Elisabeth Creighton is a 19-year-old alpine skier with a bright future ahead of her. Even before fully mastering her sport, she knew she wouldn’t follow her family’s path into hockey.

It all began here in Quebec, more precisely at Sommet Olympia, where she took her first ski lessons at age eight. After joining the development squad and then the Laurentides elite team (U-14) from ages 13 to 15, she made the leap to an American program. In Lake Placid, at Northwood School, she was able to hone her talents in the U-18 category, thanks to a scholarship. Even in the United States, Elisabeth remained driven by her determination to represent Team Quebec, a dream that, with intensive and specialized training, became increasingly attainable. Indeed, she was eventually invited to training camp and officially selected. However, she decided to stay at Northwood while still representing Team Quebec, the team she spent three years with.

Since she won the Canadian Championship in slalom in 2024, Elisabeth has felt a renewed confidence. It is this confidence, along with her performances, that motivated GEM-CAR to invest in her project. The company granted Ms. Creighton $5,000 to support her in the sport and help cover the expenses necessary to pursue her career. She will thus be able to travel for competitions and training camps.

Over the past year, Elisabeth faced some health issues that made her realize the importance of diversification. Indeed, she suffered a major concussion at the end of January and only recovered by mid-March. This accident caused a long pause in her season and led to her exclusion from the World Junior Championship. She was only four points away from qualifying! What is an athlete without their sport? At that moment, she decided she couldn’t remain idle and that if another incident occurred, she needed another pursuit. Specialized in slalom and giant slalom, Elisabeth decided she would leave the junior circuit when she turned twenty to move into the SR category, which follows U-21. For a skier, the average career ends in the late twenties.

Elisabeth therefore wants to develop interests and skills beyond sports. In fall 2025, she will enter university. Despite numerous invitations including one from Harvard, she chose the University of Denver. There, she will be able to attend classes near a ski mountain and benefit from a program much better suited to her sport: she will take courses from September to November, then again from January to June. The academic break between November and January allows athletes to push themselves further while still getting a comprehensive education. Elisabeth will enroll in the International Studies program, which in Quebec corresponds to political science. Finally, she hopes to pursue a master’s in public health after her bachelor’s, depending on how her future unfolds.

No longer part of Team Quebec, she envisions the coming years very differently: She will have to coordinate her training camps and create her own programs to progress. In addition, she would like to train in France this summer to enrich the upcoming season.

Being an athlete requires a tremendous financial and personal investment, which is why it is important to support our homegrown athletes.

If you are interested in sponsoring Elisabeth’s journey, please note her contact information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.