Spring 2012 - 4-H Ontario

Because 4-H was
part of our family
life, the safety of
competing in the family
with my sister and brothers
helped me”
be left standing in the outer ring of a
4-H showmanship calf class waiting for
the judge to pick you,” Cristy explains.
Although being the first person the
judge picks is always a great feeling,
competitions also show you areas for
improvement. Cristy’s parents, Halton
4-H Leaders Jeff and Kenda Nurse,
also stressed the importance of good
sportsmanship. Losing sometimes is
part of the learning process and they
would not accept complaints about
competition results from her or her
siblings. “They told us if we don’t like
being at the bottom of the class, then
we should work harder to improve,”
explains Cristy.
Cristy’s competitive spirit was also
well utilized outside of 4-H on various
sports teams. As a talented athlete,
Cristy was recruited to play basketball
at the University of Guelph on the
varsity team. In 2008 she graduated
with a B.A. and then entered law
school at the University of Ottawa
where she is presently enrolled. It was
during university that Cristy had her
first experience with rowing.
“I actually only started rowing in the
summer of 2006,” says Cristy. “I
wanted to move from basketball into
a new sport and had always been a
fan of rowing during the Olympics.” A
job interning at a Mississauga law firm
close to the Don Rowing Club gave
her the opportunity to give rowing a try.
Although she had never rowed before,
her height and athleticism earned
her a position in a formed crew. Two
weeks later she competed in her
first regatta. A former New Zealand
national team coach spotted her
potential and encouraged her to make
the sport her new pursuit. “I worked
with him for the next two years, and
in 2008 I won the under 23 women’s
pair event at the Canadian Rowing
Championships,” Cristy explains.
After the Canadian Rowing
Champions, Christy was encouraged
to move to the National Training
Centre in London. She decided
to make this move in 2010 after
completing her second year of law
school. “My improvement really
accelerated and that year I made the
Canadian women’s 8 rowing team
and won silver at the World Rowing
Championships in New Zealand. I
elected to defer my studies to focus
on rowing full-time and in the spring
of 2011, I was again selected to the
women’s 8 team,” Cristy shares.
Last August, Cristy and the women’s
8 rowing team won silver at the World
Championships in Bled, Slovenia.
Since then, Cristy has been a member
of the Olympic selection camp, which
is the group of athletes in contention
for spots on the Olympic team. Final
Olympic team selections will be made
in June.
The women’s 8 rowing team has
historically been Canada’s most
successful event for medals at the
Summer Olympics, making the
pressure for the final selection and
the Games quite high. “There are
high expectations by Canada for the
team to do well, although we put even
more pressure on ourselves as we
want to pay back to Canadians for
their support to the Own the Podium
program,” explains Cristy.
No matter the outcome of the
Olympic team selections, all 4-H’rs
can be proud of Cristy’s amazing
accomplishments. The skills she
developed through 4-H competitions
and her athletic career, including her
positive attitude, dedication, hard
work and sportsmanship are all truly
outstanding. That being said, it sure
would be nice to see Cristy have a
seat in the boat and wear an Olympic
medal around her neck!
Lois James is 4-H Ontario’s Coordinator,
Alumni Services, a position 100% funded by a
Promotional Partnership with Hyland TM Seeds.
Hyland Seeds is passionate about agriculture
and believes in supporting the people who are
deeply rooted in the agricultural industry, and
dedication to 4-H is proof of this commitment.
Cristy competing as a Senior 4-H Member at one of many 4-H shows she
attended throughout her 4-H career. Photo by: Anne Howden Thompson
Cristy, second from the end, and her teammates on the water.
Leadership In Action • Spring 2012 15