Sept 21, 2003

It snowed in Calgary in September. No surprise; it has snowed every month of the year here at one time or another.

Every morning in Perth I rushed to the window hoping for snow. But I saw only frost. Too bad.

It has never snowed in Perth, Australia — but I was there for the month of July during a winter cold snap. A boat skipper told me that the 4-year drought which broke this year was the very end of El Niño.

I was invited to Perth by a police sports group where I worked with gymnastics coaches and athletes from 27 clubs. Good fun. A great experience.

The kids in Western Australia don’t have much gymnastics equipment — but they are fit.

photos Alastair McNaughton

Just kidding. WA is remote but Perth is a modern city of 1.4 million. The only complaint I heard was that shopping is terrible. Perth ladies fly to Singapore or Sydney with credit cards held high.
I was actually hosted much of the time by the owners of the excellent Olympic Gym Club . (They are looking to hire coaches, by the way.)

I was billeted by locals, the best way to travel. Hospitality can be suffocating, but in western Australia I was well treated.

Perth is an enjoyable city. I loved the parks & zoo , the unique and bizarre animals. Aussie is famous for deadly creatures. Little girls at the gym club name the various fist-sized spiders living under the lobby picture frames.

After defending myself from this wombat, I was attacked by a koala bear! You don’t believe me? It’s true. Juvenile male koalas are quite active and mobile.
The Tasmanian Devil is much more hyper. Luckily the ones I watched pace were locked up tight.

My last 4 days down under I signed on for a backpacker tour headed north to slightly warmer climes. Highlights:

• Nambung National Park, Pinnacles Desert

• sand dune surfing

• Kalbarri National Park, Murchison Gorge

• abseiling (facing forward and backward)

• hand feeding dolphins at Monkey Mia

• catamaran sailing

I’ve visited many of the famous memorials of the world. But I cannot recall one finer, more surprising, than the Geraldton war memorial. It’s not on the tourist route. We visited only because our driver once lived in this obscure town.

– Aussie Rick

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My friend DB narrowly avoided meeting Michael (big hand on the little hand) Jackson at the Cirque du Soleil studios in Montreal.

I had my own brush with fame — a writer displaced me from the guest room at my brother’s place. You must have heard of Robert J. Sawyer from Toronto. He recently won a Hugo — the People’s Choice award for science fiction writing — for Best Novel of the Year.

Sawyer has previously won the equivalent of the Academy Award, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America’s Nebula, for Best Novel of 1995.

Sawyer joins the elite of science fiction — 16 people who have won both Hugo and Nebula including Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, William Gibson and Frank Herbert.

Rob is a good guy. I just finished one of his books, Flash Forward. Excellent.

Just as famous in gymnastics circles is Kyle Shewfelt. We at Altadore Gym Club are proud and still a bit stunned that one of our athletes has become the most successful Canadian gymnast ever, slightly ahead of Curtis Hibbert in the opinion of Hardy Fink of the men’s technical committee.

Kyle won 2 bronze medals at World’s in August. He is one of the favourites for an Olympic medal in Athens next summer.

I am back coaching at Altadore mainly because Kyle has done so well. I am assisting his coach Kelly Manjak in the run up to Athens.

It’s nice to be home at Altadore where I spent over 20 years up until 1990. It’s nice to be back in my hometown, Calgary — though the traffic is insane. Calgary is booming economically, but the quality of life is better in Saskatoon and Christchurch.

I am now living in a huge gorgeous home backing on to the river, rather unlikely accommodation for a minimalist. I will be out soon. The hot tub cover is so badly rotted that I suspect a neighbourhood petition is circulating. I can’t live like this!

I am house sitting for a family gone travelling around the world for 11 months.

Five weeks into a new job, it feels like I am settling in. I look forward to the Daily Show every night, certainly the most insightful news commentary in the States. Humour at the same high level as the best of This Hour Has 22 Minutes in Canada.

I now have fulltime high speed internet, a big improvement from limited access in New Zealand. In my dotage I hope to work on the www. The only glitch is that computer work demands carcinogenic quantities of Diet Coke.

And I am again a tax payer. Or am I?

