Reflecting on 2009

2009 Competitions:

March
Bronze, Cadet, Ontario Indoor Champs, Caledon, ON

5th, Cadet, Cdn Indoor Champs, Caledon, ON

May
Bronze, Ont. High School Invite Outdoor, Strathroy, ON

July
Bronze, Cadet Guest, US Nat'l Out. Champs, Hamilton, OH, USA

August
Silver (FITA), Cadet, Canadian Outdoor Champs, Laval, QC

Silver (Open), Cadet, Canadian Outdoor Champs, Laval, QC

Gold, Cadet, Ontario Junior Challenge, Islington, ON

September
Gold, Cadet, Ontario Outdoor Target Champs, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

It's been another busy year of growth in many ways - first year of high school was completed with honours, away from home this year a total of 8 weeks (training camps, competitions), new haircut, new glasses, shoe size 10.5, 1 inch of growth in height and several arrow length changes indicating growth in all directions :), always, of course, at the most inopportune time :) Working on completing first level of NCCP, tried out rowing this fall (LOVED it), and begins instructing beginning archers at her school in January 2010. Parents have no complaints...yet :)

Freusburg, Germany - My medieval "roots"

"Kartoffel Ferien" = potato holidays
When I was 6, I joined my home town's childrens choir, the Bochumer Kinderchor. Every September we would go to a youth hostel for the "Kartoffel Ferien", a left-over holiday from the time when all children had to leave school to help out with the harvest of potatoes, etc. Until I immigrated to Canada 7 years later, I spent a wonderful week each year in this castle first built around 1100 AD. I have returned several times since to visit friends. It is still a youth hostel and went through a huge change since my childhood by having a very large addition built onto the front and east side of it.
I got the photos from google images: the first one shows the front entrance on the right, #2 is a view of one of the back towers, the photographer stood in the dry moat, and #3 is a panoramic view showing the castle nestled among beech forests, sitting on top of a shale mountain
We used to sing a song called "Oh Freusburg, auf der Hoeh" meaning "O Freusburg, sitting up high"

Welcoming Year 6

<-- Pic taken March 2004 at Beaches Rec Centre
In the fall of 2003, when Tessa was in Grade 4, the medieval era was part of the curriculum she studied. I agreed to come along with her class to a production here in TO called "Medieval Times". Well...this Disney version of medieval times was such a sad BS production. Coming from the german background of playing in the moats of ancient castles and growing up surrounded by towns and villages steeped in medieval history, I felt it my duty to somehow enhance Tessa's learning of that interesting period...soooo...I dragged her to the ROM, showing her medieval attire and trinkets and then...what else could I do to give her a feeling of those times long ago? I registered her for archery classes at our local rec centre beginning first week of January 2004.

So here we are, going into the 6th year of recurve archery and Tessa loves it as much now as in the beginning. Who would have thought the Ontario curriculum would lead us down this path?! The rules at home are simple: family & friends first, education second, archery third! Works most of the time :) Tessa has begun high school and chosen a difficult program, meaning TONS of homework. For example, she'll finish Grade 9 Science by end of January, Grade 10 Science will be completed by June. But somehow she still manages to exercise and practice her shooting, although I've put my foot down during these holidays about getting enough rest and reconnecting with family and friends sorely neglected this fall...

Now the indoor season is seriously upon us and my job will be to find balance for our archer and our family. The Ontario and Canadian Indoor Championships are first on the list. Ready or not, here it comes - another year of flying arrows has begun...

B(l)ogged down...

I did not "quite" manage to stay on top of results the way I planned...but I thoroughly enjoyed Mark's blog about Molly's experience and the photos that went with it. Looks like a good time was had by all, results were all around good (few disappointments) and missing THE Thanksgiving turkey for a 5 Star hotel stay IN Turkey seems to have been worth it ;D

First day of competition...and I'm a wreck...

My kid isn't even there! But I know how hard everyone has worked and how much this experience will affect their lives :) Our TSA archers are hanging in there - without coach. They're doing well except Greg; his score is not typical. Something must be up. The thrill for me of this day is Molly's shooting - she came in 23rd, yup, that's in the world :) today. Incredible and so deserved. She works hard and it's showing. Could not happen to a nicer person. And our second Cadet, who is actually still Cub age, is 43rd. Bravo, Virginie! You girls rock!

Birthday "children" in Turkey :)

Greg, October 8
Andrew, October 9

Psssst...you did NOT hear that from me...

Why now?

So why am I starting to blog now? It's all Molly's fault!

Molly (check Antalya blog) and a number of our TSA (that's Toronto School of Archery) members, ie. Andrew, Greg and Timon, plus Tessa's friend Virginie from Quebec and a few other young archers we know, are in Antalya, Turkey, as of yesterday. They're representing Canada's youth at the Junior World Archery Championship. We are so proud of them.  I found out that Molly's dad, Mark, will run a blog about his daughter's experience in Turkey. So I check it out...and...discover that if I want to make a comment of any kind, I first have to become a Blogger! So here I am. Registered and ready to cheer.  :o)