Winter Edition 2014
A Literary Magazine by the Students of Erie Day School
The Winter Olympics
A Stroke of the Pen
History of the
Winter Olympics
Interviews with
Trevor Bergqvist,
Caryn Cadavy, and
Bruce Baumgartner
History of the
Winter Olympics
By: Jamie Rowley, 7th Grade
The first multi-sport winter
games were the Nordic Games held
in Sweden. They took place in
1901and only athletes from Scandinavian countries were eligible to
compete. The Nordic Games were
held again in 1903 and 1905 and
then every four years until 1926.
There were several attempts to include winter Olympic sports in the
summer games. It wasn’t until the
1920 Antwerp Summer Games that
one week of the summer games
was dedicated to the winter Olympic sports of figure skating and
hockey. The Antwerp Summer
Games paved the way for separate
Winter Olympics. On January 25,
1924 the first official Winter Olympics took place in Chamonix,
France. There were twelve events
for six different sports. Scandinavians dominated figure skating and
skiing events in the French Alps.
The Winter Olympics are a
celebration of the participating athletes’ skill, hard work, and determination. Unfortunately, several Winter Olympics have been cancelled
due to political unrest. The 1940
and 1944 Winter Olympics were
cancelled because of the outbreak
of World War II.
In 1986, the IOC voted to
hold the winter and Summer
Games in different years. The Winter Olympics would be held in alternating even numbered years beginning in 1994. The Olympic
Games are much more than sports
events. They tell the story of our
world through the amazing athletes who compete.
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Letter from the Editor
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Ski Jump
By: Marcus Diniaco, 7th Grade
Ski jumping, in my opinion, is one of the coolest winter
Olympic sports. Despite what you may think of when you hear
"ski jump", it is not necessarily simple. It is an event that requires speed, power, technique, and fearlessness. In ski jumping, the competitors slide down a long steep ramp and jump off
to see how far they can land. They wear special skis that can be almost one
and a half times as tall as the competitor. The ramp is built to a slope of 35-36
degrees. This may not seem very steep, but keep in mind that the average
staircase is about 30 degrees. Many people think that the end of the ramp
curves upward, to help launch the skier, but it is actually flat, and the skier
must launch themselves. Also, the jumper must lean forward while they
jump, otherwise they will get a lot of wind resistance. Leaning forward, and
being aerodynamic, will let the jumper fly farther towards their landing. Not
as simple as you thought, is it?
An Interview with an
Olympic Hopeful
Olympian Bruce Baumgartner
By: Jamie Rowley, 7th Grade
Have you ever met an Olympic gold
medal winner? You may have walked past one at
the mall or perhaps sat in a restaurant near him
in town. Bruce Baumgartner, his wife Linda, and
three sons live in Edinboro, Pennsylvania. Bruce
has won five medals in the winter Olympics.
Bruce Baumgartner is a local hero. He is
regarded as the greatest freestyle heavyweight
wrestler in American history. He has earned
thirteen World and Olympic medals including
two gold, one silver, and one bronze medal in
four Olympic competitions.
Bruce was born in Haledon, New Jersey and wrestled during
college at Indiana State University. He was the heavyweight runnerup at Nationals two years in a row and took home the national
championship as a senior. In the classroom, he was an outstanding
student earning the ‚Top 5 Award‛ for his athletic leadership and
academic success. He graduated ISU with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Art Education.
Bruce Baumgartner went on to graduate school because as he
says, ‚I wanted to learn more in school.‛ He won a scholarship to
Oklahoma State University and worked as the graduate assistant
wrestling coach. In 1980, during graduate school, he was chosen as
an Olympic team alternate and was the National Freestyle Champion. In 1981, he won the championship at the World University
Games in Romania and the next year was selected to the World
Team while earning his master degree in Industrial Arts/Adult Education.
Over the next 17 years, Baumgartner defeated every American wrestler he faced in competition. In 1984 he earned his first gold
medal in the Los Angeles Olympic Games. He was America’s first
gold medalist in heavyweight wrestling in over 60 years. He also
won a silver medal four years later at the Olympics in South Korea.
In 1992, Bruce became the first American wrestler to medal in three
consecutive Olympics, bringing home the gold from Barcelona,
Spain. During the next six years also earned medals in the PanAmerican Games, World Championships and Goodwill Games. By
1996, Baumgartner became one of eight athletes in history to medal
in four different Olympics.
Beginning in 1984, Bruce Baumgartner accepted a coaching
position at Edinboro University. His team received national success
during the thirteen years of his leadership. Today, he is the Athletic
Director for Edinboro University, earning a great deal of money for
scholarships and athletic teams. His is also an international motivational speaker with a message to devote and dedicate yourself to be
successful in your career. You may find him on the mat at EUP,
wrestling ‚to keep in shape and for fun‛.
