Karen's Beijing Olympic Blog

We have proudly supported Karen Cockburn at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, where she proudly won silver.

And Karen will continue to keep us posted on her experiences at the world's premier sporting competition.

You can also join Karen's Facebook support group.

Springfree™ Trampoline has been the primary athletic sponsor to three time Olympic medalist Karen Cockburn of Canada.

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24 Aug

UPDATED - Karen Cockburn flag bearer for Canada at Closing Ceremony 

"Being flag-bearer in closing ceremony one more magical moment for Cockburn"

View Canadian Press Article here (retrieved from http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iVsUciZSBfnQy87HQR9aXZyngPXQ)

When the competition ends and the gala is over, there should be a sense of relief but instead, I have been going a little crazy as I have been conscience that this may be the end of my Olympic experience and I have wanted to take it all in and I only have two days to do it.  Many of the venues at this Olympics are inside the Olympic Green which is a huge area that incorporates the Bird’s Nest, the Water Cube, three other venues and tons of open space with fountains, parks, exhibits and the incredible International Broadcast Center. 

With all this to do and see, the last two days have been a bit crazy but so much fun!  It is nice to be done competing and not just get to sit back, watch events, cheer on other Canadians and enjoy this my 3rd Olympics!  Yesterday a number of the athletes took some of the free time to experience the culture of Beijing and not the least of which the local shopping experience of the silk market!  The name silk market originates from the original market that incorporated some of the silk trade industry many centuries ago.  I understand that until recently, this market was a street market that wound its way through little alleys in the silk area of Beijing.  Today it is a 5 floor mall with hundreds and hundreds (maybe thousands) of shops side by side with no more than 6 foot wide aisles.  Every type of consumer product from bags to shoes to clothes to electronics to jewelry and much more.  The sign at the door should read ‘let the games begin’ because the bartering is unbelievable and you never know how much you will pay or how much things are really worth, especially since everything is a knock off.

I haven't been shopping in awhile so I took full advantage of all of the deals I could get, at least I think they were deals. After 15 minutes of fun, both Rosie and I were laughing and having a great time, it was great to unwind.  The whole experience is crazy and after bartering in a few shops, even though you are having fun, you do kind of just wish that the price was the price because it is really tiring.  I learned that to get a good deal you have to be willing to walk away because inevitably they will meet your price rather than lose the deal. We got purses, shoes, jewelry and gifts.  Of course everything is a knock off but I got some pretty sweet bags!

At night we went to the diving 10m final and it was an amazing event.  We got to see Emily Heymans of Canada win a silver medal! What a great feeling to see someone from Canada perform so unbelievably in such an competitive international field.  There were a lot of really good performances and it was really exciting and lots of tensions as the rounds went on.  Rosie and I really enjoy watching diving, I guess because trampoline is similar in many ways.  We were really lucky to sit with one of the coaches from Great Britain and he explained all of the rules and the judging which helped us understand the sport better.  Both Rosie and I like the idea of doing 10 consecutive tricks rather than the thought of having rounds in between trips, we couldn’t image the building stress between rounds.

Last night, upon our return from the Olympic Green, we had a Canadian athletes celebration at our apartment building in the village.  The Canadian Olympic Committee and Team Canada showed video highlights of many of the Canadian athletes and gave out an award to the top 8 finishers.  We all received a really nice scroll, a panda bear, and our a case for our Olympic medal. Many of the athletes and coaches including our team alternates, therapist and coach Dave Ross had already left for home so it was unfortunate that they could not have shared in this moment.  It is nice to watch the highlights and see how well Canada had done and is doing especially from the early days when we were not able to watch.  I know the medal count started slow but we have done amazing and it is great to be part of this great team.

Today Rosie and I went to the salon in the village to relax and get our nails done.  This is something we never do so it was fun and we could choose lots of different patterns to have put on our nails, from the Olympic rings, the Beijing games mascots, the Bird’ Nest or the Water Cube!  At the village salon, they offer free services including haircuts, foot massages and many other things so it is pretty neat! One could get used to this…..after the salon we went to the athletes pool in the village.  At the beginning of the Olympics, this pool was used by the swimming athletes for warm-up, training and swimming laps but now that most athletes are finished competing they are all lounging by the pool relaxing so it is more like a resort and lot of fun!  Talk about a pool full of beautiful bodies….something a little overwhelming I must say.

