Help Hannah Go to the Youth Olympics in 2024
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My name is Hannah Turkington and I’m a 14-year-old competitive snowboarder. This fundraiser supports my travel and training towards my Olympic dream. My immediate need is funding for an upcoming training camp in Pitztal, Austria. This camp will prepare me for the Canadian National competition for under-15 girls in Québec in the spring, which I intend to win.
When I was three I watched Maëlle Ricker win gold in snowboard cross at the Vancouver Olympics. I pointed at Maëlle and told my parents, “that’s what I want to do!” Fast forward 11 years and I’m well on my way. We moved from North Vancouver to Whistler when I was seven and my snowboarding took off. I ‘boarded with the Whistler Valley Snowboard Club until I was invited to join the BC Provincial Snowboard Cross Team at age 12, its youngest athlete.
Of course, it hasn’t always been easy. After my first day of Grade 1, I came home from school and asked my mom, “Why am I dumb?” All the other kids knew how to read and I didn’t. By Grade 2, I was diagnosed with severe dyslexia. My reading was in the first percentile (meaning the worst), but my IQ was in the 87th. As we learned more about my condition, I saw the gift of dyslexia. While I struggled with reading, I excelled in other areas – especially athletics, with my ability to read a soccer field or a bike trail or a snowy mountain racetrack. Over the years I’ve learned ways to cope with dyslexia; I no longer see it as a disadvantage. My dyslexia drives me to succeed, and proves to me I can overcome any obstacle. It’s a big reason I’ll make it to the Olympics.
I immediately loved snowboard cross competitions at age 9. If you haven’t seen snowboard cross, it’s a downhill racetrack of snow, where four to six riders start together and race over rollers and jumps. It’s like roller derby on snow. The winner is whoever crosses the finish line first. I loved the speed of the race and the skill required to win. By 11, I won all the Provincial and Western Canadian competitions I entered, including those for older competitors. I raced in my first National competition at 12 and placed 5th for girls under 15. I was happy, but vowed to win the next National championship. Covid and a knee surgery delayed me a bit, but I’m gearing up for the Nationals in 2022.
How to get there? Train. Train. Train. I’ve done two dryland training camps in Prince George this year, in preparation for on-snow training at Panorama (Invermere) in November. From there my team goes to Austria to train with other international teams on world cup tracks. Then in January I will be in Sunshine Valley (close to Banff) for another training camp before competing in the Provincials in BC, Ontario and Québec during February and March. The final competition this season will be the Nationals in Québec. Next season, my goal is the podium at the Canada Winter Games where I will compete against older athletes across Canada. In January 2024, I hope to race at the Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, Korea.
As you can imagine, fueling my dream takes money. My parents are my number one supporters, but I want to share the load. I contribute through my parttime job, but it’s hard to work, do my homework, and train too. The cost of my training for this year alone is $25,000. I’ve committed to my parents to pay $3,500 toward my Austrian training in November. My parttime job won’t make that much, so I’ve started this Go Fund Me page to get me over the top.
Here’s hoping you can be part of my journey!
See you on the snow,
Hannah
When I was three I watched Maëlle Ricker win gold in snowboard cross at the Vancouver Olympics. I pointed at Maëlle and told my parents, “that’s what I want to do!” Fast forward 11 years and I’m well on my way. We moved from North Vancouver to Whistler when I was seven and my snowboarding took off. I ‘boarded with the Whistler Valley Snowboard Club until I was invited to join the BC Provincial Snowboard Cross Team at age 12, its youngest athlete.
Of course, it hasn’t always been easy. After my first day of Grade 1, I came home from school and asked my mom, “Why am I dumb?” All the other kids knew how to read and I didn’t. By Grade 2, I was diagnosed with severe dyslexia. My reading was in the first percentile (meaning the worst), but my IQ was in the 87th. As we learned more about my condition, I saw the gift of dyslexia. While I struggled with reading, I excelled in other areas – especially athletics, with my ability to read a soccer field or a bike trail or a snowy mountain racetrack. Over the years I’ve learned ways to cope with dyslexia; I no longer see it as a disadvantage. My dyslexia drives me to succeed, and proves to me I can overcome any obstacle. It’s a big reason I’ll make it to the Olympics.
I immediately loved snowboard cross competitions at age 9. If you haven’t seen snowboard cross, it’s a downhill racetrack of snow, where four to six riders start together and race over rollers and jumps. It’s like roller derby on snow. The winner is whoever crosses the finish line first. I loved the speed of the race and the skill required to win. By 11, I won all the Provincial and Western Canadian competitions I entered, including those for older competitors. I raced in my first National competition at 12 and placed 5th for girls under 15. I was happy, but vowed to win the next National championship. Covid and a knee surgery delayed me a bit, but I’m gearing up for the Nationals in 2022.
How to get there? Train. Train. Train. I’ve done two dryland training camps in Prince George this year, in preparation for on-snow training at Panorama (Invermere) in November. From there my team goes to Austria to train with other international teams on world cup tracks. Then in January I will be in Sunshine Valley (close to Banff) for another training camp before competing in the Provincials in BC, Ontario and Québec during February and March. The final competition this season will be the Nationals in Québec. Next season, my goal is the podium at the Canada Winter Games where I will compete against older athletes across Canada. In January 2024, I hope to race at the Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, Korea.
As you can imagine, fueling my dream takes money. My parents are my number one supporters, but I want to share the load. I contribute through my parttime job, but it’s hard to work, do my homework, and train too. The cost of my training for this year alone is $25,000. I’ve committed to my parents to pay $3,500 toward my Austrian training in November. My parttime job won’t make that much, so I’ve started this Go Fund Me page to get me over the top.
Here’s hoping you can be part of my journey!
See you on the snow,
Hannah
Organizer
Hannah Turkington
Organizer