Cassie pictured during training at FIBT World Cup at Canada Olympic Park in 2014.

CASSIE HAWRYSH, a journalism graduate and former varsity volleyball and track and field athlete, dedicates her days to training in the sport of skeleton. Her successes to date have included two World Cup fourth place medals and one World Cup team gold. She has also won Canadian Championships and been ranked eighth in the world.

Cassie took the time to talk to us about her progression in the sport and her aims and ambitions for the future. Her fun-loving character shone through as she explained more about skeleton and what it is about the sport that makes her tick. Her passion to encourage others and wonderful attitude to life make her all the more likeable and this is an interview not to be missed. 

What was life like before skeleton and what sports and outdoor activities had you been involved in?

I tried and competed in a variety of sports as a child – but Volleyball was the first to really hold my interest. I played as much and on as many teams as possible. It seemed like the perfect plan to play in university too. I began that career with the University of Windsor Lancers. That being said, I also had my sights set on graduating from a fully-fledged school of journalism and that’s how my path turned to the University of Regina. So while I moved to Saskatchewan and was one of 26 students accepted into the J-School, the Volleyball team didn’t have a place for me.

Flash forward to my third year of university and the track and field try-outs and suddenly learning how to compete as a heptathlete (hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m, long jump, javelin, 800m). 

Along my journey: the more things seemed to change, the more the bigger picture comes together. 

Fun, lively and addicted to tobogganing face down through ice tunnels!

You started in skeleton in 2009 after you’d moved to Calgary. What inspired you to take up the sport and was it something you’d always been interested in?

I quite literally stumbled upon the sport in a more organic way – it was a track and field connection that got me thinking about skeleton. I hadn’t harboured any secret pro-tobogganer desires over the years… that being said, the dry land training is very track and field based, so the transition to work with the athletes in 2009 was easy. 

Learning how to push a sled was one of the more unnatural athletic positions around – tough, and truthfully, a skill I’m working to perfect daily, but once I actually got to slide, all bets were off, and I was all in!

What did it feel like to start racing and training and how long did it take you to get to a competitive level?

My first trip from the top of Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta was just me – wide eyed and counting corners, realising there was no getting off, so I had to cross the finish line. 

It took a solid two and a half years to truly find myself competing with the big girls. But it was that year that I made the World Cup Team and was quite literally thrown into the fire. My rookie World Cup season saw us race on nine different tracks – six of them I had never seen (including World Championships that year). Looking back, it was a little insane, but I absolutely loved every minute and continue to today!

What goes through your head as you’re racing down that ice track and how do you keep focused?

This phenomenon is what initially drew me so passionately into the sport. I tend to be thinking – a lot – actually, most of us do. I read somewhere that humans have more than 50,000 thoughts a day! So, it came as a deafening silence when I loaded onto the sled for the first time and found focusing on sliding/driving/steering was the only thing I could do.

Sliding itself is a beautiful, amazing, thrilling adventure that I get to go on every time I get on my sled. The wind rushing around my entire body, the sounds of ice scraping beneath us, the precision with which I can execute a decision while 5Gs of pressure force my helmeted face into the ice and the indescribable moment I find the edge between chaos and crashing – and we fly!

Could you tell us about the success you’ve had in the sport and what have been the highlights?

To date I have two World Cup medals and one World Cup Team Gold. I have won Canadian Championships and been ranked eighth in the world and was even named as the Alternate for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia – but to be honest, in many ways I don’t even feel like I’ve scratched the surface and as such my answer has to be: there’s much more to come – just don’t blink.

Has the sport taken its toll on your body and have you had many accidents?

Like some kind of sick joke, I bruise really easily. So, when I started learning skeleton I would often look like I had been in some serious street fights (and sometimes, when approached in public I would make up fun stories along those lines) haha! – but no, thankfully other than the bumps and bruises associated with brushing a cement wall travelling at speeds reaching 140km/h, I have been without major incident. 

Crashing – either falling off the sled and getting back on, or losing it entirely isn’t something we can be taught, so when it happens you figure it out as quickly as you can. I have to say, it never ceases to amaze me what we can get our bodies and minds to achieve in a mere instant when there is no other option! 

Cassie is passionate about helping skeleton grow as a sport.

How else do you like to spend your time and what other areas of sport are you involved in?

As a professional athlete I do have to be careful about how much more time I spend exerting energy and putting myself in situations where I could be injured so I choose my extra-curricular activities very carefully. However, I do love all the sports that get your blood flowing: rock climbing, surfing, skiing, cycling, I’m always up for a good adventure! I am also still an avid beach volleyball player and love to challenge the guys to a round of golf!

Off the competition realm you will most likely find me on the road – stopping along the way to discover all kinds of new places and people. 

Photography and art are huge passions of mine as well as my inherent love of writing. But most of all, when I have the chance, I just want to be with my family and friends, because what is this life without getting to share it with the ones you love!?

You’re also a trained journalist and passionate adventurer. What have been some of your best and craziest moments in life?

Hahaha! Craziest moments in life? I dunno – that’s probably opening a can of worms: I have had a particularly diverse life!

Looking back so far, I doubt I could pinpoint just one and do it justice in this forum – ask around, my stories can get wordy (haha!).

But really, I feel so fortunate to have experienced all these incredible versions of the world already, and I will say that being able to travel, whether it has been to visit, compete or to live, truly has made me feel like a global citizen! 

I honestly didn’t ever think I would be referred to as a professional athlete and the phrase still sounds wild when I say it! But, when I take a deep breath and look ahead I’m so excited for what’s in store!

What are your plans for the rest of the year and beyond?

I’m currently living and training (for the summer) in Phoenix, AZ as part of an amazing family of coaches and athletes at the World Athletics Center! This was a fairly huge decision as it is not affiliated with the National Team and I am 100 per cent here on my own dime. But I know it’s the right choice because when I chase a passion – I always chase it like it’s the last bus of the night!

My short-term goals come in the form of day to day training. I often set intentions for my daily programme before heading to the sprinting track or the weight room. My plan is typically to manage maybe one or two things at a time, but be careful as to now allow myself to get caught up in the micro-management trap. That kind of stuff doesn’t work in the boardroom or as a professional athlete – trust me.

My long-term goals include World-Championship and Olympic medals but I would have to say, in many ways – more importantly – that I continue to help grow the sport of skeleton and to promote the pursuit of high level athletics for ALL young Canadians along the way. 

It’s paramount to me that no matter what my passion, I leave it in an even better place than when I discovered it!

To find out more about Cassie visit: www.cassiehawrysh.com