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22 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · SATURDAY, JULY 5, 2008 Local gymnast Olympic-bound Alyssa Brown now first alternate By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF After a long season in the gym, Alyssa Brown was looking forward to a summer of rest and relaxation at the family's cottage. Having accepted the reality that she would not be a member of Canada's Olympic gymnastics team, Brown still planned to watch the Games on TV. Now even those plans have fall"It's definitely really en through -- and Brown couldn't be happier. exciting, just (havInstead of watching on TV, ing the opportunity Brown will be in Beijing as an alterof) being in the nate for the Canadian team. environment and Brown, a silver (vault) and watching it all live." bronze (team) medalist at the Commonwealth Games, got the Alyssa Brown news last week after attending a Canadian team training camp at her home club in Mississauga. She was at the camp as Canada's second alternate and assumed it would be her last intense training prior to heading to Stanford University in the fall. During the camp, first alternate Kristina Vaculik was suffering from an elbow injury that she tried to work through. After a visit to the doctor, the injury turned out to be worse than originally thought and the Whitby gymnast had to bow out. That elevated Brown into the alternate's role. "It's definitely really exciting, just (having the opportunity of) being in the environment and watching it all live," Brown said. While the 19-year-old is thrilled to be going to China, she said it's an awkward situation, both in moving into the alternate role and going into the Olympics. "It's a tough position because the girls are your teammates, but of course, you want to compete," she said. There are certainly no guarantees that will happen. After Canada failed to qualify a team for the Olympics after finishing 14th at the world championships in September (it needed to be in the top 12), the country is allowed only two representatives to compete in the event and all-around competitions. Barring another injury to either of the two Canadians, Nansy Damianova and Elise Hopfner-Hibbs, Brown's role will be to lend support and be ready, just in case. So instead of spending the next month water skiing, wakeboarding and reading, Brown will be hard at work improving her routines and attending two more training camps -- one in Mississauga and another in Calgary -- before leaving for Beijing. While she will be staying at Canada House, instead of the athletes village, and won't join the team until a week after it arrives in Beijing, Brown is nonetheless thrilled at the opportunity she now has in front of her. "The Olympics have been a dream of mine for a long time," Brown said. "I had come to terms with it not happening. Now, just being part of the team and being there with all the other athletes, it's pretty amazing." CHRIS KORNACKI / OAKVILLE BEAVER THE LONG STUFF: The rough at Glen Abbey Golf Club is as long as five inches, as groundskeepers prepare for the RBC Canadian Open tournament later this month. Potential for a rough day at the Abbey F our years ago, a near-ace during Bell Canadian Open media day led me to write a column offering a tip for the pros on how to birdie the par-3 12th hole at Glen Abbey Golf Club. With the Open -- now title-sponsored by RBC -- returning to Oakville again later this month, here's another tip for the PGA players: stay the hell out of the rough. Sound advice at all times, to be sure, but perhaps even more so at the Abbey this summer. The rough is as long as five inches throughout the course, as this chunk artist discovered far too many times Monday morning. "If you hit it off (the fairway), you're going to be penalized. If a guy can make a shot out of (the rough), great," said RBC Canadian Open tournament director Bill Paul, noting the length of rough for a typical PGA Tour event is three to three-and-a-half inches. "We grow it a little longer because of the nature of the tournament, being a national championship." Lengthening the rough and narrowing the fairways is the best way to deal with the showoffs who can actually hit their ball in the general vicinity of where they want to. "If you've got no rough, you can just sit there with a driver and whack the heck out of it every day," Paul said. "It puts the thinking back in the game, especially when you know the rough is penal. It just plays differently." The rough for this year's Open will be, well, roughly the same as it was in Look for these and more great flyers online. 2004, when Vijay Singh won the tournament with a score of 9-under par. Other than the renovations of several greens, there have been few significant changes to the course since the `04 tournament. Course owner ClubLink made plenty of news two years ago when it cut down a bunch of trees along Sixteen Mile Creek in order to provide a better growing environment for the green on the scenic 11th (valley) hole. The green was moved 20 feet to the left, although Paul said the pros will be playing the old green in the upcoming Open. That won't be welcome news to Singh; that is, in the seemingly See Thirteen page 23 More of what you LOVE, all your favourite flyers anytime online! Save time, save money. 32" ENTER TO WIN A SHARP AQUOS 32" LCD TELEVISION! Go to www.flyerland.ca to enter. Contest details on the site.