August 23, 2010 – This Haywood Report was written in January by Colin Abbott after the World Junior/U23 Championship Trials event in Val Cartier.  This report has a message that is relevant at anytime so enjoy.

Two weeks ago in Val Cartier, I didn’t qualify for the Junior World Championships. This was my last year I was eligible to make the team. Making the team and representing Canada had been my focus and goal for the past year. Every time I was unenthusiastic about training because of bad weather, lack of snow, a tired mind, a sore body, I would think about making the team. I drew on the desire I had, that dream of representing Canada, for the motivation I needed to get out and train. That goal is gone now, as it is for so many other skiers.

How many skiers had the same thing happen to them? How many thought that if they trained hard enough, they could go to the Olympics, the U23 world championships, the junior world championships? How many dozens of athletes walked out the door every morning saying, “I am going to make it!”  How many of us did everything right, everything we could possibly do to succeed, only to come up short on the day it really mattered?

While it may be de-motivating to not succeed in a goal as significant as qualifying for the Olympics or a world championship, we would not be true athletes, true skiers if we gave up when we did not succeed. What matters now is not thinking about “the what ifs” and “could have beens”.  What matters is not whether or not we have succeeded in our goals, but the journey we made in trying to reach them. Now, we need to find a new goal, embark on a new journey and give everything we have to succeed.

Congratulations to the athletes who made it, and will represent Canada at the Junior and U23 World Championships. Congratulations to the athletes going to the Olympics. Congratulations to all those who haven’t given up. There’s always another race, always another chance. Don’t give up on the dream.

Colin Abbott is a member of the Canadian Junior Cross-Country Ski Team and the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club. The Haywood Report is powered by Haywood Securities Inc., proud sponsor of  Canada’s National Cross Country Ski Teams.