Your Interview

BIO: Heather Moyse doesn't just excel at one sport. The 31-year-old succeeds at two.

In just three years, the native of Summerside, P.E.I., has established herself as one of the country's premiere athletes in the national sports of bobsleigh and rugby.

As a top bobsleigh brakeman, Moyse came within a whisker of capturing a bronze medal with driver Helen Upperton at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

And 2006 proved to be a very good year for Moyse when it came to her second sport, as she was the only Canadian athlete selected to the all-star team at the Women's Rugby World Cup.

Since 2004, the Toronto resident has represented Canada in 15 international rugby games as a member of the national women's team. Most notably, she made her debut with the national women's rugby sevens team in March 2008 in Hong Kong.

With the 2010 Winter Olympics rapidly approaching, Moyse is preparing both physically and mentally for the race of her life.

Here is your chance to ask Moyse some questions. Maybe you'd like to know what she's most looking forward to at the Games.

Or what her physical training entails. Or how she prepares psychologically for the Olympics.

It's up to you. Send us your questions and we will ask Moyse to respond.

Heather's web site

Heather Moyse's CBC.ca blog

Heather's answers to your questions

Hello Mai:

What goes through my mind while zipping down the track? Well, to be honest, it depends on the track and whether it’s a training run or a race. As a brakeman, I always learn the corners of the track before we go down. Not how to drive the corners, but just what direction they go in so as to anticipate the turns. Otherwise, without knowing which way the sled is going to turn, I would probably be covered in bruises after being tossed from side to side. By the time the race happens, I can usually tell whether my driver is having a good run or not, so during a race I’m usually encouraging my pilot in my head – lots of positive, fast vibes and encouraging thoughts!

Hi Alan:
Representing Canada at any time is a huge honour. It means that you are the best in your country at what you do, and that you have been given the opportunity to give back to your country – the people who have helped you become the person and athlete that you have become. Stepping on the field with a maple leaf on my jersey, or standing at the top of the track, staring down the icy chute with ‘Canada’ written on my back… it’s about pride for where I come from. And as a competitive athlete, it’s also simply about always wanting to perform my best and push myself to the next level, regardless of whether I’m representing my country, my province, my family, or just representing myself

Hi Richie:
Thanks for your best wishes. To answer your first question, I can't remember ever looking up to any big sporting idols on TV. However, my sister, who was (and still is) 3 years older than I, was always into sports and I always went to her games whenever I could. I guess looking up to her and trying to fill her shoes every time I'd graduate to a new school (after she had just left), or trying to keep up when we played together just made me want to be better, and always made me perform at an older age level than what I was at the time.

To answer your second question about rituals and/or superstitions... No, I don't have any superstitions, but they're easy to acquire. I sometimes purposefully won't do the same thing twice so as NOT to start my mind wondering... Rituals? Not really. Except, although I'm not really a diary/journal writer, I do write a page or so the night before my races, mostly just to focus me on what I need to do. When there's a lot of stressful external stuff going on on-tour, it's a way for me to re-direct my mind onto the things that are actually under my control - what I need to do to push effectively in the race.
Smiles........

Hi Ronak:
Thanks so much. First of all, my advice would be to make sure you love what you're doing! When I was told I made the long-list for the National Rugby Team, I didn't even know we had a National rugby team! I had only played it because I loved it! If you already know what you want to do, but want to know how to get through the days where you don't feel like training, I would say that training is always your decision.

But if you decide not to train on a training day, just picture your opponents... Would they be training that day? If they are, then you'd be falling behind! If they're not, then you'll be one up! Either way, you'll feel better mentally after you get through it!

Me training schedule changes depending on the time of year and what part of the season we're in. In the summer for example, I trained 5 days per week, but on 2 of those days I had 2 training sessions (so 7 workouts in total per week). Three of those workouts would be track/sprint/speed workouts, and the others would be lifting in the gym. Now that our competition schedule has started, I am probably pushing/sliding 2 of the training days, and have one heavy lifting day, one core/abs/light day, and one plyo/dynamic jumps day, before racing at the end of the week. Then the next day we pack up all of our stuff - sleds, tool boxes, runner, suitcases, bags - and usually drive/travel for hours to the next location/country for the next race.

At this level of competition, most athletes know what kind of diet works best for them. Some of my teammates are calorie-counters and/or are very careful with what they will and will not eat. I am fortunate to have a high metabolism, sometimes needing calories wherever I can get them, because I am a bit of a sugar lover! I don't really watch what I eat, but I DO eat pretty healthy meals and try really hard to eat lots of protein!
Smiles...........

Hi Francesca:
Yes, we all still get asked all the time about the movie 'Cool Runnings'. Even some reporters have recently asked me about the Jamaican team (as they were in Whistler sliding last month). Sometimes it can get tiring, but really, that's all I knew about bobsleigh before I really started! Usually, it's people's only frame of reference!
Smiles.........

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