Jones, a Fast and Female ambassador since 2005 and a member of the Nakkertok Ski Club, just wrapped up her most successful World Cup cross-country racing season with a sixth place in the team sprint at the World Championships held in Norway and a 12th place in the individual sprint at the Stage World Cub in Stockholm, SWE.
For the June 12 Fast and Female FitFest presented by Best Buy, Jones will be joined by Tottle, an Ottawa resident and female Kayaker who took part in Junior World Championships, Pan Am Games, and Senior World Championships before recently retiring.
Together, Jones and Tuttle will host a group of about 100 young female athletes from the sports community for a day of inspiration and empowerment featuring fitness stations, a healthy lunch, an inspirational presentation and a fun dance session. The day will start at 9 a.m. and conclude at 4 p.m. with an autograph session.
“I am really looking forward to joining forces with the paddling community and hosting this multisport event with Tory,” said Jones. “Skiing and paddling compliment each other really nicely, and this event will be a great way to get even more girls excited about sport and maybe even meet some new training partners!”
As a non-profit and national program started in 2005 by cross-country skiing gold Olympic medalist Chandra Crawford, Fast and Female is intensely focused on delivering effective programming to keep girls in sports. It is said that girls are six times more likely to drop out of sports than boys.
“I’m thrilled that Fast and Female will be reaching girls from Ottawa’s highly active and dynamic sports community!” said Crawford who is still a member of Canada’s cross-country ski team along with Jones. “With the key support of quality ambassadors like Peri and Tory as well as the support of valuable sponsors and volunteers, Fast and Female is in a strong position to impact local girls on their athletic journey and ultimately change their lives. Girls have so much to gain from being athletic and chasing their dreams,” she concluded.
As a complement to the youth programming, parents of female athletes are also invited to join the event for a series of presentations. While the girls will be taking part in the fitness stations, parents and coaches will be attending three short presentations on Sport Psychology with Penny Werthner, on Nutrition with Sheila Kealey and Lucy Wainwright and on Parenting the Female Athlete with Sue Holloway. Holloway is the first woman and first Canadian to have competed in both Summer and Winter Games in the same year having taken part in the 1976 Winter Olympics in cross-country skiing and 1976 Summer Olympics in canoe sprint.
The registration fee for the youth activities is $25 per participant and includes a Fast and Female t-shirt, a Buff, a lunch and access to all morning activities. Parents can also secure a seat by purchasing a ticket for $25 which also includes the seminars and a lunch.
Registration for the highly anticipated event is now officially open. The deadline to register online is June 10, 2011. On-site registrations will be at a rate of $30 per participant.