Rosie and I now off to watch the Olympic volleyball final and I can't believe that the Olympics are ending tomorrow.  We are all looking forward to the closing ceremony but it has been such an amazing time that it will be sad to see it all end.  Upon my return, I will immediately get back into light training before picking my training up during the first week of September in preparation for the world cup event in Russia in mid September.

I will try to write again tomorrow.
 
Karen

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Aug 22

Wow!! Things have been pretty crazy since the event and this the first time that I have had a chance to sit down and do any emails for post an update!

Winning the silver medal was amazing and to be honest, it took awhile to sink in especially since it was hard when Matt was at home and with all the security and media, it wasn't the easiest to see my Mom & Dad. It is almost unbelievable for me that I have another Olympic medal, and was standing on the podium again for Canada! We take for granted so much but I will never take for granted the honor I have had in representing my country at 3 Olympic games.

The competition itself was very intense.......the pressure, the nerves, the crowd, and the environment in that stadium was almost overwhelming. It is so hard to compete in those conditions, knowing that you are about to perform your 30 second routine, that it is your chance to win a medal, a chance that only comes along ever 4 years.

Now that it has sunk in, I am so happy and ecstatic that I had been able to hit my routine when it counted and been able to medal at three Olympic Games!

After that amazing night I had to do drug testing, and then some interviews so I didn't get to bed until very late and then the morning started very early! I couldn't reach my husband Matt at all, I was trying to call him but his cell phone was off! Can you believe it! So I was very excited when he surprised me on TV in an interview! It was great to see him on TV and I was so happy to finally have the chance to talk to him! It was kind of strange because I think we both wanted to share some personal thoughts and yet here we were on live TV talking for the first time...I am sure we probably looked a little funny....now I can't wait to get home.

I relaxed in the village a bit the day after my competition and went to a medal ceremony at Canada Olympic House (COH) where I got to celebrate with my parents, my teammates, friends. The timing of the COH ceremony was a little unfortunate because neither Dave Ross or Jason were able to participate because they were preparing for the Men's final. Our team celebration would have to wait but with Jason's result it will have been worth the wait.

There were other family and friends attending including Rosie and Jason's families and Steven Holmes and his daughter Katie from Springfree Trampoline. It was great sharing this experience with all of them. These were just some of the people who have supported me leading up to and during games!

I didn't think the day could get any better but then Jason did the routine of a lifetime and won the silver medal in the mens event!! We were so excited and thrilled for him! Rosie and I were there watching the competition with our Canada flag, screaming and cheering him on! It was a great competition and Jason's routine was mind blowing!

It couldn't have been any better and although he was only the 2nd person to compete, I think many of his fellow competitors and I know many of the woman trampoline athletes felt...that was the Gold medal performance.

We are all so proud of him and how well he has done! He is so excited and I don't think I have seen the smile leave his face since that night! We have been celebrating together and our whole team is ecstatic at the results we have achieved here in Beijing! We have shown that Canada is at the top in trampoline and we couldn't be any happier!

Yesterday we had a big team dinner to celebrate with all of our families and friends that are here in Beijing supporting us. It was a great celebration and a wonderful dinner that was hosted by Gymnastics Canada! Later, we went to celebrate some more and I think we will continue to do just that until the closing of the Olympics which are on August 24th!

Today my parents came to visit the village. They were very impressed to see everything! I gave them a tour of the village and I think their favorite part was the food tent! Which did not surprise me. It is the size of at least three football fields so it is the biggest cafeteria I have ever seen and it is just amazing. My parents couldn't believe the size of the athletes, they are pretty tall. It is funny because I don't even notice it anymore after being here for almost 20 days!

My parents are leaving tomorrow and I am so happy they came to support me in Beijing! They had an amazing time and it is a moment we will never forget!

Well I better go, Jason and Rosie are waiting for me to go out and do some more celebrating! I will try to write again tomorrow now that things have calmed down a bit!

On a closing note, the talk around the athlete's village is that Michael Phelps has over 1,200,000 fans on his facebook account. I now I can't touch that but I can say that the support I have received from all of you has been really terrific and I can't thank you enough.

Tomorrow is a big day for Canada with many medal hopes and I hope that you like me will all be cheering them on.

Thanks to all of you who have been supporting me and cheering me on! It is wonderful to know that I have so much support!

