Athlete of the Week - Iain Quayle

CDS student Iain Quayle is a competitive skier who has enjoyed a great deal of success on the U16 and Can-Am ski tours. After a broken back cut his 2014-2015 season short, the Grade 11 Shanty Bay resident has undergone a miraculous recovery, and is back on the slopes competing in his first year at the FIS (Federation Internationale de Ski) level.
 
Iain stepped into his first set of ski bindings on a neighbour’s driveway when he was three years old. His mother is a skier and his stepfather a ski instructor, so skiing was destined to play a big part of his childhood.

From that modest driveway hill, Iain started skiing recreationally at Horseshoe Valley in Barrie. It didn’t take long before he graduated to the larger Mount St. Louis Moonstone, the ski hill where he first started racing competitively with the Glacier Racing program at the age of seven.

Iain is a downhill skier who competes in Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super G and Downhill. “My strongest events are Slalom, but I really love doing Giant Slalom. They are both similar and considered technical racing because of the necessity for more finesse and power. Super G and Downhill are more about speed and going very fast.”

He continued to compete with Glacier in these events until he finished their U12 program. Thereafter, he joined the Georgian Peaks Club, which he competed with until he moved up to FIS level this season.

His success on his previous teams opened up a great opportunity to join the Southern Ontario Division (SOD) ski team for his first year on the FIS circuit. His new team helps coordinate schedules and guide training for the week’s upcoming races. Although teammates are scattered across southern Ontario, there is constant communication between skiers and coaches. Training still occurs on the hill every day. According to Iain, “If there are no races, four to five days a week we go the appropriate hill to match the next race. We get our own lane and practice with our coaches.”
 
Iain’s dedication and commitment to skiing have resulted in some incredible competitive results so far in his young career. Two years’ ago, he finished 5th overall in North America at the year-end U14 (K1) Can-Am ski event held at Mont-Tremblant, and prior to injuring his back last season, he had qualified for every Can-Am for which he was eligible.

Skiing is a dangerous sport and Iain had a high-speed crash during training on December 28, 2014 where he broke three vertebrae - one crushed and two shattered. He was air-lifted to SickKids where the neurosurgeons found he narrowly missed quadriplegia by a mere one millimeter.  “Fortunately, I never hurt my spinal cord, so it was a very fast recovery. I was out for a few months and missed most of the races and training.” Coming back from that injury meant Iain couldn’t move anything, especially his back, for several months. Once he began to heal, he gradually returned to the hill. “I went back just for free skiing, only for fun. I also went to the gym quite a bit to regain my strength. I then started some actual ski training until I progressed back to my normal level.”

Iain has rebounded beautifully and is excited to be back on track with his skiing career. He’s still considering his future in skiing, and has his sights set on getting as far as he can in the sport.

As a member of the High-Performance Phys-Ed program at CDS, Iain enjoys the extra spare and customized coursework the School offers to accommodate his training schedule and help him make up missed class time and prepare for tests. 
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Land Acknowledgment

CDS wishes to recognize and acknowledge the land on which the school operates. For thousands of years, these have been the traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. We also recognize the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe and the Haudenosaunee peoples who also shared this land.  CDS respects the relationship with these lands and recognizes that our connection can be strengthened by our continued relationship with all First Nations, by acknowledging our shared responsibility to respect and care for these lands and waters for future generations.

School Information

13415 Dufferin Street King, Ontario L7B 1K5 
(905) 833-1220 

communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca

Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.