without the rain we would never feel thankful for the warmth of the sun
At 26 years old, I’m learning so much about this precious life we have to live. Many of you reading this perhaps know my story of how I have worked relentlessly to be where I am today. I had two friends that passed away to cancer in 2011 and ever since my life has never been the same. I have turned to the outdoors and to the water to heal, grow, reflect, and change my life for the better. This year was no different…
I have always looked forward to writing my annual blog post. You can read last years blog post here. I’ve been thinking a lot about the words I wanted to put down on the page this year. For the longest time I thought 2011 was the hardest year of my life… but I have to say that after what I endured this year, 2022 may have been a close second. The lowest of the lows taught me how to be stronger, more resilient, and fight for my personal wellbeing. 2022 came in like an earth quake that shook my foundations, and I fell down a lot. But 2022 also taught me how to get back up, and keep going for my pursuit of happiness.
January 2022
I rang in the New Year with COVID. Even though we were in lockdown and I had experienced some of the loneliest days in my entire life, I still caught the virus. You can read more about that experience here. However, before I was effected I did get to go on a solo trip to Tobermory and hike all day by myself in the winter woods. That trip was definitely one of the highlights of my year.
Lions Head Provincial Park - Near Tobermory
Bruce Peninsula National Park
The Grotto in the Bruce Peninsula National Park
February 2022
Recovery from COVID was slow since my symptoms were absolutely horrendous in January. I started athletic therapy at The Spot in Markham with Andy Choi, and I was really excited to start getting back into my paddle training routine. The Great Lakes were firing and I was thrilled to be back in the cold water surf scene after almost a whole month off! Surfing during the month of February truly saved me from an isolated hard winter. Surfing allowed me to see my friends while social distancing, share some party waves, and laugh while we were trying to see who could score the longest rides.
Photo: Ang Millard
Board: Starboard Pro 9’0
Photo: Ang Millard
Board: Starboard Starlite Longboard 10’ x 31’
March 2022
I was finally recovering from my COVID episode, training was ramping back up, and I was laughing lots. I even drove to New York City to pursue happiness in the form of romance, but instead gained a new perspective of the world. As I struggled to live and work in Toronto, my trip to New York humbled me. Since I grew up in a small town and never lived anywhere busy until now, I never understood what attracted people to live in such a compact space and fast-paced lifestyle. I learned that it’s impossible to turn left driving anywhere in Lower Manhattan (because its just too darn busy) and even the most outdoorsy people find themselves living in a big city because that’s where they find community and connection.
Central Park New York City
April 2022
My race season was fast approaching, and it was finally time to leave winter behind me. We had an epic swell on the Great Lakes that brought some of the best SUP surfing waves I have ever seen. I worked, trained, and surfed as much as I could in preparation for the Carolina Cup Graveyard race at the end of the month. Work also sent me to Tofino for the CSA Rip Curl Pro Nationals event. I had a lovely weekend visiting and surfing with my friends, while watching Canada’s best surfers compete. I had connected with the Nova Scotia surf crew, the Rip Curl Canada crew, and met famous locals such as Mathea and Sanoa Olin, Noah Cohen, and Reed Platenius.
A local Toronto swell early April - Photo: Raymond Hui / Chromatic Toronto
The Ontario Crew at the CSA Rip Curl Pro Nationals event - The Carney family and Ryan Osman
The end of the month was near and my friends Glen, Brad, Kirsty, and I packed our bags to head down to North Carolina. We had a wonderful week training, playing in the ocean, racing, and sharing stories. I was stoked to come in the Women’s Top 10 for the Graveyard race. I was so happy when I called my parents with my result. I felt as though I had pushed myself through a long rough winter to get to North Carolina and I did it. I made the top ten with some of the best female paddlers in the world. This gave me the confidence I needed heading into race season for the summer months.
