The morning kicked off with a glitter makeup session and a short ambassador meet and greet. These activities were followed by short presentations by each of the key guests in Canada Olympic Park’s Hall of Fame auditorium.
For this special occasion, Ashleigh McIvor brought her Olympic gold medal from the 2010 Games, Julia Murray brought her silver medal from the 2011 World Championships and Kelsey Serwa (2011 World Champion), presented a short video highlighting the sport of Ski Cross and her teammates’ performances from the last seasons.
“Unfortunately, I sustained an injury this season and have had to be off snow for the past months,” explained McIvor in a pre-event interview. “On the flip side, this extra time has opened new doors for me and given me the chance to take part in this great Fast and Female event and to inspire girls.”
The presentations were preceded by a Zumba dance class with volunteer instructor Lindsay Brandon and an autograph signing session.
“This was a very fun event because it united girls from the ski cross and alpine racing communities,” said Marie-Hélène Thibeault, Executive Director for Fast and Female. “Ski Cross is the youngest winter Olympic sport and therefore this generation of girls is presented with tremendous opportunities to thrive in this dynamic and fun environment. For these young women, having the chance to spend a full morning with Ashleigh, Julia, Kelsey, Marielle and Danielle – and getting to hold Olympic and World Championships medals – will leave lasting impressions as they pursue their goals both on and off snow.”
Half of the girls who attended the Fast and Female Ski Cross Pow Wow joined the free SportChek Ski Cross Clinic in the afternoon. This segment of the day featured various Ski Cross exercises led by Canada’s Ski Cross National team athletes.
The Fast and Female Ski Cross Pow Wow presented by Best Buy was made possible thanks to key event partners such as Winsport Canada, Ski Cross Canada, Alpine Canada, and Alberta Alpine. The event also enjoyed the support of many enthusiastic volunteers. Fast and Female’s national sponsors – including Best Buy, Buff Multifunctional Headwear, Cold-FX, Clarins – also provided key resources for the event. For a complete list of Fast and Female national program supporters and sponsors, please visit: /default.asp?lang=&mode=webpage&id=89.
This weekend, Fast and Female will be hosting a X-Country SkiFest in Ketchum, Idaho. The following weekend, Fast and Female will travel to Norman Wells in the Northwest Territories for its second annual Northern Youth Empowerment Weekend for aboriginal cross-country skiers. These two events will mark the conclusion of the busy winter season which will have seen Fast and Female host a total of nine events and a reach of 875 girls in sports.
More spring, summer and fall events will be announced shortly on: http://www.fastandfemale.com/.
ABOUT FAST AND FEMALE
Fast and Female is a not-for-profit society started in 2005 by Chandra Crawford, the 2006 Olympic gold medalist in cross-country skiing. The organization’s mission is to ensure that girls remain supported, motivated, inspired, empowered to stick to sports and the healthy lifestyle. Fast and Female fulfills its mission of “Empowerment Through Sport” by hosting fun-filled, non-competitive initiatives all across North-America aimed at exposing young female athletes to inspiring female Olympians and elite level athletes. The young girls who attend Fast and Female events today will lead it in the future, may it be as athletes, coaches, volunteers, parents, and community leaders.