Donna Spencer
Jun 30, 2009
SOURCE: The Canadian Press
Canadian biathlete Megan Imrie feels like she's been given warm clothes to put on after taking them off for a fundraising calendar.
Manitoba trappers are donating fur pelts to the 23-year-old from Falcon Lake, Man., to help pay for her journey to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C.
Imrie posed with her Canadian teammates for a nude calendar late last year to raise money for the women's biathlon team.
"It's a little bit ironic. Taking clothes off and putting more warm clothing on,'' Imrie said from Canmore, Alta., where she trains.
Her father Murray is a member of the Whiteshell Trappers Association. His friends in the organization came up with the idea of donating furs last fall.
"They're a bunch of guys who come out of the bush every once in awhile and love to talk,'' Imrie said. "My dad would go to meetings and would come home sometimes and say 'the trappers are interested in hearing your story.' Any interesting stories they'll bite onto.
"I was shocked they had taken this initiative to get the whole province to support me.''
Dave Bewick of the North American Fur Auction expanded the Whiteshell trappers' idea by sending out a brochure describing the program to almost 2,000 trappers in Manitoba. He enclosed a special Megan Imrie tag.
The trappers attach the tag to the pelt and donate it to an account in Imrie's name at NAFA.
Wolverine, fox, beaver, muskrat and marten pelts came in from as far north as Wabowden, which is about 700 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
The initial sale of Imrie's furs brought in $1,700 and Bewick says there are more pelts in her account to sell in September and January. An other fundraiser at the Fur Institute of Canada in Toronto raised an additional $700.
"It's pretty neat we've got an Olympic class athlete in the trapping community,'' Bewick said from Winnipeg. "She grew up on a trapline and knows what hard work it is on the trapline.
"I think that prepared her a little bit for the training program that she's going through now. She's done so well and she's made her father proud and certainly the trappers in that area very proud of her.''
Imrie says she's met her Olympic qualification criteria, but Biathlon Canada won't name its Olympic team until next winter.
Her family runs a guest ranch at Falcon Lake, which is in Whiteshell Provincial Park east of Winnipeg.
Imrie grew up on the land. She barrel raced horses, helped run the family business and started skiing the moment she could get a pair of skis on.
Her father's trapline covers 155 square kilometres. Imrie often went out with Murray and brother Devin to check the lines as a youngster.
"One time we got to crawl into an abandoned beaver lodge that only me and my brother could fit into,'' she recalled.
If animal rights' organizations are critical of the donate-a-pelt program, Imrie has her answer ready.
"The fur industry supports the livelihoods of tens of thousands of rural and aboriginal Canadians,'' she said. "It's a huge part of our culture and it's also based on the principle of sustainable use. There are humane trapping standards and mandatory trapper education requirements in every province.
"I feel it really connects me to what it means to be Canadian. It's about being Canadian and national and cultural pride to wear fur. It's something I'll continue to do proudly and not be afraid of animal rights groups.''
Both the Bold Beautiful Biathlon calendar and fur fundraiser has helped Imrie immensely. Sales from the calendar generated about $150,000.
"Every single one of us is feeling huge relief this year in particular,'' Imrie said. "Last year was a little bit of a struggle and people were trying to find work and were just really distracted from our training.
"Now at least for this one year, everyone has a bit of a base under them to feel good about focusing 100 per cent on training.''
Five thousand of the calendars were printed initially. They were so popular, another 1,000 went to press.
"I think most of the trappers in the Whiteshell have one of those calendars,'' Bewick said.
Imrie used a separate donation from the Whiteshell organization to have a custom-made stock carved for her biathlon rifle.
"They were thrilled to hear part of their contribution had gone to my rifle,'' she said. "Every little bit counts.''
