Team Canada Reloaded: Rio Cup 2014

Greetings from Rio...

First off I want to apologize ( to the people who do regularly read our happenings via my blog). I did not add any Blog entries at the World Championships this year and really failed to promote the accomplishments of my team there.

It can be a daunting process at time taking the time and energy to commit to writing, yet I have had many tell me they appreciate my entries. I will do my best to get back to Blogging this year. 

Uzbekistan Worlds Summary:

Briefly, but truly heart felt, I want to acknowledge Jillian Gallays's performance at this years Worlds. The previous years have been hard for Jill in so many ways. Competing in a weight class where we had a bonified super star over the last quad, dealing with injuries, and ultimately dropping an extra two kilos were all major challenges. Getting over these challenges all helped to make Jill the person and wrestler she is today! Her performance in Tashkent was gritty, tough, and inspired. Her bronze medal was a highlight of the event.

We also had a number of others compete tough over the course of the Worlds, but unfortunately we were unable to crack the podium twice. We had four other top ten performances Lappage and Yeats (8th), while Fazzari and Wiebe were 10th. It was not our finest Worlds, yet I want my team to hold there heads high and look back at the 2014 season as a success! Non of our losses at Worlds were to weak opponents. The opponents we lost to had a minimum of three matches in the tourney (4 finalists, 4 bronze medal match, 2 top eight). There were some outstanding matches, and I know our wrestlers (like Jillian) are ready to go through adversity enroute to their personal goals! WE WILL GET THERE! 

The fall has been filled with debriefs, and analysis on many levels. Athletes feedback, coaching analysis, meetings with our stakeholders Sport Canada, Own The Podium, Canadian Olympic Committee. All intended to help us steer our ship in the right direction heading towards 2016. After some soul searching we have all strengthened our resolve, moving forward.

Rio Cup:

We had 15 Women make the journey to Rio this week for the Rio Cup. For many this is their second exposure to the Brazilian culture (we came in 2012 following London). I hope the experience is a valuable one. Getting accustom to the often chaotic life here, and the climate and conditions will help ensure that our Olympians, and staff members will be ready for Rio 2016. Also I had been told Japan will compete and train at this event. So I felt it was important that we take this opportunity to gain experience against the most successful female wrestling nation. 

Thus far the experience has not disappointed. Our team has seen and dealt with challenging conditions ... (heat, illnesses, traffic, hotel issue). They have taken every little issue in stride, and been very focussed on enjoying the ride. Training has been very solid and productive for our team as well.

We are weighing in today, and looking forward to competing tomorrow! 

I expect some tough matches tomorrow! 

I am looking very forward to this opportunity to compete well in Rio.

Support our Team! They are one of the best in the World!

Go Canada!!! 

Canadian Wrestlers Target Tashkent for 2014 Senior World Championships (after a busy summer)

It has been an incredibly busy summer for Canadian Wrestlers, travelling the globe in preparations for this years Senior World Championships September 8-12th in Tashkent Uzbekistan.

A quick summary of the last few months include;

June - German Grand Prix and Austrian Open
A large group of cadets (U-18), Juniors (U-21) and Seniors took to Europe for back to back international events in Germany and Austria. Many strong performances with the Team Canada coming second in the Combined Cadet/Senior Team scoring in Germany behind Russia, and first in the Senior Team event in Austria.

June - Pan American Junior Championships (Toronto)
This tournament was run as a test event for the 2015 Pan American Games. Team Canada had a strong showing with ___ Tournament Champions and ___ Medalists. Including a Gold medal for Senior World Team Member Braxton Papadopolous.

July - Canada Cup (Guelph)
Many of Canada's top Cadet, junior and senior Wrestlers attended the Canada Cup and National Team Training camp again this summer. In addition to the tournament Wrestling Canada also had a trial for the Women's 55kg and 60kg weigh classes at the event. Congrats to Brit Laverdure and Michelle Fazzari for winning their spots on the 2014 World Team at this event.

