Avery Akkerman
My name is Avery Akkerman and I am and student-athlete with a hearing loss from Toronto, Ontario. I enjoy playing sports, especially rugby for the Lawrence park Panthers Rugby Team, and advocating for a better, more positive world.
Over the years I have played many sports from rugby to curling and I have been very successful despite my hearing loss. I don't let my differences define me for who I am, instead I use them to push myself and to prove that anyone can do whatever they choose if they put in the effort. I was lucky to be able to compete for the top spot in Ontario for multiple sports. I use my optimism as my motivation and to inspire others not to let anything stop them. My biggest accomplishment for me is being the only player on my teams with a hearing loss and showing to everyone that I can do it! Outside of sports I have competed in speech completions and voiced myself against world issues like education for all, hunger prevention and mental health issues.
I had to deal with being different and standing out from the crowd which was difficult at first. Now I have started to just overcome that and embrace myself for who I am to show that I can be a leading role model. In rugby for example I am the only player who wears a scrum cap but I wear it so that I can hear and be a part of the game. Over the years I have also had some surgeries that have put me out but during that time I cheer on my teammates and come back stronger then ever before. My hearing loss is a part of me but I don't let that impact me and I keep going strong to be the best of my ability.
To all Canadian youth out there I want to say that you can do anything that you put your mind to no matter what anyone else says and never give up! Sometimes you have to try more than once but one day you will get it and don't let your differences get to you. Try new things everyday and keep learning, always strive to be the best!
Riley Dillon
My name is Riley Dillon. I am a competitive Wakeboarder who gets to travel around the world and follow my dreams. I am 16 years old and I live in Ontario. I started wakeboarding at the age of 11. I was a competitive snowboarder and my coach wanted me to get into a cross training sport. I gave wakeboarding a try and didn’t expect anything of it. I loved it. I rode everyday that summer at my local cable park, The Ranch Wake Park, and fell in love. I was getting good very quickly and was enjoying it as much as snowboarding. At the age of 14, I decided to pass on my old dreams of professional snowboarding, and go all into wakeboarding. The past two seasons have been surreal. US u16 national champion, 8 national medals, Plastic Playground world champion in England, and third place in u19 at the Cable Wakeboard World Championships in Camsur, Philippines. It’s been a ride the past few years, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Hardships come more often than I'd sometimes like. Falling on competition runs, hurting yourself, and not reaching my goals. My biggest hardship was the World Championships in 2016. I was riding really well and was so close to the final. In semi finals, I was on a really good run, and I fell on my last trick. I didn't get the score I needed and was bumped out. It was hard. I had travelled all the way to the competition (Mexico in this case) and I didn't achieve what I wanted. The hardest thing I've learned in sport is how to not let hardships bring me down, and how to use them as a push instead. You just have to let it push you to work that much harder and be that much more focused.
Sport is fun. Doesn't matter what sport, pushing forward and working on goals is the best feeling. Although, you have to make sure you love it. If you love a sport, and are committed, chase it. Work hard, meet people, and treat everyone well. My sport has already taken me around the world and I don't know where I'll go to next. You never know where it could take you.
Haley Perlmutter
My name is Haley Perlmutter, and I am a First Year Commerce student at the Smith School of Business. Prior to attending University, I played high level basketball and was a competitive dancer. Balancing both experiences shaped me into the person I am today. I was eight when I started my basketball journey, playing on the same competitive team with many of my original team mates. I was honoured to have the opportunity to be team captain. Our team had success, securing a first-place provincial ranking for the last four years in the Division One category with the
Individually I was privileged to be named York Region All Star (2015-16), Newmarket High School Varsity Girls Most Valuable Player (2015-17), Nike Nationals ‘All Star’ (2016), Ontario Basketball League All Star (2016-17) and Queen’s University Basketball Tournament MVP (2016). One of the challenges I had to overcome throughout my basketball career, was not fitting the typical basketball ‘stereotype’. I am not six feet tall, nor am I the fastest girl in the gym. Therefore, I had to shape my own destiny and do my best with the tools I had. My commitment was to be the best player I could be, and to be the hardest working girl in the gym. I made sure that I was optimistic and enthusiastic at every practice. My enthusiasm was contagious and collectively elevated the energy level. As team captain, it was my role to unite the team as our cohesiveness was the main contributor of our success. In realizing my choices directly impacted the spirit and success of the team, I had to maintain a calm and positive attitude during high pressure situations, and formulate solutions as needed. Integrating these extra-curricular’s into my everyday life taught me the importance of time management, particularly prioritizing school work in order to remain on the Principal’s Honour Role and for my future at University.
Claire, Hannah, and Ashley Doel
Hello! We are Claire, Hannah and Ashley Doel. We are three sisters who are competitive dancers and high school students. Claire and Hannah are 18 years old identical twins in Grade 12, and younger sister Ashley is 15 years old in Grade 9. We began our dance experience at the age of 3 and have been dancing competitively for 10 years now. We began our dance journey with 8 years at Sue’s Dance Centre in Newmarket, then 6 years at A2Y Dance Inc in Aurora, and in 2017, joined the team at Elite Danceworx in Markham. We are all tremendously grateful for everyone who has helped them
in our dance experience this far and are excited about our journey ahead.
We sisters are all proud and humbled by achievements we have accomplished in our dance career thus far. Most recently at the 2017 Candance North American Championships in Orlando Florida, Hannah was 1 st Runner-Up Senior Miss Candance, Claire was 3 rd Runner-Up Senior Miss Candance and Ashley was 3 rd Runner-Up Teen Miss Candance. In addition, at the 2017 American Dance Awards National Final in Orlando, Ashley won 4 th Runner-Up Teen Dancer of the Year, and Hannah had a Senior Top Ten Finish. Finally, we were also finalists at The Dance Awards 2017 in Orlando, where we all competed in The Best Dancer competition. This was just 2017! Our previous years’ achievements include numerous other podium finishes at Candance Nationals including Ashley winning the Junior Miss Candance North American Title in 2015. We have also been runners-up or winners at numerous NUVO, JUMP and 24/7 conventions, and Ashley also placed in the top ten junior solos at The Dance Awards Orlando 2016. We were honoured to be asked to represent Team Canada in South Africa and are Bursary Winners of York Region’s Celebration of the Arts.
As with every journey, there have been challenges along the way for us. Most notably, Claire experiencing a serious injury in 2014 with a fracture to her ischial tuberosity (the bone at the base of her pelvis). It was a very slow-healing injury that kept Claire out of full dance for 1.5 year. During this time, Claire learned of her deep passion for competitive dance and what it means to persevere through challenges. She never gave up on her recovery, and never missed a class as she worked on the side lines to heal. It was also difficult for Hannah and Ashley to see Claire go through this, but it also taught us a great deal about taking care of their bodies and injury prevention.
We can tell you that growing up in the competitive dance community is a very special place to be. Even today, we can easily recite a long list of names of older dancers who inspired us not only as dancers, but as good people and role models along their journey. Now that we are maturing in the sport, we are conscious of setting a good example for younger dancers around us, and helping, encouraging and supporting them at every opportunity. This is what it’s all about.
We have a personal message for Canadian Youth – about leadership and goals towards dreams. We want to share how important it is to follow your dreams, never give up, and put your full effort behind whatever you choose to do. We also promote staying positive, supporting others and remembering that the real competition is with yourself – to be the best you can possibly be!
Do you think you have an inspiring story to share? Have you done something fantastic in your athletic endeavours? Share your story and you could be featured on this page!