Karen

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Aug 19

Jason Burnett wins Silver for Canada in men's individual trampoline

Tickets were hard to come by for tonights gymnastics events, going as high as $500 per seat for the nose bleeds. Therefore, many of us were left behind to watch at Canada Olympic House yet the only problem was no one wated to watch a young Canadian they didnt know. After some forceful tactics that I am not unaccustomed to, we got the event on the television, although taped delayed and sure enough, he came through.

If many of you read Karen's comments earlier about not liking to go early in the competition, Jason was totally the opposite with such a significant degree of difficulty edge over any other competitor, if he hits his routine he puts unbelievable pressure on the rest of the group and tonight he did just that.

Tremendous credit must go to national Coach Dave Ross for his exceptional leadership in bringing these young people to international success.

Well done Jason and the whole team....

Steven Holmes, Springfree Trampoline

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UPDATE

Celebration at Canada Olympic house

After a day of media interviews including radio, newspaper and television, Karen finally had the opportunity to meet with family and friends at 5pm (20 hours after winning) at Canada Olympic House. Her parents were thrilled to see her and finally get to give her a big hug and show their pride and support.

Rosie and Karen where brought to the front stage area where a member of Canada's Olympic Committee proposed a toast to the Silver Medalist and her teammate. Karen had the opportunity to thank you family and express appreciation to the unbelieveable amount of support shown from people from home. She said she felt guilty for not updating the blog in over 2 days and she look forward to having a few quite hours where she could read the wall and respond.

Karen's schedule will not give her much downtime as she is leaving in early September for a world cup event in Russia.

Pictures of the ceremony will be added later tonight.

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Mon, August 18, 2008
Cockburn toughest of all Olympians
Recovers from surgery to win silver

By Steve Simmons, SUN MEDIA

BEIJING - The toughest of all Canadian Olympians - maybe now, maybe ever - stands 5-foot-3, weighs all of 121 pounds, and now happens to be the owner of three Olympic medals.

You look at little Karen Cockburn and hear her story and begin to understand how it is she made her way to the podium once again and all you want to do is stand and applaud.

You want to belt the national anthem out loud, even if the none of the medals are gold. And you want to say thanks.

She is that inspiring. She is that much the champion, coming back from knee surgery, qualifying for these Games with a torn meniscus, taking her Sunday training session off because she was in so much pain, leading the field in trampoline until the final jumper Monday, a Chinese girl, took her gold away.

The comeback, though, to get here, to survive, to flourish and win a medal, that was golden enough.

“There aren’t too many people with three medals in three Olympics,” her coach Dave Ross said, choking back tears of joy. “And the statistics don’t do it justice. Those are just numbers. Look at the way the athlete behaves, how they set a good example for determination for other athletes. I’ve been her coach for 17 years...

And then stopped to compose himself.

“To get back and ride again after that injury,” he said. “Unbelievable.”

Not unbelievable: Just Karen Cockburn. The big-hearted kid from Thornhill, Ont. who won silver in Olympic trampoline Monday night here: The third time trampoline has been offered in the Olympics. Her third time on the podium.

Only four other Canadians have managed anything similar. The one-time flag bearer, Caroline Brunet, did it in canoe/kayak. Lesley Thompson was part of medal winning rowing eights in three straight Games. The legendary Philip Edwards won track medals in 1928, 1932 and 1936 in three different running events.

“This is all so hard to believe,” said Cockburn, her hand holding on to her silver medal. “I just started this sport for fun. It wasn’t even an Olympic sport. And I went to three Games and now I have a third medal. You know, it’s all hard to believe...It’s amazing. I’m still trying to soak it all in.”

Normally, she is stoic, somewhat emotional, the game-face kind of competitor. Normally, she isn’t one to celebrate, say much, make much of her accomplishments.

But this ride was too hard and too long and, in the end, too emotional to not want to celebrate. She couldn’t wait to get to a phone to call her husband, Mathieu Turgeon, himself a trampoline medal winner in Sydney.

They trained together as kids, went to Olympics together, got married this past year: Cockburn’s knee was barely strong enough to get her down the aisle.

“I danced all night,” she said of the wedding. “Boy was I sore the next day.”

She will likely be sore on Tuesday morning here, but that kind of pain she won’t mind.

That is the pain of achievement, of reaching a goal she never thought possible.

“I didn’t think there was time,” she said of getting to the Olympics.

