Sports International Magazine Issue 8

February 2014 1

The Pro SportsMagazine

February 2014

Nikki Symmons

2014 FASWL Review Transfers, Women’s Surfing Roots...Sports nutrition, top tips and more...

Beverly Goebel, Lydia Hall, Sindy Huyer, Sarah Outen, Buchanan Next Gen – BMX teamExclusive Interviews & Articles

Photo Papaya Photography

Anniversary party photos

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This issue has a variety of features from Mauy Thai to Soccer and Golf, telling the stories of different athletes. We never cease to be inspired by and enjoy all these stories and recognise the honour it is to showcase such amazing talent. Undoubtedly the next two months will fly by as there is so much planned for the magazine, let’s see what it brings!For now please enjoy this issue and share it with everyone. Thank you

Myak-Paul Homberger - Editor

WELCOMEWhen I wrote the introduction to Issue 7, I thought that a great deal had happened in the previous two months. However, it is amazing to see what has happened in these last two months - especially considering that Christmas and New Year were in there as well!We have seen more sports and governing bodies saying that they would like to be involved with the Magazine, which is so exciting as we profile more athletes and raise awareness of even more sports around the world. Longer term, more strategic relationships are being built with key governing bodies giving us great access and material.The passion and participation by our readers in voting for our first

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annual awards has been great to see and has resulted in some very interesting facts and figures, as people from all over the world have voted for the athletes who have featured in the magazine.The 1st Anniversary champagne reception was great! Seeing so many incredible female athletes in one room, celebrating Women’s sport globally and celebrating the magazine’s journey this year was a huge milestone for us. To have all these different and unique stories represented there on the evening was humbling and an honour. It was an amazing evening with people not wanting to leave until late and with really positive feedback on the night as well as after the event - it was a real success!! There are some photos of the event to give you a flavour of the evening.

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S P O RT S ● S P E C I A L I S T E V E N T S ● C O R P O R AT E E V E N T S

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Contents

1st Anniversary Party Photo Gallery 6

Contributors 8

Nikki Symmons 10

Outen’s Odyssey 20

Sports International Magazine’s Outstanding Athlete 28

Buchanan Next Gen BMX team 32

Beverly Goebel 40

Brazil rugby 7’s 48

Jackoatbar 52

Emma Trott - Cyclist 53

2014 FASWL Review Transfers Summary 66

The inconvenience of protein 70

Ibiza Rugby 10s 72

Sindy Huyer 78

Women’s Surfing Roots 82

Recipes and Tips 88

Thankyou’s 90

Contact 91

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8 February 2014

Easkey BrittonEaskey Britton is an Irish Surfing Champion, as well

as a Marine conservationist and researcher. She graduated with a 1st class BSc Hons. degree in Environmental Science and obtained a PhD scholarship in Marine Science from the University of Ulster. She is one of the founder members of wellcoast.org (Human Wellbeing & Coastal Resilience Network). Easkey’s work and unique connection with the ocean has led to her being asked to speak at the prestigious TED-x talks about her life as a surfer and researcher, the first female surfer to have been been asked to do so.

Contributors

Myak-Paul HombergerAside from being a huge sports nut and champion of

women’s sport, has numerous qualifications including being a BAWLA qualified weight training coach, two martial arts black belts alongside his instructor level in Urban Krav Maga. He is also an NLP practitioner and sociologist with an HND in RAB.

Photography is his main passion and he has been published internationally. Myak has worked with men’s and women’s national teams, as well as with premiership teams and individual players.

Adam BarlowAdam Barlow’s passion for football began

in 1994 watching Lincoln City in the lower leagues of the English football league system. In 2008 he took up blogging and started watching more semi professional football in order to gain an insight into the game at grass roots as he was keen to develop his understanding of the game at all levels. Watching the England Women’s team play and beat Serbia in a European Championship qualifier at Doncaster in 2011, he was very impressed by the skill of the players and quickly made the decision to learn and write more about women’s football.In 2012 he attended his first FAWSL game at Lincoln Ladies and started writing as the official fans’ blogger on the website. As time went on he became more engrossed in both writing and the women’s game, writing articles for the website and helping to compose the player profiles for the website. He now regularly reports for Sports International Magazine and would like to help give women’s sport the platform it deserves. Away from football his other sporting passion is Taekwondo, having trained in the sport since 1989 and achieving the rank of third Dan Black Belt and helping in the running of classes.

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Sarah JugginsSarah Juggins is a freelance sports journalist and

writer. She writes for a variety of magazines and websites, including Women in Sport, School Sport magazine, Inspire, Global and www.rugbysuccess.com. She is also content editor for Watchfit, a health and fitness website.When not writing about sport, Sarah is doing it. She was a national league hockey player and coach, now she is an ultra marathon runner and adventure racer.

Ben CoomberBen Coomber is a Performance Nutritionist, public

speaker, writer & coach. Ben teaches Personal Trainers & fitness enthusiasts around the world on nutrition, health, performance & being self-employed in business. Ben has a #1 rated iTunes podcast ‘Ben Coomber Radio’, and writes for major publications like Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness and Train magazine.iTunes Podcast: ‘Ben Coomber Radio’ Personal site: www.bencoomber.com Online Coaching & Blog: www.bodytypenutrition.co.ukTwitter: @bencoomber

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Interviews and article by Myak Homberger

Nikki Symmons is Irelands most capped athlete -

which considering the amazing athletes to have come

out of this country puts her in a league reserved for

the very few. This is not a female record; it’s an athlete

record that isn’t gender specific. A rich history of world

class athletes with countless caps who have become

household names in Ireland and around the world, and none of them,

male and female, have more caps than Nikki Symmons. This is a feat that

shouldn’t be overlooked or underplayed in its enormity.

However the journey to 215 caps hasn’t been plain sailing. For a start, there

was a 1½ year gap between her first Irish cap and her second. Many an

athlete would have given up with the feedback she was getting but she

was focused on playing for Ireland again. “I determined to get better and

to prove them wrong,” Nikki says about that period of her life.

From her second cap onwards she excelled and fast became a part of the

starting line-up for two different sports. Yes, TWO different sports. Not

content with representing her country at one sport, Nikki represented

Ireland at Cricket as well as Hockey! This puts her into an even more select

group of athletes in the world let alone Ireland, playing two sports for your

country at international level. However, there came a time for her to choose

her sport as both were incredibly demanding - no surprise there! Hockey

was the winner and it gained a heroine in Nikki, albeit Cricket’s loss of a

potential world class 20/20 player. “Representing Ireland is amazing,” she

says.

Thousands of miles travelled around the world, triple figure caps for

Nikki Symmons

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Nikki Symmons


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Nikki has continued to play for Ireland and passed the

200 cap mark in style. “That was pretty awesome,” she

admits - and continued till 215 caps, a truly amazing

achievement for any athlete, let alone one who for the

last four years has had osteoarthritis.

So what is she doing going forward with it? She is

slowing down her international duties but is very much

keeping active. “If I slow down and stop moving it’s

worse,” Nikki says. “I need to keep moving.” Not only

this, but she has become an ambassador for Arthritis

Ireland to give something back and to give hope to

those suffering. Off to start a Masters degree in Sports

Administration in Switzerland, the first thing she has

Ireland and recognition as a world class player saw

Nikki fulfilling her dream as an international athlete.

She talks with such passion about the sport she loves

and admits that she is struggling to put the Hockey

sticks down, despite the doctors having told her for

four years to put them down….and just like that, in a

matter of fact way, she mentions that she should have

stopped playing four years ago on medical grounds.

At the Europeans Nikki had found herself flat on the

ground on the pitch, completely locked and unable

to move for fifteen minutes. Once the physiotherapist

and doctor had managed to get her mobilised again,

she sought specialist help and advice. At the age of 27,

Nikki was diagnosed with osteoarthritis: “the doctor

said I had full-on osteoarthritis and I needed to stop

playing.” She says it in such a relaxed way it’s almost as

if she’s telling me she has a sprained ankle.

However, this is a condition that can be completely

debilitating - so how on earth does someone

continue to play at such a level, training like that and

representing their country internationally? There are

no dramatics when we talk about it in detail. The thing

that impresses about Nikki is that she doesn’t use it as

an excuse or a crutch to lean on, the very opposite. It’s

an obstacle that needs to be overcome and that’s how

she does it.

