Erin Schaus

Officiant, 2024 Paris Olympics

Community: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia 

Sport: Canoe Sprint 

Achievements: 

• Nationally Certified as an official in 2006
• Internationally Certified as an official in 2009
• First ever female starter in Canoe Sprint Internationally (Youth Olympic Games, 2014)
• First ever female starter at a World Championship in Canoe Sprint (Jrs/U23 – 2017, Senior – 2022)
• First ever female starter at a Paralympics in Canoe Sprint (Toyko – 2020)
• First ever female starter at the Olympics in Canoe Sprint (Paris – 2024)
• Support4Sport Atlantic Division Official of the Year (2019, 2023)
• Support4Sport Official of the year Runner Up (2019, 2023)

Erin Schaus is the first ever female starter at the Olympic Games for Canoe sprint. The starter is the person who readies the competitors the start line with the commands “Ready”, “Set” and then sounding the start signal. In addition to dedicating her volunteer work and career to advancing her athletes and students, Erin Schaus is indeed a champion in her own right. Even still, she’s more focused on the big picture. 

A lifetime member of Banook Canoe Club in her hometown of Dartmouth, Erin grew up paddling with her father. When she was in high school, she got a summer job with the Atlantic Division. While there, she began judging canoe races at the finish line and was responsible for some of the regatta management. Here, her lifetime involvement in sprint canoe officiating took off. In both her volunteer work officiating and her professional life as an educator, she understands that the actions she takes have an impact on others.

“I like giving back to the sport that meant so much to me, but as an educator, I like showing my students how important it is to give back to the things that helped form who you are, and the importance of volunteering,” Erin states.

She considers one of her career highlights to be the ICF Senior World Championships in 2022 – her first senior world championships, made sweeter by being held in Dartmouth.

“Relatives and family could come help volunteer, and see me officiate,” she recalls. “A lot of people don’t realize how much support means as an official to help them move forward and get them to where they want to go.”

Having spent her professional career as an educator, Erin is uniquely qualified to give support as well. She’s worked with athletes and students and understands sport doesn’t have to be played at the top level to stay beneficial to young people – especially young women.

“We want all athletes to stay in sport. Females are more likely to drop out after the age of 18 if they don’t have a good environment,” says Erin. “I want to show them there are other avenues to stay involved in sport. I was never a top athlete, but realized I could stay in sport in another capacity because there were a lot of women in officiating roles in our Atlantic Division and across Canada that I could look up to.  This was at a time when it wasn’t something that happened around the world.”

Erin appreciates that Support4Sport acknowledges the broader community involved in sports, which includes not only athletes and coaches but also officials, administrators, and organizations. These individuals and groups work tirelessly to ensure that sporting events are a success.

Katie Pegg 

Sport: Shot Put (Para-athlete) 

Achievements: 

• Gold at Women's F46 shot put, 2024 Fazza International Para Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai
• 5th overall, 2024 Para Athletics World Championships, F46 shot put 
• 2nd overall, 2024 Canada Women Shot Put Para Ambulatory

Community: From Scarborough, ON, and lives in Halifax

Katie Pegg, who was born without a radial bone in her right forearm, tried out shot put for the first time in Grade 3 at her elementary school’s track and field event. When she found out she was able to throw just a bit further than her competition, she fell in love with the sport. Now, she’s on her way to the Paris Paralympics to compete for Team Canada in the F46 shot put. 

Katie attends St. Mary’s University in Halifax.  A true athlete, Katie throws shot put, works with the school’s football team, and has competed her entire life in both open (without disabilities) and para-athlete competitions, with para-athlete competitions being a newer experience for her. When asked how the two compare, she has to think about it for a moment. 

“It’s not different in terms of the competition atmosphere, because it’s still very competitive. The interactions with other athletes are all the same, because we’re all just athletes. It’s behind the scenes that’s different”, said Katie. “When you go to the gym between competitions, you see how everyone’s workouts change to suit them, which I find very interesting. I think that’s the biggest difference”. 

Though she started sports as a kid to show everyone how strong she could be, with all her success, no one doubts her strength now. One of the many reasons Katie is excited to compete with other para-athletes in Paris, is that she appreciates their strength both physically and mentally. For her, this was one of the highlights of competing with para-athletes for the first time at the Para Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai earlier this year. 

“Knowing how much people have overcome to be where they are, that they can compete and be seen as an athlete rather just for their impairment was really big for me”, she recalls. “It was really nice to be in that environment”. 

This summer at the Paris Paralympics, Katie will have the opportunity to meet and compete alongside over 4,400 Paralympians. Creating opportunities is a key tenet of the Canadian Paralympic team, and Support4Sport has helped Katie, and many other Nova Scotians achieve their athletic goals through this value. For example, to qualify as an international Paralympian, Katie had to compete at the International Para Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai. With funding from Support4Sport, Katie was able to achieve this. 

