As you know, Prisma Storage Solutions is proud to sponsor the Ice Sisters and we thought it was important to let you know who these famous Ice Sisters are.
To embark on the Trophée Roses des Sables adventure, you need audacity and a strong heart. Add to that a background as a competitive sportswoman and unrivalled organizational skills, and you have the two funny ladies who make up crew no. 50: the Ice Sisters. An encounter with true forces of nature.
Why the number 50?
First of all, it should be known that their crew number is not at all a matter of chance or a passion for round numbers. 50 refers to the age that Annie Adam and Josée Mailhot, the Ice Sisters, will be in the year of their Trophée Roses des Sables. It’s a pivotal year that they have chosen to celebrate by embarking on this grand rally through the Moroccan desert. Initially, it was a vague project that had been floating around for a few years, but the turning point came late in the evening during a stay in Ontario with friends. Josée vividly remembers the moment of inspiration: “It was 2 o’clock in the morning, between two glasses of wine, and I don’t know why, but I had this kind of idea… I didn’t even have time to finish my thought when I looked at Annie and said, ‘Annie, next year, we’ll be 50, and that’s when the Trophée Roses des Sables takes place.’ She stopped, looked at me, and said, ‘Yes, I’m in. Let’s do it!'”
Two passionate individuals who found each other on the ice
Those few seconds perfectly represent the fiery nature of our Ice Sisters and the bond that unites them. This bond took root during their first encounter on the ice nearly 20 years ago. At that time, they were part of opposing teams, and it was only 5 years ago that Josée joined Nova, Annie’s team. They are two passionate individuals who found each other on the ice and have been inseparable ever since, considering themselves like sisters, hence their team name, the Ice Sisters. However, this passion for synchronized figure skating goes back much further than the past 20 years. In fact, Annie put on her first pair of skates at the age of 3, but it was around the age of 8 that she fully embraced synchronized figure skating and began competing. She admits that this demanding and intensive lifestyle sometimes made her question her passion for the sport: “At some point, you wonder if you still love it and if you still have the same fire. It requires commitment. When you skate, it’s from 8:30 in the morning until 11:30 at night, but the next day you still have to get up and go to work.” Clearly, the passion is still there, as at the time of writing, the skater and her team had just returned from a provincial championship with a silver medal in their pocket! As for Josée, she started figure skating at the age of 9 in Montréal-Nord before stumbling upon synchronized figure skating somewhat by chance. “Honestly, I don’t remember why I ended up there, but I loved it right away. One, because I enjoyed being in a group, and two, because I didn’t have the talent to be an individual skater! (laughs) I was doing it purely for pleasure. By the time I was 12, it was too late [to consider it as a career], but it was enough for me. Discovering synchronized skating allowed me to skate in a group, and being in a group makes us stronger to face challenges. I really fell in love with this sport.” This newfound passion continued to drive her until the age of 25 when she temporarily hung up her skates to focus on her studies, only to return with even greater enthusiasm in the adult categories. Since then, opportunities have kept coming: Canadian championships, senior competitions at the international level, trips to Sweden, Finland, France, the United States, and western Canada… As she approaches her 50s, Josée feels truly fortunate to still be able to pursue her childhood sport at such a competitive level. For those who would like to join the adventure of the Ice Sisters, it is still possible to do so by purchasing raffle tickets or by sponsoring them. The draw will take place on April 8, 2020. To be continued…