Trevor Bergqvist, a
graduate of Erie Day
School ’09, has his eyes
set on the 2018 Winter
Olympics in South Korea. His goal is to compete in these Olympic
Games as a figure
skater for Sweden.
Trevor, a talented,
young skater is currently training at the
United States Olympic Training Center
in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His
coaches are Tom Dickson, Christine
Krall, and Catarina Lindgren. Trevor has
been on the ice since he was ten years
old. He played hockey initially then he
began figure skating at eleven. After
graduating from EDS, Trevor attended
an area high school for a year. As his
schedule became more demanding,
Trevor finished his schooling via Cyber
School. Online schooling gave Trevor the
flexibility he needed to attend more competitions. Bergqvist graduated from high
school in May and is doing a gap year to
focus on his skating. He plans to attend
Colorado College next fall. Trevor’s determination to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics is the driving force in his
life. Trevor begins skating each morning
at 10 a.m. and finishes at 5:30 p.m. He
takes a short break in the middle of the
day for lunch. Trevor goes to the gym in
the evening to work-out with weights.
At this time, Trevor is competing as a
junior; competition groups are determined by age. The junior bracket is one
group below the televised figure skaters.
The figure skating season begins in the
summer and concludes in March. However, the offseason is busy for Trevor as
well. He skates often, chooses the music
for his programs, and works too. During
the offseason, Trevor does find some free
time to play Legends of Zelda. Good
luck Trevor and EDS is cheering for you!
By: Lydia Langford-Tyler, 7th Grade
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How is Russia Preparing for 2014 Olympic Games?
By: Hayley Schultz, 7th Grade
With the Winter Olympics beginning in a month
or two everyone is asking about how Russia is preparing
and will they be ready. Russia is essentially building
Sochi from scratch. Right after arriving from the newly
built airport there is no way to escape the construction.
For Russia this isn’t just a major sports event but a point
of national pride. President Vladimir Putin has made the
Olympics his personal pet project and has used this opportunity to showcase how powerful and prosperous
Russia is. He has spared no expense to make sure the
games are a success.
The current total of money allotted for this
Olympics is fifty-one billion dollars! That’s more than
four times Russia had expected it to be. This Olympics is
going to be the most expensive yet. It’s surpassing the
forty billion China is believed to have shelled out for the
Beijing Olympics. The costs are so high because they
have to build everything from scratch. Russia is hoping
after this Olympics that tourists will start visiting and
generate money for Russia’s economy.
Russia had to build hotels, Olympic facilities
such as three Olympic villages, and a media center.
Every major highway has been affected by the construction causing horrible traffic for the citizens of Sochi. The
2014 Games will feature 3,000 athletes competing in
seven sports and fifteen disciplines for a total of ninetyeight medal events. All of the indoor sports will be held
on the Black Sea coast in five new arenas.
The high level of security surprises everyone
that visits. Every step there is someone checking credentials. There will guards with assault rifles and German
shepherds patrolled the venues in groups, although they
try to keep a low profile. Russia says the security measures will be exactly as they have been in the past, and it
will be no different than if the Olympics were held elsewhere. They vow it will be the safest Olympics in history. A Chechen rebel warlord called on militants to disrupt the Olympics, describing them as ‚satanic dances
on the graves of our ancestors.‛ He told his followers to
do everything possible to cause havoc at the games. Russia responded saying there will be 37,000 police officers
and a complex multilayered security system that will
protect athletes and spectators.
Another concern for Russia is the weather. The
Rosa Khutor resort will host Alpine skiing and other
events and has one of the biggest snowmaking systems
in Europe. They have two water reservoirs and four
hundred snow generators installed on the slopes. They
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plan to store 195,000 cubic yards of snow for the games.
Despite the ongoing construction Russia has made
it clear that they will be ready. So far they have achieved a
great amount of work in a small amount of time. They
have rebuilt Sochi an added all of the stadiums and villages making Sochi the ultimate tourist attraction. The athletes that have been there to see it are confident that they
will be ready and that it will be very safe. If these Olympics are a success that would open Russia in terms of vacationing and tourists. That is why it is so essential to Russia
to get this perfect. I think Russia has done a great job thus
far in preparing and I believe everything will go well.
