Born deaf, Caroline wears cochlear implants that help her hear and doesn’t let her disability stop her from doing what she loves, paddling. She paddled and raced sprint canoe/kayak with a focus on kayak for over 20 years. She dabbled in Dragonboat, Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) and Surfski but didn’t get seriously into SUP until she bought her first 14′ racing board in the summer of 2021. Feeling the speed on a racing board and doing well in her first few races was all she needed to plunge into the sport. Addicted to the dynamic nature of the sport, she loves being in and on the water practicing her SUP skills and playing in the waves.
After winning the Ontario SUP Series in 2022 Caroline joined the Speed Freaks Team at Infinity SUP and has her sights on competing internationally.
On dryland Caroline has a Hearing Dog Guide named Gracie who wakes her up for practice every morning and alerts her to sounds she misses when there’s background noise like her phone ringing, a person calling her name, kitchen timers and the smoke detector. Gracie also goes to work with Caroline and everywhere she goes.
Caroline works full time as a Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Toronto and hopes to inspire her students to chase after their dreams because they can do anything they want to do!