“The past year has been really tough,” she said. “Back in October, I (thought) I’d make it to the Games. I injured myself two weeks before the worlds (championships) which was the sole qualifier for the Games. Back then, I didn’t know how I was going to qualify. Then I came through the surgery and made it back in time.

“That’s why this means so much to me. I’m really proud of what I did and how I pulled through.”

Trampoline is hardly a big time sport. But that doesn’t make it easy. It is springboard diving without water, 10 dives of movement and motion, all in about 20 seconds. No second for error. No time to breakdown.

Normally, this small sport plays to tiny crowds: Monday night here was frightening for the competitors. The National Indoor Stadium was loud and thousands full.

“It was all pretty intense today. Crazy intense...I really love this,” she said. “I really love this sport.”

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Aug 18

UPDATED (1.30PM TORONTO TIME):

From Steven Holmes, Springfree Trampoline President (and Karen Supporter)

What a night. It was filled with drama, emotion, and the thrill of victory for the home crowd and the agony of defeat for the Russian athlete and her coach.

First photo of Karen with her Bejing medal

It is 11:30pm in Beijing and with all of the media interviews, the drug testing and the post event issues, Karen has not yet been able to get out and greet her Mom & Dad or her other family and friends. As you can see from the picture that has been added, Karen was thrilled with the result and the support of all of her family and friends.

It was also a great night for Rosie MacLennan who competed in her first Olympic trampoline final and did an outstanding job. In my opinion, Rosie did not get the level of acknowledgment that she deserved from the judges as she was a relative new comer to the Olympic final and even though that should not matter, we know it does....just like 15,000 screaming home town fans.

The Chinese performed a wonderful routine and it was appreciated by the audience her competitors and the judges.

I am sure that you have all seen more interviews than we have here in Beijing so you probably have a better sense of how Karen is feeing. The supporters here have the same pride and appreciation to all our athletes as it is a significant accomplishment just to get to the Olympics let alone reach the final.

Congratulations to Karen & Rosie for making us all proud.

UPDATED (9.30AM TORONTO TIME):

Congratulations Karen!

Again, Karen adds to a stunning medal collection with Silver at the 2008 Bejing Olympics. Further details to follow, but we congratulate Karen on a job WELL DONE!!

Karen earned a score of 37.00 for her routine, which had a degree of difficulty of 14.4, to earn Canada its eighth medal overall of the Games.

China's He Wenna won the gold medal with a score of 37.80, while Ekaterina Khilko of Uzbekistan scored a 36.90 to take the bronze.

Karen previously won bronze at the 2000 Sydney Games and captured her first silver four years later in Athens.

She becomes the fourth Canadian to win a medal in three straight Olympic Games, joining Phil Edwards in track and field (1928, 1932 and 1936), rower Leslie Thompson-Willie (1992, 1996, 2000) and kayaker Caroline Brunet (1996, 2000, 2004).

Also, congratulations to Rosie Macleannan for her performance!

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THE FINALS ARE TODAY -  8.25am Ontario time

Karen and the other finalists are gearing up for the home stretch - the individual finals are tonight.

The competition line up is:

1. Ekatrinia Khilko - Uzbekistan
2. Anna Dogonadze - Germany
3. Olena Movchan - Ukraine
4. Luba Golovina - Georgia
5. Karen Cockburn - Canada
6. Rosannagh MacLennan - Canada
7. Irina Karavaeva - Russia
8. Wenna He - China

5 Execution Judges one each from:

• Sweden
• Australia
• France
• Spain
• Poland

2 difficulty Judges one each from:

• Israel
• Belgium

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Aug 17

CONGRATULATIONS TO TRAMPOLINE CANADA - ALL ATHELETES ARE IN THE FINALS!

You know about Karen, so posted are the bio's of the other finalists.

Bio - Jason Burnett

Three-time Canadian champion Jason Burnett has emerged as one of the world’s most promising young trampolinists over the last two years.

Since winning his first World Cup medal in 2006, Burnett has added four more, most recently winning bronze at a competition in Arosa, Switzerland in June, 2008.

He holds the world record for the most difficult routine ever completed in competition, posting a score of 17.50 points at the 2007 Lake Placid World Cup.

In training Jason has performed even more difficult routines, scoring as high as 18.50 in a routine packed with multiple-twisting somersaults and other dazzling manoevres.

Jason also set a world record in the synchro event in 2007, since broken, with teammate Phil Barbaro.

At the 2007 world championships he placed 11th to qualify one spot for Canada at the Beijing Olympics in the men’s competition.

