Ponoka's Maddison Pearman has been recognized for her work on and off the ice.
This week the Canadian national team long-track speed skater was named the recipient of Speed Skating Canada's Community Champion of the Year for the 2023-24 season.
The award is given out annually to a speed skating athlete whose impact on their community positively influences them both on and off the ice, according to Speed Skating Canada.
Pearman said on Wednesday that she feels very honoured to have received the award.
"It's always been an important value in my life to give back to the community and be a leader. The sport has given me so much so I'm always willing to volunteer and lend a helping hand," she said.
"My parents still are big community leaders and I think they instilled that value in me at a very young age... I'm always willing to volunteer as long as it fits with my schedule and I think that's something for me that's always been a no-brainer."
The Community Champion of the Year Award was first introduced in 2022 and to be eligible the athlete must make an impact in one or more ways.
As listed on the Speed Skating website the athlete must make a meaningful contribution to their community through their actions off-ice and promote a respectful and inclusive environment within the sport of speed skating. They must also demonstrate strong leadership and sportsmanship and contribute new ideas to overcome challenges or promote collaboration.
Pearman added that she didn't volunteer in the community for the recognition but admitted it was nice to be recognized. She's proud of her new accomplishment and is looking forward to continuing to make an impact.
Pearman feels she's checked a lot of the requirements off as the athlete representative for the Canadian national team. She's the voice of the team when it comes to speaking with the high-performance director, and the board of directors, and being involved in meetings.
She also volunteered in the Special Olympics last year in Calgary and explained she's taken on a role as a leader on the Canadian national team.
"To get the award it means someone nominated me and recognized the efforts I'm doing to help make the sport and the community better," she said.
Pearman was named to the Canadian national long track team at the end of May ahead of the 2024-25 international season.
Last year she competed on Canada's Next Gen team but earned a spot on the national team this year as one of their veteran competitors after a strong campaign last season. The selections were made based on national and international results from the 2023-24 season.
Since May, the 28-year-old has been training in preparation for the season and her first major competition begins next weekend.
She'll also compete in the 2024 Canadian Long Track Championships from Oct. 17-20 in Quebec City. Canada will also host the third stop of the ISU World Cup Speed Skating circuit from January 24-26 in Calgary.
"It's a new team, new season, and a different dynamic so I feel really good. I'm excited for the season but again you just really don't know how you're going to do until you start racing," she said.
"I'm starting to understand how to travel, how to race, and have those expectations. Also to have those pressures of traveling and trying to qualify for spots and go to world championships. The end of the season is always the important part but I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do this year."
So far in her international career, she represented Canada at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games and most recently won gold at the World Speed Skating Championships in Calgary last February.
She's planning to represent Canada at the Olympic Winter Games in 2026.
"I've already been working with my coach for the last couple of years so we're going into the third year of the cycle. Things are starting to dial down even more that every time I'm racing at world championships or world cups you've got to have that mindset of what is going well and what's not because in a year or a year and a half, it's the Olympics," she said.
"It's all about preparing for the Olympics in 2026 so making sure everything I'm doing is intentional and knowing the end goal is the Olympics. It's really exciting how fast it's coming up."
