Athletes across the country are getting ready for the 2023 Canada Winter Games, including Fall River, N.S., native Emma Archibald.
Archibald, the only Para Nordic player on the cross-country Nova Scotia team, is looking to make history in her Canada Winter Games debut.
In an interview, she told Global News she first heard about Para Nordic skiing after her mother encouraged her to take part in a local Paralympic search.
“I was brand new at the sport, I hadn’t really heard of it much before,” she recalled. “Everyone was just so eager to help me and kind of encouraged me to continue in the sport.”
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She said with all para sports, there are all sorts of different adaptabilities.
“So my adaptability, since I’m missing some of my digits on my hands and toes, it’s just I ski without poles,” she explained.
Archibald has since become a trailblazer in her community. Just a few of her accomplishments include being the first Nova Scotia athlete to be named to a national level Para Nordics prospect team, compete on a Nordic university team, and receive international Para Nordic classification.
“It’s really nice to be able to have those successes, and for other people to be proud of me because they’ve gotten me where I am today,” she said.
“It just makes those kind of wins that much better and I’m that much more happy.”
Archibald said she’s excited about attending the Canada Winter Games. With an entire province behind her, she said she hasn’t felt any pressure, just eagerness to make her community proud.
She said she hopes to encourage other Para Nordic athletes to discover their potential.
“If you love the sport, keep training hard, and I’m sure you’ll get there.”