He then claimed the spot for himself in a series of Olympic selection competitions held over the last six months.

Personal Info
Birthdate/Date de naissance: 16/12/86
Birthplace/ Lieu de naissance: Toronto, ON
Hometown/ Lieu de résidence: Etobicoke, ON
Language/Langues parlées: English
Club: Sky Riders Trampoline
Coach/Entraîneur: Dave Ross

Bio - Rosie MacLennan

Birthdate: Aug. 28, 1988
Birthplace: Toronto, Ont.
Hometown: King City, Ont.

Olympic Outlook:

• Top 8 finish

Season Highlights:

• Canadian Championships, Calgary, silver
• Elite Canada, Kamloops, B.C., silver in individual, gold in synchronized
• Pacific Rim Championships, California, bronz

Career Highlights:

• 2007 World Championships, bronze in individual, gold in synchronized
• 2007 Beijing Test Event, silver 
• 2007 Pan American Games, silver
• 2005 Canadian Championships, gold

Noteworthy:

• Ranked 9th in the world
• Her grandfather was also an Olympian, qualifying for gymnastics in the 1940's, but couldn't go since the Olympics were cancelled because of World War Two

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Aug 16

CONGRATULATIONS TO KAREN FOR MAKING IT THROUGH TO MONDAY'S FINAL!

UPDATE TWO

An updated message from Karen at the Villiage

All of Trampoline Canada is in the finals!!! Jason, Rosie and I are all very excited with making the finals.

Today has been a great day!

We accomplished our goal of all moving forward into the finals and we are looking forward to the next few days. Sorry I could not write yesterday, it was our podium training so we were very busy and we had to go to bed early as our morning started at 7am today.

Evening at Canada Olympic House (Pictured left to right) Stephane Duchesne, Gymnastics Canada’s high performance director-trampoline, Sarah Charles, Canada's alternative for women's trampoline, Steven Holmes and Coach Dave Ross

It was a pretty nerve racking day for all of us. The qualifying round is always intense because everyone wants to make the final. I was very nervous on my first routine, I had a few errors and was behind after my first routine but was able to make up some room on my second routine and pulled up to 4th which qualified me to the final round.

Karen and Dave, just before her second qualifying routine

Rosie did a great job and qualified to the final easily with two nice routines.

Jason had trouble on his first routine also but did an amazing second routine which got him into the final. So we are all really happy with the results. The finals will be in two days from now and it will be a fresh start for all 8 athletes in that round.

After the competition I had to go to drug testing which took awhile and then we had to attend an athletes meeting. After that we returned to the village for lunch and a cold tub to recover from the competition today.

Tonight we got the chance to go to Canada Olympic House to meet up with our families which was great! They had a huge cheering section today at our event so it was nice to celebrate a bit with them tonight! We also got to celebrate the great day Canada had winning 3 medals, two in wrestling and one in rowing!

I have to go because we are about to go back to our apartment to review our routines from today and to focus on our training tomorrow.

It is a huge relief to have the preliminary round finished and to be looking towards the final! Our team is really happy, our coach is very happy, and our spirits are high!

Thank you to everyone who was cheering us on today!!

Karen

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UPDATE ONE

This posting is being done by Steve Holmes, as Karen is current subject to a media blackout.

Well, you may have wondered what has happened to the updates but the wait is over and the news is amazing. Canada has qualified 3 trampoline athletes to the final medal round. Rosie MacLennan and Karen Cockburn have qualified for the women's trampoline final (to be held Monday morning Toronto time) and Jason Burnett has qualified for the men's trampoline final (to be held Tuesday morning Toronto time).

This is the first to the Olympics for both my daughter Katie and I, and the atmosphere here in Beijing is something hard to describe....photos of venues and events will be posted so please check them out. The security is unbelievable and the size of the Olympic Green is so big that it took us over 20 minutes just to walk from the perimeter of the property to the security entrance and then after 45 minutes in security lines it is another 20 minute walk inside the Olympic Green to the Indoor hall. It is beautiful but it lacks a sense of community as the only way into the Olympic Green is with a ticket.

Karen's parents with Steven Holmes Springfree Trampoline President

There is much more I could say and I will later.....that gets us started toward thinking about the final....Karen, Rosie and Jason headed off to the cold tubs after their program and will go to the village where they will begin another blackout period until the final.

