Jayde Quilty: Three-Year Plan

June 8, 2013

Quin McConnell

“All the girls who I am competing beside right now are the girls who I have been looking up to for the past year.”

Jayde Quilty’s performance on Jackie could have taken the spotlight away from Canada West’s top women. She would have been first to finish her pull-ups, but a no-rep on her last one put her in second place, just one second behind Heather Gillespie.

Before CrossFit, the 26-year-old CrossFit Whistler coach was looking for something new to feed her competition bug. With a background in 400-meter hurdles, javelin and heptathlons, Quilty had always been active.

A co-worker, Jordan Glasser, opened CrossFit Whistler and it triggered Quilty’s transition to the sport.

Unfortunately, she was involved in a car accident in March of 2012 that led to some lingering irritations in her neck and lower back. Due to her injuries, Quilty’s first experience with CrossFit was on the sidelines.

“I would go and watch classes at CrossFit Whistler, I got my L1 and then I judged at the 2012 Canada West Regional,” Quilty says.

Her experience at the Regional was what she calls “getting my toes wet” to fuel her for 2013.

With Quilty’s weaknesses being chest-to-bar pull-ups and handstand push-ups, combined with lingering side effects from the car accident, she has had to be smart about her training over the last year and listen to her body rather than push it to the limit.

“When I found out about the overhead squat event, I asked myself, ‘How am I going to get the bar in the overhead position without a rack or blocks?’”

Moments like this keep Quilty in check with reality.

She has a three-year plan of making it to the CrossFit Games, finding a career that allows her to coach on the side and finding the time to learn, grow and be the best athlete she can be.

“I am here, I want to be here and I plan to be a force to be reckoned with and I will be a top contender.”

She adds: “All the girls who I am competing beside right now are the girls who I have been looking up to for the past year.”