A blog by my mom, Joanne

Before we dive into my mom’s blog, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the sacrifices made by the supporters behind every athlete. Whether it’s parents, coaches, or mentors, your dedication plays a crucial role in an athlete’s journey. Life Beyond Sport was created for athletes and retired athletes, but I also wanted to offer something for the people who stand beside them—the ones who make the early morning drives, provide unwavering encouragement, and navigate the highs and lows alongside their athlete.

This blog is here to help you understand the athlete mindset on a deeper level, offering insight into their struggles, triumphs, and everything in between. Because in the end, the sacrifices are worth it—not just for the athlete, but for the bonds, lessons, and growth that come with the journey.

So with that in mind, here’s a special blog from my mom, Joanne.

When Jenna asked me to join her  blog a whelm of nostalgia hit me. Where do I begin to highlight those pivotal moments that forfilled our lives for so many years - and even to present day as we continue to navigate through life. Our training years, yes I say “our” because it was a joint effort for every member of our family of 4. It was a production that needed every piece to fit  perfectly and even sometimes imperfectly, in order for everyone to progress and grow. With planning not being our strong suit, we desperately needed everything to fall in line,   our family thrived on embracing change and expressing great meaning to enjoying the process.

Believe me it was not all sunshine and roses . It was a whole lot of compromise, with multiple adjustments along the way - but isn’t that the magic of a life well lived? 

I would often say, during those years, that if our life was documented via video we would make millions. The best reality tv show that ever was. 

From moving our family to Montreal, from small town Bareneed, for the love of sport - which was practically unheard of - to healing from tremendous loss, while making life decisions abroad and even just making everything up as we went along. It was quite the ride, but it was our ride and some of the best years of our lives. We had no path to follow, it was an adventure full of experiences that will last a life time and despite the constant judgement from our closest connections, still to this day, I am confident that it completely grounded our family in ways no one could ever imagine.

But before I elaborate on our life in Montreal, let’s back track to the beginning. Because as we all know, all things great ultimately starts with a solid foundation. 

CBN skating club was where our skating journey began. Little did we know that an organization known as Skate Canada Newfoundland and Labrador would represent so much pride and respect for our family. Its was the beginning of a bond among some of the most important people in our lives. Our skating family.

We had a surreal start really. But with fine Efford style we jumped feet first into the deep end. What most people didn’t realize, we are all great swimmers. 

I remember our first day joining Conception  Bay North Skating Club - many years ago- It was all new to us, walking into the Bay Arena with a little blonde 2 year old, dressed in pink, eager to put her skates on to go ‘snaking’. Her first day involved being able to get up after falling on the ice - and Voilà, mastered before the session ended. Jenna was hooked on that first day. Her energy leaving the arena was contagious. Her goal that day was to skate without a helmet, like the big girls. I explained to her that she would need to pass all her CanSkate levels to achieve that goal… and so she did. Jenna loved everything figure skating, the jumps, the spins, the friendships, the pretty dresses, and eventually the fancy ballet buns once she earned all her levels. 

When skating eventually took us to St John’s, we knew we were on the cusp of something unimaginable. Grabbing every minute of ice time - between multiple clubs- to perfect her sport became Jenna’s personal mission, and as her family we supported every aspect and over came every obstacle in her path.  What typically is considered  a seasonal winter sport quickly turned into a year round lifestyle for Jenna as a competitive skater. In our household skating was a way of life. Despite the increasing early morning commutes to the city to practice before and even after school (most days), spending long days in cold arenas, while over coming minor injuries, to dealing with club issues of policy/and procedures ( which was a nightmare most of the time) to eventually missing events due to sport - Jenna was breaking barriers. 

Our world became an Inspirational Cliché like - ‘hard work pays off’ -to- ‘hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard’ to ‘set your goals high and don’t stop until you get there’ - we have earned them all and then some. 

Eventually, Jennas - ‘I can’t, I have skating’ became her mantra, her badge of honour really - and the constant reminder of a very powerful phrase that followed her throughout her skating career/and one she still lives by today - “I want to be better then the person I was yesterday’ 

The commitment needed to raising an athlete and achieve any professional sport is not recognized by many, I understand that now - and as someone close to me once said, ‘ if it was easy, everyone would be doing it’ -so true. Looking back (which is something I rarely do) what was unrecognizable was people’s willingness to judge. But like most personalities, they only see the surface. They over look the passion, the benefits - the resilience- the relationships and the highs and lows of development and growth. The life lessons that are truly earned from the podium and beyond. 

We owe a debt  of gratitude to our Skate Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador skating family. It’s because of seasoned executive members such as Lori Brett, Bev Power and Betty Brett that made our path and vision to take Jenna’s skating to the next level even possible.  They gave new meaning to ‘it takes a village’ - they will forever remain our closest family. Their professionalism and support that they proudly showed Jenna and our family will never go unnoticed - all because a little girl loved to skate. 

Stay tuned for my next post, highlighting our move from Newfoundland to Montreal. The moments where we graciously accepted Isatis Chambly as our home and CJP+ as our family. 

We embraced it all. Our family’s - all together separately- with a French twist.