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Quick Update - Tokyo 2020NE
As many of you know the Olympics have been delayed a year- Making it now the Tokyo 2020NE Olympic Games!
With so many things up in the air, we as a team can confidently say that this new date doesn’t change our vision or our plan. We see this as a slight change in direction- our destination is the same, but the path to get there is different. Our top priority like many other Canadians, is to do everything in our power to stop the spread of COVID-19. We are prioritising the health of our fellow Canadians by staying isolated and practicing social distancing.
Our Goal for the postponed Olympic Games
The silver lining to the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics is the extra 365 days. This new timeline allows us to hone in on additional skills we would like to perfect. It also lets us work on gaps in our performance that we didn’t have time to address before this summer.
We are determined to build off our results this past season, and continue to climb the world rankings with our sights set on fighting for the 49erFX podium next summer.
Our Trials
Due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, our second Olympic trials in Palma de Mallorca, Spain was cancelled at the last minute. Shortly afterwards things in Spain deteriorated quickly and what mattered most was getting home safely. Thankfully we were able to get flights home the day before Spain closed all of its airports. We (and our families) were extremely happy we got back to Canada in the nick of time. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 situation has caused the postponement of the second Olympic Trial regatta. We currently don’t know the revised schedule for the Olympic Trials but we will update you as soon as the regatta dates are finalized!
Upcoming Hurdles
Our original budget did not anticipate the additional year of campaigning caused by the Tokyo Olympics postponement. Financially we had budgeted and allocated funds with the anticipated start date of July 2020 for the Olympics. This 'bonus year' will cost us a projected $40,000.
Once social distancing measures are lifted we plan to travel, train and compete on the World Cup circuit. We will structure a program in collaboration with Sport Canada and Sail Canada to best position our team to fight for the podium at the Olympics next summer. We will rely heavily on the advice from Health Canada and attend international events accordingly.
Once we start attending international competition again, major expenses such as travel and shipping equipment start to add up!
Below is a breakdown showing how your support directly helps our team on a day-to-day basis!
$50 - fuels our team with food for one competition day
$150 - provides one night of housing for the team
$500 - registration entry fee for one regatta
$1,500 - airfare for one sailor to an international event
$6,000 - a new set of sails (main, jib and spinnaker)
$7,000 - a new mast
Recap of Our 2019-2020 Season
This past season has been both busy and exciting - we set a new Canadian record for the best 49erFX finish at an international event and had a personal best at the 2020 World Championships - let's keep the momentum rolling towards 2021!
We began to sail together in 2017. Mariah transitioned from several years of junior racing most recently in the 29er, and Ali from her 470 Olympic campaign. We quickly realized that we meshed well as teammates and believed we could quickly become competitive. This belief was confirmed at our first ever World Championships in 2018 where we finished 30th overall in the highly competitive senior fleet - qualifying for Gold Fleet and National Team status.
2019 Season
Focused on our Olympic goal, we continued to push the pace during the 2019 season. Continuing to climb the international rankings, we set a Canadian record by finishing 15th place at the 2019 European Championships in Weymouth, UK.
Other season highlights include qualifying and competing for Team Canada at the Pan American Games in Peru as well as representing Canada at the Olympic Test Event in Japan.
2020 Season
With the current situation we have only been able to compete at one event this year, which was the 2020 World Championships in Geelong, Australia. We had our best Worlds result yet finishing 18th. Although pleased with our result we believe that our 5th place finish in the final race better illustrates our potential and the hard work we have put in over the past few months. We know we are within striking distance of the fleet leaders and this result confirms our ongoing success and gives us motivation to push harder!
Join Our Team - The Journey has been Incredible!
The driving force behind our campaign is an amazing community of people and organizations that are cheering us along every step of the way! We come from incredible communities, and have watched our team of supporters grow as people come together to offer assistance, financial support and encouragement as we reach towards each new goal. We push ourselves in training with the ultimate goal of standing on top of the podium and hearing our national anthem - taking pride in representing our country, community, and the supporters who got us there.
Our part in Sustainability
We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to travel the world for our sport. Visiting many countries to compete has really opened our eyes to the plastic we see polluting our planet’s lakes and oceans. Besides wind being a sustainable resource Olympic Sailing does have its environmental impact. We are aware of the carbon admissions that entail from air travel and shipping our equipment. Our team has made a pledge to lead by example and try to advocate for a more sustainable lifestyle, pushing our regatta organizers and federation to do the same. We hope to use our platform to teach young sailors to take these steps as well.
The Importance of Giving Back
We strongly believe in the theme of 'pass-it-on' and do our best to give back to our communities every chance we can. Our recent efforts have been focused on running initiatives to promote and encourage young women pursuing Olympic sailing. It is our hope to foster a positive environment and network of women within the Canadian sailing scene, educate women on the opportunities Olympic sailing has to offer, and create visible strong female role models that young women can look up to.
The value of Olympic sailing is in the pursuit of excellence - and this can be seen not only in sport, but in many different aspects of life. Striving for excellence is what drives our society and community forward. It is so important to teach young women to embrace this culture as well as to champion others to do so as well.
JOIN OUR TEAM & HELP TAKE THM TO TOKYO!
Join our team today and help us win an Olympic medal for Canada. Every little bit helps! Help by sharing this page and spreading the word for others to join our team.
By becoming involved in this Olympic Campaign, you will be supporting two young women who have the ambition to be successful in everything they do. Let's support this theme of pursuing excellence and help win Canada an Olympic medal!
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Follow Our Journey
Facebook: THMFXRacing
Instagram: thm_racing
E: thmfxracing@gmail.com
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To learn more about Sail Canada and the Canadian Sailing Team visit:
Sail Canada