'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
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
B.C. man fighting for refund after finding someone living at Whistler vacation rental
Edwin Mostered spent thousands of dollars booking a vacation home in Whistler, B.C., for a group skiing trip earlier this year – or so he thought.
Avs forward Valeri Nichushkin suspended at least six months
Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months without pay and placed in Stage 3 of the league's player assistance program.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Mortgage companies could intensify the next recession, U.S. officials warn
U.S. officials worry the next recession could be intensified by a cascading series of failures in the mortgage industry caused by crashing home prices, frozen financial markets and soaring delinquencies.