Betsy Mawdsley: North American Cup, Finals and a Massive Thank You!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

North American Cup, Finals and a Massive Thank You!

If you've been following me on Facebook or happened to hear Trails End yesterday, then you already know that I had an amazing season opening weekend.

Our season opener which is usually in Canmore is never a race to miss. A lot of team selections are done as part of that race and it's usually a packed house. This weekend was no exception with Alberta, NWT, BC, Saskatchewan and Ontario all using it to pick to their Canada Winter Games teams, the start of Alberta's selection for Provincial Team and the race to fill the final men's and women's Team Canada spot for World University Games. I was extremely thankful to be pre-selected to World University Games and had nothing to fear when I stepped to the start line.

The Mighty Vikings in Black

Saturday was the 7.5km sprint, (3x 2.5km loops with 1 prone and 1 standing shooting sets). After a great zero with my rifle (huge sigh of relief from both Hans and I as my shooting has been off for awhile) I was ready to rock. The sprint holds 30 second individual starts and I scored the last starting spot, my favourite. After a strong first lap skiing the wind had picked up, I risked a sight correction and was rewarded with clean shooting in prone and the lead position in the race. The wind now dead for the standing portion I was able to fire off a quick 4 hits and have a comfortable last lap. Karen Messenger, Kathryn Stone (my team mate) and the rest of the Senior Women category are amazingly fast skiers and talented shots, so despite a 9/10 shooting I pushed until the line not entirely sure who was in what place. I ended up with a North American Cup win and a new personal best by almost 3 minutes!

Game Face on For Lap 1 of the Sprint

Look at that follow through as Kat races to 2nd!

Sunday I was a marked person! The 10km pursuit works off the results from the sprint. The winner leads out, the rest of the category is delayed 5 seconds for every place back they are, first one across the line wins. This race was a fight! With the wind and snow constantly changing shooting required a lot of focus and with 4 opportunities to win a trip to the penalty loop, you had to be on your game! Karen had an amazing race and beat me in the range every round. Despite a new level of power that has helped me keep up in ski speed, I couldn't hold her as she had a strong race! Way to go Karen!

With a first and second under my belt I won the overall weekend and am currently North American points leader! Congratulations to the NWT athletes who all had amazing races, especially Joseph Lirette and Gaylene who saw podiums! Also big congratulations to Jon Skinstad and Kathryn for podium finishes and Lauren Brookes and Kai Skinstad for receiving the final Team Canada spots!

Meet our new assitant coach Noel, way to rep the Viking gear

I arrived home to find a letter from Sport North informing me I had received a High Performance Grant. This annual MACA/Sport North support takes a massive weight off many NWT athlete's shoulders and allows us to focus on training and performance. Thank you so much Sport North and MACA!!

Its finals time in school land and naturally that also means the weather is warm and there is fresh snow to ski on that I must resist. Exams finish up the 22 and I am home the 23 for some family time and training on my home trails!

Wish me good grades!!
Betsy

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All About Me

I was born and raised in the small northern town of Fort Smith, NWT. With my two sisters and brother, being active and involved in sports was a regular part of our everyday life. My parents encouraged us into organized sports, including figure skating, track and field, soccer, volleyball, swimming and skiing. Having four kids in the house meant we were regularly kicked outside to play to keep from driving our parents nuts. All my childhood memories include playing baseball and soccer in the backyard as well as tones of early memories doing swim team and weekends playing at the lake. My family remains my greatest form of support as they support and encourage me through the many challenges of being an athlete.

My love for skiing started in the Jackrabbits program when I was seven years old. With my Dad I spent every Saturday learning the basics through fun and games. I started biathlon when I was thirteen under the watchful eye of Patti-kay Hamilton and Don True. Growing up in this program were some of my favorite years as I competed in the Alberta cup, Nationals and three Arctic Winter Games capturing two gold and a bronze Ulu. Through these training sessions, many of which were done by headlamp at very cold temperatures, I learned dedication and mental strength as well as a pride of my northern upbringing. PK and Don taught me to succeed you must work outside your comfort zone and at the same time find joy in every training session.

After graduating I spent a year training and racing for West Coast Nordics in North Vancouver. After competing at Canada Winter Games in 2007, I was given a scholarship to race for the Augustana Vikings Biathlon Team in Camrose, Alberta. While racing for them I have been completing my Bachelor of Science in Physical Education. Despite moving teams I still hold pride in being an NWT athlete and race under that title as often as possible.

I am also working to complete my coaching levels and while summer training, I have been working as the assistant coach with Foothills Nordic Biathlon. In the fall I will work in support of the Camrose Ski Club Biathlon program. While working with a very talented group of young athletes I am reminded everyday why I love my sport.

During my years with the Vikings I have had multiple top ten finishes at nationals and am currently ranked 11th nationally. I have also had multiple podium finishes on both the Alberta and North American cup races.

Currently I am training with hopes of making the IBU cup and World University Games. My long term focus is the 2014 Olympic Winter Games which will come after four more years of work and dedication.