“I sometimes don’t do the hard impact training and

instead do swimming,” she says explaining how she

has had to alter her regime to her condition. This is

an athlete who loves her sport so much and doesn’t

want to give up - it’s as if the passion and enthusiasm

ooze out of every pore. Every now and then she says

something in passing that hints at how serious it is and

the immense impact it has on her daily life. “It hurts

every day,” or “...at least once a month I wake up and

I am stuck in bed, completely locked.” It takes a lot for

me to remain unemotional whilst listening to her talk

with such courage.


“the doctor said I had full-on osteoarthritis and I needed to stop playing.”

Photo: Courtesy Nikki Symmons

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“Representing

Ireland is amazing,”

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packed….her Hockey sticks. “I can’t let go!” she

laughs - and when we speak again she has already

been on the pitch training! “I know!” she says laughing

at having been caught out.

On top of this she will be on TV in Ireland in the new

year with a series called ‘Ireland’s fittest family,’ as well

as working as a commentator for FIH (the governing

body for Hockey worldwide). This is hardly someone

who is slowing down, more like changing paths but

still going full tilt and not letting something major

like osteoarthritis get in the way of her pursuing her

dreams and living life to the full.

Nikki has not allowed her condition to dictate her life,

her outlook or who she is at all - she lives life to the

full doing all of the above and more. She travels as

much as possible, enjoying new places and challenges

and loves to talk about them with such a spark, it’s

contagious. We talk about the adventures we could

have and scheme about things we could go and do in

2014, without a care in the world. You get caught up in

her love of life - it’s fantastic to observe and experience

and anyone that she encounters is touched in the same

way and will possibly never be the same again. It is a

testament to her character and it is impossible not to

enjoy her bubbly, chatty nature and that zest for life

that belies the secret that those who don’t know her

are oblivious to.

Nikki is a remarkable example of the adage ‘you only

live once’: from perseverance, to smiling, to not using

things as an excuse, to being humble, to wringing every

ounce out of life and to being an amazing athlete. As

time has gone on and Nikki and I have chatted and

seen each other, she has become someone I feel

humbled to call a friend. It’s an honour to know people

like this and have them in my life. For me and all of

those she interacts with, we are all better for knowing

Nikki Symmons the person, not only the athlete who

stands on the shoulders of giants, but the person who

has that ‘something’ many aspire to.


February 2014 17Photo Papaya Photography


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“ I really enjoy pulling on my Emvale gear either to train in or for recovery because I like how it is different from the main stream. It has a story behind it and I know that the gear is made with the thought of what is best for each athlete in mind. While I feel sporty wearing it, I also like that it is feminine and made for women.

Rebecca SmithNZ Football Fern captain2012 Olympics

Feel great. Play tough.Sportswear designed for the female athlete

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“Winning isn’t everything - but wanting

to win is” - Vince Lombardi


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Outen’s Odyssey

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Sarah OutenBy Sarah Juggins

Sarah Outen left London via a kayak and, in autumn 2015, she is expecting

to kayak up the River Thames and straight into the record books. In the

interim, if things continue in the same vein as the previous two years,

then she is going to enter the record books as one of the world’s greatest

adventurers.Photos: S.Willy

Photos: Courtesy of Sarah Outen

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Just over two and a half years ago on 1 April 2011, Sarah Outen, a 26-year-old biologist from Rutland, left the UK to embark on the mother of all endurance challenges. Using bike, kayak and rowing boat, she began a solo journey around the world; a trip that would see her camping on the Russian Steppes, cycling the Gobi Desert and surviving a tropical hurricane while making friends with albatrosses, whales, grizzly bears and giant turtles along the way. If her odyssey is successful, not only will Sarah have raised thousands of pounds for charity, but she will have set new world records for ocean crossings and, quite simply, have completed a feat that no-one else has even contemplated, let alone achieved, before.

Entitled London2London, Sarah’s journey is essentially a human-powered circumnavigation of the globe, covering 22,000 miles, 14 countries, two oceans and using only the power, strength and endurance contained within Sarah’s slight frame. Oh, and helped along the way by Hercules, Nelson, Gulliver and Happy Socks – her bicycle, kayak and two rowing boats.

Currently, Sarah is resting and recuperating before setting out on the next stage of her trip. She landed in Alaska in September after becoming the first person to row solo across the Pacific Ocean. This was the second attempt at that challenge – a hurricane caused her to capsize and destroyed her boat during an earlier crossing. Sarah was plucked from the sea by a rescue helicopter crew and was lucky to survive the ordeal. Shaken, boat-less and, in her words, ‘suffering a really black period, coming to terms with everything,’ she took nine months to recover from the experience and ready herself for another go. This time it is merely blisters, sores and exhaustion that she has to recover from.

“a human-powered circumnavigation

of the globe, covering 22,000 miles,

14 countries, two oceans”


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Sarah is used to challenges. In 2009, aged 24, she became the first woman, and youngest person, to single-handedly row across the Indian Ocean, a feat for which she received an MBE and fellowship of the Royal Geographical Society. Speaking before embarking on her latest adventure she explained what such challenges mean to her. ‘I love the battles, the intimacy with nature and the perspective gained from travelling so close to the water, the landscape, the wildlife. I love the purity of knowing that when you are alone, the immediate responsibility lies on your shoulders and yours alone. I do have a team at home and at certain times some in-location support, but mostly it is just me. It’s a wonderful mix of excitement, fear and unknowns.’

This latest expedition is immense in its ambitions. Not only is Sarah travelling a route that has never been attempted before, but there is also the additional challenge of rowing single-handedly across both the Pacific Ocean and the North Atlantic – something no-one has ever completed in a single journey, either solo

or as part of a team.

Now, half-way through the second year of the challenge, Sarah has successfully conquered the toughest part of the journey, the gruelling row from Japan to Alaska across the Pacific Ocean. Over the 150 day row she went through crashing highs and lows, including five capsizes and a hairy few minutes when she was being circled by inquisitive sharks. But

she was ecstatic when she reached the Aleutians in Alaska on 23 September, four weeks ahead of schedule, saying: ‘I have had some of the most intense and memorable months of my life out

Photo: Roo McCrudden

“a human-powered circumnavigation

of the globe, covering 22,000 miles,

14 countries, two oceans”

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on the Pacific – it has been brilliant and brutal at the same time. And it has been a privilege. But I have pushed myself to my absolute limits both physically and mentally to make land here in Alaska, and body and mind are now exhausted.’

Sarah now has a few months break before she returns to Alaska to resume her journey. By the time she kayaks up the River Thames towards Tower Bridge and the finish line, she will have cycled 16,000 miles across some of the most inhospitable parts of the world, she will have rowed an incredible 7,500 miles on open

oceans and kayaked 300 nautical miles on three continents.

Tower Bridge is where it all began. Sarah left London in a kayak, crossing the English Channel, before cycling 10,000 miles across central Europe, Kazakhstan, Russia and China before making her way by kayak and bicycle to Japan and facing the daunting challenge of the vast Pacific Ocean.

In the Spring of 2014, she will return to the Aleutian Islands and kayak through the archipelago to mainland Alaska before cycling

“ It’s a wonderful mix of excitement,

fear and unknowns.’”

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“ It’s a wonderful mix of excitement,

fear and unknowns.’”

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now exhausted.I am so excited to be including Alaska in my journey too and look forward to continuing next year. But for now I am pleased to be home with friends and family’

Follow Sarah’s journey on Twitter: @sarahoutenFor her blog: www.sarahouten.com/blog/phonecastsTo visit her website: www.sarahouten.com

across the huge landmass of North America and rowing the swirling waters of the North Atlantic Ocean before arriving back in the UK in Autumn 2015.

Despite being saddlesore for the first 10,000 miles and then spending between five and six months alone at sea, Sarah has had some exciting times. Through blogs and tweets, she has recounted being woken by huge herds of goats; coming face to face with a bear on a beach in Russia; being followed by a school of tuna fish; rowing in the company of whales; and, on 1 July this year, while rowing the Pacific Ocean, she proposed to her girlfriend, Lucy, via satellite phone. Although Lucy said ‘yes’, Sarah had an anxious few moments to wait due to a dodgy connection: ‘I had to ask twice because she didn’t hear me the first time.’

