October Update: Wrapping Up The 2019 Tennis Season

What a September it was for Canadian tennis!

Bianca Andreescu made Canadian history by becoming the first individual to win a grand slam title when she won the U.S. Open over Serena Williams on a Saturday evening in New York.

I was actually at a wedding in Windsor, Ontario that evening. I watched the first set from the house where we spent the downtime between the ceremony and the reception.

It was in the second set when we got to the venue and I quickly realized there weren't any TVs. That wouldn't do.

So five of us left the reception to go to a bar across the street to watch the end of the match. It was 5-1 Bianca and I ordered five tequila shots. But then Serena won four games in a row to tie the set at 5 and the crowd in New York was going nuts.

Amazingly, Bianca was able to keep her composure and win the next games to take the title. It was one of the greatest victories this country has ever seen.

And it was a culmination of a story I first started following in 2017 when I first spoke to Bianca for a story on Global News. I talked about that experience the Monday after her victory.

Earlier that week, I put together another tennis feature story on Rob Shaw, who won a gold medal in wheelchair tennis at the Parapan Am Games in Peru at the beginning of the month.

This month I have also filmed all four episodes of my new fitness series for Global called The Culture of Fitness. The final edit of the series will take place today and the aim is for the first episode to premiere on November 1 (we're holding off until after the election).

It was a blast learning capoeira, parkour, muay thai and cricket.

I will be sure to have some more details about the series in next month's update.

Thanks for reading and watching!

September Update: A Ball Man, a Caddy and More Fitness

I mentioned my adventures as a "Ball Man" at the Rogers Cup in last month's update. Here is the final product. I think it's safe to say that Julia bailed me out big time.

After the piece aired, I received a message from Golf Canada asking if I wanted to try being a caddy for a pro golfer during the CP Women's Open Pro-Am at Magna Golf Club in Aurora.

I said, absolutely, and I was on the bag for 23-year-old Maddie Szeryk from London Ontario. My performance as a caddy was significantly worse than my "Ball Man" escapades. 

See for yourself.

My next creative focus is a new fitness series that is a bit of an addendum to the What's Your Fitness Age series. This one is called The Culture of Fitness. I start shooting it next week and the four episodes will air in October.

Here is a synopsis of what the series will be about:

The What’s Your Fitness Age series was a gym-centric approach to health and fitness. But fitness looks different around the world. The Culture of Fitness is a four-part series that will explore fitness regimens from different cultures and how their methods compare and contrast to a traditional gym routine.

Each episode will focus on a different region of the world and how that culture stays fit and healthy. I will embed himself within each program to experience it for himself and to give viewers an idea of how it compares to the traditional fitness method of the What’s Your Fitness Age series.

At the end of each episode, I will talk to a fitness expert to see where each fitness culture stacks up in terms of providing the most well-rounded approach to health and wellness and what they need to add to their routines to fill in any missing links.

The four cultures and fitness regimens that will be explored are:

Brazil - Capoeira

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, and music. It is known for its quick and complex maneuvers, predominantly using power, speed, and leverage across a wide variety of kicks, spins, and other techniques. 

India - Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a 20-metre (22-yard) pitch with a wicket at each end. The batting side scores runs by striking the ball bowled at the wicket with the bat, while the fielding side tries to prevent this and dismiss each player (so they are "out"). 

Southeast Asia - Muay Thai

Muay Thai is a martial art that is known as the "art of eight limbs". It is characterized by the combined use of fists, elbows, knees, and shins.

France - Parkour

Practitioners aim to get from one point to another in a complex environment, without assistive equipment and in the fastest and most efficient way possible. Parkour includes running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping, plyometrics, rolling, crawling and other movements as deemed most suitable for the situation.

Thanks for reading and watching!

August Update: Better Late Than Never

The frequency of my monthly updates has been wanting so far in 2019, but I do have a good reason. All of the extra content I have been producing and hosting for Global News has taken up the majority of my time and focus throughout the spring and summer.

Although I did get an opportunity to travel to Newfoundland for a wedding in mid-July and I was able to get many hours of spectacular hiking in throughout the trip.

I mentioned in my last post in June that there would be some addendum pieces to the What's Your Fitness Age series about senior fitness. I travelled to McMaster University in Hamilton to produce a story on the MacSenior fitness program.

After learning about the program, I couldn't pass up the opportunity for another fitness challenge where I teamed up with a member of the program and we took on Ross and his senior partner. Here's the link to that piece.

Earlier today, I had a meeting about producing another fitness series, this one will be called The Culture of Fitness. I'm still at the exploratory stage, but I hope to start shooting this new series in September and I will have some more info in next month's update.

Sticking with fitness, it is Rogers Cup week in Toronto and Montreal. Yesterday, I put together a preview story from Aviva Centre for Global News teeing up the all-Canadian affair between Bianca Andreescu and Genie Bouchard.

Also, on Sunday, I had an opportunity to be a "Ball Man" during an actually qualifying match at the Rogers Cup.

2. Lots of stuff to remember, especially when you’re on towel duty @TennisCanada pic.twitter.com/kC0UiDyXZC

— Mike Arsenault (@MikeGArsenault) August 5, 2019

I am currently editing the full feature and that will air on Global on Friday night. I will post the link in next month's post as well.

Thanks for reading and watching!