July - World University Championships (Hungary)
Team Canada Women came away from this event with 4 World Champions at this years event. Winning our first University World Team Title (since 2002) with the strong team showing! Jasmine Mian, Danielle Lappage, Dorothy Yeats, and Erica Wiebe all topped the Podium in Hungary. Celeste Rodriguez was a Silver medalist, and Samantha Stewart was a Bronze medalist.

July - Pan American Senior Championships (Mexico City)
One week after the University Worlds, Team Canada sent a completely different group of athletes to the Pan American Championships. Team Canada won the team championships for the second year in a row. Gold Medalist - Michelle Fazzari, Silver Medals - Jessica MacDonald, Brit Laverdure, Justine Bouchard. Bronze Medals - Justina Distasio, and Leah Callahan.

July - Commonwealth Games (Scotland)

The month of July ended with an opportunity for 7 members of our Senior World Team to compete at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. An important to participate in a multi sport games for many of the new athletes on our World Team this year. Gold medalist - Danielle Lappage, Dorothy Yeats, Erica Wiebe. Silver Medalist - Brit Laverdure, Bronze Medals - Jasmine Mian, Jillian Gallays, Braxton Papadopolous. Team Canada won the unofficial team title in Glasgow.

July - Poland Open
Michelle Fazzari travelled to Poland to compete in the Poland Open as her final prep tournament prior to Tashkent. At the event she won a bronze medal.

August - Junior World Championships (Croatia)
Team Canada attended the Junior Worlds with a full team of athletes.
Top 8 performances included Amber Maschke (5th), Braxton Papadopolous (5th), Temitope Ogunjimi (5th), Cara Nania (8th).

August - Training, training training
Members of the World team settled into a final month of uninterrupted solid training in their final phase of preparations for Uzbekistan and the Senior World Championships. Many of the World team members came together in Calgary for a week of training in the middle of August.

September - Members of the Men's and Women's team depart this week for Uzbekistan
2014 Worlds Competition Schedule:
Mon Sept. 8th Competition Men's freestyle 57, 70, 86, 125 (Takahashi, Ncube, Tagziev, Jarvis)
Tues Sept. 9th Competition Men's freestyle 61, 65, 74, 96 (Asselstine, Garcia, Gill)
Wed Sept. 10th Competition Women 48, 55, 60, 69 (Mian, Laverdure, Fazzari, Yeats)
Thurs Sept. 11th Competition Women 53, 58, 75 (Gallays, Papadopolous, Wiebe)
Fri Sept. 12th Competition Women 63 (Lappage)
Sat Sept. 13th Departure from Tashkent

Canadian Women enter this years World Championships with excitement and anticipation of a great challenge ahead! Each World team member has experienced some great successes this past season, and everyone has also had challenges and defeats to learn from. Our team looks to carry on a tremendous tradition of success for Canadian Women at the Senior World Tournament. Each athlete on our team has the skills (and character) to challenge the Worlds best and reach the podium. We must compete with passion and pride, trying to never underestimate ourselves, or over estimate our opponents!

Please SUPPORT our team EVERYWAY you can! They have worked so hard to be where they are...
Please stay tuned, great things to come!

Go Canada!

Coach V  

Congrats to Wiebe, Mian and Jarvis tonight! Three medal night in Scotland!

It was a good day at the Scottish Exhibition Center in Glasgow! Three medals in wrestling tonight at the first night of commonwealth wrestling competition.

Our Nations "Heavyweights" proved to be the very best in the commonwealth for the second straight games. In Delhi it was Akuffo and Bhullar winning gold medals. Here in Glasgow it was Erica Wiebe at 75kg, and Korey Jarvis's at 125kg night to shine. I could not think of two more deserving gold medalists! Also reaching the podium tonight was Jasmine Mian with a bronze medal! I think all three of these athletes are a testament to hard work and the perseverance it takes to be a top level wrestler. I hope all the fans at Wrestling Canada can appreciate the efforts they put forth and appreciate the passion and pride the show on the mat in this crazy/great sport! Chris Laverick also competed today and lost his opening but to Nigeria. The Nigerian competed well, yet lost to eventual champion (and former world champion) Sushil Kumar of India so Chris was eliminated from further competition. 

