One of many college and university students home for the summer, Calli-Ann Abbott returned from University of Hawaii in Honolulu with no plans to take any time off. Abbott is now training to represent Powell River Track and Field Club in heptathlon as a member of the BC team at Canada Summer Games 2017.
The Brooks Secondary School graduate recently completed her first year at university and is currently working out regularly at Timberlane Park with her former coach Connie Polman Tuin.
Canada Summer Games take place in Winnipeg from July 28 to August 13. Abbott qualified for the event at the Jesse Bent Memorial Meet in Coquitlam earlier in June.
Heptathlon is a multidiscipline track and field event comprised of seven events: 100 metres hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 metres, long jump, javelin throw and 800 metres.
Abbott signed with the Hawaiian university on a track and field scholarship in 2015. She said she surprised herself while competing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Big West Conference.
“I didn’t expect it to go as well as it did, being a freshman,” said Abbott. “Our team was very young. There were 12 freshmen who made up the majority of the team. It went a lot better than expected.”
According to Abbott, becoming used to University of Hawaii’s enrolment of 18,865 students, nearly 6,000 more than City of Powell River’s population, was a big adjustment.
Polman Tuin said Abbott has handled her first year away extremely well considering her distance from close family, the transition of leaving home, having to make new friends and adjusting to a new training regime.
“I could see a huge growth in her when she came back,” said Polman Tuin.
Abbott posted personal bests in the hurdles, shot put and javelin, but struggled for the first month. She said she went from training as the only multi-discipline track and field athlete at Brooks to training with eight other women and competing indoors for the first time.
After the first couple of indoor meets, Abbott said she became used to it. She said she surprised herself outdoors, ranking 13th in the conference in her first year.
“I hope to go back more prepared for indoor, mostly because that’s your first kick at the season,” said Abbott. “It was really cool because we got to see Olympians who were there, and future Olympians. I was competing against University of Oregon and all of the big schools. I got my butt kicked, but that was still pretty cool.”
According to Abbott’s mother, Traci, it was her daughter’s decision to go to the United States for post-secondary schooling.
“We had people say, ‘I can’t believe you’re letting her go to Hawaii,’” said Traci. “How can you not? This was what she wanted to do and she achieved it. That’s why we raise our kids to dream big and fulfill their dreams.”
