When four-time Olympic medallist Jennifer Botterill was a young athlete, she told her dad about her dream of going to the Olympics.
“I didn’t know if it was possible,” she said. “And he said, ‘why not you? If someone else is going to be at that Olympic game playing hockey for Team Canada, why can’t it be you?’
“That’s something I think about quite often, the whole idea of believing in yourself and having high standards to strive towards,” she said yesterday.
Botterill, who attended four Olympic Games, including the recent games in Vancouver, helped launch the Halifax 2011 Canada Winter Games on Parliament Hill yesterday. She said she learned an important lesson while training for the Canada Games.
“I do everything that I possibly can every single day to be my best and to reach my dreams,” she said.
The Canada Games have evolved to become one of the most prestigious events for Canada’s next generation, said Sue Hylland, president and CEO of the Canada Games Council.
The 2011 Canada Games will be held from Feb. 11 to 27, 2011 and will involve more than 2,700 athletes from 13 provinces and territories competing in more than 20 sports.
