News Detail

Ashleigh McIvor DeMerit

Olympic gold medallist visits Shawnigan
If Shawnigan needed any more inspiration heading into ski week, an Olympic Gold Medalist made a timely landing on the podium.

Ashleigh McIvor DeMerit spoke to a captivated Chapel audience Saturday. After showing a replay of her Gold Medal performance from 2010, she told students that she didn't originally set out to win an Olympic gold in ski cross. In fact, McIvor DeMerit began her athletic career as an alpine ski racer, moving into ski cross later in her career as her passions, and injuries, promoted a new direction.

McIvor DeMerit's message was that "Ordinary people can do extraordinary things." She says she and her fellow Olympians aren't superheroes or superhumans. Rather, she achieved amazing success by setting and attaining small, realistic goals, one at a time.

As an illustration, McIvor DeMerit told the story of "The Waterfall" — a big and imposing cliff on Whistler Mountain. Challenged to jump off the cliff as a youngster, she knew the feat was beyond her. Instead, she went and found a smaller, more manageable cliff. Initially scared, she forced herself to ski off the smaller cliff, and then skied it again and again until she had confidence to try to bigger and bigger features, ultimately conquering "The Waterfall."

Applying this step-by-step approach to her training and development, McIvor DeMerit ended up on the top of the podium in her home town, winning a Gold Medal for Canada in the inaugural Olympic ski cross competition.

As an added bonus, McIvor DeMerit produced her gold medal afterwards, posing for pictures with excited students and wide-eyed youngsters.

Back
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.