issue 04 / volume 41

Mixed rinks

» Combining sports for optimal play

  

Natalie Serafini

me, Editor-in-Chief
» Meditor

F. # @theotherpress.ca

I was recently announced
that the Edmonton Oilers
would be welcoming a new
skating coach into their
fold: Olympic figure skating
champion David Pelletier.

Although hockey is
generally associated with little
of the grace of figure skating,
Pelletier seems like the prime
figure to bring more discipline
to the rink: Pelletier brought
Olympic gold back to Canada
for the first time in 42 years
when he and Jamie Sale won
pairs figure skating in 2002.
The Skate Canada, Canadian
Olympic, and Canada Sports
Hall of Famer has also been
coaching hockey and power
skaters since retiring.

Now, I’m sure a lot of
you are thinking, while both
figure skating and hockey
involve skates, the similarities
in training essentially end
there. Pelletier might bea
world-renowned figure skater,
but cmon—can he really
teach hockey skaters how it’s
done? Even WikiHow.com,
that wealth of knowledge for
all your how-to Q’s, echoes

: this dubiousness: as the site’s

: article on “How to Hockey

: Skate ... (with pictures)”

: describes, “Significantly more
: aggressive and a bit-faster-

: paced than figure skating,

: hockey skating combines

: the skill ofice dancing with

: the brutality of football.”

Then again, if hockey

: requires the skill found in fig-

: ure skating, it does make sense
: to bring inan Olympian. While :
: figure skating comes across as

: agraceful and less aggressive

: sport, there’s a great deal of

: power behind the skaters’

: technique. You try a triple-axle
: on the ice and tell me it’s easy.

Pelletier’s new position

is indicative of more sports

: taking an interdisciplinary

: approach to their training.

: In addition to figure skaters

: taking their technique to

: the rink for hockey players,

: yoga has become increasingly
: accepted asa part of hockey

: players’ training. NSWC.ca

: describes five of many yoga

: benefits, including improved
: muscle flexibility, balance, core :
: strength, concentration, and

: commitment. Focussing on

: self-improvement outside of

: their sport allows the players

: to be better at their own sport.

In order to bein the best

: shape you possibly can be, you

: have to commit to diverse and

: varied exercises. While cardio

: and weight training are impor-
: tant to most athletes, flexibility
: and core strength often get

: ignored, to the detriment of

: health and performance.

Too often yoga is seen asa

: relaxing activity, or something
: to be prescribed when you're

: undergoing physiotherapy—it’s
: usually said by people who

don’t do yoga though, or who

: have only gone to meditative

: forms of yoga. Trying out a

: power yoga class will not only
: challenge your flexibility and
: core, but it will also challenge
: your preconceived notions.

Pelletier’s introduction

: tothe Edmonton Oilers is

: just one way in many that an

: interdisciplinary approach to

: sports can improve athletic

: performance. The training

: and skills that Pelletier has as
: a figure skater will show the

: players how to better approach
: power skating, just as yoga

: helps improve balance on the

: ice. It will be interesting to see

if the trend of intersectional

: sports extends outside of

: hockey: improved flexibility

: and core strength could cer-

: tainly help any athlete in any
: sport, whether your comfort

: zone is onarink, acourt,a

: field, or in a yoga studio.

sports // 19

 

Extreme sports that are a little too extreme

» How dangerous does something have to be to get your adrenaline pumping?

Brittney MacDonald
Staff Writer

I: the age of the GoPro,
extreme sports have never
been more popular. But with
frequent deaths like that of
extreme sports enthusiast and
reality TV star, Eric Hill, some
people find themselves asking
what separates an adrenaline
junkie from someone witha
death wish?

Hill was killed during a
paragliding accident last April.
Although soaring through
the air hundreds of feet above
ground at breakneck speeds
sounds dangerous enough by
itself, paragliding isn’t even
the most dangerous sport this
risky category has to offer.

Solo free climbing involves
all of the great views and
blistered fingers of outdoor
rock climbing, with none of
the safety of a rope; and no,

I don’t mean scaling a few
fabricated walls in town near

: a hospital. People travel all

: around the world, particularly
: to BC, in order to climb steep

: cliff faces in isolated areas

: bare handed, with no safety

: equipment to save them

: should they lose their footing.
: For those who do fall (and
: survive), there’s always the

: off-chance that they might

: want to try base jumping. Base
: jumping is another in the long
: line of dangerous extreme

: sports. It involves jumping

: off the edge of a high cliff or

: structure equipped with a

: parachute that the athlete will
: only pull at the last second.

: The idea is to free fall for as

: long as possible.

: For those too tough for

: something as wussy as a

: parachute, there’s wing suit

: flying. It basically works the

: same way as base jumping,

: except instead of a parachute

: you use a special suit with

: a webbed sail between your

: legs, and between your arms

: and torso. This catches the

: updraft and allows you to glide :
: down to safety. In both cases:
: the most popular places to

: find people attempting base

: jumping or wing suit flying is

: on high mountains, such as

: the Andes, the Monashees or

: Mount Everest.

If you love mountains

: but want a more physically

: demanding sport, you could
: try heli-skiing. Any skier or

: snowboarder knows there's

: nothing better than virgin

: powder, but how far would

: you go to find it? How about
: traveling via helicopter to

: remote areas of a mountain,
: just to jump out and shred?

: That is if you survive the fall, :
: and the very real possibility of :
: causing an avalanche.

What could possibly be

: more dangerous than all of

: that, you may ask? One word:
: highlining. This involves tight
: rope walking between the

: high walls ofa canyon. Yes

: that is a thing, and yes people
: do it. What makes it more

: astounding and terrifying is
: that oftentimes these height

: attached to them, or safety net
: to catch them. Just the hope

: that there’s no strong gust of
wind.

: admitting that I’m too chicken
: to try any of these. I’ll just stick
: to good old fashioned bear

: wrestling, it seems a lot safer.

Although soaring
through the air
hundreds of feet
above ground at
breakneck speeds
sounds dangerous
enough by itself,
paragliding isn't
even the most
dangerous sport this
risky category has
to offer.

enthusiasts do it with no rope

I have no shame in