on YouTube.
If that video on Facebook gets the most LIKES by midnight March 24th, 2013, I’ll win $500. … And if yours is the deciding LIKE, I’ll split half with YOU.
Promise. 🙂
Hola Panama, El Salvador
Saturday I’m headed to Panama City for a week.
And then San Salvador.
Volunteering in both nations for the International Gymnastics Federation. 5-day coaching courses.
The reason? … It’s freezin’
From there I’ll join my parents, brother Rob, dog Pete and entourage in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
Weep for me.
merci Guy Lavoie
Guy Lavoie at home in snowy Quebec City. I’ve been his guest for the past 2 nights.
Carnival begins here Feb 1st.
Check out the weird winter sky we had Monday in Montreal.
passed my Judging exam
Coming out of “retirement” after 6 years, it was a bit of a shock to have to STUDY again for the quadrennial exam.
Every 4 years (Olympic cycle) all the Gymnastics judges in the world need re-certify.
I crammed perhaps 50 hours of study over 8-9 days. Managed to pass the exam in Montreal.
I’m again a “National” judge, eligible to judge National Championships.
healthcare – USA v CAN
BRUCE BARTLETT:
A 2003 study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that Canada’s single-payer health system had less than a third of the per-capita administrative cost of the United States system, with its many private insurance companies and overlapping government programs – $307 per year in Canada versus $1,059 in the United States. And although American conservatives are fond of pointing to cases where Canadians come to the United States for treatment, a 2009 Harris poll found that 82 percent of Canadians favor their health system over the American one.
Americans believe that their health system is the best in the world, but in fact it is not. …
Bruce Bartlett held senior policy roles in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and served on the staffs of Representatives Jack Kemp and Ron Paul.
That said, a Canadian friend is booking a trip to the Mayo Clinic in the States trying to diagnose a condition that the Canadian doctors have been unable to nail down. Cost … perhaps $5000.
related – Wikipedia – Comparison of the health care systems in Canada and the United States
… Life expectancy is longer in Canada, and its infant mortality rate is lower …
Rick McCharles 