I am not going not go into lots of detail tonight, as we have 6 athletes tomorrow and it has already been a full day and a busy enough evening. Six canadians take to the mats tomorrow to keep this medal haul going.

53 kg Jillian Gallays has Nigeria

58kg Braxton Papadopoulos has Great Britain

69kg Dori Yeats has Scotland

61kg Mike Asselstine has Scotland

61kg David Trembley has Malta

96kg Arjan Gill has Northern Ireland

 

I am very excited to see this group build on the successes we had today on the mat.

Congrats again to Erica, Jasmine and Korey! They are truly great wrestlers and amazing people.

PLEASE google the number of articles chronicling their day and their accomplishments here in Glasgow! They were all interviewed and numerous great photos were taken! I am so proud to be coaching such fine athletes!

Good night from Glasgow!

Take two tomorrow!

Go Canada...

Commonwealth Wrestlers take to the Mat Tomorrow for first Day of Competition

Greetings from Glasgow. It has been a fine few days of settling into Games life. Three nights ago I was fortunate enough to get top see the Men's 69kg weight lifting competition, and tonight again we were offered tickets to this evenings swimming event! I really enjoy seeing other world class competitions, seeing some of the best athletes demonstrate their competitive spirit is exciting, no matter what the sport.

The past few days have really just revolved around "games life", walking to the transportation mall to catch busses (to the training site on the first two days, and then to the competition site the next two days). Our athletes and staff have been setting the schedule for 1 mat training time and individualized weight maintenance and physical training as needed. The very first day we spoke to the athletes and talked about our desire to have a great games and competitive result from the group, but we also asked them to maintain a training lifestyle and focus. The games are the last prep tournament this year prior to the world championships and really part of our overall preparation plan.
I would say the athletes have embraced this fact, and have done a good job thus far. Following the competition they will have a few days to enjoy the games (see events, explore Scotland, etc.), yet they have committed to continued daily training as usual!

The other portion of many of the athletes day has been set out to ensure they are maximizing the services and support set out for them here. An example of this was as we walked back to the dorms from a late dinner tonight we saw Erica Wiebe sitting outside in one of the two Cold baths the Canadian Commonwealth Committee have set up for athletes. It was 9pm, but she really wants to feel fresh and recovered from making weight today. She will have four matches starting tomorrow at 10 am and her physical (and mental) readiness is something she takes very seriously. Many of our girls have been doing this daily, along with massage, and various athletic therapy. Our athletes here have been quite professional in their diligence to make sure every issue gets dealt with as thoroughly as needed.

Yet along the way I hope our team have been able to enjoy each day, meet new people, share their experiences and learn from others. Jasmine Mian had a short meeting with me this evening after we returned home from the weight ins. As we were discussing her competition tomorrow she looked me in the eye and said, I loved watching MJ (Canadian 69kg Female weightlifter) compete today! I was so inspired by her intensity and the true desire in her eyes as she competed so great! I wanna be like THAT on the mat! I thought it was great to see how our team is learning and seeing the lessons every sport has to teach.

I will say the Glasgow experiences have been special and unique. The city itself has a beautiful downtown and the people have been nothing short of amazing. The citizens of Glasgow have been charming and engaging at every turn. Typically at the Olympic Games the Olympic Committee rents an establishment and Calls it "Canada House" a place where Canadians can go and meet and enjoy the games together. This does not happen for the Commonwealth Games, yet this year a Canadian who owns a bar here has offered his establishment to be the "Canada House" of the games! Bacchus Cafe and Bar has been great. Having medal acknowledgement nights every second evening for Canada. Canadian flags everywhere and no shortage of hospitality from the patrons! Also Surinder and Alex walked around the corner from the village to a local pub in the evening and they said they were treated like true rockstars... It has been fun to experience.

