A team is the sum of its parts not the value of its weakest link
This fall I was a member of the University of Toronto Cross-Country Team. My goal was to try to help the team win a medal at the Canadian Championships.
Running is by nature a very individual sport, but in cross-country it is all about the team. Experiencing this again really got me thinking about how we were a sum of our team, not just those that competed that windy, wet Saturday. Our team also included all of those who trained with us through the fall and our external support team who motivated us, supported us and travelled hours to Kingston just to watch the race. Our team won a silver medal and we couldn’t have done it without the sum of everybody’s contributions.
This magazine is the same; it is brought to you by a team.
It’s a team that has various roles – like the contributors who bring us ideas and relevant submissions, to Shelagh who provides admin support (and the occasional picture or two!), to our Advertisers who subsidize the costs of this magazine and make it possible to still print a magazine and to our design and publishing partners who help Phil & I bring everything together and into your mailbox.
Our team also includes you. Phil and I act like managers of the team. Our goal is to do what is best for the team. Most importantly our goal is to find you the best content, which is helpful and relevant to the season ahead. As managers we are also accountable to you and to our budget. With a slow start to the season we decided it was best to reduce the number of pages to 24 in order to save some costs. Having said that, we have published lots of additional great content on our website and encourage you to read & leave your comments.
On February 12th we all become part of an even bigger team as we become part of the Canadian Olympic Team. When the Olympics come to Vancouver I’ll be wishing our athletes the best of luck and I’m sure you’ll do the same. It is their hard work that has got them to the top, but it is our love and support for them as part of the extended team that will help them achieve their goal of winning more medals than ever before.
Be sure to check out our Olympic page as we’ve highlighted some of our ski athletes from Ontario.
This winter remember to stay active in the CSIA Ontario team by taking a PDP, Super PDP, PTS course, or by joining us at Snowfest in March or the AGM in May and help us all remain leaders in Ski Teaching.