One last comment, in speaking with Rosie's mom, she made a comment that I thought spoke unbelievable volumes about Karen...she said, 'Karen has guided Rosie through these Games better than anyone could ever ask...she has not been selfish at all but the total opposite she has made this best Olympics possible for Rosie' (who will likely have many more)....what a great tribute to a great Canadian athlete....

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Aug 14

Today was our day off from physical trampoline training but lots of stretching and doing visual walk through of the event. We wanted to spend some more time in the Indoor Hall (the venue where our competition is) so this morning we went to watch the mens artistic gymnastics all round final.

Wow, it was a great competition to watch, especially with the Chinese men as favourites and the home crowd was cheering so loud. The two Canadian men did a great job and we were all excited to cheer them on. International competition is unbelievably difficult and it is only at places like the Olympics where you can really appreciate how great other athletes really are and yet appreciate the effort made by all those that compete.

Karen's already a winner

It was really important to get the feel of the stadium with this much noise as one of our biggest competitors will the Chinese women. It is important for us to spend time in the venue, looking around and imagining what it will be like competing in there infront of all of those people. So we did a bit of mental training while we were there.

After watching gymnastics we went to the dinning hall in the village where we met up with Bryan and Sarah who are the alternates for trampoline and their coach Yann. They had day passes to get into the village because they are staying and training at an outside location. They were so excited to be in the village and they got to tour around the village and see what its all about. They were really impressed with the dinning hall and all of the different athletes they got to see.

All of the athletes are together and at times you see NBA players and the top tennis players, and lots of athletes are following them around and trying to take pictures with them. So it is a really neat experience to see all of these great athletes in one place!

After lunch we went to the weight room to do a small work out just to get our bodies moving a bit. Just a warm-up, some light exercises and stretching. We also played some air hockey in the games room were they have pool, arcade games and other entertainment.

The weather here today was horrible, it rained all day and we had a pretty bad storm. Unfortunately the weather delayed my parents flight a bit and then they were stuck in some pretty bad traffic getting to their hotel so it made it impossible for us to meet. I was looking forward to going to Canada house and seeing them but the schedule did not allow for it as the bus only runs at certain times. I will be talking to them again before I compete but I will not get a chance to see them until after my competition as tomorrow is podium training and then we will have to rest for our competition.

The phones we received are really great and we get free minutes so I have also been talking to my husband Mathieu Turgeon as much as I can. It is different attending the Games without him as he competed with me at the Olympics in 2000, earning a bronze medal for Canada in Sydney and then again in Athens in 2004. I have been talking with him daily and he is always excited to hear my stories because he loves the Olympics. It is fun calling him as he is always so eager to hear what is going on and what I did with my day!

It is 8:30pm here in Beijing and I am in the athletes lounge just relaxing and updating this blog and checking some other e-mails. The rest of my team went to watch badminton and they should be getting back soon so I think I will head back to my room in a bit and maybe read or watch a movie on my computer.

Keep cheering for our Canadian athletes and thanks for your support,

Karen


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"Guide to watching Olympic Trampoline"

Well, I have a little more energy and I thought maybe now was a good time to provide you with a ‘watchers guide to Olympic trampoline’. There are two components to the the competition, the qualifying round and then the top 8 qualifiers compete in the finals.

In the qualifying round competitors complete both compulsory and optional routines, while the final consists of just an optional routine. The compulsory routine contains a prescribed set of skills, which must be performed in a set order, while the optional routines must contain 10 recognized skills.

Karen Medalling at previous Olympics

Trampoline is a judged event and this means that to win, you must not only perform well but also meet the expectations of the judges which for some is a higher degree of difficulty whereas for others it is clean consistent form. This conflict means that when developing your routine you have to balance these two aspects to give yourself the best opportunity to win.

The skills that are performed in the optional routine must be submitted on cards to the judges in advance, but they can be performed in any order. Each of the 10 skills in an optional routine should be different, in other words, skills should not be repeated in the same routine. Routines should end with the trampolinists in an upright position with both feet on the trampoline bed. They must remain upright for at least three seconds at the end of the routine, with points deducted for instability.

For all skills apart from straddle jumps, the legs should be kept together with the toes pointed. Only one attempt at each routine is allowed, unless the routine is interrupted by outside interference. However, there is no time limit on routines.

