At 14 years of age, Allie Spence is hard at work trying to earn a spot on Canada’s junior development team by way of October selection races at the Whistler Sliding Centre (WSC). A berth in next January’s Youth Olympic Games is on the line, as is a significant chunk of funding, as she tries to follow in the footsteps of other Sea to Sky lugers like Embyr-Lee Susko and Midori Holland.
Allie’s older sister Payton had been gunning to join her in Gangwon, South Korea, but the skeleton racer’s own march to the Youth Olympics has stalled out due to a medical issue. Nonetheless, the girls remain united in their goal to represent the Maple Leaf as many times as they can.
Rival athletes and the learning curve presented by international competition are not the only obstacles faced by young sliders. The Spence siblings have been doing bottle drives and working various jobs (including at the WSC) to fundraise for their burgeoning careers, and the pressure is on.
“It’s quite stressful,” admitted Stacey Spence, mother to Payton and Allie. “You’re working really hard to try every avenue to fundraise, and you’re trying not to do things that everybody else does. It’s very uncomfortable to continuously ask for support, but I’m trying to have them be responsible enough to take this on themselves.
“The girls walk around, going to businesses to ask for their bottles, and I’m just driving the truck to collect them. I’m trying to have them be responsible for getting their own funding as well, so it’s not so much on [my husband] Jeff and I.”
Discover sliding
The Spence clan is originally from Muskoka, Ont. In 2019, they packed their bags and moved to Squamish after a brief stint in Colorado. It didn’t take long for Payton, Allie and their older brother Connor to notice one of the WSC’s youth-oriented “Discover Luge” sessions. Allie took to it like a fish to water, while age considerations funnelled the others towards skeleton (and eventually, to bobsled for Connor).
Stacey has gotten used to long hours at the track. With skeleton and bobsled typically happening in the morning or afternoon, and luge at night, her kids may alternate training runs throughout any given day. This summer, they routinely made the drive up to Whistler for early morning flat-ice conditioning and late afternoon dry land sessions—on the same day—in addition to two trips to Calgary for more training at WinSport’s Ice House facility.
Payton can’t tell you exactly why she loves skeleton so much, only that the speed and adrenaline have her hooked. Allie feels the same way about luge. Pursuing adjacent sports have no doubt helped the pair to grow closer—and to vent about everyday challenges on track.
“Allie and I can kind of complain about the same corners, which makes it a whole lot better,” Payton remarked. “I’ll be talking about how much I hate, say, corner 16, and she’ll go: ‘oh, I hate corner 16’ and we’ll bond over that. And then I’ll say something like: ‘I hate corner four’ and she’ll go: ‘I can’t even go up to corner four, so lucky you!’”
A different kind of sport
Payton competed in her first IBSF North American Cup skeleton race here in Whistler, following that up in mid-March with two top-eight results during Omega Youth Series competition in Lake Placid, N.Y. She’s pleased with her progress and credits her coaches (especially Joe Cecchini) for helping her gain confidence and looks to return to action when able.
Stacey is almost always present, which is why she trusts her kids with the WSC’s experienced team.
“I love the people who work at the Sliding Centre. I trust them 100 per cent, and the medics are great,” she said. “When you’re there for every session, you can see how everything works and flows, and who’s working that day. You develop friendships with them, and through the friendships, you just trust them.”
Although the three sliding sports of skeleton, luge and bobsled continue to fly under the public’s radar—Stacey has talked to numerous longtime Whistlerites who are unaware of the WSC’s existence—they are also distinct among the Sea to Sky corridor’s many athletic options.
“It’s not like signing your child up for hockey or figure skating,” she commented. “It’s a whole different kind of sport. It’s a lot of fun. It’s very rewarding for my girls and they put a lot of hard work into it. They train with the youth bobsled athletes too, and they’ve made such a great little team.
“They’re definitely sports that people should try.”
