BARRHEAD - Mellissa Lotholz is preparing to go to Europe (as well as South Korea and Scandinavia).
And unlike the Griswold clan, it is not for vacation but to join the Canadian Bobsleigh national team on the World Cup circuit.
In about two weeks, the County of Barrhead native and 11-year veteran is confident she will head overseas with the rest of the Canadian sliding contingent as part of the two-women and monobob events.
Officially, the national team doesn't name who is on the senior or World Cup and development squads until the Canadian Championships, but unless something incredibly unforeseen happens, Lotholz will be in the front seat piloting her own sleigh with fellow Albertan Leah Wakenden, on the World Cup circuit, as demonstrated by Bobsleigh Canada Skelton listing her on the senior team.
Since the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where she was paired as brakeman with Christine de Bruin, Lotholz has spent much of her time platooning from the North American Cup (NAC) to the senior team, as she made the transition from the back seat to pilot.
Slowing her progress was the pandemic, which shortened the 2020-2021 World Cup season, taking a year hiatus following the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where she and the loss of Canada's third sleigh on the senior circuit upon her return. Thanks to the team's performance at last year's World Championships, Canada will again have a third sleigh in the World Cup.
"I'm excited about the upcoming season and being on the ice again," Lotholz said during a break in her training.
Lotholz is currently in Whistler for a three-week sliding camp to prepare for the Canadian Championships and the World Cup.
Before moving to Whistler, the program had been in Calgary at Canada Olympic Park, home of Bobsleigh Canada, and the Ice House for push camp tryouts.
"It was a real competitive camp," she said, adding the push camp was the last of three hosted by the national team over the summer. "Unlike past years, there was an open tryout at push camp, whether it be people who had been part of the program attempting to make a comeback or those from outside the sport who were interested in bobsled."
Lotholz noted that on the men's side, they especially saw an influx of newcomers attempting to break into the sport.
She added bobsleigh lends itself well to other sports, saying athletes have come into the sport from numerous different disciplines, from track and field, basketball, and football.
To prepare for the camps, Lotholz arrived in Calgary a couple of months early to start training and work with the national team's physio and massage therapists to help her recover fully from an ongoing Achilles issue.
She said it has been more difficult for athletes in recent years than when she first joined the national team in 2014 following a dryland identification camp.
Lotholz added that although athletes, especially pilots like race car drivers, are always involved in setting up their sleds, they become mechanics and engineers.
"Most of the work on the two-person sled for its initial set-up has been done, but I still have some work to do on the monobob," she said.
Lotholz said she will be working with new brakemen this season. In Calgary, and going into the Canadian Championships, she has been mostly paired with Eden Wilson, but when she takes to the World Cup circuit, she will most likely be teamed with Leah Walkeden.
"[Walkeden] is actually from Ardrossan [near Sherwood Park], and we grew up competing against each other in track and field," she said, adding that Walkeden often bested her in the 60-metre sprint. "We were also at the [University of Alberta] at the same time, so I am excited to see what a couple of UofA athletes can do in a sled on the world stage."
Lotholz said that, due to cutbacks, being part of the Bobsleigh Canada program has changed drastically in the last couple of years.
Athletes must now worry about finances in addition to preparing to compete at an elite level on the world stage.
"We are largely self-funded, so we have to rely on sponsors and donors and are responsible for much of our own logistics", she said. "There has always been adversity in bobsled, but the added financial pressure is a big hurdle to overcome."
Lotholz said last season, which was spent mainly in the NAC, she spent roughly $43,000.
"This year, I'm looking at something like $45,000, and that doesn't cover my brakeman," she said. "I am so fortunate and appreciative that the Barrhead community has really rallied behind me and supported me in my Olympic journey. We are less than 500 days to the next Olympics, and in a sport where every hundredth of a second matters, so does every dollar."
To help athletes raise the necessary money to compete, Bobsleigh Canada Skelton has registered as a not-for-profit charity, allowing individual athletes to issue tax receipts.
Lotholz and fellow bobsleigh teammate Alex Klein launched Eh Team Apparel, an online street clothing business, to help offset the costs for herself and other athletes.
Lotholz said she was excited to have an opportunity to help pass along what she has learned from more than a decade in the sport.
She said that this offseason, as an interim technical director of Bobleigh Alberta, she had an opportunity to coach the next generation of bobsledders.
In addition to preparing her body for the upcoming season this summer, Lotholz said she also had the opportunity to help build the provincial program as Alberta Bobsleigh's interim technical director.
"It has been really cool, she said. "To be able to give back sport and help develop the next generation of athletes has been so rewarding."
Those wanting to donate to Lotholz can do so by going to the CanadaHelps.org website, typing Canada Bobsleigh Canada into the search bar, and selecting Lotholz's name from the drop-down menu on the right. People can also help support Lotholz's bobsleigh journey by purchasing a clothing item from Eh Team Apparel at ehteamapparel.com.
The first Bobsleigh World Cup circuit event is in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from Nov. 12 to 17. People can also follow Lotholz's journey to the next Olympics through her website, www.melissalotholz.com, as well as her social media platforms on Facebook and Instagram.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
