sport

Making Waves with Ripple Adventure

Kayaking this Spring?

Photo courtesy of Robbie's Photo Art on Flickr.

By Aneka Rao

This year marked my first winter in Ottawa. I’d heard horror stories about the wet, bone-chilling cold and snow piled up above your head. Stay inside and hibernate, that was the advice I got. But four months is a long time to be cooped up, so in January, I signed up for the Intro to Winter Mix with Ripple Adventure.

Every Thursday, I go on a different winter adventure – downhill skiing at Camp Fortune, snowshoeing along the Ottawa River, cross-country skiing in Gatineau Park, speed skating on the Rideau Canal. As a newcomer to winter sports, which I traditionally avoid like the plague (chalk it up to laziness and an aversion to cold weather), it’s been an incredible experience and a great way to beat the winter blues by staying active. Plus, we get personal instruction from certified professionals, which greatly diminishes my fear of breaking bones and/or making a fool of myself.

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Best places to go rock climbing

Photo courtesy of py3mdwg on Flickr.

Photo courtesy of py3mdwg on Flickr.

Climbing the walls? I suggest climbing a wall.

By Rachel Thistle, sporadic contributor and Ottawa enthusiast

The canal has officially closed, which tells me one thing (well okay, many things, but one is useful here): March. And March weather in Ottawa is notoriously gross. Sure, today might be nice and sunny, but I know that before Spring really kicks off, my feet are going to be freezing and damp and everything is going to be unpleasant.

So if you’re going stir-crazy and need a little exercise, what do you do when you can’t skate and live in fear of the weather? Ladies and Gentleman, Ottawa has two fantastic rockclimbing gyms to Help You Out.

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Chef Wars for Charity: Juniper takes on Ottawa!

sirwiseowl on flickr

sirwiseowl on flickr

Ever since the Food Network imported Iron Chef from Japan, cooking is becoming more and more like a competitive sport. Just like their non-edible counterparts, culinary sports come in a wide variety of flavours. At the WWF end of the spectrum is the hot dog eating contests, in which ‘reversals’ does not mean a string unexpected of goals. Perhaps more to the taste of the tennis and golf set are events like Juniper Restaurant’s Dueling Chef’s Food and Wine Pairing Event

Like a heavyweight on steroids, Juniper is challenging every other restaurant in its class to duke (or more accurately dice) it out for the title of cooking champion of Ottawa. Every Monday until March 15, the restaurant will invite a competing kitchen to come by to prepare a three course tasting menu. Each team will present their menu, along with wine pairing, to the dinners, whose vote will then determine the winner.

While the $135 plus tax and tip price tag makes this tournament a bit more expensive than watching the Super Bowl at home, all the proceeds for the night go to charity. So far, the home team lost to Whalesbone (proceeds go to Ottawa Humane Society) on the 7th and won against Allium Restaurant (The Snowsuit Fund) on the 18. Tonight Juniper will be taking on The Courtyard Restaurant (Quickstart).

See below for a list of the remaining matches/charities.

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What to do ’til Winterlude: Skate on the GG’s Rink!

Photo courtesy of Dani_Girl on Flickr.

Photo courtesy of Dani_Girl on Flickr.

Sure the canal is now open for skating, but did you know you can go to the governor general’s ice rink for better ice and a more intimate experience? Situated at Rideau Hall, the rink is open to all for free. There’s actually lots of history behind it, as the rink has been associated with the official residence since the time of Lord Dufferin, governor general of Canada from 1872 to 1878.

Folks that have been say that it’s beautifully situated amongst the century-old pine trees on the site. There’s a little shack next to it with a wooden stove where you can warm up and lace up your skates.

The rink is open to individuals on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5pm, with no reservation required. Larger and more organized groups must make a reservation.

For more info, call 613-991-ggca (4422) or 1-866-842-ggca. Who knows? You might even run into Mrs. Jean and her family on the ice.

Five Sens headed to Vancouver Olympics

Photo courtesy of Dan4th on Flickr.

Photo courtesy of Dan4th on Flickr.

A friend of mine recently commented that Apt613 needed to beef up its sports section. Not a bad idea, I thought. With most of the hockey nations announcing their rosters in the past couple of weeks I decided to have a look at the Sens that will be representing their various teams in Vancouver.

Before we look at who made their national teams, let’s first look at who did not make the cut. Many thought Mike Fisher was on the bubble for making Team Canada. Despite what appears to be a breakout year for future Mr. Underwood, he wasn’t able to crack the line-up. Same goes for veteran forward Alexei Kovalev. You might blame it on his inconsistency but coach Tretiak might miss his explosiveness (check out his 4 goal, 5 point performance on Sunday).

One Sen that will be part of the Russian Olympic team is defenceman Anton Volchenkov. Milan Michalek and Jarkko Ruutu will be playing for the Czech Republic and Finland respectively. Interestingly, they’ll both be joining their brothers (Zbynek Michalek of the Phoenix Coyotes and Tuomo Ruutu of Carolina Hurricanes) on their respective national squads. Defenceman Filip Kuba will be joining Michalek on the Czech team while Sens captain Daniel Alfredsson got the nod for the Swedes.

Have I forgotten anyone? Let me know…

Olympic torch passes through our nation’s capital

Photo courtesy of GMRoadTrip on Flickr.

