Maddy Balt on her olympic journey

Hi, my name is Dana and I am Maddy Balt's mom. Maddy is a member of the Canadian national team for skateboarding and is working incredibly hard to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Unfortunately, the odds have been stacked against her. Maddy was involved in a near-fatal car accident where she broke her neck, cracked her skull and suffered a severe concussion. The comeback she has made has been incredible, she's working so hard to keep this dream alive but as you can imagine the physical and financial setbacks resulting from the accident were substantial.

In addition to the financial setbacks from the car accident, unbeknownst to most, Maddy is on the hook for everything regarding travel, accommodation, coaching fees, physio etc. As skateboarding is a new addition to the Olympics the funding available to the sport is limited and not nearly the same as what typical national team athletes receive. With there being 5-6 international contests a year on top of her typical living expenses she would essentially have to be working full time to afford it which leaves no time for training and progression in her sport.

I am fundraising in hopes to take some of the financial pressure off of her so she can focus all of her time and energy on training, recovery and keeping this Olympic dream alive!

check out her recovery video here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjCJY6CAgnw/