Eden Donatelli
Encyclopedia
Eden Donatelli is a Canadian Olympic Medalist in Short-track speed skating.
In 1985, Donatelli became the youngest ever athlete to make Canadian
Senior National Team status at 15 years of age. She medaled in 10 different World Championships from 1986 to 1992. In the 1988 Winter Olympics
, while short track speed skating was still a demonstration sport
, she won Silver in the women's 500m event. After retiring from skating, Donatelli married English speed skater and coach Julian Green, and has three children. Together with her husband and father, Eden coaches the Ridge Meadows Racers
in Maple Ridge, British Columbia
.
. Her mother was teaching her 3-year-old brother to skate and she didn’t know what to do with Eden while she had her brother on the ice, so she decided to teach them both at the same time. Eden figure skated at the Mission arena
at age 3 and then switched to speed skating
at age 4. Her father, George, having coached hockey
for several years, was her speed skating coach. Her mother, Jane schooled her in Highland Dancing giving Eden plyometric strength and an advantage on the ice. Together they forged a team that quickly made Eden the fastest skater in her own age class and often more senior age classes too. She often competed with children two or three years her senior just to challenge her abilities!
Despite being the fastest female for the BC
Canada Winter Games Team in 1983, Eden was not permitted to compete due to her young age; a rule that has since been challenged and defeated by Human Rights Law
. That same season she qualified for the Canadian National Training Team at the age of 13 years! As a result she was never on a provincial team and went directly to representing both BC and Canada at World Championships.
At age 15 Eden competed in her first World Championships. At age 16 she won a gold medal in the 500m at the World Championships in Montreal, Quebec. At the age of 17 Canadian Team rules forced her to move to Quebec to live and train at the National Training Center in order to be part of the Olympic relay team. Not speaking French fluently and living alone in a strange province was extremely difficult for Eden, but she overcame to win silver (500m) and bronze (3000m relay) Olympic medals at the 1988 Olympic games in Calgary. Finally, after two years the National High Performance Committee permitted Eden to be coached by her father again at home in Mission.
Eden’s participation in the National Team program meant that she had to miss a great deal of high school. In the summer of grade 10, Eden completed English 11 and Algebra 11 by correspondence so that she would have two less courses to complete during the school year. In the summer of grade 11, she completed grade 12 English by correspondence and then moved to Montreal
to train for the ’88 Olympic games
. While in Montreal, Eden completed the rest of her grade 12 courses by correspondence and graduated with her class in 1988. Eden attended McGill University
in 1988/89 and then moved back to BC to live and train. She took courses at the University of British Columbia
and Fraser Valley College. In 1992, after marrying British
Olympic Speed Skater Julian Green, Eden moved to Calgary. She was accepted into the Faculty of Education and made the decision to retire from skating in order to focus on her studies. Eden completed her Bachelor of Education at the University of Calgary in 1995. Also in 1995 Eden moved back to Mission, British Columbia and began teaching grade 1 at John Maclure Community School in Abbotsford, British Columbia
. Eden completed a Post Baccalaureate Diploma in Curriculum and Instruction at Simon Fraser University
in 1998. She also became a Reading Recovery Teacher
in 1999.
Eden excelled in speed skating at a time when no other BC female had qualified to the National Short Track Team. Eden was also the only female Anglophone
on the Canadian team for many years. To date the only other English speaking female to represent Canada at the Short Track World Championships or Olympics is Susan Auch
. She regularly competed against Sylvie Daigle
, Natalie Lambert, Susan Auch
, Maryse and Annie Perrault, Isabelle Charest
and Christine Boudrias
. As a young Long Track
skater Eden’s main competition was Catriona LeMay (Doan).
Her sport was notwell known
or well televised and as such she had little or no sponsorship
to offset her costs. This meant that her family bore the brunt of her travelling, equipment, and training expenses, as well as those of her father/coach. Eden benefited from the support of her home community of Mission, as well as the Mission Racers Speed Skating Club. She also had many wonderful coaches: Clara Overend, Dennis Brain, Sandra Clements, Larry Lewin, and of course, her father, George Donatelli.
Feeling a need to share her experiences to children, Eden was part of the Athlete’s Motivation Excellence Program 1988-1991. She also began coaching after retiring from competition in 1992. She currently coaches with her dad and her husband at three local clubs (Maple Ridge
, Sardis
and Langley). Aside from coaching six days a week, Eden presents regularly at Abbotsford District teaching conferences and has presented at teaching conferences in Vancouver and Victoria.
