LAKE LOUISE, Alberta. –
Brodie Seger had to wait another day to launch a racing helmet that means a lot to him.
The cancellation on Friday of the first of two men’s World Cup runs in Lake Louise, Alta., Due to too much snow, reduced the Canadian host’s chances of racing at home a year after the whole event was wiped out due to COVID-19.
Seger will have another chance to race in his new flowered purple and blue helmet on Saturday’s downhill.
He’s on the start list with Broderick Thompson of Whistler, BC, Jack Crawford of Toronto, Jeffrey Read of Canmore, Alta, Cameron Alexander of North Vancouver, BC and Ben Thomsen of Invermere, C .-B.
Seger’s helmet is the product of his fundraising campaign for the ALS Society of British Columbia
ALS is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Motor neuron disease gradually paralyzes sufferers as the muscles in the body break down and the ability to walk, talk, eat, swallow, and eventually breathe wears off. There is no cure.
Seger’s father, Mark, has lived with ALS for nine years.
Mark, 58, stopped working as a family doctor four years after the onset of symptoms.
“He’s doing fine,” Seger said on Friday. “He progresses very slowly with ALS.
“Normally when you’re diagnosed you get a prognosis of two to five years. That’s the average lifespan after diagnosis. The fact that he’s still doing well after nine years, we’re in luck for that. .
“Unfortunately he’s not fit enough to travel so he couldn’t get out for that, but my mom is here. He still goes out with the dog most of the time which is amazing.”
Seger’s younger brother Riley, who skis for the University of Montana, ran a half marathon in Vancouver in 2019 to help raise over $ 8,000 for ALS-BC
This inspired Seger to come up with his own fundraising project last summer, which focused on a design competition for his helmet.
“It was really just that vague idea for a long time,” said the 25-year-old. “We were also running out of time to have a competition period and then have enough time to paint the helmet and prepare it for these races.”
With the help of his sponsors and the ALS-BC, Seger set up a Helmet For Hope website for design submissions and donations.
His campaign surpassed its original goal of $ 15,000 to nearly $ 17,000 on Friday.
“It exploded so much more than I thought it would,” Seger said.
Tyra Collumbin’s winning helmet design features the hashtag “.endALS” prominently on the back of Seger’s head.
“It’s a tragic illness because it kind of takes all hope away from you,” Seger said. “You are basically guaranteed to face this inevitable decline. Nothing can be done about it right now because we don’t have a cure, we don’t have a cure yet.
“But I have to say that there were many ways my dad, through it all, taught us to live at the same time. It’s such a powerful thing. There are so many ALS patients out there who have it. are huge, extremely inspiring to the people around them.
“I know so many people around us, so many families, friends have told me this about my dad. As sad as it may be, I’m incredibly proud of the way he handled it all and had such an impact on me, my brother and so many around us. “
Mark Seger wrote in an ALS Action Canada article in 2020 “Although my world is getting smaller and smaller and I need more help from my family, I am faced with a choice every day. to focus on what I can still do rather than what I can’t. “
Her son donates the proceeds from his helmet fundraiser to ALS-BC’s Project Hope, which is the establishment of a chair at the University of British Columbia for research and clinical trials.
Friday’s descent was called off after about 10 inches of overnight snowfall and 10 more predicted during the day made it difficult to groom the course in time for a midday start.
Sunday’s super-G crowns the season opener for the world’s best speed skiers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on November 26, 2021.
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