Relaxing at home in the UK for the next few months, before she sets off on the final stages of this epic journey, Sarah reflects: ‘I have had some of the most intense and memorable months of my life out on the Pacific - it has been brilliant and brutal at the same time. And it has been a privilege. But I have pushed myself to my absolute limits both physically and mentally to make land here in Alaska, and body and mind are

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“Build up your weaknesses until they become your strong

points.” - Knute Rockne

28 February 2014

OUTSTANDINGA T H L E T ETrina GulliverWorld Darts Champion

Interview and article by Myak Homberger

Trina is a remarkable athlete and woman. A skilled carpenter by day, by evening and weekend she travels the world winning competitions and titles.

As we speak, she has won over 100 titles and 9 World Championships, 50 caps for England as well as a list of accolades as long as your arm - including an MBE from the Queen for ‘Services to Darts and Charitable Fund Raising’. One of the charming and disarming things about Trina is that whilst chatting I ask her what is next for her and she reels off the next couple of months’ activities - and nestled in there is “oh and go to Buckingham palace to receive my MBE” - said in such a relaxed manner, it’s lovely.

However the interesting thing is that although she is proud of the award, what means most to her is that it is not just for her contribution to the word of darts, but for her charity work. This is not a star who is at the front of flashy campaigns and just


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turns up for the cameras. Here is someone who gets on the bike, walks or gets in the pool to raise money for charity and who shuns the spotlight of the charity work she does. Even when we talk she is very vague about the detail, she just gets on with it. It’s clear that this is close to her heart and why this means so much: her work has been noticed.Trina’s passion for the sport is obvious; she speaks with such enthusiasm of every aspect of it. The interesting thing is that despite where she has gotten to she still plays County level darts. Why? “I am loyal and I know how they supported me in the early days,” she says reflecting on this. For me this speaks volumes of her commitment to the sport rather than self-improvement alone.

Photo: Papaya Photography

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Photos: Courtesy Trina Gulliver

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The BBC now cover women’s darts, the women play alongside the men, there is a large body of professional female darts players and growing grassroots participation. Figures always speak volumes. Viewing figures for the last TV coverage were 1.8 million for the women’s final and 1.9 million for the men’s final! That is an incredible achievement and shows that Trina’s dedication to the sport has paid off. What a legend and pioneer of the game.

Her passion and self-effacing character is further borne out by her comments about her first cap and what it means to represent England. “I ran down the road screaming, people thought I was mad,” she says laughing. When she was informed about being made England Captain, she broke down in tears - a genuine response that reflects who she is and what she has achieved. Trina has achieved a great deal - but she has done it whilst firmly on the ground, not having lost sight of who she is, of what the sport means to her and the honour of representing England.

Aside from all of this, the charity work, the accolades and a huge amount of titles, the stand-out thing about Trina is her huge contribution and impact on women’s darts worldwide. When she started there was no TV coverage and only a handful of decent players. Over the years she has campaigned, fought and tirelessly worked to improve the women’s game, all at her own personal cost and no financial gain for her. It has paid off.

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B u c h a n a n Next GenBMX team

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By Myak HombergerI spent time chatting with Caroline Buchanan, x5 World Champion about her vision and plans for the team she has established, a month before the announcement about the team. Caroline has set up a team with two bright stars of the future and wants to support them through their journey.

Photos: Courtesy Caroline Buchanen

34 February 2014 Photos: Courtesy Caroline Buchanen

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It was great to chat with her but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to work out within less than 5 mins that this is an incredibly focused athlete with a genuine desire to selflessly deliver something unique in the BMX world. So often it is actually about the athlete or money when I hear of teams being set up, but things are very different here.

Caroline has a very clear plan for what she wants to achieve. “I want to offer so much more than sponsorship for the girls,” she says. And for me, this is key. She isn’t raising money for her own organisation, she is wanting to raise the amount of money that she has budgeted to get these two girls through this first year. Not only this (and here is what I like about her and her plans) she is bringing in other mentors and successful athletes to share and inspire them, as well as getting the girls the equipment they need.

This is a complete package that has been put together by someone at the coalface of the sport and not a single cent is for her. “I’ve never been a cookie cutter rider. This is what I want, I want to break the mould, support the younger generation. They are the Olympians of 2020 and 2024,” Caroline explains about herself and her vision.

That is a big statement to make but what makes it more impressive is that in the world of BMX, no one, male or female has done anything like this before! I find this remarkable and hard to believe. But as she explains: “it is unheard of for anyone to get so much as a free frame before they turn professional. Between 5-18 there is nothing - but the problem is this is what builds you and sets you up.”

Caroline has a depth of knowledge and vision that goes far beyond pretty logos and an ego boost for her - this is complete focus on the next generation and what they need and how she can help them. Caroline Buchanan doesn’t come into it and this for me shows character and passion.

“I want to start giving back to BMX and fill that mentor role,” Caroline says of her reasoning for setting up a team. Caroline decided just 6 months ago that she wanted to start doing this - and here we are chatting about it all being announced in a month’s time. This is a remarkable amount to have achieved in such a short time. “People have really pulled together to support this,” she says reflecting on how much has happened. From her first thoughts until now she


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“I want to break the mould, support the younger generation...

...They are the Olympians of 2020 and 2024,”


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has scouted girls, chosen two amazing talents, designs, a website, found sponsors and set out plans for fund raising - that’s quite a delivery!

For her first two team members she has selected: Paige Harding #66At only 10 years of age from Sydney Australia Paige shows skills on a bike well above her age she’s already been NSW and ACT state champion along with placing 5th at the World Championships in 2013. Paige loves mixing it in racing against the boys and has a real fighting spirit and drive to be an Olympian of the future. This year her goals are to become state champion again, podium at BMX National Championships, contest her world plate in Rotterdam Holland at the World Championships, become a professional BMX

racer and make selection for the 2024 Australian Olympic BMX Team.

Mikayla Rose #2213 years old from her home town of Canberra Australia and she has been keeping an eye on her for years now watching her dominating her age class, deal with injuries and setbacks and turn into an amazing rider on and off the track. Mikayla has a great riding style looking like a boy out there on the track which is a huge compliment for girls being able to jump well. Mikaylas goals are to podium in the National BMX series, Represent Australia in the Australia VS New Zealand Test Team, receive the 10 year award for racing 10 consecutive Australian National Championships, Number 1 ranked in Australia, become a professional athlete and make the selection for

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the Australian BMX Olympic Team at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

So how is she going to do it? Well, through Sportaroo (a fan funding site similar to Kickstarter etc.) she has set up a funding page https://www.sportaroo.com/carolinebuchanan to raise the money for the girls as well as donating a lot of her own items. It’s passion and selflessness, why? “It puts a smile on my face,” Caroline says of all that she has done and is doing - including taking time out to spend with the girls showing them techniques for free. “I want to be there for them in any way,” she continues. Her plans don’t stop there, with talks of videos, photo shoots and much more. There won’t be a dull moment!This is a team to follow and support, not because of a World Champion, but because of the ethos, because of Caroline’s vision and genuine desire to give back and because of the groundbreaking nature of what she is doing. We love what Caroline is doing here and are fully supportive of her vision, even putting our hands in our own pockets…

I look forward to seeing how this team grows over the next few years!

“I want to start giving back to

BMX and fill that mentor role,”


40 February 2014

By Myak Homberger

So often you hear from people in the public eye that they ‘always wanted to do x’. However, Beverly Goebel is one of those athletes who can actually prove it. She recalls how in elementary school when asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?” that each time the question came up, she wrote ‘women’s pro-soccer player’.

She laughs as she recalls her mom having the paper she’d written her goal on - and how that she didn’t want to just be an athlete or a soccer player, she wanted to be a women’s pro-soccer player. This anecdote sums Beverly up, an incredible passion and desire for the sport she loves.

You can’t help but be endeared to this smiley, chatty and genuine person. She talks about soccer, family and her journey with an ease, amusement and honesty that is disarming to listen to.

Beverly’s journey has been steady, always improving, but not

Beverly Goebel

Photos: Courtesy Beverly Goebel

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42 February 2014Photos: Courtesy Beverly Goebel

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without its challenges and often with the need to make major life decisions in short time frames. Starting at five years old she’s only ever played soccer. Beverly laughs as she explains that aside from the fact that soccer has always been her passion, the fact that she is really bad at every other sport has helped! “I love to watch, but I can’t play any other sport,” she further explains. Fast forward (through a lot of hard work and training) to when Beverly went

to the University of Miami on a Soccer scholarship and from there to WNY Flash as a rookie, where she played with the likes of Abi Wambach. Here, she won the Championship with the team in the first season.

