Alpine skier and Guelph native Erin Mielzynski has been awarded a scholarship from a non-profit organization that advocates for girls and women in sports.
Mielzynski is one of five women who will share the Stacey Levitt Women and Sport Scholarship, given out by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity. The $2,500 award was established in honour of Levitt, an athlete and top student who was hit and killed by a car while jogging in 1995, a news release said.
The recipients all share a passion for sport, serve as role models in their communities, and believe in empowering others to lead a healthy and active lifestyle, it said.
Mielzynski, a Bishop Macdonell grad, was both an alpine skier and a water-skier, before she gave up water-skiing to focus her efforts on the winter sport.
She has competed at the Olympics, placing 20th, and this year she came first in a World Cup race in Germany. She is currently ranked 15th in the world in slalom and is in training to be a medal contender at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the release said. But beyond training, Mielzynski “has learned to be a good teammate, to live a healthy lifestyle, to work hard and, ultimately, how to give back and help others realize their dreams,” it said.
She is an ambassador for Fast and Female, and she takes part in events and videos to empower girls and young women through sport. She also travels to schools and ski clubs to share her story with young students and athletes and act as a positive role model.
Mielzynski share the scholarship with Chelsea Donelon, an Alberta sit-skier and para-swimmer; Robyn Millson, a Simcoe hockey player; Lisa Nakajima, who competes in judo in Delta, B.C.; and Alana Nicklin, a Ringette player in Pondstream, N.B.
Mielzynski will use her share of the scholarship money to help fund her sport, while continuing to travel and share her story and learnings with young girls and athletes, the release said.