It is a busy day tomorrow, with our first group of athletes starting to compete (Jasmine Mian-48kg, Erica Wiebe-75kg, Chris Laverick-74kg, Jarvis-125kg), another group of 6 weigh in, and yet another group have one more day of pre-competition training.

Jasmine Mian 48kg: has four solid competitors in it. She drew a bye in the first round of wrestling. She will face the winner of India and Nigeria in her first bout. This is a different Nigerian than we have seen in the past yet their 48kg athletes have always been high quality athletes with good toughness. The indian wrestler has a solid base of international experience and Jasmine will need to be on her game for the entire match. I believe Jasmine definitely has every tool she needs to be successful here! On the other side of the draw is Yana Stadnik (formerly from the Ukraine) and a very good little wrestler from Cameroon should be a interesting match up.

Erica Wiebe 75kg: Erica has four guaranteed matches tomorrow. First up the English girl has far less experience (and athleticism) than her (in my opinion). Second match she will face Nigeria, again this is a different wrestler than we have faced here before, I am expecting a solid physical athlete. We will watch her first match and hopefully get a quick idea of her style. Third match Erica faces Cameroon. This athlete has beaten her before and actually has fairly substantial international results including participation in the Olympic Games. Her fourth and final match will be versus the wrestler from India. It should be a busy morning for her with three matches in 2 hours. I am very confident in the way Erica has been carrying herself here (and throughout the year). Again we had a short chat tonight and just reiterated what her real goals are. Not to get caught up in unrealistic expectation. people will challenge her here, embrace each challenge as an opportunity to lead her where she has worked so hard to be. That is onto the World Podium this year.

Chris Laverick-74kg: Chris is very excited to be here at the games. He has Nigeria in his first match tomorrow and I know Sushil Kumar of India is also on his side. I anticipate (but am not sure) that the Nigerian wrestler will be strong on the mat (yet conditioning may be suspect). Yet I will leave that to Gia to devise a game plan to deal with hiss opponent.

Korey Jarvis-125kg: The big man narrowly lost the gold medal match 4 years ago in Delhi at 96kg. I know he is excited for another chance to hit the top of the podium at the Commonwealth games. Having helped coach him last time I think it is a very realistic goal. He will face Kenya in his opening match. On the other side of the draw Nigeria and India face off in a first round showdown which should be very interesting.

We have spoken to our athletes, everyone has a plan for what they need to do in the morning. We have watched tape on the athletes we know and I feel very good as we head to bed tonight. Excited for the matches the day will hold tomorrow. During the day today at the venue they were playing music and practicing all of the things that will taker place tomorrow. The announcer was great, and true energy was fun (and that was with none in the arena)! The venue itself looks very similar to the set up in London at the Excel centre. Im excited for our athletes to give the spectators their and the fans in Canada something to cheer about!

Glasgow organizing committee have adopted a couple of catchy phrases as part of their promotions. The one I like is #Bringiton2014!
On that note...
Good night from Glasgow!

Go Canada,
Coach V

Canadian Women head to Glasgow and the Commonwealth Games!

Our women's wrestlers are carrying some serious momentum into Scotland this week for the Commonwealth Games. The past four weeks have been log jammed with events all of which have demonstrated that the Canadian Women will be a serious medal threat this year in Glasgow.

A quick summary of National Team activity the past four weeks include:

Pan American Junior Championships - Canada takes U21 team championship at home in Toronto

Pan American Senior Championship - Canada takes the team title for the second straight year in Mexico City

University World Championships - Canada wins the team title and crowns four new University World Champions (all members of the Glasgow CWG team)

It does not seem like four years ago that our team assembled to participate at the last commonwealth games in New Delhi India. The vivid images of those games still shine brightly in my mind. Whether it was the Swaminarayan temple literally a short walk from the village entrance, the great Taj Mahal, the chaotic city life and traffic, the amazing enthusiastic Indian fans at the wresting venue, or even Arjan Bhullars victory dance up on the mats as he won the gold medal in his families country of origin! I will never forget the memories of Delhi and look very forward to new amazing experiences this week in Glasgow! 