However, four weeks before the new season, Beverly had a phone call to inform her that the league had folded and she needed to find a new job. With the potential of her career and dreams over she had a choice to make: change career or go on the team trip to Japan that was already going ahead prior to the new season. In order to continue pursuing her dream, going on tour seemed the best option.

Whilst in Japan she was scouted and offered a contract, and for the second time in her short career a major decision had to be made at short notice. She had one week to decide if she wanted to accept a contract to play in Japan for a year, starting straight away as the season had already started.

Japan has been good to Beverly: in her two seasons there she has won the Championship and Cup with her club both years and this year she was awarded the Golden Boot as the highest scorer in the league. The interesting thing though is that for Beverly these are just a side feature. For her it has been about her development both as a player and as an individual that has made the time in Japan time so valuable. “Being in Japan has helped me find who I am and what my my strengths and weaknesses are,” she says about her time there.

This leads us back to the very first point I mentioned at the start of the article. As humble as Beverly is, there is a steely determination that has seen her through her whole soccer career, pushing her against herself to improve continuously. This isn’t someone who is happy to sit on her laurels or be told that she is great. Beverly says

“I’m chasing a dream, pursuing something I have wanted my whole life...”

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of this, “I’m not complacent, because I’m always pushing to be as good as the best players in the world. I see it as an opportunity to learn playing with the best, it’s an opportunity not many get.”

Beverly’s desire is for constant improvement because she wants to be the best - but it is mixed with an incredible character that keeps her grounded and aware that she has an opportunity many don’t get - and so she is making sure that she wrings every ounce out of that opportunity. Not in a greedy and arrogant way - but in a way that is highlighted by her comment, “I have a lot to learn.” She doesn’t know it all or pretend to. She wants to learn and is grateful for the opportunity and whilst enjoying every moment of it, she isn’t taking it for granted.

Does all of this come easily? Of course not. For someone with such strong family ties, being away from them is a big challenge. “Home is where my heart is,” she says, reflecting on all the family back in the USA. And not just that, but whilst commenting on the tough parts of being where she is, Beverly talks about “...all the sacrifices that were made not just by me, but my friends and family.” For me,


February 2014 45

Resilience, confidence and self belief: these are all traits an Olympian, Paralympian or world champion needs to compete at top level. They are traits we all need to succeed in life, whatever we choose to do. But they are also what many young people lack, through no fault of their own. Every young person the DKH Legacy Trust supports is mentored by a world class athlete, giving them the chance to be the best they can be.

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this shows again who she is: it’s not just about her and what she has sacrificed, it’s about her friends and family - and she not only recognises that, but wants other people to know that too.

Beverly demonstrates such an amazing ability not only to continually grow and improve (whilst making sacrifices to do so), she also enjoys every opportunity in pursuit of her dream. But importantly, it is not at the expense of the here and now.

She summed it up perfectly: “I’m chasing a dream, pursuing something I have wanted my whole life. I’m making sacrifices to grow as a player. The sacrifices make you who you are - when you get to what you strived for, it makes the sacrifices go away.”

What a beautiful and succinct way to describe

her journey - and she can do this because she is at peace with herself and her journey. As a result, she is enjoying the journey as she balances her ability to self-improve, enjoy the now, plan for the future, be grateful for where she is, and never think she knows it all. Beverly does all of this with a contagious smile and a character that is completely grounded. It has been a privilege to get to know her.

We wish her all the very best as she starts the new season with Seattle Reign FC having just signed for them. So the ‘all American girl’ can complete the circle and go back home having gained such a huge amount from her time in Japan.

46 February 2014

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48 February 2014

Photos: Papaya Photography

By Myak Homberger

Brazil is known for its Football, Pele, Coppacabana beach, the fans, the yellow and green kit etc….Rugby 15’s or 7’s is a different story. With Rio 2016 fast approaching and Rugby 7’s a new sport for this Olympics, Brazil has taken the challenge on completely. Only joining the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 1995 and the first women’s game only being played in 1997 between the male

Brazil rugby 7’s

February 2014 49


players’ girlfriends, wives and friends….this has been a huge learning curve for the Federation and for those involved.

I have had the privilege of spending the last two years getting to know the Brazilian women’s Rugby 7’s team and staff, spending time at different events and working with them. To have stood on the sidelines and seen them get to a Bowl final, knowing where they have come from is amazing - and it has been great to be a small part of that journey!

Despite the fact that this is THE footballing nation of the world, this is a rugby team with huge vision and a passion for the game and pride in representing their country. Julia Sardá the team captain explains that “there are 100 million people in Brazil and we are twelve girls that play for Brazil. We are very proud!”

It is not just their pride at representing their country or the passion they have for the game of Rugby that makes them stand out but it’s knowing where they have come from and the task they face ahead of them. This is a team that, like so many, isn’t professional. “We wake at 5.30am to train,” says Paula Ishibashi of their schedules. But on top of what all other non-professional teams have to contend with, there is this need to get the rugby story out there, to recruit players and to get regular matches around Brazil going. They are pushing the proverbial water uphill in this football nation. However, this doesn’t phase them and they are the most amazing ambassadors for the sport, passionate to a fault and this has paid dividends, with TV coverage and a growing following for the game. They acknowledge the football heritage but they aren’t overshadowed by it, choosing to focus on the positives of the Brazilian people instead.

“Brazilian people like excitement and so 7’s is

50 February 2014

good for them to watch,” says Julia of how they are engaging with the fans and why they believe 7’s will work in Brazil. It is obviously working. More and more people are attending trials, more and more clubs are starting up - and as Julia points out, “...now we play rugby and people don’t look and ask what are we doing with this strange ball?” This is a testament to the IRB support, the players’ passion, to the Federation and to the support staff.

The passion is felt by each team member. There is an obvious enjoyment in their playing, as well as a huge commitment to each tackle, no matter the score or the time left on the clock, that really impresses. No matter how many losses in a tournament (and a lot of near misses), they have an ability to see it all as part of the bigger picture, picking themselves up and hitting the next game better than the last one. They are connected as a team with a common goal and support each other with a remarkable almost family ‘feel’. This is about a team and not a group of individuals on a journey to becoming something amazing and ground breaking. As a team they play with a huge amount of heart and as time has gone on an increasingly exciting amount of skill that has seen them stay as part of the core group of countries playing in the Women’s World Sevens Series for the second year in a row. This in itself demonstrates how far they have come.

No one has cut them slack for where they come from (rugby players in a footballing nation) and they shouldn’t either. Instead, there is an appreciation of what they have achieved. I look forward to the next couple of years and seeing how they further develop. This is a friendly, passionate team, not only playing Rugby but converting their country to the game they love. They are great to be around and a real model of all that is good about sport, determination and Brazil.

February 2014 51

“...now we play rugby and people don’t look and ask what are we doing with this strange ball?”


52 February 2014

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February 2014 53

Emma TrottCyclistInterview and article by Myak Homberger

Emma Trott is a cyclist, rider, member of Team GB cycling, and currently riding for the world class Dutch women’s professional cycling team, Dolmans-Boels. She is also an incredible example of the selfless pursuit of team and a determination to overcome adversity.

“I’m entirely happy, I thoroughly enjoy my team mates winning,” Emma says as we talk about the contrast of team road racing with any other team sport. Road cycling is all about team and supporting the top riders to win events. Only the winner gets a medal, not the team…so what makes someone so dedicated as this and as happy in the role they are in without any self-importance to cloud their performance?

The key is that Emma is clear on her role - but not just this, she likes it and is happy with it - and this is reflected in our interview. It’s as if she can’t contain herself: her enthusiasm for what she does and her enjoyment of her role shines through. She talks with passion, speed

Photos: courtesy Emma Trott

54 February 2014

and genuine excitement. It is hard to describe the sense that Emma gives - not only by what she says, but how she says it. You can’t help but smile and be amazed by how completely committed she is to doing what she loves.

