Abbey Van Duzer Former Student + Canadian Para Alpine Ski Team Prospect When I was eight years old, struggling to find a sport that best fit my personality and disability (prosthetic leg) my parents were introduced to a friend of ours who’s daughter also had a prosthetic leg. They mentioned she really enjoyed skiing which gave my parents the motivation to sign me up. None of us had any idea how it was going to go, however, looking back I’m so proud to call all the amazing individuals I met as family. Every single person in T3 is so supportive, kind, and determined, I wouldn’t be at this spot in my ski career without them ( Prospect for The Canadian Para Alpine Ski Team ) . I will never forget my experience there, especially all of my amazing instructors and friends that I met along the way! - Abbey Van Duzer

Jack Sim Volunteer When Track3’s president put out a request for some thoughts and experiences from my time at Track3, I thought “No problem, I can whip that off in no time. Boy was I wrong. For those that don't know me, I have been around Track3 so long that there are no records of my early years. Best I can figure out is that I have been a volunteer for 35 years less a few when I went out to Calgary to play in the big hills, so picking out a few stories would be child’s play. When I sat down at my computer stories started jumping out at me fast and furious. Stories about my time as Program Director, VP of the Board, Course Conductor, 2 different stints as a Track3 employee...as I'm sure you can imagine, all these had stories of their own. I am frequently reminded of all the students I have taught and who have taught me about life, perseverance and laughter most of all. Turns out there were too many to pick from, each one with it's own special story, so I thought I would start with my very first student. At the time, I had little knowledge of Track3. I was working as a gym teacher at what is now the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital . At that time we ran indoor sessions for the students and new instructors every Saturday afternoon. Jim Fraser, T3’s Executive Director at the time, asked me if I could run these sessions. With his wit and charm, he talked me into doing it. After the sessions were over, Jim asked to come and volunteer. Jim’s inability to see any obstacle in his way talked me into it. He said, "you can always be the snowmobile driver" , something else I did not have any experience in. (See future story on how to pull a sit ski up a hill attached to a snowmobile) I'm happy to share that I passed my level one. With trepidation my first day with a student Jonny arrived. Jonny had downs syndrome and was very outgoing. He walked up to me, gave me a high 5 and said, “Jim told me I’m going ski with you because you don’t ski too good and I am supposed stay on the bunny hill and teach you”. He did and 35ish years later I'm still here and that first day teaching at Track3 still brings me a chuckle and a fond memory.

Paul Rogers Honours Lloyd Sweeney We had a meeting recently to reflect upon our history at the half century mark - the brainstorm from a number of past and present Track3 members led us to this idea to encourage the capture of our stories. The second part of our morning session was a reflection upon the values that had served Track3 for the first 50 and also some projection on whether these same values would serve us well in the future. Generally, the conclusion was that we had much right - caring, compassionate, kind and more. In the course of discussing these things, we of course spoke about the people that had founded, built and shaped us. Erling Morris, Doug Kerry, Henk Engels were all spoken of with fondness. One name that came up often from our more recent history was Lloyd Sweeney. Reflecting upon our motto and the importance of fun, we talked about how Lloyd would make every run fun. And he took a lot of runs volunteering at 3 of our programs - Caledon, Hockley Valley and Beaver Valley. Lloyd was a heart and soul guy - he touched everyone that knew him. For our programs, he did it all - he was an unmatched recruiter of new volunteers. He got one person to come out when they mistakenly dialed his number. He got another new volunteer in a parking lot by talking to him about his one piece vintage ski suit. He tapped into the church, the fishing bank, the plant floor - all to make a difference for us. He also appreciated that fundraising was important and he did plenty of it. I was also glad to have him as a fellow Course Conductor as he could break up the serious mission of learning and examining and just make you smile. I spent much of my early years at Craigleith - Lloyd was always sensitive to the centre of universe dynamic that sometimes gets attached to Craig given our scale and overall presence there. I have a fond memory of the Bond’s hosting Lloyd and I at a Craigleith Men’s Day. I kidded him all day about how great Craigleith was. Meanwhile, it was a downpour (nice fast snow and nothing stops Bruce and Jesse from skiing!) and Lloyd just grinned back at me covered in some camo hunting regalia never before seen on a ski hill. So it is good to reflect on builders like Lloyd and what they brought to us. We have lost some very dear friends from our community in recent years. I think as we carry on we can all channel the best of those who came before - founders, builders and beating hearts like Lloyd Sweeney. 

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