Always looking ahead and aiming far, Katie is at the start of her Paralympic career and is sure to achieve more great things in the world of sports. 

Sloan MacKenzie 

Community : Windsor Junction, Halifax, Nova Scotia 

Sport: Canoe Sprint

Awards:

• Gold at 2023 C2400 at Panam games 
• 3rd in 2023 Worlds in C2-500 
• 2nd at 2024 World Cup C2-500 

Canoe was not always Sloan MacKenzie’s strong suit when she started at a day camp during the summer. When she was ten years old her parents put her in a program with her all her friends. 

At first, she did not like it at all and after her first day she thought she’d never return. Compared to her friends, she felt like she was not as good. But as the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and the more she practiced the more she enjoyed the sport. 

“I had a hard time steering; some might say I still have trouble steering my boat,” she laughs.

She struggled with steering, which was her biggest challenge. Once she mastered it, everything improved. With her technical skills in place, her love for the sport grew. She joined the full-year program and received invitations to winter camps in Florida. At just 15, she achieved a major milestone: making her first international team, Olympic Hopes.

While keeping up with the sport, Sloan is in school for her Bachelor of Science in Applied Human Nutrition Dietetics with aspirations to be a Dietitian. With a great interest in science and biology, she hopes to go to medical school after the Olympics.

In general, playing any sport professionally is a time commitment that takes dedication and hard work. Sloan and her teammates often train four times a day. She said it can be challenging to balance a full courseload school alongside fulltime training, so she decided to move to parttime schooling to focus on her sport. The hard work has paid off as she heads off to the Paris Olympics this summer. 

Although it can be hard, Sloan’s advice for younger athletes is: “Be patient it takes a long time to master your skills. Don’t be so hard on yourself and you will get there. If I can learn how to steer anyone can!”

While many athletes are grateful to receive funding through carding, they cannot rely on that money alone. 

“Support4Sport has been a huge help. Especially because there are different tiers, I started to apply at a young age. Sports are expensive, and any money really goes a long way. We’re very thankful for it.”

Riley Melanson 

Community: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia 

Sport: Kayak Sprint 

Achievements: 

• 2nd in Pan Am Games in 2023
• 10th 2023 world championships in Duisburg 
• 2nd National team at sprint 1st and 2nd set of trials 
• 9th K4 in 2022 world championships in Dartmouth

Riley Melanson has been paddling from the age of five, and while she has always enjoyed the sport, it was the people she met along the way that kept her involved. She found motivation from the people she trained with and the more connected she got to her training group, the more motivated she became.  

“I wasn’t always at such at such a high level of sprint kayak, I went in and out of phases.  The thing that kept me coming back was good coaches and good training groups. It was really the fun that kept me coming back.”

But it was the isolation from COVID-19 that pushed her to be the best athlete she could be. Before the pandemic, Riley had come to terms that she may never make a team in the latter half of her career. But the Pandemic rekindled her love of the sport. As she started to lean into training, she found herself enjoying it more and more. By putting in hard work and dedication she saw significant improvements in her speed. By the time the pandemic was over, Riley had regained her confidence.

In the following season, her hard work paid off and she joined forces with her teammate to race at the national team trials.

“I was so nervous; she was the fastest girl on the team. So was very respected and accomplished.” 

Riley decided to keep her head down and follow the lead of her teammate. Together they won trials. From this she got carded and made her first seniors worlds team. Riley continues to be inspired by her teammate every day and hopes to be able to do the same for younger athletes. 

“It is important for younger athletes to have someone to look up to and to have someone looking out for them. Now that I am doing well, I can’t forget where it stemmed from.” 

Though Riley loves the fun that comes from sprint Kayaking, she admits it can be mentally demanding at times. She said people often think the hardest part of sports are the physical aspects of pushing yourself during hard workouts, but the hardest part is staying focused, motivated and positive every single day. 

Riley advocates for better mental health support within the community. Athletes get help for physical injuries all the time, but she’s seen some athletes dig themselves into mental holes that are hard to get out of. 

“I think organizations are doing a good job with mental health initiatives, but just because something is good doesn’t mean that it should remain good enough.  I think it should be continuously evolving.” 

Connor Fitzpatrick

Canadian Canoeist

Community: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia 

Sport: Canoe Sprint 

Achievements: 

• 2-time Mixed C2 – 500m champion with Katie Vincent
• U23 C1 500m world champion
• U23 C1 1000 silver medalist 
• C1 1000 metres, 9th at worlds 
• 6th in C1000 in Tokyo Olympics (Canadian record)

Any athlete will tell you: competing is as much a mental game as it is physical. Where an athlete is situated mentally can make or break their performance, with the minutes leading up to a competition the most nerve-wracking.

