As the year comes to a close, so does this decade! I know, right? Where has the time gone…The 2010’s are wrapping up and so much has happened it’s hard to recall everything! Like many, I am so excited for what’s to come in 2020. Like many others, I am sitting back and getting nostalgic and reminiscing over the past decade. Of course in this time of reflection and gratitude for everything that has come and passed I have some favourite memories, so here are my Top 10 memories of the past decade:
10) Move to Fredericton. I’m sitting on a plane headed back home to Fredericton, New Brunswick and the first thing I remember is that Fredericton wasn’t always my home. It was actually a decade ago that I made the seemingly spontaneous decision to pack up my entire life and move halfway across the country. At the time I’m sure I seemed so crazy, but I had this gut feeling that it was what I needed to do. I remember it broke my mother’s heart that I was moving so far away. She told me that although she was sad and that she would miss me tremendously, she knew this was something I felt I needed to do and told me she would support me no matter what. I’m so grateful to have such a caring and supportive mother who really is my biggest fan. She comes to visit me in Fredericton and I make it back to London a couple times a year as well. It’s been hard being away from my biggest support system, but she has never missed a Nationals or World Team Trials, and she’s always there for me when I need her. Love you mom! ❤
Believe it or not this was me back in 2009 when I first moved to Fredericton with my best friend, Irka.
Looking back it was one of the best decisions I’ve made! Which is why it has to be the first memory of the decade I have to include on this list! I started the decade having ended the last one with the craziest, most spontaneous, and, now that I think about it, courageous moments of my life. This decade was shaped by that decision. Of course the rest are in no particular order of importance, maybe they’re more chronological as I work my way toward the end of 2019.
9) Graduate With Three Degrees. I’ve spent the last decade as a student, in university. When I moved to Fredericton I started my first degree at the University of New Brunswick. I spent the following 10 years completing my degrees in Kinesiology, Psychology, and Counselling. UNB has been such an awesome experience and I’ve met so many people who have had a tremendous impact on my growth both academically and personally. I’ve made great connections with so many of my professors, classmates, and university staff over the years. UNB is truly a great community of people who care. I still run into my former professors when I’m on campus and they ask about how I’m doing and how wrestling is going. I run into former classmates in the community who are now making an impact not just in Fredericton, but all over! And of course, the staff at UNB have been awesome. If it weren’t for Jeff Burkard I might not have gotten into school. Meeting him years later at a banquet he joked that he wasn’t sure when Don came to him asking about getting this kid from Ontario into school last minute, but that he had been following my successes over the years and that leap of faith had paid off! Now, a decade later, I have a bunch of letters behind my name and I can say I am #ProudlyUNB. BRSS’13, BA Hons Psyc’14, MEd’19.
8) My First Time Winning Nationals. Another thing I accomplished during my time at UNB was winning two Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) titles. This was the first time I won a National Championship. I had been a national medalist, but never the champion until I won the university nationals in 2011. I remember being so shocked I was even in the national finals (up until that point I was a perpetual bronze medal finisher and had never been in a national final). I got to do the walkout and have my name announced in front of the crowd as we shook hands with our opponents. Before the match I asked my mom, “Am I supposed to be here?” The first and last time I’ve asked that question. Here is my first time with a national gold medal, in the winner’s circle, back in 2011.
My second title came in 2013 where I got to compete in London, which was special. A lot of my friends and former teammates came out to watch and it felt like I got to win at home. I also got named Outstanding Female Wrestler of the tournament. As a result of that performance I also won UNB Varsity Reds Female Athlete of the Year that year. That was my last year competing varsity, despite having eligibility left. Competing varsity was a great experience, but my focus shifted and I began prioritizing international competition after that.
7) My First Time Competing Internationally. Over the past decade I’ve become a world traveller and had the great privilege of wearing the maple leaf and representing Canada all over the globe! Competing internationally and getting to be a member of Team Canada has been amazing and it all started this decade. Here is back in 2011, my first time with Black Bears Wrestling Club abroad in Romania!
Since then I’ve been to so many places. I’ve competed in Italy, France, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Austria, Germany, Ukraine, Ivory Coast, Chile, Brazil, Japan, and of course all over Canada and the United States. (I think that’s all of them!?) I’m so thankful for the experiences I’ve had abroad. I’ve learned so much, experienced different cultures and languages, tried so many different foods, seen so many beautiful sights, and most importantly made so many amazing friendships! I have friends all over the world thanks to this awesome sport!
6) So Many New Friends. Nothing could replace the memories and friendships over the past decade. I’m so grateful that wrestling has done so much for me and opened so many doors. Sport truly brings people together and transcends distance, boarders, and language. I wish I could celebrate all of the new friends I’ve made over the past decade, but that would be a very long list and a lot of pictures (haha) so I’ve chosen just a couple to highlight.
We may not see each other often, but I know that any time I’m back we pick up right where we left off and it is like I’ve never left. Some have even started as competitors, but iron sharpens iron and sometimes it is our competition that understands us best. Friendships I’ve forged through shared struggles and triumphs are my strongest and most reliable ones!
