Hi guys!! I’m back today to share another INCREDIBLE “Little Leader” story with you. If you are new to our Little Leader Series you can read some of the other stories that we have shared this far, here.
Last month, we had a community member reach out to us with this amazing story and we couldn’t help but get in touch with Fay’s family IMMEDIATELY in hopes of sharing it with all of you!
Before we let Fay’s mom, Elisabeth take it away, we wanted to take a moment and let you know if you have someone you would like to nominate in your community for our Little Leader Series please send them to [email protected]. We are hoping to share these stories once a month to inspire fellow families and children alike to spread kindness and lift one another up. Now, let’s dive into this incredible story!!
Thanks so much for having us on here team Jillian … it’s such an honour. I’ve been a fan for years, and your help getting Fay’s story out to the world truly means so much. I’m Fay’s Mom, Elisabeth, and super proud to share my daughter’s skateboarding journey!
Our daughter Fay is a creative, caring, often silly 10-year-old girl from Toronto who LOVES to skateboard. She’s also inquisitive by nature, adventurous and loves to have fun. When she’s not skateboarding, she’s often drawing or and playing her ukulele. What sets her apart from most other girls her age is that Fay is an exceptional skateboarder. So exceptional that she has her sights set on qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics 2020, which would make her one of the youngest Olympians to compete at the games. Ever!
Photo Source: Instagram @Fayskate
Her skateboarding journey started just two short years ago when we took her to her first skateboard lesson at a local skateboard club. Volunteer instructors were holding kid’s hands and giving tips to the beginner kids pushing around and skating on small ramps. The sounds of excited kids, spinning wheels and the clicking of boards on the concrete-filled the church hall and sparked a curiosity in Fay that I had never seen before.
From that moment when Fay first put her foot on that skateboard, a spark was ignited in her. It’s like she saw what the other kids were doing and immediately wanted to do it herself. I could see her determination and her courage. She just had this inner need and desire to master this skill! That spark and determination within her, and that we saw in her, led us to literally go and purchase her very first skateboard, helmet and pads that afternoon.
From that day and after countless hours, days and weeks spent at skate parks, after numerous falls, failures, scrapes, and bruises, Fay is now recognized as Canada’s top-ranked female Park Skateboarder and one of Canada’s top competitive female Street Skateboarders. Looking back, it really is unbelievable how much she has achieved in such a short time, and we couldn’t be prouder.
In 2019, at only nine years old, Fay podiumed at two big Canadian contests and this fall also shared the stage at two separate events in Brazil with some of the world’s most elite skateboarders. For her, it really has been a dream come true…more than a dream though, because she has been able to see her incredible hard work, devotion, and raw natural talent become a reality.
We have been humbled by the way that Fay has been described by many in the industry as a prodigy and as possessing natural talent. But, we see it as more than that as we see how hard she works. She spends hours and hours at the skatepark, working on her tricks, honing her craft, taking those falls and getting right back up again…
Fay has a HUGE amount of energy and endurance, on and off her skateboard. This has to lead her peers to refer to her as “Fay All Day”. She has always had this exuberant energy since she was a baby, bedtime for her (and me trying to get her to go to bed) has always been a struggle. She rarely tires or settles, even after 10 straight hours of skateboarding, we often find her in her bedroom above her covers crafting something, drawing a comic book or recording a song.
Fay has become an integral part of the local skateboarding community and is often only one of a few females at the skate parks. Interestingly she isn’t AT ALL intimidated by more experienced skaters and tries to encourage and motivate everyone she skates with. She likes sharing tips with beginners and is always ready to give a fist bump to a veteran skater when they land a difficult trick.
This month she is lucky enough to be competing at Canada’s National Championships, then she heads over to Lima, Peru, to skateboard in the second of five International World Skate qualifiers. By the end of May, Fay hopes to acquire enough points to qualify for a spot to represent Canada in Tokyo.
With this year being the debut of Skateboarding at the Olympics there has been a lack of financial support for Canadian skateboarders trying to qualify. The travel and training costs are a tremendous strain on the athletes, especially those with little or no sponsorships. We have reached out and applied to some athletic and development funds with no success. Fay’s age and the sport of skateboarding don’t yet meet the criteria for certain funding programs, and this is something we hope to see change for future generations.
We are super optimistic we will be able to find a way to give our daughter the opportunity to pursue her dreams, and skateboard at the highest level she is capable of.
Fay loves to skateboard which becomes immediately apparent when you watch her in action. She has a bright future ahead of her and is a rising star on the Canadian and International skateboard scenes. The big question is: will she compete in Tokyo this summer?
We just launched a crowd-funding campaign and are hopeful supporters will help Fay reach her goal of competing in the Tokyo Games this Summer.
If you would like to help make Fay’s dreams come true by being the youngest female EVER to compete at the Olympics, please feel free to make a donation using their crowdfunding link. On behalf of Team Jilly, we have made a donation of $250 in support of Fay making it to the 2020 Summer Olympic games. Myself and the rest of Team Jilly are rooting for you Fay, we can’t wait to see all of the wonderful things you accomplish. Go get em’ girl!!
xo
Jilly
