Trina Ross never imagined she might someday be a world champion in something but her recent participation in the ICF World Dragon Boat Championships in the Czech Republic resulted in her coming come with three gold medals, one silver and four bronze, all earned as the only female Indigenous member of Team Canada.
“I was amazed,” says the Pimicikamak Cree Nation member, who lives in Winnipeg. “I was very happy. I couldn’t stop smiling, looking at the podium, especially with other teams from different countries competing, on the same podium with them. I was very happy.”
Upon her return home to Canada, she was surprised once again when she was greeted at the Winnipeg airport by leaders and elders from PCN as well as media documenting her arrival.
“I felt honoured they were there,” she said, mentioning the presence of elder Rebecca Ross as something that made her feel very special. “I was very happy that she was there. Especially when they brought that … star blanket. I became very emotional when they presented me with that star blanket.”
Ross has been paddling and rowing for about a decade in Winnipeg but didn’t get into dragon boat paddling until more recently.
The boats are propelled by 10 or 20 paddlers, depending on the event, and races range in length from 200 metres to two kilometres.
Because Team Canada only had about 40 paddlers on the squad, Ross and her teammates were called upon to compete in many back-to-back races and her final race was a 2,000-metre contest.
“I’ve never battled so hard like that in my life,” she says. “We just pushed each other to give it our all and that’s what I did. I just pushed through the pain.”
It was a whirlwind trip and competition, consisting of a couple of days of practice upon arrival in the Czech Republic and four days of racing.
“I was very nervous that first race but I started calming down,” she says.
In addition to representing Canada, Ross was also displaying her pride in being a PCN member at the competition, brandishing the flag of her First Nation that was given to her before she left by PCN Chief David Monias. The support she received on social media from people back home provided an emotional boost that helped her battle through exhaustion.
Having experienced that, Ross, who has two sons, says anyone with friends or family involved in any sport should do everything they can to help them be successful.
“To all the parents that have children that are into sports, support them,” she said. “It’s very important for athletes to have their parental support.”