Snowboarding at the
2014 Winter Olympic Games
By: Noah Ali, 7th Grade
The snowboarding event in the 2014 Sochi
Winter Olympic Games will be held in Ros Khutor
Extreme Park. The events at this park will take place
from February 6, 2014 to February 22, 2014. There will
be a total of ten snowboarding events at Sochi, Russia
which will include Parallel slalom, parallel giant slalom, snowboard cross, half-pipe and the brand new
event slope style. Slope style is a type of winter sport
in which the goal is to perform the most difficult tricks
while getting the most air off of jumps and you are
supposed to perform different kinds of tricks. Slope
style is one of the most popular sports at the Winter X
games and will be making its Olympic debut at the
2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.
Caryn Cadavy
By: Alexandra Burnside, 7th Grade
Caryn Cadavy was born on December 9,
1967 in Erie. She is a professional figure skater
and has won various titles for this skill. She is a
World Bronze Medalist, 1988 Olympian, and
U.S. Professional Champion. She has competed in many
competitions including the 1987 World Figure Skating
Championships, in which she won the bronze medal, and
the 1989 US Championships, from which she had to withdraw because of ankle problems. Cadavy went to the 1998
Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, but ultimately had to
withdraw from the competition after she came down with
the flu. She continued to skate after her experience at the Olympics. She has won
medals at the U.S. Championships four
years in a row as an amateur: three bronze
and one silver. She won first place in the
Skate Canada International and the Prize of
Moscow News. She is one of the Erie area’s
most well-known athletes. She was in 6th
place in the 1988 Olympics before she had
to withdraw, making her one of the highest
placing athletes that our area has ever produced. Since the Olympics, she has
coached skating and participated in other
figure skating competitions as a professional. She is married and now lives with
her husband in Minnesota.
Cadavy answered some questions about her skating career and competitive experiences in the following:
When and how did you become interested in skating? Did
you think then that you would be such a success and role
model?
I became interested in skating when I was four years old…
I was introduced to the sport when I was two years old
when my dad’s side of the family went ice skating on the
holidays. I loved skating from the very beginning, and
when I was eight years old I told my family I was going to
the Olympics someday.
What was your training like? Did it interfere with school?
My training consisted of early morning sessions before
school as well after school. I also studied ballet throughout my career. My skating took months, weeks, years, and
many hours of daily practice, which made it hard to go to
school full time. Before the Olympics I was skating 6
hours a day and I decided to take my senior year of school
in two years.
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Were you always a good skater? Was skating a natural
gift or something at which you had to work very hard?
My family introduced me to other sports and activities
other than skating when I was younger such as tennis,
swimming, piano, and ballet. Ice skating was so natural
to me. It gave me a sense of freedom when I skated. The
combination of dance, speed, and challenge of technical
skills was an exciting sport to be involved in. My ability
to skate was quick and easy right from the start but required many years and hours of practice to achieve the
technical elements, tests and competitive skills to perform at a high level.
What were your non-Olympic competitions
like? How did they differ from the Olympics
and what was your experience in the Olympics like?
My non- Olympic competitions were very
important to me. I would take each one as
a learning experience and stepping stone to
try new elements and hopefully achieve
higher levels to eventually get me to the
National Championship level.
I never made it when I was younger at
the lower levels and when I was seventeen
I made it to Nationals and placed third in
the country my first year of my National experience. The
next three years I medaled at Nationals, won four Internationals and won a place on the 1988 Olympic team. I
was able to compete in the first two events at the Olympics but came down with the flu after my second event.
I was unable to skate my long program and had to withdraw due to my illness. My favorite experiences being a
part of the Olympics was the Opening Ceremonies and
meeting and competing against so many wonderful athletes from all over the world. I overall enjoyed making it
to the Olympics since it was a dream I had since I was 8
years old. Being able to represent my country was such
and honor and knowing my hard work paid off was
such a great feeling.
What was your initial reaction to when you found out
that you couldn't continue competing in the Olympics? How did you feel and how did it affect the rest of
your career, if at all?
My initial reaction when I couldn’t continue competing
in the Olympics was a feeling of great sadness. Being so
sick I knew I couldn’t continue but it still didn’t take
away the disappointment of having to withdraw from
competing my last event.
continued on page 6
I never gave up though, I continued to
perform and compete professionally. I was
able to win six professional titles throughout
my professional career as well as tour all over
world.
How did your general experience
with the Olympics affect the rest of your life?
My experience with the Olympics had impacted my life in many ways. It made me understand a greater meaning of love for my
sport and accepting anything that came my
way. I learned how to deal with adversity and
appreciating my gift to skate. My career blossomed as a professional and the overall experience after the Olympics became more and
more gratified as the years went on because I
grew so much as a person, skater, and performer.
Where do you live now and what have you
done since the Olympics?
