Q: You started out in ski racing. How did you first get into sport, and what eventually led you to rowing?
A: I grew up in Kimberley, BC. I wanted to play hockey, but my parents were pretty against it because they didn’t want to spend all day at a hockey rink. They decided ski racing would be something they wanted to put me in. Jokes on them, because they still ended up spending their lives at the ski hill! I started ski racing when I was seven and was lucky to have some really powerful coaches from the beginning. They taught me how to work hard and that if you’re going to do something, you should do it right. When I was 12, my family moved to Kimberley from Edmonton so I could pursue ski racing more seriously. Moving at that age was tough because everyone already had their social circles, but skiing gave me a community right away. I always wanted to go to the Olympics, but ski racing is an incredibly expensive sport. Then I had a serious knee injury during a race. It was a combination of recovering from a major injury and mourning the loss of a dream. After that, I still wanted to pursue sport, but I also knew I wanted to go to university. I eventually joined the rowing program at UBC. It definitely wasn’t love at first sight. I found it hard, and I didn’t particularly enjoy it at first. But once I was in a team environment that pushed me to get better, I fell in love with the process. It became addictive to keep improving and see what I was capable of.
Q: What have been some of the biggest challenges in your journey?
A: The biggest challenge came when I started trying to make the senior team. I’d had success at the domestic level, so I assumed the transition would be fairly seamless. But when I moved to train full-time, I spent the entire winter getting beaten in training. It drove me crazy because I felt physically capable, but I wasn’t getting the results I wanted. One of the biggest things I had to learn was that you can’t tie your self-worth to how fast you’re going. It’s a recipe for unhappiness. At the highest level, everyone has a certain baseline of fitness. Becoming the best means figuring out what you can do beyond that. It took me about two years to develop a process that worked for me, both technically and in terms of skill development. My coach eventually pulled me aside and reminded me that trying to copy someone else’s process wasn’t going to work. I had to figure out what worked for me so I could keep getting better every day. The results didn’t come overnight, but slowly, things started to change.
Q: How has rowing shaped you as a person?
A: Rowing has given me so many opportunities to explore myself. Every day, I get to see how much further I can push my potential, which I really love. I’ve also made friends all over the world through the sport. Now, when I show up at an international regatta, it feels like a reunion. It can take 20 minutes to get across the site because you keep stopping to catch up with people! Rowing gave me a really cool pivot, and it’s something I’m incredibly grateful for.
Q: Do you remember your first experience getting your period as an athlete?
A: I got my first period at a training camp in Panorama, BC, up in the mountains. I didn’t have any tampons, pads, or anything with me. I was young, scared, and didn’t know what to do. I was also with a male coach at the time. He was like a dad to me, but I still felt uncomfortable telling him I had gotten my period and needed help. I eventually worked up the courage to tell him, and everything was fine. But I remember how intimidating it felt to have to figure out how to bring it up. I think the biggest takeaway is that menstruation is something so many people experience, and it shouldn’t feel like something you can’t talk about.
Q: Has anyone helped you better understand how your menstrual cycle affects your training?
A: I’ve had a lot of coaches throughout my career, and every one of them has played an important role. But I think every female athlete deserves to be coached by a female coach at least once. In 2023, we had a new coach join us from the UK. One day, I wasn’t feeling great, and we started talking. She asked me where I was in my menstrual cycle. That was the first time in my career anyone had asked me about it. It made me realize that this is something that can really affect my experience as an athlete. It’s not that athletes should only have female coaches. There’s just something empowering about having someone who understands that experience and knows how to start the conversation.
Q: You spent several years coaching younger rowers. What challenges did you notice among girls as they grew up in sport?
A: One of the biggest challenges was body image, especially as girls started going through puberty. Society is getting better, but the ideals we see for women don’t always celebrate being big and strong. When girls start training and putting on muscle, some of them struggle with that change. I think having a role model around who is strong can be really powerful. It helps them see that they can be strong, too, and that it’s something to be proud of. Without those role models, it’s easy to get caught up in what social media tells you is cool, rather than seeing what strength and confidence can look like in real life.
Q: What do you hope younger girls take away from your story?
A: I hope they understand that your path doesn’t have to be straightforward. I thought I was going to pursue ski racing, and that dream ended up taking me somewhere completely different. There were injuries, setbacks, and moments when I had to question what came next. But those experiences eventually led me to something I love. You don’t have to have everything figured out. Sometimes, the opportunities you never expected are the ones that change your life.
