Olympians help girls gain confidence
More than 300 schoolgirls gathered at the YMCA Friday for a day of sport alongside two Olympians.
Olympic swimmer Brittany MacLean and Olympic alpine skier Larisa Yurkiw helped lead several activities during Jumpstart’s Games for Girls.
The Canadian Tire initiative encourages girls to get active and stay active while also teaching leadership skills.
Girls, ages eight to 14, from seven city schools participated in six activity stations. They rotated between wheelchair curling, wheelchair basketball, kinball, parachute, spike ‘n’ smash and a dance station.
Stations were also manned by about 30 teenaged girls from Crestwood Secondary School and Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School. A day earlier, the teens took a Jumpstart youth leadership workshop, learning how to teach young women to be leaders in their community.
MacLean, 23, won bronze at the Olympics in Rio in the 4 x 200 metre freestyle relay.
The Etobicoke resident said the life lessons she’s learned from swimming and being part of a team have been invaluable.
Having confidence and believing in yourself are keys to success, MacLean said.
However, you also have to work hard for something you want, she added.
“For me, I’ve had the greatest successes in things I’ve battled terribly hard for and it’s that much more rewarding in the end,” said MacLean.
Yurkiw skied in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
The 29-year-old said she’s often asked to deliver speeches about confidence.
Yurkiw is quick to admit confidence isn’t something she grew up with, but it’s something she gained overtime.
The Collingwood resident said she earned confidence by setting goals that were important to her and working hard to achieve them.
During that time, Yurkiw made loads of friends, got to travel and developed a career out of skiing.
“I think confidence ... is a side effect of working really hard and having tons of fun,” Yurkiw said.
The Jumpstart initiative also contributes funding to families who might not be able to afford to enrol their kids in sports.
The charity has donated $691,100 to families in Peterborough since 2005, helping 7,515 kids.