The Island is not the U.S. 颅Sunshine State in terms of weather. But it鈥檚 not 颅Saskatchewan, either. Canoe Kayak sa国际传媒 is conducting its annual winter camp, usually held in Florida, in a practical bubble with dorms and dining hall at St. John鈥檚 Academy in Shawnigan Lake for its more than 40 athletes, coaches and training staff.
Canoe Kayak sa国际传媒 is among the national sport organizations preparing amid a pandemic for the delayed Tokyo 2020 Plus One Olympics next summer. With the sa国际传媒-U.S. border closed, Florida was not an option this year for the camp. But after what athletes have endured in 2020, a little bit of Island rain isn鈥檛 about to deter them.
鈥淪hawnigan Lake is awesome,鈥� said Canadian sprint canoeist Katie Vincent, who overcame an agonizing case of shingles to win bronze in the women鈥檚 individual C-1 500 metres and gold in the C-2 500-metres with partner Laurence Vincent-Lapointe at the 2018 world championships.
鈥淲e layer up as needed here and get the work done. The lake is across the street from our accommodations and meals. There is no traffic and distraction. It keeps the stress low. We can be out and warming up on the lake in 10 minutes.鈥�
Despite being delayed, the prize remains the same.
鈥淭here are still Olympic medals available and there will be races next summer to win them,鈥� said Vincent.
鈥淭he way I look at it, I鈥檝e been given another year, another opportunity, to get better,鈥� added the 24-year-old, who grew up down the road from the local canoe club in Mississauga, Ont.
Not that it has been flat water all the way. The pandemic was only part of it. Vincent鈥檚 C-2 partner Laurence Vincent-Lapointe was provisionally suspended in 2019, but then reinstated in January of this year by the International Canoe Federation, after Vincent-Lapointe鈥檚 positive steroid test was ruled to have been caused by third-party contamination.
鈥淭hat was tough emotionally, and stressful, but made me stronger and more resilient,鈥� said Vincent, who was looking at her dreams of C-2 Olympic gold possibly evaporating without Vincent-Lapointe.
鈥淚t has actually made this year seem a lot easier.鈥�
Not many athletes can claim that about 2020.
Meanwhile, Rowing sa国际传媒 is centralized at Elk Lake (moving to Quamichan Lake in North Cowichan post-Tokyo Olympics) and also uses Shawnigan Lake for training. There is a perception that all elite Canadian international athletes know each other. But they are so siloed and focused on their own sports that it鈥檚 not the case.
鈥淚t鈥檚 cool to see the rowers on the water. I鈥檝e never seen them before,鈥� said Vincent.
But there is a commonality.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all working toward the same goal,鈥� added Vincent, a 颅former world junior champion.
Both the IOC and Tokyo organizers are vowing the Games will proceed next summer, regardless of what form they take. With the vaccines coming, that seems all but a 颅certainty now.
鈥淚 believe we will be on the start line in Tokyo,鈥� said 颅Vincent.
鈥淟ook at all the other sports that have been successful in bubbles. I trust our 颅decision makers to make the right 颅decision.鈥�
High-performance athletes who were already training in sa国际传媒 and identified by Canadian Sports Institute-Pacific are excluded from the sport-related restrictions announced Nov. 19, and running through Dec. 7. The Canoe Kayak sa国际传媒 training camp opened in early November and runs through next week. Regardless, training, practices and scrimmages are allowed for all sports organizations.
