'No one quit trying': N.W.T. students hit the hills to train with Olympic snowboarder Liam Gill

As high school students in Fort Simpson headed to the ski hill this past week, a line of snowboards was waiting for them in the snow.

Olympic snowboarder Liam Gill was waiting for them, too.

There was a thrill in the air, said Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ Regional High School teacher Kristen Morrison, as the youth prepared to train with Gill. Boots and helmets sat in bins by the boards while tea boiled over a fire nearby.

"The part that stood out most to me is that no one quit trying," Morrison said in an email. "Everyone fell and everyone got back up with big smiles on their faces. They couldn't wait to skidoo back up the hill and try again.

Gill, a member of Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation who competed at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, came through Fort Simpson, Fort Smith and Yellowknife this past week to help students brush up on their skills. His Northern tour kicked off with a training clinic in Fort Smith, followed by a stint in Fort Simpson on Monday and Tuesday. The rest of the week was spent in Yellowknife.

For Grade 11 student Tamara Lennie, Gill's stop in Fort Simpson gave her a chance to get back on a snowboard for the first time in years.

Aside from the experience of getting to meet an Olympian, she said she was proud to learn how to do a turn on the hill. She picked that skill up quickly, she said.

"I was actually really proud, the third time I was going down the hill. I was like, 'I can do this!' And I actually made it all the way down," she said.

"It was so much fun, learning how to do the turn, meeting Liam and talking with him."

Snowboard clinics are nothing new for Grade 9 student Ethan Norwegian, who's attended them for the last three years. This time around, he said he was excited to learn some new tricks from Gill.

"I learned better techniques on turning on my heel and toe edge, I learned how to carve a bit in the snow," he said.

"It was fun, having all my friends there and Liam, and the other instructors, too."

Morrison said Gill and fellow instructor Andrew Goodwin made the experience a special one for the students.

"They gave them their full attention, every session, and made a connection with every single youth on the hill," she said.