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Eilidh Gibson suffered a shoulder injury in 2018 which has denied her a chance for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, so she channelled her passion for the sport into the Slalom Inspires project.

 

She wished to inspire girls who were already in the sport, to nurture their talents and fall in love with the canoe slalom, whatever their personal dream or aspiration. More than 60 girls attended the first event in November 2018 with many returning in 2019 for three regional events held in Scotland, England and Wales and a second national event held at Lee Valley.

 

Dame Katherine Grainger, who herself opened the 2019 Slalom Inspires event, presented Eilidh with the Social Impact Award.

 

 

Eilidh was excited and surprised to have won and said: “I’ve always had this passion for women and girls in sport and I just really wanted to actually do something. I’ve always wanted to change the world and I’ve started to realise that changing the world is just changing one person’s world at a time. To help someone, even a little bit, is food for my soul. I have been struggling the last few years with injury and I know that I’m not just an athlete, I had something else and knew I could positively impact on someone’s life. Being an athlete can be so selfish and I struggled with that so I wanted to know that if I didn’t achieve my dreams then at least I’ve changed one person’s life. Thank you to all the volunteers and GB athletes who have been amazing, coming to the events which have created a community in Slalom which is inspiring girls and British Canoeing who have been beyond supportive to this project.”