September, Brazil and Dragons

Time for an update.
There was a break in the FIVB World Tour schedule. So for the month of September, Jamie and I were able to take a mini break, spend time with our families and recharge the old batteries. We had just spent a total of nine weeks traveling through Europe and we needed a little down time!
We focused on some quality training with our coach and I think we used the time we had together very effectively.

Toronto DOES have a beach! Early mornings at Ashbridges Bay are some of my favourite moments.

Brazil Grand Slam
So after a month off from competing, Jamie and I were getting hungry for more battles.
We flew down to Sao Paulo feeling refreshed and ready to go.
We were in the qualifier and had to match up against a pretty strong Russian team to advance into the Main Draw. We knew we had to come out aggressively in order to win. It was that mentality that led us to a 3 set victory (21-16, 20-22, 15-12). I had been working on my jump spin serve over the summer and decided to test it out here. It felt good to put something into an high-pressure game situation that I'd been practicing for so long, and with such positive results! Safe to say I have it as a tool from now on!

Jamie being large at the net vs. Switzerland

In the Main Draw, we were pooled with top teams from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We'd played all these teams before, and only managed to beat the Swiss team at our last meeting.
Jamie and I managed to stay strong and confident throughout all our pool play matches and WIN our pool!! This was the first time we've ever accomplished that, and it felt GREAT! Not only did it mean we had secured a top 10 spot in the Grand Slam, we proved that we have what it takes to win four matches in a row and really believe we can compete with some of the top teams in the world.

In the Round of 16 we faced the second ranked team in the tournament, the Salgado sisters from Brazil. This was definitely not our best game... facing a tournament favourite, at home, on centre court..... but we managed to make some plays and figure out where our game can continue to improve. We lost in two sets, but couldn't be too upset for long because we came away from the tournament with a 9th place finish.

Some of our success could be attributed to the Brazilian diet we treated ourselves to. One night before the tournament started, a bunch us of Canadians went out for all you can eat Brazilian BBQ. I can definitely say I've never eaten so much delicious meat before in my entire life. It just kept coming! And trust me, it was hard to say no.
Also, I always look forward to going to Brazil for one of my all-time favourite treats: Acai! They prepare it in a way so that it comes in a slushie form, with sliced bananas on top. And apparently it's a superfood, so I'll take ten please!!! yummmmm


Next up: China!
We're home for 5 days, then we take off for Xiamen, China. We're definitely looking to keep our momentum rolling!!



But before we leave...

Way back in April this year we were asked to participate in an episode of Dragon's Den, showing off some pretty sweet bikinis.
Karu Design was born from a need for simple and practical bikini design that maintains performance, quality and style. Founder and designer, Kaoru Matsui, has combined her active way of life with her appreciation for design to create the swimwear line for today's dynamic woman.
If you're interested in getting your hands on some sweet style, check out her website: www.karudesign.ca
> use the promo code "teamcanada" to get 25% off!

The episode airs this Wednesday, October 16th at 8pm, so be sure to tune into CBC to see us hang out with the dragons!

This was such a neat experience, I'm a huge fan of the show, so I was a little star struck when it came to meeting the dragons!! We all had a great time :)