JASTER’S JABBERINGS: Hawrysh leaves sport of skeleton with no regrets

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This article was published 18/07/2017 (3059 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A lot of Cassie Hawrysh’s career in skeleton was plagued with unfortunate circumstances that were out of her control.

Those events cause Hawrysh to change tours she raced on and potentially cost her a spot on the Canadian team that competed in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. So it seems fitting that the 33-year-old Brandon product is going out on her own terms, announcing her retirement from the sport last week, just seven months away from the start of the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

“I had been doing this for a number of years and had said to myself it had to be something that you were absolutely sure you wanted to be doing and pursuing because whatever I do I put 100 per cent into and I didn’t want that to waiver,” said Hawrysh, who announced her retirement with a love letter to the sport on her blog. “I just knew with how everything had been … I don’t know how it explain this to anyone in words.

“It’s tricky for any athlete to make this decision. Some athletes have to make this decision because it’s made for them, whether it be politically or physically. For me, I got to decide when my time was up. I had written a blog earlier this past season that this story is mine and I will decide how it is written. This event is no different. I wanted to move forward with as much strength and absolution for my past and recognized that was to be done.”

The Neelin graduate competed in university volleyball and track and field before moving skeleton as a raw amateur in 2009. It didn’t take long for her to make her mark.

She worked her way up to the World Cup (Tier 1) tour for the 2012-13 season and became the Canadian champion the following season. She looked like she would be the third sled for Canada at the 2014 Olympics, but the national body decided to withdraw its competitors from a World Cup race in January 2014 that was needed to earn the country enough points for a third sled to compete. She was named an alternate but never travelled to Russia for the Olympics.

Hawrysh has had to deal with everything from funding cuts to criteria changes, staff overhauls, financial disparity and new coaches, but never lost her drive to slide head- first down a sheet of ice at blistering speeds.

She eventually got a new sled and was trying to figure it out for the past few seasons, mainly racing on the Intercontinental Cup (Tier 2) circuit. She lost a race-off in January (she hit a bump that smashed her face guard and smushed her nose in practice and her nose started bleeding during the race-off), which would drop her down to the North American Cup (Tier 3) tour and took a lot of time to contemplate her future before deciding to retire.

Looking back on her career, Hawrysh has no regrets at all. She’s proud of everything she accomplished and realizes how much the last eight years have moulded her as an athlete and a person. They also taught her how to be mentally and physically tough and deal with all sorts of adversity.

One of her favourite memories of her career was her first year on the World Cup tour. A week after finishing 11th at an event in Lake Placid, N.Y., she met with the coaches the night before another race in Park City, Utah. They explained to her the pressure to perform and that there are lots of people gunning for her position. She went out and won her first World Cup medal the following day.

“For me, that was a demonstration of how I’ve always performed. For me, every time I’ve been asked, I’ve gone over and above, and in some cases I wasn’t even sure what I needed to do and I’ve still done more,” she said.

“It’s certainly difficult to say I did what I could and this is where I am, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a sad story either. The amount of passion of perseverance I will continue to show through everything I do is not negated by a single event, certainly of tears and frustration in the past. I just know better and the power of these things. Life’s a much bigger thing.”

Now Hawrysh, who lives in Calgary, is trying to figure out what’s next.

She’s working in social media management positions and has events to attend through the RBC Olympians program as well as appearances she books herself as a motivational speaker. She would also love to follow in the shoes of Russell’s Jon Montgomery, the host of “The Amazing Race Canada” and land in the broadcast field. She’s not giving up on sport either. Hawrysh recently took up kick boxing and is enjoying that, although she views it more as a recreational activity than a competitive one.

While trying to figure out her next step, Hawrysh, who has been nominated for a Women of Inspiration Award, also wants to give back to skeleton and sport in general.

“The idea of promoting a B-listed sport has always been paramount for me,” said Hawrysh, who would like to try to coach skeleton as well. “I’ve always liked to tell the world about it outside of that one Olympic season and that’s something I’ve been able to do since the beginning and I will continue to do because it was something that I found so late in life and will be a great part of my story.

“I’d love to introduce more kids to it. It’s not nearly as crazy as everyone says. It’s a lot of fun and something that as I’ve discovered you can be incredibly good at and have no idea until you try it.”

Hawrysh loves to keep busy and face challenges. With her experiences as an athlete and through life so far, there’s little doubt that she’ll succeed at whatever she decides to pursue in her future.

It is too bad that she never got her Olympic moment, but it’s nice to know she’s never forgotten where she came from and the people who supported her throughout her journey.

“I’ve been super, super blessed with an incredible group of people who surround me and continue to make sure that I know that this path is worth everything I’m putting into it,” she said. “It’s a good reminder and I definitely couldn’t have done it without them. It’s hard to convince yourself that everything your doing is worthwhile sometimes, especially when it’s tough.”

“I couldn’t have done it without every level of support, whether it was monetary or a simple note,” she continued. “That means the world to me and always will.”