Cowessess -
Snowboarder Treanna Delorme, who dreams of one day competing in the Olympic games, is now one step closer to fulfilling her dreams. Delorme, who is originally from Cowessess First Nation, has been asked to carry the Olympic torch in Lillooet, B.C., on Feb. 6.
"It's amazing. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I'll never forget it," Delorme said.
She says her family is just as thrilled as she is with the whole thing.
"My family is just ecstatic about it. My mom is coming with, and my grandma's coming to watch, so everyone's pretty excited about it."
Delorme grew up in North Vancouver, and moved to Kelowna, British Columbia about three years ago. She was just thirteen years old when she tried snowboarding for the first time, and instantly knew that it was for her.
"I picked it up really quick and I excelled at it," she said.
She decided try out for the First Nations Snowboard Team (FNST), the only snowboard body in Canada run by First Nations people, after she overheard a co-worker talking about it.
Needless to say, Delorme made the team, whom she credits with keeping her in top shape. Members of the FNST must stay drug and alcohol free and maintain a healthy lifestyle to participate.
"And I work out a lot, training with the team and by myself, so I'm really healthy, and I can thank the team for that," Delorme said.
FNST members must also maintain good grades in school to be a part of the team, which helps her to maintain focus as she works her way through nursing at The UBC Okanagan.
This year she received a scholarship of $3,750 from the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation and a $3,500 B.C. Aboriginal Student Award. She admits that without those scholarships, her life would be quite different.
"I'd probably still be working as a server, and that would be really hard, trying to do that as well as going to school, doing homework and snowboarding."
2010 Legacies Now approached the FNST and invited them to participate in the torch ceremony. Delorme and five others from the west bank division were chosen to represent the team.
Delorme was ranked 33rd in Canada in boardercross last year, despite an unfortunate foot injury that kept her off her board for about six weeks, preventing her from competing at provincials. Boardercross requires snowboarders to race down an obstacle course, maneuvering through sharp turns and riding big jumps while trying to avoid crashing into fellow competitors.
She has now turned her attention to slopestyle, in which snowboarders perform tricks in the air as well as on rails and boxes. Competitors are awarded points for style and difficulty by a set of judges, and there is no time limit.
"It's more relaxed - it's not so intense as boardercross. You can listen to music, you can go at your own pace," Delorme explained.
She practices every weekend, and just about every day during the winter holidays. During the off-season, her team also does dryland training.
She is taking it one step at a time, but has a clear idea of where she would like her snowboarding career to go.
"I'd like to compete at nationals for either boardercross or slopestyle, and then eventually maybe be invited to try out for the B.C. team."
As of yet, there is no slopestyle division for the B.C. team, but she is hopeful that that will change.
And of course, Delorme hopes her hard work will enable her to compete in the Olympics some day.
"That's probably my top goal," she added.
She feels that carrying the torch is one step closer to achieving her goal of competing in the Olympics, something that, up until now, she has only ever watched from afar.
"Now I actually get to experience it firsthand, which I think is amazing."