I have currently resided for the past two and a
half years in Minneapolis, Minnesota with my
husband. I teach and choreograph for many
skaters in that area. I conduct seminars
around the country annually as well as attend
charities for cancer and many other causes.
What do you remember about your return
home from the Olympics and your return to
Erie?
I remember the wonderful amount of support
and comfort I felt from my family, friends and
the many fans that followed me throughout
my career to the Olympics.
Hockey at the
2014 Winter Olympic Games
By: Noah Ali, 7th Grade
The sport of hockey at the 2014 Winter Olympics will be
played at two different ice rinks located about 300 meters away
from each other. These two rinks are the Bolshoy Ice Dome and the
Shayba Arena. These games will be taking place from February 8,
2014 to February 23, 2014. There will be 444 competitors from 14
different nations. The Bolshoy Ice Dome will seat 12,000 people
while the Shayba Arena will only seat 7,000 people, both of these
arenas will be international size compared to the North American
size used in the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver. The twelve
participating nations in the men's hockey tournaments are divided
into three groups. In Group A, we have Russia, Slovakia, United
States, and Slovenia. In Group B we have Finland, Canada, Norway,
and Austria. In the third and final group, Group C, we have the
Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, and Latvia. To qualify for the
men’s tournament you had to be one of the top nine teams in the
world ranking and all the other teams had to qualify for the last
three spots left in the men's tournament. The eight qualifying teams
for the women's teams were divided into two groups. Group A,
which consists of Canada, Finland, Switzerland, and the United
States. Group B consists of Russia, Sweden, Germany, and Japan. To
qualify for the women’s tournament you had to have been in the top
five teams of the world and Russia gained entry because they will
host the 2014 winter Olympic Games and the rest of the teams had
to fight for the remaining two spots.
On to the Events...
By: Marcus Diniaco, 7th Grade
How has your marriage affected your skating
career?
I am blessed that my husband has always and
still does appreciate and support my career.
How has skating impacted your life and the way
you do everyday things? Do you think that skating has been an experience from which you
have learned and gained instincts or other ways
of life?
Skating has been a wonderful sport to
be involved in. Teaching me hard work, dedication and understanding how to handle
achievements and failures.
Skating will forever be a part of me. I
apply these experiences throughout my daily
life and I teach my students the many lessons I
have learned.
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Winter Olympic Gold Medalists
By: Alex Burnside, 7th Grade
Some may say that the Olympic Games are all
about trying one’s best to succeed, or making acquaintances from different countries and learning about different
cultures. Others may disagree. They say that the Games
are about the winners, the glory, and the legends made.
Some may say that the Olympics revolve around fierce
competition, and most of all, gold medals.
There are only six countries that have won at least
one medal at every Winter Olympic Games: Austria, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. The
United States is the only country in the world to have won
a minimum of one gold medal at each Game. Norway,
however, is the country with the most winter gold medals
and winter medals in total, at 107 gold medals and 303
medals total.
Winning a medal at the Olympics is one of the
highest honors that an athlete can earn. Training for this
event teaches perseverance and hard work. This could be
a factor in the widely observed occurrence that the athletes
with the most medals are often very successful in other
competitions and in other aspects of life, as their training
has taught them much about how to work hard to achieve
what one wants. Bjorn Daehlie of Norway holds the place
as the person with the most gold medals from the winter
Olympics. He has won eight gold medals and four silver
medals in cross country skiing. He is now a successful
business man in Norway in the areas of real estate and
fashion. He has made a quarter of a billion kroner, the
Norwegian currency, in his real estate business. The
woman who holds the most winter Olympic gold medals
is Raisa Smetanina of the former Soviet Union. She won
four gold, five silver, and one bronze medal in cross country skiing. She holds the title as the first woman in history
to win ten winter Olympic medals. She took part in five
Olympic Games. She was the most successful athlete,
along with Rosi Mittermaier of West Germany, in the 1976
Olympics with her winnings of one silver and two gold
medals.
The youngest winter Olympian to win a gold
medal is Tara Lipinski of the United States. She won her
first gold medal at the age of fifteen in figure skating at the
1998 Winter Olympics. She was, and is to this day, the
youngest individual gold medalist in the history of the
Winter Olympic Games.
One of the most well-known American Olympic
gold medalists is Shaun White, a professional snowboarder/skateboarder who won two gold medals in the
winter Olympics for snowboarding. He has won several
other awards in snowboarding as well as skateboarding.
Many athletes over the years have had the honor
of competing and medaling in the Winter Olympic Games,
but few have earned recognition from the entire world.
The few that have earned this recognition are viewed by
the world as champions, role models, and record breakers.
