In September I participated in the Ontario Sailing Combine. This 2-day event is held each year prior to Fall CORK in Kingston, Ontario. Across the two days coaches are evaluating you on your fitness, sailing ability, and character for possible selection to one of the Ontario teams.
On the morning of the first day there is a fitness circuit that all athletes do. It consists of push ups, pull ups, flexibility, plank, and measurements. The measurements taken include height, weight, and BMI. After this all athletes participate in the beep test. I am proud to say almost all of my fitness scores improved over last year.
The rest of the evaluation comes on the water. There are two on-water sessions, one in the afternoon on the Thursday and one on Friday. This is a good pre regatta tune-up and an opportunity to display your skills. Additionally we were treated to a great talk from Ken Dool; Canadian Sailing Team Head Coach and High Performance Director on what being an athlete is about. Having only just returned from coaching our Canadian Olympic Sailing Team in Rio, his perspective was invaluable and thoughts were inspiring.
I enjoyed this year's combine and was able to retain my place on OST Elite Radial Team. I would like to thank Ontario Sailing and all of the coaches for running a great event.