I have travelled the world many times over now yet have not been to Scotland. I look forward to experiencing the sights, sounds, and Scottish culture. I know our team is equally excited to get this opportunity! In 2010 the CWGs in Delhi followed the World Championships that year in Moscow Russia, and I know our team was excited yet a little spent following our peak at the Worlds that year. This year the games fall at a more exciting and opportune time. They are a final preparatory competition for our team as we ready for the World Championships in Tashkent Uzbekistan. The games are also a valuable "Major" multi sport experience which will be very valuable for our younger less experienced group of athletes heading toward the Pan American Games in 2015, and the Olympic Games in Rio 2016! With the departure of a few of our past "proven performers" comes an opportunity for Canada to see and join many of our current team members in there quest to be "The Best" wrestlers on the planet! I mentioned our team maybe lacking games experience yet they are skillful and motivated as any Women's Wrestling Team Canada has ever fielded before. 

I know the girls are excited to be a productive part of a larger team Canada at the games, and all the members of Wrestling Canada (Men included) will do their utmost to represent Canada with great passion, pride, and intensity! 

Team Canada in Glasgow includes:

48kg Jasmine Mian (2014 University World Champion)

53kg Jillian Gallays (2014 German GP and Austrian Open Champion)

55kg Brit Laverdure (2014 Pan Am Silver medalist, Former University World Champion)

58kg Braxton Papadopoulos (2013 Junior World Silver Medalist)

63kg Danielle Lappage (2014 University World Champion, Former Junior World Champion)

69kg Dorothy Yeats (2014 Univerity World Champion, 2x Junior World Champion)

75kg Erica Wiebe (2014 University World Champion, Ranked #1 in the World Currently)  

The Commonwealth offers a field of athletes that we do not always face, like the top wrestlers for Africa. Coach Daniel Igali, had a very athletic and formidable group in Delhi, as did the team from India! We are expecting tough matches from many of the teams in attendance and will not take anyone lightly. Cameroon and Great Britain also boast some top level wrestlers on the women's side.

Our young and talented team are eager to step out on the mat and make their mark wearing the maple leaf as many of our legendary wrestlers have done in the past!

I will blog as regularly as I can (yet our teams preparation and performance will come first as always). I look forward to working with Coaches Tzogas, Ragusa, and Siassouri. Also we will have world class support from our lead therapist Surrinder Budwal, Dr. Dory Boyer, and Alex Davidson as Team leader. We will also have other COC and Wrestling Canada support at our disposal to ensure our athletes have everything they need to focus on the task at hand. 

Well I need to get some sleep now. Tomorrow will be a busy day of travel.

Stay tuned...

Here we go again!

Go Canada!

Canadian Women Wrestlers enjoy hot June in Europe!

National Team selections on all levels faded to the background and international competition and preparation became the focus as Canadian Wrestlers entered the month of June. Many of the Men's team and smaller group of Women ended May and started June in Italy for the Sassari Tournament in Sardinia. The athletes involved competed in the Sassari International and followed the event with an international training camp. (I will post all results at the end of the article).

On June 4th more Canadian Women departed for the German Grand Prix in Dormagen Germany. This was the largest Women's Wrestling contingent to ever travel as one group internationally. Tournaments on two consecutive weekends offered the athletes an opportunity to compete, attend a short training camp, and then compete again all inside of an 11 day window. The tour in general focussed on members of our National A and B teams at the Cadet (U18), Junior (U21) and Senior levels. In all 35 Canadian Women Wrestlers took part in tour! It offered some very valuable learning and growth opportunities for those involved. Our cadets and juniors were able to observe and learn from the very strong set of veteran seniors in attendance. Both tournament convenors did an outstanding job in hosting our group and providing a great over all experience. The competition formats deviated from the typical Fila draw and allowed our athletes to attain important extra international matches and experience. The training camp, held between the two events, was extremely large yet very well run. There was strong enough athletes in attendance to challenge even the best of our veteran athletes, yet also have enough younger participants to ensure our newest athletes had appropriate balance between challenge and success.

