'No one quit trying': N.W.T. students hit the hills to train with Olympic snowboarder Liam Gill

As high school studentsin Fort Simpson headed to the ski hill this past week, a line of snowboardswas waiting for them in the snow.

Olympic snowboarder Liam Gill was waiting for them, too.

There was a thrill in the air, said dl K Regional High School teacher Kristen Morrison, as the youth prepared to train with Gill. Boots and helmets sat in bins by the boards whiletea boiled over a fire nearby.

"The part that stood out most to me is that no one quit trying," Morrison said in an email. "Everyone fell and everyone got back up with big smiles on their faces. They couldn't wait to skidoo back up the hill and try again.

Gill, a member of dl K First Nation who competed at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, came through Fort Simpson, Fort Smith and Yellowknife this past week to help students brush up on their skills. His Northern tour kicked off with a training clinic in Fort Smith, followed by a stint in Fort Simpson on Monday and Tuesday. The rest of the week was spent in Yellowknife.

Olympian Liam Gill teaches N.W.T. youths to snowboard

3 years ago

Duration 1:54

Olympic snowboarder Liam Gill toured the N.W.T. this past week to teach youth new tricks.

New techniques

For Grade 11 student Tamara Lennie, Gill's stop in Fort Simpson gave her a chance to get back on a snowboard for the first time in years.

Aside from the experience of getting to meet an Olympian, she said she was proud to learn how to do a turn on the hill. She picked that skill up quickly, she said.

"I was actually really proud,the third time I was going down the hill. I was like, 'I can do this!' And I actually made it all the way down," she said.

"It was so much fun, learning how to do the turn, meeting Liam and talking with him."

Snowboard clinics are nothing new for Grade 9 student Ethan Norwegian, who's attended them for the last three years. This time around, he said he was excited to learn some new tricks from Gill.

"I learned better techniques on turning on my heel and toe edge, I learned how to carve a bit in the snow," he said.

"It was fun, having all my friends there and Liam, and the other instructors, too."

Morrison said Gill and fellow instructor Andrew Goodwin made the experience a special one for the students.

"They gave them their full attention, every session, and made a connection with every single youth on the hill," she said.

"[The students] will always have those positive memories to look back on every time they go to the hill."

Goodwin, who is the executive director of N.W.T. Snowboard,told CBCit was fun to see how the youth engaged with Gill.

"I think their energy on the hill has been a little infectious for him, because he's been like a little kid running around and having a fun time as well," he said after the Fort Simpson training wrapped up.

"Once they got comfortable with him, he's just another guy, just another person to go riding."

Family ties

Though he is a dl K First Nation member, Gill was born and raised in Calgary. He has family in Fort Simpson, though his grandmother, Rosemary Gill, lives there, and so do a lot of other family members.

"I wanted to go up to Simpson and snowboard with them, and see how things work and spend time with family," Gill said.

He's always wanted to stop in Simpson, and also to check out Yellowknife, he said.

"Thankfully, my mom and a few people were able to set this up and able to make it awesome out here and have lots of fun."

He said he sees the tour as a way to inspire youth and "show them that with a little passion and love, they could [do] something with this sport."

Gill's mother Joanna said the trip was important so Gill could share his love of snowboarding with N.W.T. youth in-person, and so he could meet family in Fort Simpson.

"Specifically, him being First Nations, we really wanted to connect with his roots," she said.

"If he can inspire a few kids just to continue this, and show them that you can be one of the kids just riding the board, and if your dream is to continue and be at the Olympics one day, you can do it."

Gill had his first snowboard lessons when he was four, said his mother. His journey since then, which landed him a spot in the halfpipe competition at the Olympics in February,has been "surreal," she added.

"I was the one who took him to the hill [as a kid], right, walking on the Magic Carpet," she said.

"It's really neat, and for me, I think nothing makes a parent happier than seeing their kids reach their goals and be happy."