“The Fast and Female event in Bend Oregon was a fabulous afternoon, and very inspiring for all the young girls and teens that attended. The Nordic skiers were so kind and interacted so well with the kids. Lots of fun!!! My 3 daughters loved the afternoon and wore their Fast and Female shirts to school the next day!!! Thanks for bringing this to Bend, it was great!!”

Penny Nakamura, Parent and participant in Coaches Seminar at the May 20, 2012 Fast and Female event in Bend, OR
“Thank you for putting together such a wonderful group of athletes to inspire, encourage, and work-out our girls. Probably the most important aspect of this, was not so much the accomplishments of athletes like Kikkan Randall and Chandra Crawford, but the self-esteem they talked about to girls this age, who are often very insecure about their looks and about their athletic performances. As a parent, I enjoyed hearing the speakers who were all very informative and knowledgeable about nutrition, training, and health.”

Brandie Foster, Mother of participant in May 20, 2012 Fast and Female event in Bend, OR
“Thank you for putting this "Fast and Female" event together. Sierra thought the event was simply fantastic, and she couldn't be more fired up!!! Thanks for everything you do; this community is lucky to have someone like you here!”

Jenny Anderson, Athletic Club of Bend Fitness Director and venue host for May 20, 2012 Fast and Female event
“You could tell the Fast and Female XC Ski Dryland Event was a total success by the smiles on the faces of the participants! The Ambassadors were very motivational and got the kids to think positively about their future in sports and life in general. I was happy to see such a high quality and well-rounded event for girls. The Fast and Female Organization and Ambassadors were a pleasure to work with and I look forward to doing it again!”

Susan Hudson, Mother of a participant who attended the March 16, 2012 biathlon event in Valcartier, QC
An exciting time was had a D.D.O. School on Friday March 16! Thanks to the weather (wet and warm) the Fast and Female event was welcomed to the gymnasium.
What an inspiration it was to have Biathalon team members come to work and play with our girls.

As a parent I was thrilled to have my daughter sign up to take part in this event. I am impressed that something about this sport grabbed her attention and made her feel that she could do it.

What was it that got her attention?
1.These are definitely strong healthy young women promoting a very active lifestyle. Their biographies are encouraging and inspirational. It was great that we could read about them before meeting them. Many started biathlon activities at the same age as my daughter.

2. Not only is the physical activity a draw but you need to have the coordination and skill to use a weapon not traditionally associated with girls.

It is obvious from the video that every girl was attentive and eager to participate.

The young women presenting and sharing their experiences are certainly 'Fast and Female'. I am encouraged that my daughter wants to be like them!

Thank-you to the Fast and Female event planners and a special thanks to D.D.O. School for once again promoting excellence in our community.



Erin Mielzynski, Member of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team and World Cup Gold Medalist
Yesterday was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed ourselves. When I walked out of my room this morning with my fast and female hoodie, I came out to find almost everyone else wearing the same. What you do is amazing and I don't think I was expecting such an incredible reaction, but between my team and the girls the reaction was outstanding!
Thanks for letting us be part of this!

Don Park, Dad, Moose Jaw, SK
We brought 5 girls from our biathlon club in Moose Jaw, to experience this event, and they had a wonderful time. The girls were ages 10 - 15 and they really enjoyed meeting the athletes. Keeping girls motivated and interested in any sport is difficult as they become teens, but clinics like this encourage them and let them see what could be. Thank you again and we will hopefully be there again next year with more girls.

Kendra Hicks, Athlete, Canmore (AB)
My name is Kendra Hicks. I'm a grade twelve student, and an athlete. I love love love cross-country skiing, and I really aspire to succeed in this sport!

Believe it or not, I was actually at the very first fast and female at Silver Star in 2006. I remember feeling of being so incredibly inspired by the older female athletes. I got them to sign my shirt, and I honestly didn't take it off for a month after that! I specifically remember Amanda Ammar telling me that I was a really fast, really fun kid. Funny enough, Amanda is now my teammate and she still tells me things like that. But I was so amazed that somebody that successful, and that amazing, told me that in Silver Star back in 2006. So basically, that's my goal! I want to tell younger girls that they are amazing too! I want girls to be inspired like I was when I went to all those fast and females back in the day.

I really want girls to become more involved in sports like cross-country skiing. I think girls turn away from this sport because it's so manly and so hardcore! But what they don't realize is that's the beauty of it! I really look up to Emily Batty because she shows girls that sports like cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, and mountain biking are for girls too! She shows everyone to embrace our femininity and go out there and kick butt! She's fast and she is so female!

I'm so in love with my sport, and I really want to spread the love to others as well! I cannot even describe what this sport means to me, and the more people involved the better. I have become a better person because of cross-country skiing, there's no denying it. In my club (Canmore Nordic Ski Club) there are no girls my age who ski. It's tragic for many reasons. I want to tell young girls they are amazing, I want them to look up to me. This has been my dream for a long time now!