Our athletes squared off against athletes from twenty different countries in competition and training.  I believe the Seniors did a great job at demonstrating why Canada has become one of the premier Women's Wrestling Nations on the planet. In general they stepped onto the mat excited to compete with intensity and showcase their skills. Our developing cadets and juniors also proved eager to demonstrate their skills, drive and determination.  It does not seem long ago when athletes such as Wiebe, Lappage, Gallays, Mian, Bouchard, Barker, and more entered these same tournaments as cadets or juniors! I hope all of the athletes involved grew and improved from the whole experience!

I would like to thank all of the Coaches whom travelled to Europe in June and continued to help build the foundation of our program. Coaches- Calder, Zilberman, Sissaouri (in Italy), Coaches-Ragusa, Dawkins, McKay in Germany, and Coaches- Ragusa, Dawkins and Zilberman in Austria.
I would also like to acknowledge the tremendous work of my newest coaching colleague Tonya Verbeek who worked and coached extremely diligently and passionately to make this event happen and be a huge success. Also thank you to the therapists on the tours (Tija, Westbrooke was with three teams for almost two weeks), also the officials- Ron Moncour (Italy), Gregor Gutssu (Germany), Dale Clancy (Austria).  Finally I would like to thank Alex Davidson (Wrestling Canada's High Performance Manager) who did a tremendous job turning chaos into order! Alex helps me, and all our programs function in as organized and professional manner as possible given every challenge that is thrown at him! I can tell you in all of my years coaching this is one of the very best tours I have ever attended! Thanks to all!

Team Results: 
Sassari International - 1st Kazakstan, 2nd Italy, 3rd Canada (3/12)
German Grand Prix (Combined Cadet & Senior) - 1st Russia, 2nd Canada, 3rd France  (2/21)
Austrian Ladies Open (Senior Team) - 1st Canada, 2nd USA, 3rd Switzerland (1/11)

Sassari International
Senior
48kg Jade Parsons (2/9)
55kg Lisa Wainman (3/8)
58kg Indira Moores (3/5)
60kg Michelle Fazzari (1/2)
69kg Olivia DiBacco (3/6)
75kg Veronica Keefe (2/3)

German Grand Prix
Senior
48kg Jessica MacDonald (3/21)
Jasmyne Mian (5/21)
53kg Brit Laverdure (3/23)
Cara Nania * (17/23)
55kg Jillian Gallays (1/11)
Amber Maschke * (11/11)
58kg Anna McKee * (7/12)
60kg Jazzie Barker (3/11)
Justine Bouchard (3/11)
63kg Breanne Graham (5/13)
Temitope Ojunjimi * (5/13)
Danielle Lappage (12/13)
Indyra Helfrich-Linares * (13/13)
69kg Justina Distasio (3/18)
Lorena Ellis * (16/18)
75kg Erica Wiebe (1/8)
Leah Callahan (7/8)
* Junior (U21)

Cadet (U18)
40kg Alexia Seal (3/3)
43kg Brianna Raymond (9/11)
46kg Jade DuFour (4/11)
Sarah Gregory (10/11)
49kg Hannah Little (10/15)
Ciarra McCrae (15/15)
52kg Tianna Kennett (8/19)
Jayd Davis (12/19)
56kg Kaylan Muir (14/17)
60kg Taylor Cartwright (7/14)
Micheila McNeil (10/14)
Larissa Buffalino (13/14)
65kg Rylee Denomy (7/10)
70kg Alannah Day (12/12)

Austrian Ladies Open
Senior
48 kg - Jessica MacDonald (1/7)
vs. Fiona Robertson (SCO) - W
vs. Genie Gokhman (CAN) - W
vs. Annie Monteith (CAN)- W

48 kg - Annie Monteith * (2/7)
vs. Vanessa Nussberger (SUI) - W
vs. Jade Dufour (CAN) - W
vs. Jessica MacDonald (CAN) - L

48 kg - Genie Gokhman * (3/7)
vs. Ciara McCrae (CAN) - W
vs. Jessica MacDonald (CAN) - L
vs. Fiona Robertson (SCO) - W
vs. Vanessa Nussberger (SUI) - W