Skills include twists and somersaults in a variety of positions. Each is given a degree of difficulty, the higher the difficulty the higher the score. The number of twists and somersaults in each skill dictates its difficulty rating. A full somersault is worth 0.4 of a point, a quarter somersault is worth 0.1 and a three-quarter somersault is worth 0.3 of a point. A full twist scores 0.2 of a point and a half twist 0.1 or a point. If a move includes a somersault and a twist, the scores are added. If the somersault does not include a twist but is performed in the pike or straight position, 0.1 of a point is added for each complete somersault.

Two difficulty judges confer to give each routine a difficulty score, which is usually in the range of 11-15 points. A panel of five judges rate the execution of each routine, giving a score out of 10. They look at form, consistent height and control, deducting fractions of points for faults. Failing to hit the trampoline with both feet at the same time costs 0.3 of a point, touching the trampoline bed with the hands draws a 0.4 of a point penalty, touching the bed with the hands and knees is worth a half a point penalty and landing on a safety platform results in a 0.8 of a point penalty.

Like the other gymnastics disciplines, in trampolining technical ability is not enough for a good score, style is also important. Judges reward competitors who perform with artistry and grace. The highest and lowest scores for each routine are discarded and the other three are totaled. The difficulty score is then added, giving a final score for the routine.

Ticket to Karen's competition

I know this all sounds a little complicated but this is what makes our sport so difficult to not only perform well but to judge. In order to preserve independence in the judging, judges must be from countries who do not have an athlete competing from their home country. It is funny as this makes complete sense until you realize that the countries with the best athletes also have the best judges. I am comfortable that it is fair for everyone so this is not a concern.

One last fact that I must keep in the back of mind …. There is no holding back in qualifying and I want to qualify as high as I can. Unlike personal performance sports measured on time, weight or distance, trampoline is a judged sport and the order you will compete in the finals will go in reverse of your qualifying position. It is almost impossible to win from the eighth qualifying position. As an example, my husband Matt had an unfortunate draw in the 2004 Olympics and ended up qualifying 8th for the final. This meant that he was to compete first in the final, a position almost impossible to win from.

Have a great day Canada,

Karen

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Aug 13

Today we had an early morning training so we had to be up bright and early to catch the bus to our training center! We have been training everyday but tomorrow we will finally have the day off. In two days is our podium training in the venue where we will compete so it will be great to finally train in the big stadium.

Training went well, I practiced both of my routines and worked on correcting small details. We have a video camera set up with a computer attached where we can view our routines after our turns on the trampoline. It is called dart fish and it is an amazing video program where you can watch you routines at all different speeds and over lap routines to see what changes or progress you have made on skills. It really helps a lot with our training.

After training we went to the dinning hall of course! And then to the ice tubs once again! Then we jumped on a bus to get to the aqautic center "the cube" where we watched diving. It was the mens 3m spring board sychronized diving event. It was a really fun event to watch and an exciting competition, we had a big Canadian flag to cheer on the Canadians! The Canadian pair ended up finishing 5th.

I just got back to the village and I am relaxing in the athletes lounge. Rosie and I are staying in the village for the rest of the night but Jason and my coach Dave are going to see beach volleyball tonight, so that should be a fun event!

My parents arrive tomorrow so I will get a chance to see them before I compete, I talked to them today and they are excited for the trip. They are going to have such a great experience. They will really enjoy themselves here, seeing different Olympic events, seeing the sights, and being emerged in this culture!

Tomorrow I will go to Canada Olympic House which is a place for friends and families of Canadian Olympians. It will be my first time going there so I am excited to see what it will be like. They even have Canadian chefs there and offer lunch and dinner so it seems like a great place for Canadians to hang out, watch events, and connect with family and friends.

Well I better go, I am off to the dinning hall again! I feel like I live in that place! I will write again tomorrow.

Karen

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Aug 12

Today our training was in the afternoon so we got to sleep in a bit which was nice. After breakfast we spent some time in the athletes lounge watching womens softball and mens gymnastics team finals on TV.

The Canadian athletes lounge is great because they have TV's to watch events, computers for internet, video games, snacks and a helpful staff who are all previous Olympians.

I also have been taking advantage of the Canada medical center here.

Today I had some more acupuncture done on my knee to keep myself in good condition and prevent swelling from all of the trainings.

Training today went well. I practiced my routines and they are going well and I am excited for the competition to begin.

Our training time is shared with Austrialia and China but we have yet to see the Chinese team. They are training at their national training center which is located elsewhere in Beijing.