Kirsty MacMillan and I celebrating our Graveyard finish :)
May 2022
Coming off what felt like a win in North Carolina propelled me into a successful training routine, I was busy again at work, and loved surf-skating with my friends during my downtime. Near the end of the month I had gone out one morning for a prone paddle and made plans to surf-skate with my friends in the afternoon. We packed our things and drove to the pump track in Lincoln in the Niagara Region. For an hour we had fun pumping ourselves up and down the track. There was one section of the track I was super nervous to hit but wanted to skate it anyways. I dropped in, flew up the hill like a ramp, kicked out my carver from under my feet and felt all of my body weight land on my left foot. I heard a loud “crack” and felt my knee buckle. I landed with my hands out to protect my fall and grabbed my left knee right away. I knew I did something bad… like really bad…
Trying on my brand new custom knee brace by Pro Bracing Toronto
June 2022
Partially thick medial meniscus tear, bone bruise by the lateral meniscus and a sprained ACL is what the doctors told me. I spent June resting and rehabbing my knee as much as I could. I spent numerous hours in athletic therapy, chiropractic appointments, ice baths, and rehab. I truly couldn’t believe what I had done to my knee and right before my race season. I missed two local races and had to take six weeks off of my SUP board. Thank GOD for prone paddle boarding because even though I couldn’t stand, I could still use my upper body strength I had to stay on the water. I found a new sport and a new appreciation for another craft having my face so close to the water. I loved seeing the deep waters of Lake Ontario, swimming in the cold at Cherry Beach and breathing in the fresh summer air. I was sad not knowing if I was going to have a race season ahead of me, but happy that I could find pleasure in the small moments that life had to offer.
Visiting with family, yoga, meditation, and hanging out with friends truly saved me during this time. I joined an outrigger paddling group at Sunny-side beach that helped me increase my water time. Shout out to Louis, Jeff, Foruzan, Richard, Arshad, Tyler and everyone else in the outrigger community who provided me with so much joy while paddling in the outrigger boats! Near the end of the month I even got to fly out to Hope, British Columbia with my family to watch my cousin get married! That little trip helped me regain some sanity and happiness.
My beautiful cousin Alexandra getting married on a mountainside :)
July 2022
Canada Day was celebrated at Woodbine Beach Park with a few awesome friends flipping the cap of a bottle and watching the fireworks in the sky. Two days later I tested positive for COVID-19 a second time. I couldn’t believe that I got sick again. Thankfully having COVID the second time around was not as bad. My symptoms lasted for one week. Near the end of that week I had learned that CSA Surf Canada had sanctioned the Eastern SUP Canadian Championships race as the Team Canada Qualifier for the ISA World SUP and Paddle Board Championship competition in Puerto Rico later in the year. I had that race on my radar but no longer had confidence in myself since being sick and injured. Just when I felt like I couldn’t hit rock bottom… I did.
Since I was starting to feel better, I decided to sign up for the Eastern Canadian SUP Championships anyways. I originally signed up to compete in the prone category because I didn’t have the confidence to put my body through a SUP race yet. I felt sad deciding not to sign up for SUP knowing that I was going to miss my shot trying to qualify for a spot on Team Canada. When my symptoms subsided I took a trip home to Welland and had a deep conversation with my dad. He said “you have nothing to lose here you should sign up for SUP! You’re a strong woman! Just try to stay with the girls and see where you’re at”. We continued to chat and I soon found my confidence again in all of my previous training and hard work. Thanks Dad. At the start line I gave it my all! I sprinted hard and felt like my lungs were burning. This race involved pushing myself outside of my comfort zone, lots of strategy, drafting, and a sprint to the finish. I'm proud to say that I ended up in 4th place and 1st overall for the Ontario women’s field! I felt like I found my purpose again. I was reminded at the finish why I do what I do. All of the sacrifices, blood, sweat and tears I put into this sport is all worth it. I decided after that race that I wasn’t going to let COVID and an injury ruin the rest of my year.