48 kg - Jade Dufour * (5/7)
vs. Annie Monteith (CAN) - L
vs. Vanessa Nussberger (SUI) - L
vs. Fiona Robertson (SCO) - W

48 kg - Ciara McCrae * (7/7)
vs. Genie Gokhman (CAN) - L
vs. Fiona Robertson (SCO) - L

---

53 kg - Jillian Gallays (1/10)
vs. Aurelie Basset (FRA) - W
vs. Jane Clason (SCO) - W
vs. Dorina Peter (AUT) - W 
vs. Cara Nania (CAN) - W
vs. Tatian Debien (FRA) - W

53 kg - Cara Nania * (5/10)
vs. Dorina Peter (AUT) - W
vs. Aurelie Basset (FRA) - L
vs. Jillian Gallays (CAN) - L
vs. Tianna Kennett (CAN) - W

53 kg - Tianna Kennett * (6/10)
vs. Shannon Hawke (SCO) - W
vs. Kathryn Marsh (SCO) - L
vs. Tatiana Debien (FRA) - L
vs. Cara Nanian (CAN) - L

---

55 kg - Amber Maschke * (3/4)
vs. Becka Leathers (USA) - L
vs. Helen Maroulis (USA) - L
vs. Louisa Porogovska (GBR) - W

---

58 kg - Jazmyne Barker (1/6)
vs. Ida Stenberg (SWE) - W
vs. Hayley Heffel (CAN) - W
vs. Ida Stenberg (SWE) - W

58 kg - Anna McKee * (4/6)
vs. Sarah Grundy (GBR) - W
vs. Chelsea Murphy (SCO) - W
vs. Chelsea Murphy (SCO) - L

58 kg - Hayley Heffel * (5/6)
vs. Ida Stenberg (SWE) - L
vs. Jazyme Barker (CAN) - L
vs. Sarah Grundy (GBR) - W

---

60 kg - Justine Bouchard (1/3)
vs. Larissa Bufalino (CAN) - W
vs. Taylor Cartwright (CAN) - W

60 kg - Taylor Cartwright * (2/3)
vs. Larissa Bufalino (CAN) - W
vs. Justine Bouchard (CAN) - L

60 kg - Larissa Bufalino * (3/3)
vs. Justine Bouchard (CAN) - L
vs. Taylor Cartwright (CAN) - L

---

63 kg - Danielle Lappage (1/10)
vs. Fabienne Wittenwiler (SUI) - W
vs. Shai Mason (USA) - W
vs. Laura Raffler (AUT) - W
vs. Breanne Graham (CAN) - W

63 kg - Breanne Graham (2/10)
vs. Indhyra Helfrich-Linares (CAN) - W
vs. Ilana Kratysh (ISR) - W
vs. Temitope Ogunjimi (CAN) - W
vs. Tamara Wittenwiler (SUI) - W
vs. Danielle Lappage (CAN) - L

63 kg - Temitope Ogunjimi * (6/10)
vs. Ilana Kratysh (ISR) - W
vs. Tamara Wittenwiler (SUI) - L
vs. Breanne Graham (CAN) - L
vs. Fabienne Wittenwiler (SUI) - L

63 kg - Indhyra Helfrich-Linares * (9/10)
vs. Breanne Graham (CAN) - L
vs. Tamara Wittenwiler (CAN) - L
withdrawal

---

69 kg - Justina Di Stasio (1/4)
vs. Kim Reisterer (GER) - W
vs. Sonia Kalin (SUI) - W
vs. Lorena Ellis (CAN) - W

69 kg - Lorena Ellis * (3/4)
vs. Sonia Kalin (SUI) - W
vs. Kim Reisterer (GER) - L
vs. Justina Di Stasio (CAN) - L

---

75 kg - Erica Wiebe (1/5)
vs. Veronica Keefe (CAN) - W
vs. Victoria Francis (USA) - W
vs. Sophie Edwards (GBR) - W
vs. Epp Mae (EST) - W