I am not sure when or if they will be coming to the village. All of the other teams have arrived and have been training except for Russia. We are not sure when they are arriving or if they, like the China are doing there training in a different location.

After training we jumped in the cold tubs back at the village to recover from training. We also watched mens basketball, womens field hockey, and mens handball on the TV's in the athletes lounge.

Then back to the dinning hall where I noticed we spend a lot of our time. Dinner was great, we ate with the trampoline athletes from Portugal. The dinning hall is a fun place to be as it is filled with athletes from all different sports and countries, so it is a little bit of a social break from all of the training and competitions that are going on daily.

Now I am back in the athletes lounge using the computer. We will have a celebration outside our apartments in about an hour for all of the Canadian athletes who have competed. They will being showing highlights of the competitions.

Our apartments are pretty nice and we have a huge Canadian Flag hanging down the building. It is huge and by far the biggest flag in the village out of all the other countries so it is pretty sweet. Each country has there own building and everyone has flags hanging so it is neat to walk around and see all the different flags and where each country is living.

Rosie MacLennan, Canada's other women trampoline competitor and I received a note that there is a gift from from "Birks" for the Canadian athletes so we are off to pick it up and are excited to see what it is!

This may all seem like a description of a vacation but the four years of training, injuries and hard work come down to this competition and I am very proud of representing Canada and appreciate the opportunity that I have to compete for my country. Bye for now and thanks for your continued support.

Karen

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Aug 10/11
 
Training has been going well. Our training hall os really nice with four trampolines to choose from. It is about 18km from the athletes village located in a Beijing sports school. This school has amazing facilities and it is no wonder China is able to produce such great athletes. Our competition is at the indoor hall which is only about 1km from the village and is also near the birds nest stadium. It is an amazing venue and I got to watched the men's gymnastics competition there on Aug 9th. It was great to be in the venue where I will be competing, to see how the crowd reacts and to get a feel to what it will be like competing in there.



We don't get to train in that venue until Aug 15th which is the day before our event, so it doesn't give us much time to get used to the competition trampolines.  It will give us the opportunity to get used to jumping in the the stadium, and to choose which of the two trampolines we will use to compete on.

Today after training we went to see swimming. The bubble dome is breath taking. It is a beautiful venue and it was great to see it from the inside. It is nice to see a few different events as it really gets you in the Olympic spirit.  Sitting in the athletes stand really helps alot as you get to ask questions to other athletes and learn a few more things about their sport and the rules involved.
 
Now my focus will mostly be on my competition and my team will proably not get to many more events until we our finished competing. Our days usually consist of training, getting treatment to prevent injuries, and spending time in the cold tubs.  The cold tubs are the worst well you are in them but afterwords you feel great and it really helps your muscles recover for the next training!

Karen

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Aug 9
 
We had the day off of trampoline training because we were tried from the opening ceremonies. We went to the gym in the athletes village to lift weights with our trainer Steve Lidstone. It is very interesting working out with so many athletes from all the different sports and countries. There are athletes of all shapes and sizes so it is not something you are used to seeing. It is so motivating working out along side of the best athletes in the world. Some of the weights that are being lifted is unreal. When I walk around the village I feel so tiny, it is pretty funny to be in this environment.
The dinning hall is another inetesting place to be.  It is huge and there is all types of food to eat, you don't really know where to start sometimes.  Everything in the athletes village is great, the accomodations, the food, and the overall environment.  There is nothing to complain about and the volunteers are so helpful and friendly. Beijing has really done a great job and so far I am very impressed!

Karen

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Aug 8

The opening ceremonies were amazing. My favorite parts were marching in with team Canada and the flame lighting.  It is so exciting walking into a stadium filled with so many people cheering. As you are walking down the tunnel about to reach the stadium entrace you can hear the roars from the huge crowd and you get chills. Even though this is my third Olympic Games, it is still a wonderful and exciting experiance.  Something of this scale is not something you get used to.  When they annouced team Canada as we walked into the stadium thats when in really hit me, the realization that I was at the Olympics! And that it was my third time! After we finished the march in we took tons of photos with our team and enjoyed every moment especially the lighting of the flame. It was very impressive seeing Li Ning running around the top of the stadium and then lighting the Olympic Flame. The best of the three!
Even though it was a long night and we were dying of heat it was well worth it!  A moment I will never forget.

Karen