Sage Claughton

I was born in Nanaimo, British Columbia on August 11, 1995. I started my interest for sports at a very young age. As a young child my interest for sports was very intense and very broad. I had the opportunity to try out many different things. At the age of 2, my father took me horseback riding at a family friends farm. There I got to pet the horses, learn how to saddle them and even learn how to ride (of course with a little help). By the age of 4 my father enjoyed skiing, so I became the next skier in the family. It was like a winter wonderland for kids, I had ski instructors that would get me hot chocolate on breaks. This sport is still one of my favorite pass times in the winter time today.

At this time at the age of 4, my mother thought I should begin to learn to swim, because she herself was not a very good swimmer. Over the many years of practicing this sport it has also become one of my passions. This summer I will qualify as a life guard. By the age of 5 I wanted to join T-ball. I don't remember it so much now, but I was told I could chase a mean butterfly on the field. I stayed playing ball until the age of 9 by playing softball. Meanwhile, when I was about 6 years old I tried gymnastics. It looked like so much fun, jumping and flipping all about, but it just wasn't for me.

At the age of 9 I began Karate and I think I found one of my true passions. While this was going on I tried some of my schools sports, playing on the volleyball and basketball teams. These I liked a lot, but it just didn't seem like I had that much time to do any of them. The just kept on getting in my way, between my swimming and my karate training. I have tried snowboarding in the past couple of years, because I had surpassed my dad in skiing and I wanted to challenge myself. I didn't like it as much as skiing and didn't quite get it, but I would love to try it again the next time I go to a mountain.

For my 16th birthday I wanted to try surfing. So I and a couple of friends geared up and went to Tofino to learn how to surf. It was a lot of fun, and I would love to do it again soon. Thanks to the support from my mother and father I was able to try out so many sports and have a great childhood.