Emma is very clear on what needs to be done on the course and what each rider’s responsibility is. This clarity has allowed her to become a remarkable rider, supporting the best in the world, cycling for one of the best teams in the world. “It affects the team if there is any ‘I’ in the team,” she says. “I love riding for my team mates, it’s a great laugh, we get the job done.” It’s this balance that is interesting and important. Yes, she is the ultimate team player and focused on her role - but there is a job to be done and it can be done together and with fun. Is Emma any less driven than any other athlete who wants to win? Of course not. “I’m not going to say I don’t enjoy winning, I’d love to win more - but I like the team and being part of it and my role in it.”

I ask Emma about the horrific crash when she was hit by a car and left with multiple injuries: a broken collar bone, concussion, twisted hip, pelvis and spine. There is a moment where the atmosphere changes and you can feel the emotion in the air. “I went through a season where I beat Marianne Voss* and five days later was hit by a car and that was almost it.” A long pause as she reflects: “I’ve suffered hell,” Emma says. “It has not been much fun....” she says of all the challenges coming back from such an injury. (*Marianne Vos is regarded as the finest cyclist of her generation, who has won two Olympic Gold medals and three World Championships.)

Emma had to have a great deal of physio work after the accident and still needs weekly physio treatment. As a result of her hip injury she was cycling using only one leg… which needed a lot of work doing; core and strength work were big

“I’m not going to say I don’t enjoy winning, I’d love to win more - but I like the team and being part of it and my role in it.”

February 2014 55

on the agenda too, as was being put back into place three times a week.

Aside from the accident she has also had frozen eyeballs. Yes, it’s possible! Emma says the doctor told her that “...it’s ok, it will defrost”...! “...I was like, you are having a laugh?” she says, laughing as she recalls this incident. It was so cold during the race that her eyeball literally froze!

Despite all of this and the emotion attached to this conversation it is clear that she loves cycling more than anything. These are awful things that have happened - but she is as clear that she needs to acknowledge them for what they are rather than sugarcoat them. It is this spirit that makes her the person and athlete that she is - and an asset to her team.

“I have made loads of friends around the world I would have never met,” she says reflecting on what cycling has given her aside from a career:

“I’m not going to say I don’t enjoy winning, I’d love to win more - but I like the team and being part of it and my role in it.”

56 February 2014

fun and amazing experiences. The exciting thing is that Emma is at a stage and place now where she feels that her form is back and she is in a better place. “It’s only this season that things are falling back into place again,” Emma says. This is exciting to hear from an amazing rider who has pulled herself back from injuries that could have meant she may never have ridden again.

Here is a genuine person and athlete who has put her body through an amazing amount because she loves what she does and enjoys it. She is comfortable being part of a team, clear in her role and happy in her own skin whilst having grit that is truly word class. This has produced a person with a most amazing depth of character that comes across without negativity despite some of her experiences - and one who is relaxed, is fun and has fun and truly loves what she does - and enjoys both bitter and sweet without complaining about it.

It has been a privilege to spend time with Emma and I look forward to seeing her race this year.

February 2014 57

Lydia British Masters Champion

Hall

Photos courtesy Ladies European Tour

58 February 2014

Article and interview by Myak Homberger

Lydia Hall is a British Masters Golf winner, a major winner. This is a feat very few people get to achieve and she has done it with both feet firmly on the ground.

I spent time with Lydia talking about golf, training, friends in common and her achievements - and yet the thing that sparked her most, was talking about her support team, not herself. For me, this said a lot about her and her character and really makes her stand out for me. From start to finish her whole story has such a lovely feel to it.

Welsh born and bred, Lydia started playing golf at eleven and has been coached by the same head professional since then. Her parents have driven her around the country and have been her lifeblood, as she acknowledges. “They have been an unbelievable support to me,” she says of them. So it was no surprise that when she lifted the trophy on the 18th green her parents were standing right beside her, celebrating with their daughter.

But Lydia has worked hard to get to where she is and she talks openly about it. There is emotion in her voice as she recalls some of the cost. This is an athlete who has worked as hard as any other and has sacrificed parties, cinema and even her ‘prom’ to train and become the athlete she is today.

February 2014 59Photos courtesy Ladies European Tour

60 February 2014

Reflecting on the training, Lydia says, “you do everything in your power to practise as hard as you can to give yourself the best opportunities”. This is hardcore training and maybe not the general perception of Golfers. “I would train all day and into the evening,” she says. All of this has paid off though as her career has gone from strength to strength, culminating in her winning the British Masters in August 2013.

As if this is not enough, in the off-season she plays football. Yes, football! That in itself isn’t the big news, as many athletes have another sport that they play, but it’s the fact that she plays for a local ladies team - she hasn’t asked to play for a premier ladies team, she plays with local people for a local team. Why? Because she sees herself as a local girl who happens to play golf very well and feels at home there.

“..There are a lot of people who have put their time into my success...”

February 2014 61


Lydia made a critical decision at the start of her professional career, born out of her experiences and the family around her: to be in control of her own destiny and to surround herself not with people that she has been told to work with or with people paid to do a job and who need her to succeed, but with people who want to see her succeed because they want to and because they believe in her. “I wanted my future to be mine and no one else’s to decide.” It may seem like a very small difference in wording but it makes a huge difference. And herein lies Lydia’s secret: she talks about “...surrounding yourself with people who want you to do well. There are a lot of people who have put their time into my success.”


62 February 2014


February 2014 63

Lydia speaks with passion and focus about this; it comes from deep inside her, it’s not an ideology thrust on her, but a belief that has reaped its rewards for her. Lydia is incredibly grounded, knowing where she has come from and what works for her.

To me this sums Lydia up perfectly. Her focus, training, the people she has surrounded herself

with and her family. You can’t get more grounded than that. I look forward to getting to know Lydia more and to seeing her develop into a major force on the circuit.

“you do everything in your power to practise as hard as you can to give yourself the best opportunities”.


64 February 2014


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February 2014 65


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66 February 2014

By Adam Barlow

We may be over three months away from the start of the 2014 FAWSL season but already it is looking

like it will be bigger and better than ever. As we enter January quite a few big name transfers have already happened as clubs start to shape up for the new season. In this article we look at who has done what and where the clubs stand as we start 2014.

So far the side that has grabbed the most headlines has been newcomers Manchester city. The club have shown real signs of intent by signing 4 England players; Jill Scott and Toni Duggan have arrived from Everton, Steph Houghton has joined from Arsenal, and keeper Karen Bardsley was recruited from Notts County. All this has heightened interest in both the club and league and although they have a strong spine, quite a few squad members won’t have played at this level before, so 2014 may still be an adjustment period for the club. A top half finish will be the clubs target though.

Another club that has been in the news a lot is Arsenal. The club, by their own high standards, finished a disappointing 3rd in 2013 but did win the two cup competitions. This however didn’t stop the club overhauling the squad as Ellen White (Notts County) Kim Little (Seattle Reign) Gemma Davison(Liverpool) Steph Houghton(ManchesterCity) Katie Chapman and Gilly Flaherty (Both Chelsea) all left the club. They have however brought in keeper Siobhan

2014 FASWL Review Transfers Summary

February 2014 67

Chamberlain who was the best keeper in the league in 2013. In another major signing the club have resigned England captain Casey Stoney, which is a huge boost for them and adds some much needed experience she will be joined in the Arsenal defence by another new signing Dutch International Anouk Hoogendijk. Another good indication of intent was the resigning of young England duo Daniele Carter and Jordan Nobbs. Expect to see more new faces arrive from overseas in the next few months and although it may be a season of rebuilding ahead for the Gunners rather that championship winning, they will still be a force to be reckoned with.

Champions Liverpool have so far had a fairly quiet off season compared to last year. They have however added some real quality in signing Notts County player of the season, full back Martha Harris; a real star of the England under 19 side and a player with a fantastic future in the game. Additionally in Gemma Davison they also have one of the best wide players in the English game. They may have lost USA defender Whitney Engen to the NWSL but they have been able to recruit a top level goalkeeper, Signing American under 23 goalkeeper Libby Stout. They are still very much the team to beat and favourites to win the league again in 2014.

For the runners up in 2013 Bristol, next year looks far less certain. Manager Mark Sampson who has worked wonders with the side has left to take the England job and with star keeper Chamberlain heading to Arsenal, the club has two huge pairs of shoes to fill. As of yet no manager has been appointed so the club are losing ground in the transfer market. They still have a talented young side with the likes of Rose and Staniforth and star striker Natalia Pablos Sanchon, but they may struggle to recreate their success of 2013 with a midtable outcome being most likely.