Nancy Schneider, Parent and CEO Braceworks, Calgary (AB)
Congratulations to you, your Board, staff, ambassadors, sponsors and volunteers on another amazing and life-changing event for the girls touched by the magic of this incredible program. The opportunity to belong to such an exceptional community of formidable girls is invaluable. My daughters (now aged 13 and 17) consider the fun and friendship they share at these events the highlight of their season. With much appreciation for your updates about how the program continues to 'spread the love'!

Terry Young, Parent, Maine (USA)
I wanted to thank you for providing our daughter, India, with such a wonderful experience on Sunday at Gould Academy in Maine. Our goal was to allow her to experience the xc world at a non competitive, inspirational and joyous venue. At her age (12) she is so open to doing anything and just assumes she will be able (we are alpine skers, but dabble in xc). Kudos to FAST AND FEMALE for celebrating that and adding to it with such wonderful leaders. I am hearing all their names and humorous stories about them - perfect! THANK-YOU AND EVERYONE INVOLVED for the great day!


Kari Gordon, Coach, Banff (AB)

"I’ve been meaning to send you a note regarding the Fast and Female alpine day in December. Our club sent 6 athletes and the girls had a great time so much so that we have created a task group to initiate a girls activity each month in the club. Last month we did a cookie decorating party (BAR Girls Only!) and had a blast, this month is a gymnastics session. My co-worker Charlie and I are the female coach representation and our job is to oversee the activities and empower the ideas coming from the girls. So far it’s been great! I hope we can make an impact within the sport for not only our female athletes but the coaches as well."

 

"Thank you so much for Fast and Female! It was so inspiring and I had a great time meeting different racers from all over. Also going to the World Cup VIP was awesome! And of course meeting Kelly Vanderbeek was amazing too! I hope that Fast and Female continues forever. I think that when we got seated with total strangers, it was really good because we got to make a whole bunch of new friends! Fast and Female was was so awesome, thank you so much!"

 

"My daughter had a fabulous time at the Fast and Female event. She was non stop chatter the whole way back to Calgary. Just seeing the smiles on everyones faces when they returned, it was easy to see that a GREAT time was had by all. I am hoping that this will be the first of many Fast and Female events as I personally feel that it was a huge success."

Linnea Stephenson, aged 11, Yellowknife
"I like fast and female because it let me learn something new like yoga and also because I got to ski which is always fun! Biathlon was fun too even though I did not have the best aim. Fast and female is good for your health because you are active in different ways. The coaches taught some important things like ...
- follow your dreams
- always have fun
- try your best
- never give up
- don't feel discouraged when you lose"


Sophie Clark, aged 10, Yellowknife
"I like Fast and Female because: It is active in all sorts of different ways! Active is good because you are being healthy and fun!! The coaches quotes are 'follow you dreams' and 'dream big' - stuff too inspire Olympians!"


Niva Stephenson, aged 10, Yellowknife
"Fast and Female was a lot of fun because we got to get active and learn lots of cool stuff like yoga and dance. Fast and Female is important for me because you meet new people and have fun. It helps you follow your dreams."


Grace Clark, aged 10, Yellowknife
"I like Fast and Female because it let me try something new like dance and yoga! It was a fun experience for me because I got to learn more about skiing and meet new friends. At Fast and Female I learned that all you can do is try your best and have fun. The coaches goal was to inspire kids to keep skiing and trying their best."


Karen Johnson, parent and FF volunteer
"As a parent and helper, I was so impressed with the fast and female weekend in Yellowknife. It was so cool to peak in the door and see 50 kids all dancing in step together. In a short time they all learned the dance steps. They were doing it for themselves not to perform.

There was so much chatter in the lodge when the girls were eating lunch and laughter too.

The fast and female experience has connected the girls who participated in it in a unique way. Years from now I could see them connecting with one of the other females and saying 'Hey, weren't you at that first Fast and female weekend in YK. We had so much fun!' It was a real memory builder.

One of my daughters is really interested in doing yoga now. We haven't managed to get her into a program for yoga yet. Every once in a while she will do some yoga before bed. Even if it isn't exactly done right, at this point the important thing for me is her positive attitude to yoga and a desire to do more.

One of the young women who came out to guide a group of FF skiers through the stations is volunteering as an assistant coach with our Track Attack program. I am sure she made the choice to volunteer because she had such fun with the girls at Fast and Female.

I love skiing and I try not to miss an opportunity to promote it and to encourage individuals to give the sport a try. I cannot think of anything more wonderful than the sight from our Yellowknife ski club balcony of 50 girls having a ball going around and around in the stadium on their skis at Fast and female. Also, it was so great to have each of the girls ski the loppet with a group. They really challenged themselves. Many of the girls would not have skied as far if they had skied the loppet with their families. They also might have complained a lot more!

Fast and Female was a wonderful, positive rewarding experience for the girls and for the volunteers."


John Stephenson, father of 2 Yellowknife fast and female participants
"I appreciated the opportunity that Fast and Female provided to my 2 daughters. They got to spend the weekend in the company of a group of girls and women who enjoy the physical activity of Cross country skiing. I am convinced that Fast and Female has encouraged their continued involvement in the sport."