The Grade 5 and 6 class at Hillcrest School had the opportunity to meet somebody they look up to when Canadian skeleton athlete Madison Charney visited the school on Friday afternoon.
Charney is a part of the Classroom Champion program, which allows top Canadian athletes to interact with school students. Hillcrest’s Grade 5 and 6 class is among her classes. She talked to the students about her Olympic aspirations, showed them some photos and videos, and answered questions from the children.
Charney said it’s been a fantastic experience to be part of Classroom Champion.
“It puts a face to all of the Canadians who are cheering for you and behind you whenever you’re competing. But the joy that I’ve gotten back from seeing how excited the kids get has been life-changing,” said Charney.
Each month she sends Hillcrest a video on a life lesson or something else the kids can learn. The students then have a community challenge to complete.
It was through her skeleton teammate Jane Channell that Charney heard of Classroom Champion.
“She was a mentor last year, and she explained to me how much joy she got back from it, and I decided to join this year, and I’ve been lucky enough to have quite a few classes,” said Charney.
Charney said her mom helped her get into skeleton. She had been involved in sports, and Charney’s mom signed the young athlete up for a recruitment camp. From there, she was put on a local sliding school team, and then she worked her way up to the national team.
The sport has allowed her to travel and meet new people, but there is also a thrill of sliding down a track head-first on a sled at more than 100 kilometres per hour.
And she hopes her abilities on the skeleton slopes could translate to a birth with Team Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. She finished 17th at the world championships last year.
Channell was with Charney for the tour of the southeast that also took them to Carlyle, Manor and other schools. Channell, who finished 10th at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyongchang, South Korea, echoed Charney’s comments about the benefits of Classroom Champions.
“Some of my previous teammates were Classroom Champions and mentors, and just from hearing their experiences and helping them film their videos, I really wanted to be a part of this amazing organization,” said Channell.
Since Hillcrest was one of Charney’s schools, Channell watched Charney talk to the students.
Neither Charney nor Channell had been in Saskatchewan previously, and to be able to reach out to communities and classrooms is fantastic.
“What we’re able to offer to them, in return they give us back amazing things like support, and just knowing they’re … keeping us accountable for what we do.”
Channell was drawn to skeleton while watching the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her grandfather.
They watched a couple of sleds race by, and while he thought they were crazy, Channell was hooked.
“It just followed me through high school and university, and here I am today,” said Channell, who is always looking for that perfect run.
“There is no such thing as the perfect run. It doesn’t exist, because there’s something that can always be better, and so it’s just that quest for coming as close to a perfect run as there is.”
After Charney finished her speech, the two skeleton athletes were treated to races put on by the classroom down the school’s hallway.