In 1985, Donatelli became the youngest ever athlete to make Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Senior National Team status at 15 years of age. She medaled in 10 different World Championships from 1986 to 1992. In the 1988 Winter Olympics
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
, while short track speed skating was still a demonstration sport
Demonstration sport
A demonstration sport is a sport which is played to promote itself, most commonly during the Olympic Games, but also at other sporting events.Demonstration sports were officially introduced in 1912 Summer Olympics, when Sweden decided to include glima, traditional Icelandic wrestling, in the...
, she won Silver in the women's 500m event. After retiring from skating, Donatelli married English speed skater and coach Julian Green, and has three children. Together with her husband and father, Eden coaches the Ridge Meadows Racers
Ridge Meadows Speed Skating Association
The Ridge Meadows Racers were founded by George Donatelli, father of the Olympic speed skater, Eden Green. The short track speed skating club has had a successful career, producing many high level skaters. They are based at the Planet Ice arena, in Maple Ridge, BC, Canada.- Coaching :The coaching...
in Maple Ridge, British Columbia
Maple Ridge, British Columbia
Maple Ridge is a District Municipality in British Columbia, located in the northeastern section of Metro Vancouver. Maple Ridge has a population of approximately 68,949.-History:...
.
Awards
- 1983 - BCSSA Athlete of the Year Award
- 1986 - Canada Tribute to the Champions World Ring Award
- 1986 - BCSSA Athlete of the Year Award
- 1987 - Canada Tribute to the Champions World Ring Award
- 1987 - Government of Canada Tribute to the Champions
- 1987 - BC Junior Athlete of the Year Award
- 1988 - Premiere’s Award for Achievement
- 1988 - BC Junior Athlete of the Year Award
- 1988 - Inducted into the Mission, BC Olympic Hall of Fame
- 1990 - Premiere’s Award for Achievement
- 1993 - Inaugurated into SSCSpeed Skating CanadaSpeed Skating Canada is the governing body for competitive long track and short track speed skating in Canada. It was founded in 1887, five years before the International Skating Union of which SSC later became a member in 1894.-History:In 1854, three British army officers raced on the St...
hall of Fame 1993 - 1994 - BC racing number retired
- 2000 - Inducted into the BC Sports Hall of FameBC Sports Hall of FameFor over 40 years, the community has entrusted the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum with the responsibility to collect, preserve, study, and interpret materials that relate to British Columbia’s rich sport history...
Early life
At thirteen months old, Eden began skating at the local ice rink in MissionMission, British Columbia
Mission, the core of which was formerly known as Mission City, is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is situated on the north bank of the Fraser River overlooking the City of Abbotsford and with that city is part of the Central Fraser Valley. Mission is the...
. Her mother was teaching her 3-year-old brother to skate and she didn’t know what to do with Eden while she had her brother on the ice, so she decided to teach them both at the same time. Eden figure skated at the Mission arena
Hockey rink
An ice hockey rink is an ice rink that is specifically designed for ice hockey, a team sport. It is rectangular with rounded corners and surrounded by a wall approximately 40 inches high called the boards.- Name origins :...
at age 3 and then switched to speed skating
Short track speed skating
Short track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters skate on an oval ice track with a circumference of 111.12 m...
at age 4. Her father, George, having coached hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
for several years, was her speed skating coach. Her mother, Jane schooled her in Highland Dancing giving Eden plyometric strength and an advantage on the ice. Together they forged a team that quickly made Eden the fastest skater in her own age class and often more senior age classes too. She often competed with children two or three years her senior just to challenge her abilities!
Despite being the fastest female for the BC
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
Canada Winter Games Team in 1983, Eden was not permitted to compete due to her young age; a rule that has since been challenged and defeated by Human Rights Law
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. That same season she qualified for the Canadian National Training Team at the age of 13 years! As a result she was never on a provincial team and went directly to representing both BC and Canada at World Championships.
At age 15 Eden competed in her first World Championships. At age 16 she won a gold medal in the 500m at the World Championships in Montreal, Quebec. At the age of 17 Canadian Team rules forced her to move to Quebec to live and train at the National Training Center in order to be part of the Olympic relay team. Not speaking French fluently and living alone in a strange province was extremely difficult for Eden, but she overcame to win silver (500m) and bronze (3000m relay) Olympic medals at the 1988 Olympic games in Calgary. Finally, after two years the National High Performance Committee permitted Eden to be coached by her father again at home in Mission.
Overview
Eden excelled in her home environment and skated at two Olympic games, seven World Championships, Multiple International events and Canadian Championships. It was there that she met her husband, Julian, also a speed skater representing Great Britain, at some of the same events.Eden’s participation in the National Team program meant that she had to miss a great deal of high school. In the summer of grade 10, Eden completed English 11 and Algebra 11 by correspondence so that she would have two less courses to complete during the school year. In the summer of grade 11, she completed grade 12 English by correspondence and then moved to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
to train for the ’88 Olympic games
1988 Winter Olympics
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...