Photo courtesy of GMRoadTrip on Flickr.

I really don’t know what to think anymore. Part of me is annoyed at how “corporate” the Olympics have become, how we’ve sunk in so much money into this endeavor and about how we’re probably not even going to win too many medals. The other part of me says: “Shut up! and enjoy the fact the Olympics are in Canada!”

Regardless of these two oppositions, I believe the Olympics are one of the few events that unite us as a nation. The torch relay is one way to involve Canadians from coast to coast with the games. It might come as a surprise that the relay was only introduced at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. For Vancouver 2010, the Olympic flame’s journey started from Olympia, Greece on October 30, 2009 and is headed east to west to arrive in Vancouver on February 12, 2010. It will be passing through our nation’s capital this Saturday, December 12.

If you don’t want to miss the action, you should check Vancouver 2010’s interactive map for up to the minute times of where the the torch will be.  If you’re one of the lucky torch bearers, let us know how the experience went!

P.S. You might have thought (naively, like me) that there was one single Olympic torch. Not so… there are actually 12,000 (!) of them, all designed and manufactured by Bombardier.

Last day of Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival

Today is your last chance to go check out the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival. The site is open from 6:00 am to 11:30 pm.

A slew of activities are planned: music, sport demos, rides and of course the balloons.

The one-day wristband for today is $16.

Check http://www.montgolfieresgatineau.com for more info.

The Hula Hoop: Fitness with a loophole

hoolahoop

Photo courtesy of Alexandra Malone.

Throw out your antiquated ideas about pig tails and pinafores: today’s hoops aren’t just for little girls.

“Today there are lots of different types of hoopers: club hoopers who wear glow in the dark tops, really mellow hippie hoopers who are really into the whole spiritual side of ‘being in the hoop’ and circle geometry.”

Alexandra Malone, pictured above, identifies herself as a “fitness hooper with dance elements.” She is on the forefront of a growing trend in Ottawa: the hula hoop. For the last couple of years the iconic loop has been making its way out of the toy store and into gyms across the city. Along with Roller Derby, hooping is one of a number of retro trends being revamped for the new millennium.

While playing with hoops has been around since at least the days of the ancient Greeks, the modern hula hooping started in Australia, when a toy company started to manufacture bamboo loops. In 1958 Wham-O, a Californian toy manufacturer, started to marked plastic hoops in the USA and by 1959 had sold 100 million. While its glory days as the must-have toy soon faded, over the course of the coming decades the hoop traveled from the sidewalk to such stages as circuses, dance troups and later fitness videos. http://www.hoopgirl.com/

From what my limited internet research skills can tell me, hooping was reincarnated in Ottawa around 2007, as enthusiast like Hooperella started teaching classes or holding performances around town. Hooping classes are now held at various venues around town, including Dovercourt in Westborough and the Glebe Community Center and the Ottawa hooping community has set up its own Facebook group (can someone help me out with the link?). There’s a strong DYI element to the movement, since the hoops used in fitness classes can’t be bought in stores, but are usually homemade with rubber tubing and decorative tape or are produced by local hoopers like Siren Hoops. 

Malone, who has been hooping for a year and a half, will also be teaching a class this fall at Florida Fitness this fall.

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Flickr pool: Bicycles and Acrobatics

Photo courtesy of ian murchison on Flickr.

Courtesy of ian murchison on Flickr.

Photo courtesy of droplet of mercury on Flickr.

Court. of dropletofmercury on Flickr.

Photo courtesy of matthew palmer on Flickr.

Courtesy of matthew palmer on Flickr.

Photo courtesy of S.L.M. on Flickr.

Courtesy of S.L.M. on Flickr.

This week, I was looking to feature some sports or fitness related photos from our contributors. Two main themes from the pool have captured my attention: bicycles and acrobatics. The photos chosen are diverse: the Preston Street Bike Race, Cirque Maroc (part of Carnivale Lune Bleue), our friend Kathleen doing yoga and some fun bike polo action from the North Side Bike Polo Invitational. Thanks to all our photo contributors, and remember if you want to join the Apt613 Flickr pool, just click the link on the right hand side.

Roller Derby Bout - Slaughter Daughters take on Green Mountain Derby Dames

Who says there’s nothing exciting to do in Kanata?  Local derby dames the Rideau Valley Roller Girls certainly know that won’t hold true as they bring big hits and excitement to Kanata when their latest Roller Derby Game: the “Swelter Skelter” is held at John G. Mlacak Centre (2500 Campeau) on Saturday Aug 15th.
 
RVRG’s founding team the Slaughter Daughters (Ottawa) will take on the Green Mountain Derby Dames (Essex County, VT) in a fierce battle of hits,  wits, strategy and speed. This is the fourth home game organized by the Rideau Vallery Roller Girls, who have played various empty hockey arenas around the city this summer to near capacity crowds at each event.

$10 advance Tickets can be purchased at various location like: Spaceman Music, Sounds Unlikely, The Candy Store, and Thunderbird Golf course.

More information and online tickets are available at www.rideauvalleyrollergirls.com $12 at the Door
Partial proceeds from the sale of each ticket to every RVRG game is donated to a local charity.

Don’t miss out!
Doors open 7pm / Game begins at 8pm