Leblanc heard the news last week on her way to work for Paddle Niagara, where she serves as the kids camp director when she\u2019s not working on her master\u2019s thesis at Brock.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was speechless,\u201d said Leblanc. “This award means everything to me. It represents every single person who has helped me achieve my goals and chase my dreams. This award represents my family, friends, school and paddling community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leblanc has integrated her love for stand-up paddleboarding into her research since joining Brock in 2019 after completing an undergraduate in Environment, Resources and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo.<\/p>\n
She chose to complete her master\u2019s thesis at Brock under Professor of Recreation and Leisure Studies Tim O\u2019Connell to answer the question of how water-based outdoor education influences and impacts children\u2019s relationship with the environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaddi\u2019s work is cutting edge as it is one of the few studies to look at the impacts of outdoor education in a water-based setting,\u201d said O\u2019Connell. \u201cHer results will definitely be of interest to a wide range of audiences, including the paddling industry, outdoor education and academia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leblanc first made a splash in the SUP community after starting an annual fundraising event called On Board, which has raised more than $40,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society in honour of her friends Lynn Lambert and Julia Turner who passed away in 2011.<\/p>\n
In 2016, she began competing in serious SUP races and was quickly signed by one of the biggest competitive teams, Starboard.<\/p>\n
Leblanc also won the Elite Female category at the 2018 Ontario SUP Series and captured the overall victory at the Mammoth Race in Toronto. She went on to represented Canada at the 2018 ISA SUP and Paddleboard World Championships in China.<\/p>\n
This season, Leblanc was gearing up for the seventh On Board charity paddle and another competitive racing season, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed everyone\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n
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