Photo: Chae Seungpyo (Steve)
August 2022
I found my stride again. I competed in multiple races and won them all. I worked hard at Surf the Greats and was prepping for the ICF Worlds in Poland in September. I enjoyed the rest of my summer with family, friends, competition, outrigger paddling, beautiful weather, swimming, and even getting back into surf-skating (all while wearing my knee brace of course). August was a very happy month for me. I was awarded funding through the Women Networking and Sports Organization of Niagara for my stand up paddling career. I also began to make the transition to move back to the Niagara Region. I also decided not to renew my general manager contract so that I could pursue an athletic career in the world of SUP. I decided to give myself a shot. I was scared and nervous to leave a full time job with security, but felt excited knowing that I was following my heart and passion into the unknown.
Winners of the Collingwood Ontario SUP Series Festival
September 2022
I flew to Poland to compete at the ICF World SUP Championships in Gdynia on behalf of Team Canada. You can read about the full experience here. When I returned I had a few weeks off to enjoy the start of our Great Lakes surf season, family time, hiking lots, and planning my upcoming off-season with coach Larry Cain.
The beautiful streets of Old Town Gdansk, Poland
October 2022
Over the thanksgiving weekend I flew back out to Tofino to compete in the Tuff City SUP competition hosted by the coach Jake thanks to Tim Bala (Paddle Niagara) for sponsoring my flight! I surprised myself with a 4th place finish amongst Canada’s best SUP surfing competition! It was empowering to finish off my season of competition with this result since I had never competed in a SUP surf comp before! I came back home fired up for my off-season. Larry Cain and I had started to build our program together and it felt good to fall back into a consistent training routine.
1st Place: Catherine Bruhwhiler 2nd Place: Lise Richard 3rd Place: Kristy Wright Schell 4th Place: Me :)
Photos: Garret McLeod
November 2022
I tried to keep my head down as much as possible training and recovering hard. My grandma had somehow caught COVID and my family and I were doing everything we could to help her get better. We leaned on each other, as much as we could. The month held some dark days for my family and I. We struggled trying to take care of my Nanny. We did everything in our power that we could to save her but it wasn’t enough. On Sunday November 27th I got a phone call from my mom telling me to get to the hospital as fast as I could. Surrounded by her loved ones my Nanny died of COVID induced pneumonia later that day. Just when I thought I was recovering from an insane year catching COVID twice, and dealing with my knee injury, this horrible, tragic event happened.
Rest in Peace Nanny - We love you!
December 2022
Reflection. That’s all I can really say to sum up the month of December. All I could do was look back on this insane year to somehow find the meanings and lessons in all that happened. Since 2011 I’ve continued to learn that life is precious and we have to cherish every. single. moment. Even the hard ones because they make you realize what is truly important in your life. Struggling through lockdowns and lonely days over the winter made me cherish my friends and family greatly. Getting COVID twice made me appreciate my good health. Hurting my knee made me value the chance I have at pursuing an athletic career and take that chance more seriously. That has motivated me since to train harder under the guidance of Larry Cain. Losing my grandma made me realize the importance of family, and connection. When I tried to stay strong for my family when she was sick, it was only hurting my sanity. I learned that you can actually find moments of strength from being vulnerable and sharing emotions with your family.
Mid- December I got a message from Morgan Hoesterey over Instagram. We tried to connect in the summer but we both were super busy. We ended up hopping on a zoom call to discuss our plans for the New Year. I told her how I was interested in her breath work and surf specific training techniques she taught in swimming pools in California. She replied to me by saying “hey you should just get down here and we can go paddling, surfing, training, whatever!”. Thanks to Morgan, I am now looking forward to spending the New Year and the majority of my winter in California to continue growing as an athlete, as an educator, and as a person. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end 2022 with Morgan’s offering. I am super stoked to be moving to the west coast!
As hard as this year was, I am very grateful for everything that happened. I am a big believer in that things happen for a reason. Sometimes I felt like I knew the reason, and sometimes I didn’t. What I did learn this year though, is that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to, and I can overcome any obstacles thrown in my path. We can learn and grow from the hard parts of life because without the rain we would never feel thankful for the warmth of the sun. I look forward to 2023 and all of the up’s and down’s the year will bring. I wish you nothing but the best in 2023 and I also hoped you overcame a challenge and learned something spectacular this year.
Much love :)
Maddi xoxo
Photo: Ryan Osman