Vancouver-based Fraser Institute says that Tax Freedom Day — when a typical Canadian family has earned enough to pay off all taxes and to start working for themselves — came June 28. (This includes everything including pension contributions.)

I was savvy enough to start work in August.

In Canada we live in a one party state. If only we had better politicians to vote for — someone like Arnold in California. That’s who we need to guarantee a homeland free and brave. 😦

 

 

 

 

June 29, 2003

Not just potatoes you know …

I am back from the scenic lakes & rich forests of the Idaho panhandle. I was invited to be a guest coach at a gymnastics camp in Coeur d’Alene.

The head coach Dave Adlard started his career in Edmonton & this year invited to camp a number of coaches from his distant past. We reminisced.

I had heard great things about Dave’s gym in Coeur d’Alene and the experience exceeded expectations.

Dave is one of the most travelled and popular clinicians in the States, many years on the move working for U.S. Independent Gymnastics Clubs & around the world. He has taught in Australia 5 times, for example.

But looks to me like David Adlard is starting to settle down. He remarried last year — he, his wonderful wife Lisa, his Norwegian Elkhound, 2 cats, & 4 tiny kittens hosted us in their log house on a large wooded property.

Like good north Idahoans, we smoked cigars, shot guns & considered taking out the (appropriately named) quad. Dave had me up early every morning exercising; 3 mile run followed by sets of log lifting. I had not known that Dave in recent years had become a gourmet chef, renown for his grilling & deserts. He and entourage put on major dinner parties. I was lucky enough to attend one of them. Fantastic.

Dave & Lisa are coaches at FUNtastics Gymnastics. They have two gyms; wonderful coaches, parents & gymnasts.

Greater Coeur d’Alene has a population of about 50,000. The club membership reached 1001 while I was there. Funtastics is becoming well known too for the excellent competition they host, the Great West Gym Fest.

Dave’s camp, the 6th annual, was unique. The focus is on FUN with a child-centred approach. Funtastics does everything they can to ensure all gymnasts feel valued & avoid injury. There is not an iota of elitism in their system — yet the gymnasts show good difficulty. This club is on the right track! I hate to admit it, but the USA will soon produce the best gymnasts in the world. The efficiencies of a free market system will supersede the focused training systems in the few remaining totalitarian countries. It is just a matter of time. World Championships will be hosted in California this August, by the way.

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I have a love – hate relationship with the USA. The gaffs they have made historically make me histrionic — though I am not 100% sure that Iraq was a mistake. Long term it may be good for the world, where Vietnam clearly was not. Short term Iraq looks bad … but I live in hope.

According to Economist magazine, FOREIGN DISTRUST of America has increased dramatically over the past year according to a (2003) survey of 20 countries by the Pew Research Centre. The proportion of people with a favourable attitude towards the United States has dropped from 61% to 45% in Germany, 63% to 43% in France, 61% to 15% in Indonesia and 25% to just 1% in Jordan.

The number of Americans in PRISON exceeded 2m in 2002, according to a U.S. Justice Department report. This means that one person in every 142 is in the slammer at any one time. America’s jail population–the world’s largest–has nearly doubled since 1990.

Sometimes I have doubts. Is the American way working? How large a prison population can a country support?
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Canadian Championships Saskatoon — I returned to Saskatoon in May to help the organizers of this the major year end competition. It was excellent in every way.

A highlight was Rhett Stinson winning gold on Parallel Bars in front of his hometown crowd. Photos of some of my friends there

In June I helped out my buddy Rockin’ Ronnie Shewchuk with his barbeque fundraiser at Rouge restaurant in Calgary . Booze, Blues & Barbeque. A good time was had by all.

Mad Cow? Fear No Steer.

The barbecue team was able to buy Kobe beef cheap; it is normally all exported to Japan — but not this June.The team will travel in the Fall to Lynchburg, Tennessee for an all important Barbeque championships at Jack Daniel’s distillery.
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I am off to Perth Australia tomorrow to lead athlete camps & coach education sessions down under. I will definitely use some of the Dave Adlard playbook.

– Aussie Rick

Aug 27, 2002

In Christchurch they all tell you that Spring starts September 1.

I reckon that is about right. On August 20 I saw my first swimmers wading the surf. The dusting of snow on the Port Hills melted away.