Another side who will look to their young players Photos Papaya Photography

68 February 2014

will be Andy Spence’s Everton who, after losing big names Jill Scott and Toni Duggan, could well have a tough time of things this season. However they have resigned many of their promising young players including striker Nikita Parris who had a great season last time around. At the other end England keeper Rachael Brown-Finnis will be a very important figure this season not only as a keeper but as a leader when the going gets tough, as I fear it could do without a couple of experienced additions.

Both Chelsea and Notts County (formerly Lincoln) had poor league campaigns last season but both have made interesting off season signings so far this time around. Chelsea have added Birmingham due Rachel Williams and defender Laura Bassett to the squad and let Helen Ward join FAWSL 2 side Reading. Gilly Flaherty will add some much missed steel to the back four which was so poor last time around. Chelsea had a great squad last year but never really looked like a side that gelled. With a decent budget and rumours of more overseas signings to come, manager Emma Hayes will be under pressure to produce a top half finish at least to prove the club’s progress, anything less will be seen as failure.

Notts County since their rebrand from Lincoln, have had a mixed pre season. Despite the move and a commitment to training full time they lost England duo Stoney and Bardsley plus Martha Harris and Remi Allen who joins Birmingham. However they have added keeper Carly Telford who is looking to put a nightmare 2013 behind her, England striker Ellen White, and Canadian international defensive midfielder Desiree Scott who looks to be a straight replacement for Allen. The Magpies have also beefed up their midfield by signing New Zealand international Katie Hoyle. The club struggled for goals last season but if they can add some more creative players to supply White up front then a better season is on the cards. They need to get Jess Clarke back

Photo courtesy FAWSL


February 2014 69

to her 2012 form however, if they really want to challenge for a top half place. Manager Rick Passmoor will certainly have his side prepared very well such is his attention to detail.

Lastly, Birmingham look to be having a very quiet pre season and have only added Allen to their squad. They, like Bristol, will need to bring in additions to replace the quality that they have lost in both Williams and Bassett. The club slipped backwards during 2013 after challenging for the league in both the previous seasons. They have however made great progress in the champion’s league and will face Arsenal in the quarter finals but unless they bring in some more bodies soon it’s hard to see anything but a struggle for the midlands side in 2014.




70 February 2014

The inconvenience of

protein

Photo: Stock xchng

February 2014 71Photo: Stock xchng

By Ben Coomber

As I sit down to write this article I am chewing, chewing with gusto, but, more on that later. Sports nutrition, like anything in the world of health can swing around in trends. Through the 80’s and 90’s it was all about carbohydrates, eat carbs, you’re an athlete; eat lots of them to fuel your training and energy output requirement. At the turn of the century we were focusing on fat, every athlete was neglecting it in their pursuit to eat as many carbs as possible, which was a tough battle for good nutritionists as with help from government and science based bodies it was still an evil nutrient, fat was labeled as bad.

With the sporting world understanding that fat is needed and essential, and that while carbs are important they still need to be managed, timed, and cycled like any other nutrient, it left a space, a space for us to start talking about something else. And unless you have been hiding from our nutritional moans and grounds, hopefully you have heard us beating the drum for protein. While many athletes know the importance and get their fix everyday, we are now understanding the gravity of its importance, not just in total daily volume, but in the need for consistent feedings. Athletes that I coach were typically under eating

on protein, especially at breakfast, probably one of the most important times to eat it.

But we have a problem in our busy lifestyles; good quality protein can be hard to come by. Yes this all comes down to planning a good nutritious diet, but we all fall to the issues of convenience and being caught out. As an athlete we need regular feedings, it’s our bread and butter. But protein is inconvenient, and often expensive. Case in point, how easy is it to grab healthy, good tasting protein from a petrol station or small convenient supermarket? Tough. It’s usually a choice of salted peanuts or roasted.

This is where Biltong, in my opinion, is saving the day. I pack every athletes nutrition plans with what I call ‘the contingency plan’. The 2-3 options I give them for convenience, and often as snacks around their key fresh food meals. The things that I always want to see lingering in the cupboards, in the gym bag, in the car, in the 6 pack snack bag. I never want my athletes to be caught out with their diet, so we eat biltong. Biltong is lean, tasty, if bought from the right companies very healthy in terms of meat toxicity, and not an inconvenience. Because biltong is bought dried and packaged you also know exactly how much you are eating, it says so on the label, you know the exact amount of protein and calories contained within, making it easy to bring it into your daily quota and track it. A convenience you don’t always get with other cuts and joints of meat.

So let’s blow the horn for both protein, and biltong. Don’t let protein be an inconvenience to you, have a contingency plan, have biltong in your cupboard and gym bag and never go short of that protein fix. Oh yeah, the chewing, just munching on some biltong as I write this on a train, convenient!

72 February 2014


February 2014 73

IbizaIbiza Rugby 10s Venue, 6-8 June 2014

For the last two decades there have been many stories of hedonistic non-stop parties and huge nightclubs in Ibiza. Say the word Ibiza and most people will think it is a one stop island for all things clubbing and that it is - however, there are two sides to this amazing island.From the mega clubs to the ‘241’ cocktails and the best DJ’s in the world, Ibiza has it all for those wanting to get lost in the ‘white isle’. The island has become legendary the world over, even featuring in many a song as the place to go. There is nothing that hasn’t been seen or done in Ibiza. You can choose the size of club, the type of club, style of music and even the night as every night is party night. There are even party boats to take people out partying during the day if you can’t get enough of it at night!

The island caters for the budget holiday/clubber with packages and the San Antonio alley of cheap alcohol and karaoke pubs showing sport etc., all the way through to Ushaia and others that cater for the VVIP. If partying is what you want there is no better place on earth than Ibiza, from House to ‘chilled Ibiza,’ your choices are vast for music and vibe. The people are friendly and keen to focus on having a good time. Age isn’t a feature either, with all age ranges catered for across the bars, clubs and trendy venues, so there is no excuse. It is a clubber/party-goers paradise.

74 February 2014

February 2014 75

However, there is another side to Ibiza…Away from the bright lights and the crowds, there is another side that many don’t know about that consists of peaceful, secluded hideaways along the amazing coastline as well as inland treasures. There are unspoiled inland villages, undeveloped coves, and wild, beautiful countryside that still exists, perfect to relax in. So here is a small insight into this side of the island.

On the northern tip of Ibiza, you will come across Cala Xarraca and Cala Xucla, two beautiful, unspoiled coves. Surrounded by pines and rocky outcrops, they are true Mediterranean treasures. Es Xarcu, on the east coast, is a quiet, rustic cove perfect for peace and tranquillity where you can eat the best fresh seafood, taken off the boat that morning. Pou des Lleo, 5 km east from San Carlos is another small cove that rarely gets busy, flanked by charming fishermen’s huts and a great place for snorkelling.

Stunning beaches are a big draw for many of those boarding flights to Ibiza, but try going inland and discover Ibiza’s wooded, hilly countryside. Wander through authentic Spanish

hamlets dripping in bright pink bougainvillea, hike up pine-covered mountainsides and bask in scents of pine, rosemary and orange blossom. Sant Joan, perfectly encapsulates the greener, more peaceful side of Ibiza.

Santa Agnes is a charming little village just north of San Antonio and here you can get a real taste of Ibicencan farming life, as if time has stood still. There is not much here other than a church, a supermarket and a few cafes, but this only adds to its appeal. Again, the surrounding area is a nature lover’s paradise and the smells of oranges and lemon groves mixed in with dusty rich soil must be good for the soul.

For those that need a little adventure, there are island hopping boats as well as diving to be done in the crystal clear waters. The sealife is amazing and you would never think it was possible on this island. Lastly, lest we forget the Old Town of Ibiza and the Fort (which is incredible and has been beautifully restored), an experience to walk around - and not a club in sight!


76 February 2014


February 2014 77

However, there is now also another reason to visit Ibiza: to attend the Ibiza Rugby 10’s event in June.

Enjoy the music and either watch or play rugby in this beautiful setting!

There are two sides to this amazing island - while some prefer the music, nightlife and clubs of Ibiza, others choose the tranquil natural beauty, history, culture and delicious local cuisine. Alternatively, some combine the best of both worlds and enjoy both in equal measure.


