2009 was an exciting year for me; I completed my undergraduate degree in Political Science and French at the University of Western Ontario, at the beginning of the year. My girlfriend, Dalia, and I also decided to move in together and are renting an apartment near downtown Vancouver.
We are settling in and building a fantastic home, with her son Karolis. Dalia is a dental hygienist, a former national team fencer from Lithuania, and loves being active. She’s training now for her first full marathon!
Being based on the west coast has opened many new doors for me: from training with a great group of elite boccia athletes at the CCPSA Vancouver Regional Training Centre, to a new job with the BC Personal Supports Network and the Government of BC – helping individuals with disabilities obtain assistive technology to enter the workforce.
I had my best individual international finish this year, in boccia: silver at the Americas Cup of Boccia held in Montreal at the end of October. After winning several close matches, against some of the best players in the world – especially from Brazil, a country with a renowned Boccia program that produces the top athletes in my class – I am feeling on track. The road to qualifying for the 2010 London Paralympics starts now, and is definitely uphill.
Canada’s next chance for international ranking points will be the Boccia World Championships, to be held in Lisbon from May 30 – June 8, 2010.
This year I continued to represent the voice of athletes in the Canadian sport system as an AthletesCAN board member, chair of the Canadian Paralympic Committee Athletes’ Council, and Athlete Representative on the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports and Recreation Association National Council.
2010 is an exciting time for high performance sport in Canada; the Winter Paralympics and Olympics are just around the corner in Vancouver / Whistler, and Toronto was recently awarded the 2015 Pan and Para Panamerican Games!
2009 also presented me with the opportunity to hone my public speaking skills by speaking at over 10 elementary schools in London and Vancouver. I shared my story of being born without arms or legs and living an excellent life, and showed off boccia – a sport that anyone who tries, can’t get enough of the competitive action and strategy. Another important topic I cover is goal setting. Anyone can achieve anything if they set SMART goals. (That’s: Specific, Measurable, Action, Realistic, Timeline) I am so excited and honoured to have been selected by the ESTEEM TEAM to speak in these schools!
I was also able to share my story with corporate audiences. This year’s highlight was addressing an audience of 2700 people at the Shoppers Home Health Care Innovations’ conference in Toronto!
2010 is full of exciting opportunities for me. Dalia, Karolis and I will be spectating at the Winter Paralympics in Whistler, I will likely be competing in Portugal at the World Championships, some applications to Law School may be in the works, and I will definitely keep doing what I love to do, and soaking it all in!
I hope you and your family are gearing up for a fantastic year in 2010.
