TEAM CAPTAIN HAS MISSION INSPIRED BY

TERRY FOX

Inspired by Terry Fox’s 1980 Marathon of Hope, Team Canada captain Tyler McGregor is continuing that legacy by skating a marathon in his sled on 10 different outdoor skating rinks across Canada, dubbing it the Sledge Skate of Hope.

“He’s been a major inspiration in my life, for many reasons, even more so than the fact that we both had similar cancers and became amputees,” McGregor said of Fox.

“It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do in terms of a major fundraiser, and trying to continue to support organizations that were life-changing to me.”

McGregor did his original skate of 25 kilometres in February 2021, with the goal of raising $25,00 for cancer research. He raised more than $31,000 that year.

Having last year taken time off from the fundraiser to focus on the 2022 Paralympics, McGregor sets his sights on raising $100,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation this year.

“The first time I put it on, I was so nervous. I was really jittery, but at the same time, I was super proud. It was just one of those things that I felt happened so fast, and it was almost one of those memories that you kind of blacked out just because of everything that’s going on. Now it’s a lot of the same feelings. I still get nervous but I’m a lot more relaxed and a lot more poised. But I’m still probably even more proud than I was back then. I’m still super honored,” said Smith.

While the world championships are just seven weeks away, the main focus is on 2026 and winning that Paralympic gold medal that has so far eluded all three players.

“We have a couple side things going on like the World Championships and we’re obviously going to do our best to prepare for those. At the end of the day, the gold medal at the Paralympics is exactly what we want. We have a really young team this year. So there’s going to be a lot of development going on right now. We’re not focused on any other team right now except for ourselves. We’re treating every opportunity as a growing opportunity to get better every day,” Smith added.

The focus is on the process rather than the result, McGregor said.

“I think that’s been kind of a roadblock for us in the past is just being too hyper-focused on a gold medal and kind of forgetting about or overlooking some of the finer details of our day-to-day, month-to-month, yearto-year preparation.”

“We’re lucky right now that we have three years to figure that out,” added Armstrong.

“It’s been an incredible experience,” McGregor said. “Travelling across the country, meeting people in different communities and young people or people of all ages, battling cancer or who have battled cancer and either meeting them in person or getting messages from them. Ultimately, the inspiration behind it was just both Terry Fox and honoring his legacy, but also, just my time in a children’s hospital. That’s something that had a profound impact on my life.

“I wanted to do my part to make an impact and hopefully help improve the treatment of cancer and save more lives through both raising money and awareness.”

McGregor started his journey at the Emera Oval in Halifax, and has since made stops in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

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