Of course, not all of my awesome new friends are abroad! Some of the best friends I’ve made in wrestling are my Canadian Teammates.
I’m so glad I get to do what I love with the people I love! (Especially our wild adventures which may or may not include running through traffic circles, trying to negotiate free memberships to foreign gyms in random countries, and attempting to consume Dominos Pizza in every country of the world!)
5) First International Successes. Not only have I gotten to see the world, I’ve gotten the chance to stand atop it. Not only have I competed on the world stage, I’ve been able to perform at the highest level.
I’m so blessed to have found this sport 16 years ago, and to be talented in it, but I’ve also had to work extremely hard to achieve what I have. There have been ups and downs and I’ve had my fair share of losses, failures, and injuries. However, I have been able to overcome it all to become a Senior Pan-American Champion, a 2x Jeux de la Francophonie medalist, and 2x World University Championship medalist (to name a few).
A lot of these accomplishments have also been epic and historic firsts! I never really considered myself a trailblazer in this sport until I got to be the first medal won for wrestling at the Jeux de la Francophonie for Team Canada – Nouveau Brunswick.
That year we won 4! It was awesome to represent New Brunswick at the Games – Twice! My second time I even got to be flag bearer at the opening ceremonies. I’ve been a huge advocate that you don’t have to leave New Brunswick to be successful in sport. There are a lot of awesome opportunities and support within the province.
I also got to be the first New Brunswick wrestler to win a Senior Pan-American title. In 2016 I got to stand on top of the podium and sing O’Canada for the first time! Afterward my coach, the President of Wrestling Canada Lutte, told me this was the first time at a Senior Continental Championship a New Brunswick wrestler won gold, across all three styles.
4) Becoming an Ambassador and Advocate. I’ve been able to give back to the community and use my position as an athlete and role model to advocate for things that mean a lot to me. I’ve been able to share my story and connect with people, especially youth, to help inspire the next generation of athletes. I’m an athlete ambassador with the New Brunswick Sport Hall of Fame and Kidsport New Brunswick which are aiming to get New Brunswick youth active and involved in sport and provide them with the funds to enable participation in organized sport, respectively.
I’m also an athlete role model with Fast and Female which aims to get girls active through sport. One of their main pillars is role models and celebrating strong female leaders, because you can’t be what you can’t see. Girls are more likely to drop out of sport than boys – at twice the rate – and 41% of girls age 3-16 don’t participate in any sport. As a female athlete it’s so important to me that young women and girls have visible role models and equal opportunity to try different sports. Wrestling is still considered a male-dominated and masculine sport, but given the opportunity girls have thrived and been successful in it. I love the opportunities I’ve had to introduce people to this amazing sport!
I’ve also recently become an RBC Olympian and joined 54 other awesome Canadian athletes on Team RBC. As the longest standing partner of Team Canada, RBC supports Canadian athletes and helps us spread the Olympic messages of teamwork, excellence, commitment, and leadership to communities across Canada. I’ve had a wonderful time in the program thus far and I can’t wait to keep making a positive impact in the community for years to come!
3) Creating Team Stewart. Of course I haven’t been able to do everything this past decade without a lot of help and support! I’ve recently mentioned, in an interview with 49 North Wrestling, the team that has come together in the latter half of this decade to help me achieve success. This network of amazingly intelligent and passionate individuals took time to cultivate. I think we managed to cover every aspect of elite sport performance so that we can leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of greatness.
Thank you to everyone on my team! Your knowledge is priceless and your investment and belief in me is irreplaceable. Building these relationships means a lot to me and I’m so grateful for the respect, mutual trust and understanding we’ve fostered.
2) Meeting My Partner in Crime. Since I moved to Fredericton I have been working at the campus gym. That’s a decade having the same job folding towels, setting up events, monitoring the building, and signing out equipment. Of course I never imagined that my part-time student job would be where I met my partner.
I met Phil in 2015 working at the Currie Center at UNB. Since then we’ve started dating, moved in together, and adopted our kitty, Nico, together. He came to Nationals when they were in Fredericton in 2016 and he (sometimes begrudgingly) streams all my international competitions in the middle of the night. He always says that wrestling comes first, that he’s known that from the beginning and that he’s accepted it. So, since we all know that’s the case, the number one spot is:
1) Winning the Canadian Wrestling Trials. Everyone who knows me or my story has heard about my Olympic dream.
For the first time in my career I am the number 1 athlete in my weight class on the senior national team. It’s been a long and wild journey to get here, but going forward I will finally have the opportunity to wrestle to qualify myself for the Olympic Games. What a way to end the decade! So Happy New Year everyone! All the best in 2020 and beyond 🥂
•••
EDIT: The craziest thing happened when I got home from the airport last night! What a way to end an incredible year and the decade 💍😉 Maybe I’ll have to bump Philip to #1… maybe after Tokyo 🤷♀️
Samantha Stewart 