I
began speed skating when I was 11 years old, in my hometown of
Ottawa, Ontario. I have spent many years pursuing my goals and
dreams in this sport and have succeeded in achieving many of them.
This is my third season on the Long
Track national team, and my second competing at the international
level at World Cups and World Championships. My current goals
include a top 15 finish at the 2000 World All-Round Championships,
a top 20 overall World Cup ranking and representing Canada at
the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Sport has been a large part of my life
starting at a very young age. Sports camps, soccer teams, school
teams, cross-country skiing and running, and swimming lessons
were routine when I was young. I have been in competitive sports
since I was 10, racing in cross-country skiing, track and field
and cross-country running. Speed skating eventually took over
as my main passion and I have spent the last 4 years training
full time in Calgary.
My current goals include
a top 15 finish at the 2000 World All-Round Championships,
a top 20 overall World Cup ranking and representing Canada
at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Over the years I have seen many training
partners come and go, and more girls go than come. I always find
it sad to see girls with a lot of potential quit sport entirely
to pursue other things. Certainly competitive sport is not for
everyone, but the benefits derived from physical activity and
exercise are so numerous, they should be a fundamental part of
every person’s life.
I have made many sacrifices to pursue
my athletic dreams. I have missed a lot of school, not to mention
countless social activities! I moved away from home at 18 to train
full time. My degree in university is taking much longer than
it should and my bank account is perpetually empty. But in spite
of all that, I would not trade a second of my life, as it is now
to get any of that back. Sport has given me skills not only in
the physical sense, but it has taught me skills for life beyond
sport.
I am very happy and thankful to receive
this grant from CAAWS and Nike. I plan on using it to help pay
for a high altitude camp I attend this fall in Colorado Springs.
I t is very encouraging to me as a girl in sport to know that
there are organizations out there like CAAWS committed to supporting
and promoting women athletes.
Kristina Groves
Canadian
Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical
Activity contact
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