But for Canoe Sprint Olympian and Dartmouth native Connor Fitzpatrick, those few minutes leading up to a race are where he feels most like himself.

“Before a race, I’ll take my headphones out for two minutes. I’ll sit and feel all the emotions, the adrenaline, the nerves. I’ll try to hear everything, see everything, and be in the moment. In those two minutes, it’s so stressful, and such a weird feeling - but it almost makes me calm.”

Like many kids growing up in Dartmouth, home to several canoe/kayak clubs and multiple famous hockey players, Connor had to choose between hockey and canoeing at a young age. It was a difficult one, but after he chose canoeing, he never looked back. Since then, he’s excelled in his sport. He broke the national record at the 2019 World Championships in the C-2 1000m. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, he and his partner placed 6th in C-2 1000m and 14th in C-1 1000m. Now, Connor has been selected to go to Paris in the 2024 Olympic Games. It’s an incredible feat, but he’s worked hard to get here.

“For me, last year, finishing top nine in C-1000 was a big deal. I don’t think people really understand how hard it is to break the top 10,” Connor said. “In canoeing, once you’ve learned to balance and go straight, if you work incredibly hard every day and just show up, the skill will come eventually. That’s not because it’s easy, but you will learn how to fix your technique.”

Though his personal accomplishments are impressive, Connor knows it took a large and supportive community of people to get him where he is. He credits not only his coach and Nova Scotian Olympians before him as sources of inspiration, but his family circle, sport facilitators and a long list of others. For that, he’s eternally grateful.

As an athlete, Connor understands the amount of effort and resources it takes to bring someone to the Olympics. Between equipment and experience, he knows his community has set him up for success. But sports can be expensive, so funding programs like Support4Sport make it possible for Connor and many other Nova Scotian athletes to compete uninhibited at the highest level, on an international stage. 

Describing it as unbelievable is one way to think about it, but one thing we can believe for certain, is that Connor has a large community of supporters cheering him on all the way to Paris.

Georgia and Antonia Lewin-LaFrance

Community: Chester, Nova Scotia

Sport: Sailing 49erFX

Awards:

• 4th at the Princess Sofia Regatta 
• 8th at the 2024 49erFX Worlds (March 4-10).
• 2022 Rolex Sailors of the Year Award
• Bronze medal at the 2021 49erFX European Championships in Greece
• 6th at the 2021 49erFX Sailing World Championships held in Oman

Georgia and Antonia Lewin-LaFrance moved to Chester, Nova Scotia in their early teens, Georgia was 12 and Antonia was 14. By then they had already been sailing for seven years. 

Antonia said, “It was one of those things where your parents said, ‘you made a commitment therefore you will stick it out’.”

The sisters weren’t always partners; they didn’t start sailing together until 2018.  Growing up, they shared a passion for their sport and know the commitment would be a huge undertaking. For them, teaming up meant having someone they could rely on completely, they trusted the other person would be just as dedicated. 

Georgia said, “You go through these tough moments. Knowing it’s your sister with you, she isn’t going to quit on you. She can’t quit.”

Funnily enough, the sisters were inspired by two brothers from Chester, Graeme and Jacob Saunders who went to the Olympics in 2016. When they were younger Antonia and Georgia both looked up to the brothers.

Georgia said, “They really paved the way for us. They gave us a lot of advice when we started out on how to do everything and how to fundraise within our community”

Throughout their athletic careers, Georgia and Antonia have met and gained inspiration from many athletes. Georgia said her favourite part about the sport is being able to travel the world and meet athletes that were just like her but from totally different backgrounds and cultures.  

Georgia said, “I remember the first time I went to an international competition; it was like meeting people that are the same as you but from every culture around the world.” 

Antonia’s favourite part about their sport is being able to witness and support their friends’ successes. She has had moments where she felt quite emotional when athletes she competed against became world champions. 

Antonia said, "Even though it wasn’t you that won, it was such a beautiful moment. You're not focused on your loss; you're just happy for your friend's success. That's really something beautiful."

But it’s not just Antonia who loves to support her fellow athletes’ wins; the whole community has been extremely supportive. 

They feel a huge sense of support from the community, especially programs like Support4Sport and appreciate being asked how they can be supported. 

Georgia said, “Support4Sport funding has been incredible for our development. It allows athletes from any level grow; we are grateful for it.”

While they excitedly prepare to head off to the Paris 2024 Olympics, they remain grateful for their coach, Krzysztof Kierkowski, who has been an amazing support system. 

Georgia said, “We always feel like we have Canada behind us. I feel so proud to represent Nova Scotia and Canada on the world stage. I am so proud that Canada had a reputation for sportsman-like athletes.”

Written by the team at Crestview Strategy 

Photo Credits: Kevin Light/COC, Issei Kato/Reuters, ICFMedia