78 February 2014

February 2014 79

Sindy Huyer Italian World Muay Thai ChampionBy Myak Homberger

My conversation with Sindy gets off to a great start when I ask her about diet and nutrition and she says she eats chocolate but knows it’s not good and laughs! It’s always good to hear that someone so tough who trains so intensely is also so down to earth. She continues, “I do eat a balanced diet actually, fruit, vegetables etc. not just chocolate,” and laughs again. This is not the only thing that sets Sindy apart from most female Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing) athletes. It is also that Sindy is Italian, not Thai.

Photos Muay Farang

80 February 2014

In the world of Muay Thai this is significant, because this is a sport totally dominated by Thai’s, and what makes it more remarkable is that Sindy is a woman, making her all the more unusual. This is an athlete and a Muay Thai exponent at the very top of her game, having just featured in the final of the largest Muay Thai tournament in Thailand. In terms of Muay Thai, you don’t get any better than this.

Starting eight years ago, Sindy went on holiday to Thailand with her brother who had started training in Muay Thai. She joined in and as they say, the rest is history. Now, as Sindy puts it, “...it is my life, my work.” Sindy is committed to being the best in the world at what she does. Her training in Thailand is up there as one of the most intense and gruelling of all. Six days a week her schedule is pretty much the same: morning run followed by a weights session then boxing. In the afternoons she says “...I train hard.” The mind boggles at what this means! But she spars and then after that trains in Muay Thai, then it’s bed. This is hard-core training and intense, but the dividends have paid off.

Sindy started training with Muay Farang in Thailand two years ago, and recently has been filmed for a reality TV show documenting a group of fighters training, following them all the way through competing against each other, and culminating in the final.

Muay Farang was started by Roberto Gallo (an Italian) in Thailand thirty years ago with the desire to train ‘Farang’ (foreigners). His track record speaks for itself with a number of male fighters and now Sindy reaching the zenith and being recognised as a force to be respected in the Muay Thai world.

“We need to open the door for more women,” he says of Sindy’s progress and the impact she has had. The interesting thing is that when I asked

him about the difference in training women and men he replied, “there is no difference between training women and men, it’s about the age they start.” That was a genuine surprise to me. Here is a sport where in his eyes the training style doesn’t vary between gender and it’s this approach that has seen him achieve success with not only Sindy, but the junior women coming through the ranks.

Why does Sindy train so hard? “My mind and body are stronger for training,” she says. The interesting thing is that despite this focus and her complete domination of women’s Muay Thai in Italy (“In Italy they do not want to fight me so I can’t do Muay Thai, I have run out of women to fight”) she is very clear on who she is. With clarity and without hesitation when I ask her ask her if she is a female fighter or a fighter, Sindy says “...when I am in the gym and in the ring I am a fighter, outside of the gym and fighting I am 100% woman.”

This is a female athlete who is tough and focused on her sport, but also very clear and comfortable in her skin and in being a women’s woman

February 2014 81

outside of the ring, in so doing blowing a lot of stereotypes out of the water.Her clarity doesn’t stop here as she talks further about her goals and ambitions. “I want to be the best, I want to give myself to this goal,” Sindy says of her five year plan. Sindy is a fighter at the peak of what can be achieved and yet she is striving for more, for further growth and improvement. “Everyone has to learn more, I must learn more,” she says.

It’s amazing to listen to someone with such incredible focus and determination despite being at the top of their game. She doesn’t come across as obsessive: to her way of thinking it’s just her path and what needs to be done in order to achieve greatness, and so it’s all very matter of fact. There is no talk of sacrifice or the down sides of training. Sindy lives for this lifestyle and actually gains strength from it and is better for it. In a strange way, it’s as if she has found peace in living this life. The chaos of the ring and all the training means that life outside is remarkably calm. A very different approach but it is definitely working for her!Photos Muay Farang

82 February 2014

Women’s Surfing Roots

Photo credit: Dennis Oda

February 2014 83

Photo credit: Dennis Oda

Womens Surfing RootsBy Easkey Britton I am blessed to live the life of an ocean wahine, a water woman. I have received so many gifts from surfing and the ocean has been a constant source of life experiences. I feel that the foundation laid down by the water women who have gone before us has paved the way for the current explosion in women’s surfing that is taking the global oceans by storm.

This is by no means a complete account of women’s surfing – it is a more personal reflection of those key moments and role models in our surfing history that have most inspired me, and one woman in particular, Rell Sunn.

Tracing our Wahine he’e nalu (surfing women) roots…It’s inspirational to see other women in their element in what for so long has been thought of as an environment of testosterone-charged masculinity. When in fact women have been surfing for a very long time, further back than we can imagine. Many of the first surfers were women. Some of the earliest records of people surfing, captured in the drawings from Captain Cook’s voyage in the 1700s to the Hawaiian Islands, show Polynesian women surfing together with men. The first explorers from the western world described their skill and grace riding the crests of waves in unrestrained joy, equals to their male-counterparts. Many women were champion surfers and competed with men for the honour and respect of the ocean. On the south shore of Oahu, at Waikiki, the surf spot now known as Outside Castles was called Kalehuaweke by the Hawaiians to commemorate an incident in which a commoner dropped into the same wave as a Hawaiian chieftess, which was a major taboo. To save his own skin, he offered her his lehua wreath to placate her.

Photo Courtesy Easkey Britton

84 February 2014

Unfortunately the missionaries were none too impressed by their naked ‘sinful’ freedom, their lack of subservience to men and their power in the ocean, and women’s participation in surfing took a blow. Once again Eve was banished from the Garden of Eden and surfing lost its heart… As the kapu system crumbled, so did surfing’s ritual significance within Hawaiian culture. The end of the kapu system also brought about the demise of the Makahiki festival, the annual celebration to the god Lono in which surfing played an integral role along with other rites and festivals honouring the Goddess Pele of Volcanoes (surfing, according to Hawaiian legend, was first practiced by Pele and the women she taught). After 125 years of Hawaiian-European contact surfing went from a national past time and way of life to a sport engaged in by only a handful. However, even on its death bed, surfing was still practiced in its darkest hour by the very few.

One of these few was royal Hawaiian Princess Ka’iulani. In the late 1880s young Kaìulani reportedly rode a 7-and-a-half foot alaia koa surfboard that turned out to be one of the few pre-Twentieth

Early 18th century sketch

February 2014 85

Century Hawaiian surfboards to survive the cultural extermination of Nineteenth Century Hawaiì. This board has been housed at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu since 1922; part of the estate donated by Kaìulani’s father Archibald Cleghorn. “By 1900,” Duke Kahanamoku declared, “surfing had totally disappeared throughout the Islands except for a few isolated spots on Kauai, Maui and Oàhu, and even there only a handful of men took boards into the sea.” The “handful” were virtually all males. A notable exception was Princess Kaìulaini who, “was an expert surfrider,” according to early Twentieth Century surfer Knute Cottrell. “She apparently was the last of the old school at Waikiki.”

Somehow our true surf heritage has been lost in translation.

The importance of role modelsResearch has highlighted a lack of female role models as a key issue for female participation in sport. This certainly is not for a lack of role models out there but rather the result of differing media access and coverage in sport as well as gender norms - how society expects men and women to behave. These norms permeate our beliefs, our attitudes and behaviors and can strongly control the accepted and expected roles for women in different cultures and society. Recently, UN Women emphasized the importance of female athletes and leaders sharing stories to inspire, to create visions for girls and open doors for new opportunities, so they can re-imagine future possibilities.

When I was a kid growing up on the remote northwest coast of Ireland there was little or no surf scene and I relied on my annual birthday subscription to what was then the only women’s surf publication, Wahine magazine from the States – that was my way of connecting with what other girls were doing in surfing. One of the first issues I got had a beautiful image of a woman on

the cover. Inside was the story of a remarkable modern day Hawaiian surfing queen. Her name was Rell Sunn and from that moment she became my role model. It is no surprise that Rell’s Hawaiian name, Kapolioka’ehukai, means heart of the sea, she was a real embodiment of the aloha spirit of surfing and inspirational in terms of bringing kids into the sport and pushing the standards of women’s surfing at a time when they were getting little or no support. Rell’s surfing and way of life was so full of grace and grit. She challenged the male-dominated sport of surfing and the ocean, charging big waves at Makaha and Sunset, free-diving for ulua, and racing outrigger canoes. She was Hawaii’s first female lifeguard and a global ambassador of aloha. In the early ‘70s, Rell was instrumental in founding the Women’s Professional Surfing Association (before that she had competed with the men in their events, often beating them) and in 1975 she founded the annual Rell Sunn Menehune Surf Contest at Makaha, which gives local kids a venue to have fun and to excel and continues in her memory today. Surfing was Rell’s constant passion, “I was 4 years old and I knew I was in love,” she says. “It was surfing…Can you imagine being four and knowing what love is?” She was a woman who blazed an unconventional path and breached the predominantly male domain of surfing, opening the way for other women.

