You put in the work, training six days a week to be competitive.
Brute strength, cardio and technique – explosive for starts and clinical for driving – are all integral to your game. You’re in shape. You’re game-ready.
Now all you need is . . . money.
Canadian bobsleigh athletes Christine de Bruin of Calgary and Cochrane brakeman Janine McCue are raising funds for what they hope is a successful second season of women’s international two-man bobsleigh competition together. Racing a well-worn development sled in North America last season, their main goal is to raise enough cash to buy their own sled. Checking in at 60,000 Euros ($87,000-ish), a new sled is out of the question. For now.
But that well-maintained, used unit at the back of the lot can be had for $20,000, roughly what you’ll pay for a brand-new Dodge Caravan at Cochrane Dodge, where McCue works in the parts department.
So $20,000 is the fundraising goal, and maybe a few extra bucks to help get their rear ends in that sled for European races this season. Last year, they raced in Calgary, Utah and Whistler, B.C.
They won the Alberta Bobsleigh Association two-man women’s provincial title March 7 in Calgary.
In a timed sport measured in thousandths of a second, the difference between a development-grade sled and a well-preserved race unit – pushed and driven with the same amount of will and skill – can be the difference between a top-5 and a top-3 finish. Put another way, it could be the difference between qualifying for a Team Canada sled or remaining at the development level.
“We’re getting that physical part of it, especially after we just had our physical testing and that went really, really well,” de Bruin says. “So the next thing now is the other girls are going to be delegated a nicer sled than us because of how they did last year. We’re going to get the worst sled during selection races.”
Make no mistake, de Bruin and McCue are grateful for the opportunity to race any sled. But they can’t be faulted for trying to improve their chances in a two-man ice wagon with fresher runners, truer frame, and bodywork void of tape, pop rivets and epoxy.
“We are looking at a used one,” de Bruin says. “We’re working on a deal right now. We’re hoping to get one for around $20,000 Cdn.”
In an effort to raise funds for the 2015-16 bobsleigh season, and the purchase of a used sled, the team is holding a Sept. 19 fundraiser in Cochrane.
“We’re doing a silent auction at Ducks on the Roof,” says McCue. “We have a barbecue. Christine’s sister in law did a huge painting. She’s a painter. So we have some artwork to auction.”
Anyone with any goods or services to add to the auction list are welcome to do so. McCue and de Bruin can be reached through their Team de Bruin Bobsleigh Facebook page and their Christine and Janine’s Bobsleigh Fundraising Night page.
“We’re looking for absolutely anything and everything (to auction),” McCue says. “Any companies that want to support us. Doesn’t matter how big or small. We have some T-shirts being made that we’ll sell for our team with all our sponsors names on them.”
For an in-depth, first-person account of their first season together, visit christinebushiebobsled.com
