Athlete of the Month

February 2016

February Athlete of the Month

Agata Seyfi is A4K’s Athlete of the Month for February 2016. Agata and her family hail from Moscow and have lived in North Vancouver since 2008. She is twelve years old and has been figure skating since she was three! She has been skating seriously since 2010 with Champs International Skating Centre of BC and is currently competing at the pre-novice level. Agata recounts that she started figure skating and learning chess the same year. She says,

“I’m so passionate about both because they are not just the sports but also the impressive and expressive arts for me. The figure skating is about the body art of dance performance, while the chess is about the mind art of problem solving. They both deal with complex combinations of various elements of harmony. I could say that figure skating is about solving the choreography puzzles, when chess is about the intellectual ones. My chess experience helps me to [be] concentrated [on] the short skating challenges. And the skating training helps me to easily keep physical balance at the long chess tournaments.”

Her advice to other young aspiring athletes is this, “always do [your] best and never give up in [your] sport and life challenges!”

Agata’s dedication to training and passion for figure skating are inspiring! Congratulations on all your achievements and we look forward to watching you grow in your sport!

Click here to see Agata figure skate

Sports Organizations

A4K would like to send out a huge “Thank You” to the many sports organizations that collaborated with us in 2015 to send out over 820 grants to put kids in sports across British Columbia. Thank you for all that you did and all that you continue to do to make this happen!

(Cliff Avenue United F.C. is just one of the many fabulous sports organizations A4K works with on an ongoing basis)

Thank You Corporate Recruiters & Lululemon

Corporate Recruiters (in partnership with SVP Vancouver) did a holiday fundraiser on behalf on SVP investees to support A4K. Thank you for you contribution and we are honoured to be part of SVP Vancouver and appreciate their ongoing partnership and engagement with A4K.

Also thank you to Jason Sarai from Catalyst Kinetics Group who is a Lululemon ambassador. Lululemon has a metta movement program which is about giving without expectation. Lululemon provides funds to select stakeholders such as employees, suppliers or ambassadors and then those people launch or support a project. Thanks Jason for thinking of A4K.

Thank You National Bank

A4K is a proud recipient of National Bank's One for Youth program. The program has given $5,000 to A4K and that will go to the A4K Youth Sports Funding Program. Thank you for helping put kids in sports.

Alan Lary: Depth of My Desire

We hear a lot about things being impossible for us. What if we took "Impossible" and changed it a little to "I'm possible" in anything we wanted in sports or life in general? How do we do it?

It is done through the level of our desire to achieve what seems at the outset impossible. The level of our desire in turn is determined by why we need to do it. The why in this is the riveting reason(s) that will develop the desire. For example; If I wanted to play my sport at a higher level than I am currently playing, how do I develop my desire to do it? One way is to ask myself what will I get by playing at the higher level? Well, I could get the following which may not be obvious at first;

I could increase my self confidence
I could have more fun
I could make new friends
I could trust myself more about having anything I desire when the desire was strong enough
I could develop my body to be stronger, more flexible, faster, healthier
I could feel good about myself

Those are all important. However there is a reason to work at it that changes your life. If you were to do the impossible and make it I'm possible, then you are demonstrating personal leadership skills that make you a leader in your own life. And only when you are a leader in your own life can you be a leader in your community. Leaders in the community are examples for others to be leaders in their own lives. Strive and develop your desire to play at a higher level and show the leader in you. Your are all that is possible.

Upcoming Events 2016

A4K Annual Boxing Gala

Please join us on May 6th 2016 for the 14th Annual A4K Fundraising Gala at the Hollyburn Country Club.

Individual ticket for $190 or table of 10 for $1,700. The event has a welcome cocktail reception, three-course gourmet dinner, live amateur boxing, silent and live auctions and Vegas-style entertainment.

Thanks to these wonderful organizations for joining us at our 2016 Gala:

Thanks again to Hollyburn Country Club for hosting the event.

Click here to purchase your tickets via cheque

Click here to purchase tickets online via PayPal

Click here to donate a silent or live auction item

Click here to sponsor the event

WestJet Raffle tickets will be available online for purchase soon