Upon arriving in Canada and only knowing one word in French, Dasha Atkins did not let that keep her from her love of cross-country skiing. Initially joining a ski club because of her friends, the support they gave her and her love of the sport motivated her to continue what she started in Russia.
In search of a better life for her and her brother, Dasha’s family immigrated to Montréal in 1999 to escape the Second Chechen War. “My mom didn’t want my brother to die there”, Dasha recalls, as military service was mandatory for all men at the time. The struggles of high inflation rates and corruption were additional motivating factors that pushed her parents into moving to a country that promised a bright future for their children. “It’s a tough country to live in and I knew that we would have a better chance at a better life living in Canada”, she remembers.
While Dasha was excited to leave Russia, she would be met with some new challenges entering a province with French as its first language. Upon arrival, she and her brother were enrolled in a French immersion school program for immigrants, where they learned math and English all day with other kids of all ages. Her parents didn’t have enough money to enroll them in a private English school, which was a tough experience for Dasha. “My dad got a job in the only French-speaking province in the whole country,” she joked. “There’s thirteen provinces and territories and this is the only one we didn’t want to be in because everything is in French.”
This struggle would follow Dasha into cross-country skiing, when she made the Quebec ski team. Her coach barely spoke any English and she relied on her English-speaking teammates to fill her in on what was discussed during meetings. Highlighting the difficulty of the situation, Dasha said “I’m just like staring at the ceiling, I have no idea what they’re talking about.” Moving to a new country is difficult on its own, but not being able to understand the language makes it even harder.
In 2002, Dasha was set to compete at the World Junior Championships, but ran into an obstacle that prevented her from doing so. She was still awaiting the arrival of her Canadian citizenship and tried everything she could to get it on time, which included her dad writing to the local Member of Parliament. “It was terrible. It sucked,” she said. Using this as motivation helped Dasha race faster the following year when she got the opportunity to show Canadians her skills.
Taking her passion to the next level, Dasha went on to compete in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and 2014 Sochi Olympics. Residing in Canada and originating from Russia, Dasha received a double homecoming at both games. Specifically, Vancouver was the best experience of her life and a dream come true. While she didn’t win any medals at either Olympics, that didn’t take away from representing her home country two Olympic Games in a row while doing what she loves.
The support from Canadians didn’t stop there. Heading into the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Dasha applied to the CAN Fund organization, which provides financial support for Canadian athletes to train and compete. Dasha applied for five years before finally getting approved which was yet another example of her hard work and dedication leading up to the Olympics. “It was amazing. We wanted to win and I was part of this medal project so it was 100% focused on one thing”, she recalls.
Dasha feels that in Canada, she was able to blossom the most in her sport. The country has given her many opportunities to excel which is something she is grateful for and says representing Canada internationally at the Olympics is “the highest honour you can have.” She is proud to be Canadian and says, “I see myself as a Canadian with Russian heritage.”
After the 2014 Games, Dasha made the decision to retire from competition. Despite the difficulty of deciding to retire, she received support from her family and friends. She ultimately came to that decision because she felt like it was no longer a productive environment for her to be in. While her time competing professionally came to a close, she found another way to enjoy the sport she loves.
Dasha founded the Space Dogs Ski Club in Calgary, Alberta which offers ski programs for adults of any experience level who are looking to train or engage in a recreational activity. She hopes to spread her love of cross-country skiing with fellow Canadians during the long winter months as it’s an activity that can help them enjoy the weather.
Cross-country skiing has formed some of Dasha’s strongest friendships. “I had really good friends and I had a really supportive environment when I joined the ski club,” she said. She also revealed that the kids in her club were the ones who taught her how to speak French fluently. They were the ones who made it easier for her to integrate into Canadian society and were a coping method for being in a new country.
Perianne Jones, former Olympian and Dasha’s partner for the team sprint at the 2014 Olympics, spoke to the importance of friendship in sport especially if you’re spending a lot of time away from home. She and Dasha have been teammates since 2003 during their time on the Jr. National Ski Team. This had a very positive impact on their performances. “We pushed each other really hard during training, and shared a lot of laughs, which I’m pretty sure was part of the reason we kept at the sport for as long as we did”, she said. Their goals as a team were aligned leading up to the Games and their strong bond earned them a bronze medal at the Olympic test event.
The factor that influenced her to join cross-country skiing is what she uses presently to spread her love of the sport with others. Acknowledging the importance of making friendships through sports, Dasha says “it’s a great way to integrate and you get to meet wonderful people through sport.”
With an environment that fosters friendship, Dasha is encouraging others to join a sport,especially cross-country skiing, as they can expect to see the same results as how her friends from sports have impacted her life since moving to Canada.
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