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Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID |
2014.37.5 |
Object Name |
Video Recording |
Title |
Lucile Wheeler Interview 2014 |
Interview Summary / Résumé d'entrevue |
Lucile Wheeler, Order of Sport recipient, inducted in 1958, born in Montreal, Québec, talks about her skiing career. Lucile talks about winning the National Junior Downhill when she was 12 years old and how Canada did not have a national ski team during her career, meaning skiers raced and practiced individually. Lucile recalls meeting Rhoda and Rhona Wurtele (the Wurtele twins) at her first race on her 10th birthday. She explains that while they were older than her, they treated her as an equal and they became life-long friends. They ended up having the same coach: a ski instructor from Austria. Lucile recalls that their coach, Herman Gardner, was one of the first to wax and tune their skis but tragically passed away in an avalanche accident. Lucile describes how she felt on equal footing with men, unlike other sports conventions of the day. They skied the same routes, and the women's events received the same attention as the men's. Lucile talks about skiing with Anne Heggtveit and passing on her knowledge. She describes creating their own dryland training, primarily involving running and rope skipping. Lucile's message to youth is that you can continually improve, be better, and learn something new. Entrevue avec Lucile Wheeler, 25 juin 2014. MP4 d'origine numérique, temps de visionnement : 00:14:45. Lucile Wheeler, récipiendaire de l'Ordre du sport, a été intronisée en 1958 et est née à Montréal, au Québec. Elle parle de sa carrière de ski. Lucile raconte qu'elle a gagné l'épreuve de descente au Championnat canadien junior à l'âge de 12 ans. Elle ajoute que le Canada ne possédait pas d'équipe nationale de ski pendant sa carrière, ce qui voulait dire que les skieurs concouraient et s'entraînaient de façon individuelle. Lucile se rappelle avoir rencontré Rhoda et Rhona Wurtele (les jumelles Wurtele) lors de sa première course, qui a eu lieu le jour de son dixième anniversaire. Elle explique que, bien qu'elles étaient plus vieilles qu'elle, les jumelles la traitaient comme leur égale et qu'elles sont devenues des amies pour la vie. Elles ont par la suite eu le même entraîneur, un instructeur de ski autrichien. Lucile se souvient que leur entraîneur, Herman Gardner, était l'un des premiers à farter à procéder au réglage et à l'affûtage de leurs skis. Il est décédé de façon tragique, dans une avalanche. Lucile décrit qu'elle se sentait sur un pied d'égalité avec les hommes, contrairement aux conventions en vigueur dans d'autres sports à l'époque. Elles skiaient sur les mêmes parcours, et les épreuves féminines recevaient la même attention que les épreuves masculines. Lucile parle du ski avec Anne Heggtveit et de la transmission de ses connaissances. Elle décrit la création de leur propre entraînement sur d'autres surfaces, qui comportait principalement la course à pied et le saut à la corde. Le message de Lucile aux jeunes est que vous pouvez constamment vous améliorer, être meilleur et apprendre quelque chose de nouveau. |
Scope & Content |
Lucile Wheeler interview, 25 June 2014. Born digital MP4, viewing time 00:14:45. 0:15 As a young girl, she would cross country ski from her house to her parents' hotel across the lake to deliver letters and had to cross country ski to where they were going to alpine ski and climb the hill. 3:30 Lucile's ski coach told her father that she should race; "When you see somebody wanting to go faster all the time, they should be in a ski race." 4:30 If he was here today, "I would thank him […] because I've had so many wonderful experiences since that day" 5:10 Her coach inspired her to always look ahead and look at what people are doing that is new and better. 8:15 She didn't feel any discrimination against her due to gender, and felt that ski racing was probably one of the few sports at the time with that level of equality. 9:44 "I think you always, as a team members, try to pass on what you know and you try to gain from another team member what might help you." 10:35 Talking about dryland training, saying she didn't really know how to train. They ran and skipped rope, but didn't stretch or do weights. 12:00 "Everybody needs a goal, whether it's a discipline that's their wish, and keep working towards that goal and I think that you can always, always improve, even if you're standing in the starting gate at the Olympics- if you think 'I can always be better', you are going to be better and I think that applies to almost every walk of life." |
Date |
2014/06/25 |
People |
Wheeler, Lucile Wurtele, Rhona |
Search Terms |
Interview Lucile Wheeler Alpine Skiing Women in sport Skiing 1956 Olympic Winter Games Cortina d'Ampezzo 1958 World Championships |