. While in Montreal, Eden completed the rest of her grade 12 courses by correspondence and graduated with her class in 1988. Eden attended McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in 1988/89 and then moved back to BC to live and train. She took courses at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
and Fraser Valley College. In 1992, after marrying British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Olympic Speed Skater Julian Green, Eden moved to Calgary. She was accepted into the Faculty of Education and made the decision to retire from skating in order to focus on her studies. Eden completed her Bachelor of Education at the University of Calgary in 1995. Also in 1995 Eden moved back to Mission, British Columbia and began teaching grade 1 at John Maclure Community School in Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford is a Canadian city located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, adjacent to Greater Vancouver. It is the fifth largest municipality in British Columbia, home to 123,864 people . Its Census Metropolitan Area, which includes the District of Mission, is the 23rd largest in Canada,...
. Eden completed a Post Baccalaureate Diploma in Curriculum and Instruction at Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
in 1998. She also became a Reading Recovery Teacher
Reading Recovery
Reading Recovery is a school-based, short-term intervention designed for children aged five or six, who are the lowest literacy achievers after their first year of school. These children are often not able to read the simplest of books or even write their own name before the intervention...
in 1999.
Eden excelled in speed skating at a time when no other BC female had qualified to the National Short Track Team. Eden was also the only female Anglophone
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
on the Canadian team for many years. To date the only other English speaking female to represent Canada at the Short Track World Championships or Olympics is Susan Auch
Susan Auch
Susan Auch is a speed skater who competed in several Winter Olympics games, winning the bronze in the 3000 m. relay at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and the silver in the 500 m. events at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway and the 1998 games at Nagano, Japan...
. She regularly competed against Sylvie Daigle
Sylvie Daigle
Sylvie Daigle is a Canadian speed skater. She is a member of Canadian Short Track relay team that won gold medal in 1992 Winter Olympics and silver medal in 1994 Winter Olympics. She is also a five-time Overall World Champion...
, Natalie Lambert, Susan Auch
Susan Auch
Susan Auch is a speed skater who competed in several Winter Olympics games, winning the bronze in the 3000 m. relay at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and the silver in the 500 m. events at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway and the 1998 games at Nagano, Japan...
, Maryse and Annie Perrault, Isabelle Charest
Isabelle Charest
Isabelle Charest is a Canadian short track speed skater who competed in the 1994 Winter Olympics, in the 1998 Winter Olympics, and in the 2002 Winter Olympics....
and Christine Boudrias
Christine Boudrias
Christine-Isabel Boudrias is a Canadian short track speed skater who competed in the 1994 Winter Olympics and in the 1998 Winter Olympics....
. As a young Long Track
Long track speed skating
Speed skating is an Olympic sport where competitors are timed while crossing a set distance. It is also a sport for leisure. Sports such as short track speedskating, inline speedskating, and quad speed skating are also called speed skating...
skater Eden’s main competition was Catriona LeMay (Doan).
Her sport was notwell known
Publicity
Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a subject. The subjects of publicity include people , goods and services, organizations of all kinds, and works of art or entertainment.From a marketing perspective, publicity is one component of promotion which is one...
or well televised and as such she had little or no sponsorship
Sports marketing
Sport marketing is divided into three sectors. The first is the advertising of sport and sports associations such as the Olympics, Spanish Football league and the NFL. The second concerns the use of sporting events, sporting teams and individual athletes to promote various products. The third is...
to offset her costs. This meant that her family bore the brunt of her travelling, equipment, and training expenses, as well as those of her father/coach. Eden benefited from the support of her home community of Mission, as well as the Mission Racers Speed Skating Club. She also had many wonderful coaches: Clara Overend, Dennis Brain, Sandra Clements, Larry Lewin, and of course, her father, George Donatelli.
Feeling a need to share her experiences to children, Eden was part of the Athlete’s Motivation Excellence Program 1988-1991. She also began coaching after retiring from competition in 1992. She currently coaches with her dad and her husband at three local clubs (Maple Ridge
Ridge Meadows Speed Skating Association
The Ridge Meadows Racers were founded by George Donatelli, father of the Olympic speed skater, Eden Green. The short track speed skating club has had a successful career, producing many high level skaters. They are based at the Planet Ice arena, in Maple Ridge, BC, Canada.- Coaching :The coaching...
, Sardis
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford is a Canadian city located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, adjacent to Greater Vancouver. It is the fifth largest municipality in British Columbia, home to 123,864 people . Its Census Metropolitan Area, which includes the District of Mission, is the 23rd largest in Canada,...
and Langley). Aside from coaching six days a week, Eden presents regularly at Abbotsford District teaching conferences and has presented at teaching conferences in Vancouver and Victoria.