'Finding para sports again was amazing': Canada's Paralympic squad looks to bolster ranks with sit-skiers
Lily Brook wasn't even a teenager yet when a degenerative bone disease put a stop to almost all activity.
No more running or skiing. Even walking is now challenging.
"I love sports so much. I always have," she said.
"For that short part of my life where I didn't have sports because I wasn't able to (play), I hated it, so coming back and finding para sports again was amazing for me."
Brook is now training to sit-ski. It's a category of para Nordic skiing where the athlete sits on a sled and manoeuvres themselves with poles.
This weekend, athletes wanting to learn the sport – or get better at it – are gathering in Canmore, Alta., for a development camp.
Trainers say the earlier athletes try sit-skiing, the further they can go with it.
"My goal is to get them as young as possible, so if they enjoy racing they can be champions and not just participants," said Colette Bourgonje, a bronze-medal-winning Paralympian and sit-ski coach.
"To have a couple 12-year-olds, a 13-year-old and a 17-year-old right now, it's exciting to see what the future can be for them."
Canada's Paralympic squad wants to expand the number of sit-skiers competing – its team of one a few years ago has grown to a team of four already.
But trainers also say people can pursue the sport without having an eye on international competition.
"We are chasing podiums all the time. That's our team – that's what we want to be achieving," said Kate Boyd, high-performance director with the para Nordic ski team.
"But certainly, from a domestic standpoint, can we grow the sport and grow our talent pool and develop more skiers, whether it’s recreational or competition."
Brook says high-level competition is her long-term hope.
"My goal in sit-skiing is to take it as far as I can," she said.
"I want to eventually one day get up there with the other sit-skiers who've been competing internationally. I want to be one of those people."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Hackers release corporate data stolen from London Drugs
Retailer London Drugs says cybercriminals who stole files from its corporate head office last month have released some of the data after it refused to pay a ransom.
Toronto man falls off his chair after seeing $70M Lotto Max win in his bank account
A Toronto man who won $70 million in a recent Lotto Max draw literally fell off his chair when he saw the funds in his bank account.
Montreal-area high school students protest 'sexist' dress code
Approximately 50 Montreal-area students — the vast majority of them female — were suspended Wednesday after their school deemed the shorts they were wearing were too short. On Thursday, several students staged a walk-out to protest what they believe is a "sexist" dress code that unfairly targets girls.
Oilers' Henrique, Stars' Hintz out for Game 1 of West final
Top-line Dallas Stars centre Roope Hintz will still be out of the lineup for the Western Conference Final opener Thursday night against Edmonton, which is still without forward Adam Henrique.
'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished. It used to be the sort of place where parents let their kids roam free or play in the local creek, but everything has changed.
What is 'slapped cheek disease' and should parents be concerned?
Despite its rough name, experts say most cases of 'slapped cheek disease' are mild and not a cause for concern.
American Airlines retreats after blaming a 9-year-old for not seeing a hidden camera in a lavatory
American Airlines has distanced itself from a court filing in which the carrier said a nine-year-old girl should have noticed there was a camera taped to the seat of an airplane lavatory.
Unknown Newfoundland soldier from the First World War heads back home from France after 100 years
Canadian soldiers and government officials arrived in northeastern France this week for a historic mission: returning an unknown Newfoundland soldier back home.
Calgary Philharmonic takes action following investigation into 'deeply troubling' comments by 2 musicians
The Calgary Philharmonic has confirmed its taking action after controversial online comments made by two members of the orchestra.