Ryan Gibson - From Hockey to Speed Skating!
Donation protected
Hello! My name is Ryan Gibson and I am a 21 year old from Kingston, ON. I want to begin by saying thank you for taking the time to check out my page!
Below is my story of how I went from a junior hockey career ending, to being selected by Speed Skating Canada to chase after my dream of one day representing Canada at the Olympics!
At the end I have summarized how I plan to use your generous donations to help with my training and to attain my goal.
The Background Story:
In March of 2019 my junior hockey career had come to and end and I was transitioning to the next chapter of my life. With school starting in September, I knew I wanted to continue to compete in a sport but was unsure what to do. My family suggested I attend the RBC Training Ground qualifier in Ottawa, ON last April.
I attended the event and to my surprise I was scouted by Speed Skating Canada based on my results and was given the opportunity to move on to the next round of testing that was to be held in Calgary, AB in June. I accepted this offer and made my way out. In Calgary, I did sport specific testing for speed skating and was on the ice in speed skates multiple times learning the basic techniques. They evaluated my performance on ice along with my off ice testing results with the rest of the group to see who they would select to be nominated to move on and participate in the first ever RBC Training Ground National Final that was to be held in Calgary, AB in September.
I got a call in July with the exciting news that I had been selected as one of the Top 100 young athletes from across Canada to compete in the National Final . In September, I got on a plane and flew out with the excitement of being one step closer to receiving funding to make this new dream of maybe one day competing at the Olympic level, a reality. I competed in different disciplines to test things such as speed, power, strength and endurance. I gave it my all and left with no regrets!
In October I received a phone call with the exciting news that I had been chosen as one of the top 30 out of the 100 athletes that competed from across Canada to receive funding to continue my pursuit with Speed Skating Canada to maybe one day reach the Olympic level!
Funding Summary:
The funding from RBC Training Ground will be administered by Speed Skating Canada . They will utilize it for my training, the purchase of new equipment (long track speed skates) and some of my travel for official events such as my first competition at the Olympic Oval Grand Prix, that is coming up in March of 2020.
My funding will help to cover these expenses but not all of them. After the payment for the training program at the Olympic Oval, new skates, flights and hotels for the event in March there will be little funding left, if at all. Therefor I will be on my own to cover the cost of relocation to Calgary, travel to and from events, as well as basic living expenses. While devoting all my time to training and competing I also plan to attend the University of Calgary part time to continue my pursuit of an Engineering degree.
With this being said any donation, big or small, will help me in my journey of one day competing at the Olympic level. Your help will enable me to devote 100% of my focus on training!
Thank you and enjoy some of my many "maximum effort faces" that were captured during the National Final!
Ryan Gibson
Kingston, ON
Photo Credit: Kevin Light Photography
Below is my story of how I went from a junior hockey career ending, to being selected by Speed Skating Canada to chase after my dream of one day representing Canada at the Olympics!
At the end I have summarized how I plan to use your generous donations to help with my training and to attain my goal.
The Background Story:
In March of 2019 my junior hockey career had come to and end and I was transitioning to the next chapter of my life. With school starting in September, I knew I wanted to continue to compete in a sport but was unsure what to do. My family suggested I attend the RBC Training Ground qualifier in Ottawa, ON last April.
I attended the event and to my surprise I was scouted by Speed Skating Canada based on my results and was given the opportunity to move on to the next round of testing that was to be held in Calgary, AB in June. I accepted this offer and made my way out. In Calgary, I did sport specific testing for speed skating and was on the ice in speed skates multiple times learning the basic techniques. They evaluated my performance on ice along with my off ice testing results with the rest of the group to see who they would select to be nominated to move on and participate in the first ever RBC Training Ground National Final that was to be held in Calgary, AB in September.
I got a call in July with the exciting news that I had been selected as one of the Top 100 young athletes from across Canada to compete in the National Final . In September, I got on a plane and flew out with the excitement of being one step closer to receiving funding to make this new dream of maybe one day competing at the Olympic level, a reality. I competed in different disciplines to test things such as speed, power, strength and endurance. I gave it my all and left with no regrets!
In October I received a phone call with the exciting news that I had been chosen as one of the top 30 out of the 100 athletes that competed from across Canada to receive funding to continue my pursuit with Speed Skating Canada to maybe one day reach the Olympic level!
Funding Summary:
The funding from RBC Training Ground will be administered by Speed Skating Canada . They will utilize it for my training, the purchase of new equipment (long track speed skates) and some of my travel for official events such as my first competition at the Olympic Oval Grand Prix, that is coming up in March of 2020.
My funding will help to cover these expenses but not all of them. After the payment for the training program at the Olympic Oval, new skates, flights and hotels for the event in March there will be little funding left, if at all. Therefor I will be on my own to cover the cost of relocation to Calgary, travel to and from events, as well as basic living expenses. While devoting all my time to training and competing I also plan to attend the University of Calgary part time to continue my pursuit of an Engineering degree.
With this being said any donation, big or small, will help me in my journey of one day competing at the Olympic level. Your help will enable me to devote 100% of my focus on training!
Thank you and enjoy some of my many "maximum effort faces" that were captured during the National Final!
Ryan Gibson
Kingston, ON
Photo Credit: Kevin Light Photography
Organizer
RYAN GIBSON
Organizer
Kingston, ON
Begin your fundraising journey