75 kg - Veronica Keefe (4/5)
vs. Erica Wiebe (CAN) - L
vs. Sophie Edwards (GBR) - W
vs. Epp Mae (EST) - L
vs. Victoria Francis (USA) - L

Cadet

43 kg - Brianna Raymond (2/3)
vs. Kim Gmeiner (AUT) - L
vs. Alexia Seal (CAN) - W

43 kg - Alexia Seal (3/3)
vs. Brianna Raymond (CAN) - L
vs. Kim Gmeiner (AUT) - L

---

46 kg - Jade Dufour (1/3) 
vs. Sarah Gregory (CAN) - W
vs. Sariyah Jones (USA) - W

46 kg - Sarah Gregory (2/3)
vs. Jade Dufour (CAN) - L
vs. Sariyah Jones (USA) - W

---

49 kg - Ciara McCrae (1/2)
vs. Hannah Little (CAN) - W

49 kg - Hannah Little (2/2)
vs. Ciara McCrae (CAN) - L

---

52 kg - Tianna Kennett (1/3)
vs. Florine Schedler (AUT) - W
vs. Jayd Davis (CAN) - W

52 kg - Jayd Davis (2/3)
vs. Florine Schedler (AUT) - W
vs. Tianna Kennett (CAN) - L

---

56 kg - Kaylan Muir (2/3)
vs. Maya Nelson (USA) - L
vs. Emmy Mared (SWE) - W

---

60 kg - Taylor Cartwright (2/6)
vs. Koral Sugiyama (USA) - W
vs. Michiela McNeil (CAN) - W
vs. Kathrin Mathis (AUT) - L

60 kg - Larissa Bufalino (3/6)
vs. Lia Tescher (Bayern) - W
vs. Kathrin Mathis (AUT) - L 
vs. Koral Sugiyama (USA) - W

60 kg - Michiela McNeil (6/6)
vs. Taylor Cartwright (CAN) - L
vs. Koral Sugiyama (USA) - L
vs. Lia Tescher (Bayern) - L

---

65 kg - Rylee Denomy (2/2)
vs. Magdalena Ragginger (AUT) - L

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70 kg - Alannah Day (3/3)
vs. Lisa Neumaier (AUT) - L
vs. Jessica Rottier (USA) - L


NEXT BLOG: Pan American Junior Championships come to Toronto!

Wrestling Canada Lutte: TOPS Athlete/Coaching Summit, helps Wrestlers improve their pathway to the podium!

TOPS (Team Orientation Performance Summit)

A majority of Wrestling Canada Lutte's National Team athletes took part in the second annual TOPS Summit held in Calgary following the 2014 World Team Trials.
The focus of this Summit has two mandates:
1) Testing and monitoring of athletes. This includes functional movement assessments, assessments of strength, power, and stamina. Such monitoring is important in evaluating where our team members are strong and where there are gaps (areas for improvement). This data also helps to create a "gold medal profile" for developing athletes including targets and benchmarks Wrestling Canada looks for when identifying podium performance potential.
2) Education and lifestyle excellence. Athletes from the Junior, University, and Senior National teams work through a number of seminars dedicated to helping them achieve greater success on the mat by improving areas outside of their mat skills. This years seminars focussed heavily on Nutrition (training nutrition, weigh control nutrition, and recovery nutrition). Athletes also attended sessions on Mental skills, Video Scouting, Athlete Self-Promotion and fund raising, Athlete Tax assistance, Motivation, and more. Many of Canada's top coaches also participated in these and additional sessions designed to look at how we can improve our daily/weekly training environments to improve athlete performance and wellness.

I would personally like to commend and thank all of the athletes and coaches who helped to make this Summit a true success. Also thank you to all of the outstanding practitioners, presenters, and organizers of this Summit. If we can all commit to making even modest improvements in many of these off-mat/lifestyle areas. The sum of all these improvements will lead to tremendous international success!

Next Blog: Canadian Women enjoy hot weather and many great performances in June on European tours!