What is Winning?
by Rachelle Rogers, GB Alpine Skier, AI Lead Project Manager
A conventional definition of winning is gaining, resulting in , or relating to a victory in a contest or competition. But have you ever questioned it beyond this definition? In the context of sport, what is winning? Is it about winning trophies, titles, medals, etc.? Or is it something else? Can we dive deeper and find a different way at defining winning? What do we learn from coming first? Why is it important to win? What if I told you winning could actually be achieved through failure? Ever since I was a little girl of about seven years old, I knew I wanted to go to the Olympics. Unfortunately, I never achieved my childhood dream. I failed. But I am completely ok with that! Why? Well, let me explain…
Those among us who become Olympic and World Champions, reaching the very top of their sport and dominating on the world stage, sacrifice a lot to get to where they are on a level beyond what the rest of us could perhaps ever begin to imagine or comprehend. These individuals don’t just win; they win at all costs. The media, and indeed some of these athletes themselves, may say these athletes work the hardest over their competitors – which is what makes them able to be so dominant. However, I can’t quite agree with this perception. Those of us who are of a lower calibre also work our hardest towards our goals but we just simply aren’t as good as the best at doing so and thus are unable to win at all costs; but that’s ok! It doesn’t mean to say we have lost or that we have failed. Most athletes will not go on to compete at the Olympic Games or World Championships, let alone win a medal at these events; yet that doesn’t mean they did not win. It doesn’t mean they did not succeed. It does not mean they failed, even if they did not achieve their childhood dreams.
Most athletes will not go on to compete at the Olympic Games or World Championships, let alone win a medal at these events; but that doesn’t mean they did not win, even if they did not achieve their childhood dreams.
My last season before retiring from competitive sport was the the toughest I had experienced in my twelve-year commitment to being an elite athlete. In the run up to the competitive season, I had worked incredibly hard and began the European winter at the fittest level I had ever been. On the slopes, I made very good progress in training but for some reason when it came to competitions, I was unable to transfer this progress to give an ‘on paper’ result. This lead to me having some significant doubts and reflections about my career, leaving me questioning the path forward. I began to toy with the idea of retiring, of giving up. It was a difficult decision to make and I actually decided to see a counsellor because I was unable to make the decision on my own and did not wish to be influenced by those directly involved (parents, friends, coaches, etc.). In total, I had three sessions with the councellor and during that time I came up with the idea of a parachute. This parachute was composed of many strings and I drew it out on a piece of paper.
As I began to draw the parachute, I added a string for each factor or circumstance I believed was holding me back from being the best ski racer I could be. It dawned on me that in order to reach the next level, I would have to let go of those strings. I would need to cut them loose. Otherwise, all the drag created by this large parachute would prevent me from skiing fast because the more strings you have, the bigger the parachute and the larger the drag! I reviewed each string and decided they were not things I could let go of. I came to realise as a ski racer, I would always have my parachute holding me back and I would be unable to ski to my full, fastest potential no matter how hard I worked or how much I may have felt I wanted it. Ultimately, unlike the champions of the sporting world, I was unable to win at all costs.
I would always have my parachute holding me back and I would be unable to ski to my full, fastest potential no matter how hard I worked or how much I may have felt I wanted it.
Although I did not achieve my childhood dream and win in that sense, I won in many other ways. At the age of sixteen, I had the honor of representing Team GB in the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games and in the closing ceremony, Jacques Rogge (the president of the IOC at the time) addressed us with the following words:
“Dear Athletes, we have been inspired by your conduct, not only on the snow and ice, but also during the Culture and Education Programme. You embody the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect. More than anyone, you are responsible for the great success of these Games and now it is up to you to take the spirit of Innsbruck back to your countries. By earning the title Youth Olympian, you are role models for your generation and you have started something special in Innsbruck. No matter what happens in your sports career, from this point all of you are equipped to become future leaders.”
At the Winter Youth Olympic Games, I did not deliver the performances I had hoped for in my competitions. However, I took away with me far more than what any medal will ever be worth. I won tools and perspectives which would grow to be the foundations of who I am today. From my sporting career, I learnt what it means to work hard, to be patient, to be humble in both moments of success and failure, to overcome any challenge life throws at me through my resilience & tenacity built from being an athlete, and to be true to myself & who I am no matter what. Medals and trophies are just pieces of metal, plastic, etc. and I definitely think the skills you win from your experience as an elite athlete are certainly worth far more than that!
The biggest achievement from my sporting career is who it made me, not how many medals or trophies I won.
Whilst deciding to retire from my athletic career is still to this day the hardest decision I have had to make in my life, I would not change the choice I made and the fact I failed at achieving my dreams. Reflecting back, I now appreciate I failed at ski racing because those failures and short-comings have moulded me into who I am. I can reflect on my time as a ski racer with no regrets. It would be very easy for me to feel disappointed and wish I had become an Olympian. However, I really appreciate just how valuable and special the twelve years of my ski racing career have been. They reflect the essence of my personality – unconventional! I never seem to do things the way everyone else does, not walking the same path. I don’t think an athletic career should be measured by statistics and ‘on paper’ results, I think the true measure of success is what you learn from your experiences, the challenges you overcame, the battles you won and how competitive sport has enabled you to take the non-technical skills developed as an athlete into the world beyond elite sport. Hence why I now see my failures in skiing as successes and for me, the biggest achievement from my sporting career is who it made me, not how many medals or trophies I won.
All of us have the potential to achieve success from the failures we endure in our lives. Failure can therefore be turned into success if we accept it, learn from it and become better individuals because of it. Winning in the conventional sense only lasts for a very small amount of time on one given day. That’s it. All you get is a medal or a trophy, standing on the podium for a fragment of time. An athlete’s career is so short compared to the average life span of a human being and can end at any time; which is why we should live in the moment and make the most of it whilst it lasts, giving our best efforts but also embracing failure when it arises and using it to make us stronger and more resilient. We should be able to look back at our accomplishments, both failures and successes, with pride and with no feelings of regret.
Athletes can transfer their passions, skills and values developed from their endeavours into projects that give back to their communities and embody the lessons of their experiences to create responsible, active and engaging young citizens.
Whatever our endeavours are, at some point they will come to an end; and regardless of what we have or have not achieved, all of us are winners. Every single one of us is equipped with the foundations to become future leaders, no matter the adversities we will face. All athletes will leave their competitive careers with essential non-technical skills which they will have developed from their experiences within their sporting environments and other aspects of their lives. These skills can be applied to any career they choose to pursue in the future beyond the world of sport. That is the key. Each athlete should take these skills, adapt them to future roles and professions by using their specific past experiences to bring something extra into the world of work. Athletes can transfer their passions, skills and values developed from their endeavours into projects that give back to their communities and embody the lessons of their experiences to create responsible, active and engaging young citizens.