Every year new records are broken and new athletes earn
their deserved world-wide recognition. It is certain that
Changes in the Winter Olympics
By: Mya Tetuan-Lewis, 6th Grade
The winter Olympics have changed over the ages. They started in a small village in France in 1924 with only sixteen nations represented by two hundred forty seven men and eleven women. They have grown to eighty-two nations
represented by two thousand six hundred male and female athletes at the last winter Olympics which was held in Vancouver, Canada in 2010. What was once a quaint, small gathering has turned in to a multi-billion dollar extravaganza.
The events that were played in 1924 but have been discontinued are the military patrol witch was a medal sport,
and a figure skating event called the men’s special figures. For a sport to be considered an event in the winter Olympics it
needs to be practiced in twenty-five countries and on three continents. At the end of the 1924 Olympics, the USA was tied
with Great Britain with a total of four medals each. In the last 2010 winter Olympics the USA increased to a total of thirtyseven medals. The new sports that have been recently added are freestyle skating, short track speed skating, ski joring,
and demonstration sports. Some future winter Olympics sports are team alpine skiing, ski mountaineering, skiorienteering, winter triathlon, and last but not least, bandy. There are three categories in the modern winter Olympics
events. They are: Ice sports, Alpine snowboarding and skiing, and Nordic sports.
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The Jamaican Bobsled Team
Most Popular Winter Sports
By: Daanish Bhatti, 8 Grade
By: Jonah Britton, 7th Grade
th
Beginnings
The Jamaican Bobsleigh Team represents Jamaica in
international bobsledding competitions. The original team
consisting of Devon Harris, Dudley Stokes, Michael White,
and Nelson Stokes debuted at the 1988 Winter Olympics in
Calgary, Alberta. They accumulated fame quickly because
they were seen as underdogs, competing in a winter sport
when Jamaica is a tropical island with no snow. The team
had no idea how to even go down a bobsled track and they
borrowed sleds from other countries. The other countries
were happy to help because it made them look admirable,
they were helping out "the underdogs". When the bobsledders participated in the Olympics, they did not make it officially due to a crash on one of the four races. However, they
showed
significant improvement through the games and impressed
many countries with their fast races.
The movie ‘Cool Runnings’ was also based on their
perseverance. The characters are fictional and it is more of a
"sports movie" as opposed to being a documentary. However, when the teams crashed they used the actual footage of
the original event. Although the team carried the bobsled for
dramatic effect, however all the shaking hands of the other
countries and the friendliness was authentic. Their story remains one of the most amazing stories of the Calgary games.
Evolution
The team returned to the Olympics in 1992 in Albertville, France, but they finished poorly. They qualified again
for the Olympics in 1996 in Norway. There they finished in
fourteenth place, surprising all of their competitors. They
beat the United States, Russia, Australia and France.
As the Winter Olympics are coming up you
are probably wondering what sports to watch.
Which ones are the best? Which ones are popular?
Which ones are exciting? In this article you will find
out the three most popular winter sports, as of last
year, and what those sports entail.
The most popular sport last Winter Olympics was freestyle skiing. Freestyle
applied to skiing covers the events of Moguls, Aerials, Big Air, Half Pipe, Slope Style and Ski Cross.
Their scores are judged as follows: 50% marks for
quality of turns i.e. snow contact, aggression, and
line etc. and 25% are judged by speed. The other 25%
are marked by height and how much air time is
used.
The second most popular sport is downhill
skiing. Downhill skiing is when a skier down a
marked course made of gates that the competitors
must pass through.
Competitors can make one practice run before they make the real judged timed run. The winner is the person with the shortest time and passed
through all the gates.
Lastly, the third most popular sport is the
luge. The luge is a sport where competitors lie down
on a sled face-up and feet-first. Steering is done by
using their legs to flex the sled's runners or applying
pressure on the shoulder pads. Out of the three
Olympic sliding sports, bobsled, skeleton, and luge,
the luge is the fastest and most dangerous.
The Jamaican Team's final run was in 2002 at the Salt
Lake City islands. They did not qualify for the next two
Olympic Games and will not qualify for the current games
in Russia. The reason I did this article is because the Jamaican bobsled team is pushing harder than ever and getting
ready for the Olympics in 2018. They are also a country
whose bobsled team is definitely an underdog. They are participating in a winter sport while their conditions are extremely warm. They are a team that also many people do
not know about. They also have to work twice as hard to
even qualify to the Olympics.
Those were the most popular sports of the last winter Olympics. The most popular sports in the upcoming one will
likely consist of at least one these three interesting sports. If you want to see them, you can check the times that will be
shown on the Olympic website.
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