Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Fall/Winter 2019 | Page 24

Haley
Daniels:
The Wave
Maker
STORY: DAVID SWALES
PHOTOS: MASON NEUFELD PHOTOGRAPHY
G
rowing up in a family with a love for the outdoors,
Haley Daniels was inspired by a long line of paddlers,
so she comes by her inner strength and perseverance
naturally. She has three National Championships and a
Pan-Am Silver medal under her belt, so the next step would
normally be the Olympic Games. But when your sport
isn’t included in the program for women, you make it your
mission to shake things up a bit.
This is what Haley, a group of fellow paddlers and
advocates for women’s equality in sport set out to do.
Thanks to their efforts, the 2020 Olympic Games in
Tokyo will include Women’s C1 Slalom Canoe for the
first time in history. The next challenge is qualifying for
the Canadian Olympic Team to ensure she’s part of this
historic moment. A new and more holistic approach to
life, some hardcore training and tough competition put
this goal well within reach.
What inspired you to take up competitive paddling?
I’ve always been a very competitive person and I
like participating in sports that have a good social
component. Early on, a friend of the family’s who was
on the National Kayak Team invited me to come and
watch him compete at the National Championships. I
was so inspired—I think that was the moment I was hooked!
When did you realize you had the potential to
become a world-class paddler?
I started paddling competitively at 14 and was doing
both kayak and canoe. However, when I was 16 and
competing at a major event in Charlotte, North
Carolina, I had a really good run and decided it was
time to focus on the canoe.
ATHLETE Q&A Who has been the biggest influence in your life?
I have to say my coach, Michael Holroyd. He’s both a
coach and a mentor and has really been influential in
how I have developed as an athlete and as a person.
What is your earliest childhood memory?
There are actually two. Canoeing and fishing with my
parents and my brother, and my grandmother making
crepes with Nutella for us. Family memories really
speak to how close and supportive my family is. We understand that you created a vegan
cookbook—what inspired this?
It was actually a fundraising project. I enjoy cooking
and I’m fairly particular about my diet, so it really
came together naturally. (I have to admit, though,
I now eat fish on occasion.)
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