On the mall workers are refurbishing empty shops. At Jacksons bakery the clerk told me summer would be full-on. She’ll be right.

My gym is built on a huge estuary of the rich Canterbury plains. Across the street, two percent of the original swamps are protected as Travis Wetlands.

This is a sanctuary for birds including the endangered Pukeko, a creature so stupid it could only have evolved in New Zealand. Most Kiwis believe Pukeko cannot fly. Actually, they fly well but are too dim to recall this fact, preferring to dart under moving automobile wheels for protection.

A seal washed up in the river near the gym, perhaps injured. While some of the gymnasts went to take a peek we called Animal Protection.

Last weekend we travelled to the big city, Auckland, population 1.1 million. I saw only the motel and gym, however my gymnasts tell me Auckland is boring, all wanting to go to Sydney instead.

We were there for the Auckland Championships — equivalent to Provincial Championships in Canada. This year Auckland Champs was also the selection meet for NZ teams to Australia Clubs Championships in October so there was an added incentive for the girls. We had a good meet qualifying 4 of the 5 girls who trialed.

The competition was hosted in a fabulous new gymnastics sports training centre, better than any gym in Canada.

Jeff Thomson from Vancouver is moving to Auckland to work for NZ Gymnastics. Word at the meet is that he has already bought a house over the Internet.

Full-time gymnastics jobs are not numerous in NZ, but there are several open right now. E-mail me if you might be interested.

Sport in NZ is facing criticism. The medal table at Commonwealth Games looked bad; India, Kenya, Jamaica, Wales, Scotland, Cameroon, Bahamas, Wales were all surpassing us since the last Games. Imagine how this looks to Kiwis with Australia thriving. A last day flourish brought New Zealand back up to 5th on the medal table behind India — but the press was still questioning.

New Zealanders are not Aussies. They are far more different than Canadians and Americans. A recent newspaper survey found that over a third of Kiwis hate Australians. (Of course it was Rugby season.)

New Zealanders do not celebrate sport victories. I gleaned this insight within hours of arrival. When a Kiwi Rugby player scores a try it is essential to show no emotion; just the opposite of North America where half the football team does a funky dance in the end zone.

An Aussie journalist writing about the famed Kiwi All Blacks called them dark visaged, menacing, and morose … forbidden by contract to ever smile.

A bigger problem for the sports coach here is the tall poppy syndrome; anyone successful in sport or most anything is immediately chopped down by one and all. Poppies keep their heads low.

Actually, this Commonwealth Games was the second most successful ever for NZ. Kiwis won more medals than Aussies on a per capita basis. Our gymnasts finished 4th, as high up as we could have achieved. This accomplishment was celebrated, but modestly.

Finally got to the highest mountain in New Zealand, Mt. Cook. Captain Cook? Seems everywhere I go the last few years this bloke has already been there.

Hawaii? Can I get there before Cook? Some good coastal hiking I hear.

Mount Cook Village is charmingly undeveloped compared with similar resorts around the world. We listened to a folk singer and had lunch at the most famous hotel in NZ, the Hermitage. We visited with the town teacher / karate sensei and her mountain guide husband. I got some good advice on the tramps around Mt. Cook — they are poor.

We ended up at Mount Cook after being turned away from the ski hill which was closed due to wind. This was all the snowboarding we got that day.

The Road to Oxiana published 1937 by Robert Byron (distantly related to Lord Byron) was touted as the best travel book ever written. As you know, I am attracted by hyperbole. It is good.

Best travel books? I have been reading mainly travel since 1996 — a few of the classics that jump to mind:

Wilfred Thesiger, Arabian Sands

Jonah Blank, Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God (India)

VS Naipaul’s India trilogy

Peter Matthiessen, The Snow Leopard (Himalayas)

Eric Newby, A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush

Art L. Karras, North to Cree Lake (northern Saskatchewan)

Less acclaimed is Around the World in 18 Holes by sports writers Tom Callahan and Dave Kindred. These blokes dreamed up the mother of all boondoggles; a round of golf selecting one hole from courses around the world.

For those who want to die like Bing Crosby, New Zealand is a paradise. Average green fees on the empty courses about C$17.

I must rattle me dags.

– Kiwi Rick