It is that time of the year again, and no….I am not talking about skiing!! It is time to bring out the golf shoes, your inner child and open mind to the annual Emily Brydon Youth Foundation golf tournament.  The EBYF tournament is the key fundraiser for the foundation itself and an amazing way to connect with a cause that is close to my heart and the people of the Elk Valley.  

We have original ideas ranging from an “air tee” involving compressed air, closest to the zucchini and closest to the keg!  The tournament is about having fun and seeing the value of playing and what it can bring to the youth of our valley!

Over the last 4 years that foundation has donated thousands of dollars to a very diverse range of great causes.

-          $3000 to a local play ground

-          Over 50 ski/snowboard programs, including lift pass, lessons and equipment

-          Multiple school teams and programs

-          Summer camp

-          Hockey camp

-          Writers conference

This is just a few of the activities the Emily Brydon Youth Foundation has supported and believed in.

The golf tournament is taking place this Saturday, September 19^th at the Fernie Golf and Country Club!!

For more information email EBYF@shaw.ca

So here I am, almost 4 weeks into a great ski camp in New Zealand.  It is like I have been on my own little “lonely planet” tour, just through the eyes of a ski racer.  Once I got over the fact that I was leaving summer behind, I have been able to fully embrace the Kiwi winter (which really isn’t all that bad!).  On a little side note, I realize that I am not sure I handle Canadian winters anymore as my skin seems to have softened and I am finding -10 awfully cold!

I have probably skied 20 days so far, skied more slalom gates than my last couple of season combined and have raced in races put on by a couple local Canadians here in New Zealand at the New Zealand Winter Games and had some of my best training and some of my most challenging and humbling! Our whole team has been together since arriving down here but last weekend, our team split and the speed girls went mountain hopping all the way to Mt. Hutt.  The plan was to get in 10 days of speed training but since this resort is aptly named Mt. Shut it was a little ambitious! I am pretty sure that I have never seen wind as fierce before and needless to say we missed the first 4 days.  The good news is that we did manage to get in a day of downhill training today which turned out to be a blast.  It felt good to get back on the old skis again; it is like coming home J

Our two week block in Coronet Peak was great preparation for this speed portion and I feel that all the blood, sweat and tears (lots of those!) was definitely worth it.  Now it is time to capitalize on the speed training here and get as much as possible out of it before heading home in a week!  Unfortunately I have not been on any real Kiwi adventures….but then again there is still a week to go and who knows what can happen in that time.  I do know that I love black liquorice, flat whites, timtams and a good glass of local wine!