The 1970s are considered by many as the golden era of surfing. Elizabeth Jackson was a teenager in Hawaii at the time who fell in love with surfing the moment she started, aged 13, “Surfing becomes a part of you,” Jackson explains, “before you know it, it’s a lifelong passion.” It was an amazing time of change and innovation in the sport of surfing for both women and men. Development in surfboard design opened up an endless array of possibilities in the surf. But for Jackson and her friends, they didn’t realise they were part of a new surfing frontier, they just loved hitting the waves as often as possible.

86 February 2014

Just surfers, not surfer-girlsI wanted to know if there were particular challenges female surfers faced then, especially giving the growing pressure on young girls and female athletes today to conform to a certain media-prescribed body image. Although women’s competitive and professional surfing still hadn’t received the recognition of their male-counterparts, Jackson says the image of surfing was less defined by gender than perhaps it is now, “We thought of ourselves as surfers first. We didn’t put ourselves in the category of ‘girl surfers’.” The attraction was the sense freedom and empowerment the ocean gave, as if the waves actually wash away the worry, stress and stigma we might carry on land, “We felt independent and empowered riding waves of all sizes around the islands of Hawaii, in the ‘country’ (now known as the famous North Shore of Oahu) and Makaha. Surfing also made us feel confident in other areas of our lives. We didn’t feel we had limits because we were women.”

Despite the indiscriminatory nature of the ocean, the mainstream surf culture and industry of that era was far from equal for men and women. Jackson recalls how in competition after competition, they were treated as “less than” the guy surfers, often left to surf the scraps at the end of the day after the male surfers had the prime slot with the best surf conditions. Another issue was the portrayal of women as passive ‘beach bunnies’, with a focus on women’s looks overshadowing their performance in the surf. Jackson describes the surf photographers of the 1970s as, “mainly sexist. They’d occasionally shoot professional female surfers….actually surfing. Far too often, they’d shoot us paddling out, on the beach, parts of our bodies….ugh…but not surfing. We hated that!” Professional surfers like Margo Oberg, Lynne Boyer, and Rell Sunn also made considerably less money (if any) than professional male surfers.

Elizabeth spoke warmly and with great affection for one of her greatest role models at that time, Rell Sunn,

“I had the very good fortune of meeting and surfing with Rell. She was a pro surfer whom my friends and I admired greatly. She was known as the “Queen of Makaha” and was always eager to help and encourage other women. (…) Rell was graceful, agile, strong, and passionate about surfing. She encouraged other women surfers; especially younger ones like my friends and me.

The power of AlohaThe learning I feel, in the portrayal of male-dominated mainstream surfing culture, is about reclaiming what once was very much a feminine pursuit and sharing the values that surfing can teach us, especially the importance of our relationship with the ocean and each other.

Rell’s constant love was surfing. She talked about its power to heal, “When you get in the water and catch a wave, you own your life again. Surfing gives you great inner strength.” In early January 1998 aged 11, I found out the devastating news of her death. At the age of just 47, Rell had lost a 15-year battle with cancer. A woman I had never met, and yet she taught me the importance of sharing what you love, living your passion and the importance of cultivating grace and grit. After her passing, the Independent newspaper in the UK described her as, ‘the female answer to Duke Kahanamoku, the mother of women’s surfing in the 20th century.’

Rell’s true aloha spirit is her greatest legacy. Her philosophy of aloha and respect for the mana of the ocean has influenced my whole life,

“If you share the ocean, well then you’re completely bonded because that’s like being blood brothers or blood sisters. And Aloha is to keep giving that love and feeling it come back,

February 2014 87

until there’s nothing else you have to give.”Growing up in the ocean and travelling the world surfing Rell heard all kinds of great stories and said, “As a woman, I swore they would not be stories that belonged only to men. I knew already. I was hungry.” There is an important essence to surfing that is often lost in the interpretation of surfing through the male-body and that is grace. What is grace? It is a love so strong that a woman keeps surfing through her battle with cancer, donning a pink had after losing her beautiful, long dark her to chemotherapy, in the sea until her final moments and she returns from whence she came. Grace is style born from an inner creativity, intuition and a sense of self-expression. It is giving from the heart, it is being open to wonder of this life and the power of the ocean, every day, it is hunger and determination. Grace is never giving up.

“What I loved most about Rell: she never gave up….in any area of her life. She was one of the strongest, kindest, most determined, most interesting and giving women that I’ve ever known.” – Elizabeth Jackson

Endnote:An award-winning documentary, “Heart of the Sea” chronicles Rell’s life. More information about Rell and her foundation: www.rellsunn.com .

Photo Courtesy Easkey Britton

88 February 2014Photo Credit: Zac Peatling

Photo Credit: Zac Peatling

Recipes and TipsRecipe

Ingredients175g / 6oz butter

225g / 8oz oats

110g / 4oz golden caster sugar

2T / 40g honey

55g / 2oz sultanas

30g / 1oz chopped hazelnuts

12g / ½ oz ground almonds

Honeyed fruit nut squares

30g / 1oz dried figs (2 figs)

30g / 1oz dried apricots

30g / 1oz chopped dates

MethodLightly grease and line the base of a 7”x10” or square baking tray.

Gently melt the butter and honey together.Mix sugar and oats together.Add all the fruit and nuts to the oats, mixing well to

&

February 2014 89

The size or shape of the tin doesn’t matter for this recipe - just use whatever you have or the shape you prefer, as long as the mixture isn’t too thick or too thinly spread.

Vary the fruit and nuts as you wish, leaving the ones you’re not so keen on out or adding more of the ones you like.

Try varying the baking time - baking the squares for longer makes them more chewy, less baking time or baking at a lower temperature makes for a softer texture.

Marking the squares while warm creates clear lines and makes it easier to cut later; leaving the squares to cool before cutting completely avoids crumbling them (which can happen if you cut them while still warm.)

By Isa du Toit

combine and coat the fruit with the dry ingredients. (This helps to separate and evenly distribute the fruit so that you don’t have lumps of fruit sticking together.)

Add the dry ingredients to the melted butter and honey, stir to thoroughly combine.Place the mixture into the prepared baking tray, smooth the top and press down well.

Bake at 180C for about 20 minutes.Carefully mark into squares or bars while warm, then leave to cool completely before removing them from the tin.

HintsIt’s not necessary to line the base of the tray, but it does make getting the squares out of the tin much easier.

Recipes and Tips sponsored by

The haricot bread companyHand-crafted Artisan Bread

Photo Credit: Zac Peatling

90 February 2014

Thank you’sThere is so much that has happened since the last issue only two months ago! Firstly to all those who have made this issue so amazing, thank you.

To Sarah Juggins for introducing us to an amazing athlete and your article on her, thank you. Nikki for your openness and friendship, Beverley for your story and time, Lydia for your support and showing us your world. Abbey as always thank you and it’s always a pleasure, Adam for all your knowledge, writing and enthusiasm, you’re a legend, Spur UK for your support of our Outstanding Athlete, Emma for your story and chat, been a blast.

Performance Mouthwear for their continued support and belief in both women’s sport and the magazine, Easkey - you’re a legend, thanks for everything. Mr Jackoatbar you’re one cool dude who will go far - looking forward to the future! Sindy and Adriano for your time and English - my Italian is so bad! Bill for your time, openness and access, really appreciated.Abelines thank you for all your support and generosity, Greens for hosting an excellent anniversary celebration, Lauren Perrier for your

wonderful champagne, Jackoatbar, Performance Mouthwear, The Haricot Bread Company, The Biltongman for all of your support of our 1st Anniversary champagne reception, it was a huge success, thank you!! See you all next year to celebrate women in sport again.

The views and opinions expressed by the writers in this magazine are their own and not necessarily those of

Sports International Magazine. © Copyright 2014 Sports International Magazine. All Rights Reserved

February 2014 91


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