Ottawa’s Caily Lemmex lays claim to Ontario, Quebec & Canadian snowboard cross titles
April 4, 2025
By Isabella Disley
Mont-Ste-Marie snowboarder Caily Lemmex of Dunrobin won the 2025 Ontario, Quebec and Canadian women’s U15 snowboard cross titles in recent months. Photo provided
Ottawa snowboarder Caily Lemmex made the most of her final year in the under-15 division with a triple-crown of snowboard cross championships for Ontario, Quebec and Canada.
The athlete from Dunrobin completed the trifecta on Mar. 28 with a Quebec provincials victory at Val-St-Côme. She’d earlier won the Ontario provincials on Feb. 22 at Beaver Valley near Collingwood and she moved into the lead late to win the Canadian championship race on Mar. 10 at Horseshoe Resort in Barrie.
“I was racing some really talented girls, so it was tough,” Caily reflects. “Winning was really rewarding. It feels good.”
The Quebec title marked the finish line of major competitions for Caily this season, which began with a snow-chasing trip to Yukon in November. Alongside her mom Joanne, Caily travelled between 2-7 hours every weekend from January to March for competitions and training from southwest Ontario to northeast Quebec.
Her home track with Club Prestige at Mont-Ste-Marie is also about two hours from home. The Lemmex pair are thankful that Peak Academy helps Caily keep up with school while on the road and that remote work is possible for Joanne, who adopted Caily from an orphanage in Vietnam as a single mom.
They’re also grateful for the extensive support system behind her, including the individuals who contributed to Caily’s ongoing fundraising campaign to help mitigate some of the high costs of pursuing her sport at an elite level.
“My community has given me the financial support I needed to race this year, which has been a big relief,” underlines Caily, who raised nearly $10,000 this season.
This year was a dream season in Caily’s career, which stems from the first time she hit the slopes at just two years old.
Caily Lemmex (centre) was the Canadian U15 women’s champion at the snowboard cross nationals at Beaver Valley near Collingwood, ON. Photo provided
“She was carving right away,” Joanne recalls. “There is a video of her first time on a snowboard on her website. You can see the smile on her face, and it hasn’t gone away.”
Since 2023, Caily has been a member of the Ontario high-performance snowboard team member, winning a gold medal and then silver in her first two appearances at the U15 SBX nationals before returning to the top step of the podium this year.
Caily has ADHD and Tourette syndrome, but whenever she’s at the mountain, she is in her element.
“During a race, I am hyper-focused, but before the race, I distract myself with music or I talk to people,” signals the Ottawa Sports Awards’ top snowboarder of 2024. “It’s super fun while I’m racing, jumping, going over rollers and around banks. It feels like I’m floating.”
Finding the right equipment to race at a top level is another challenge Caily has encountered.
“I almost quit because I couldn’t find boots to fit my short, wide foot,” recounts Caily, whose mom was eventually able to find and modify liners to fit properly.
Caily Lemmex. Photo provided
Caily is now set to grow out of the U15 level and will move up to the International Ski Federation group next year, where she will race against older snowboarders for FIS points. Collecting FIS points is crucial to Caily’s future snowboarding career, which will allow her to qualify for major races.
Caily has her eye on representing Canada at the junior world championships and the 2028 Winter Youth Olympics in Italy. She’d also like to get instructor certifications and become a firefighter in the future.
“When her racing days are over, whatever she does, I see mountains and snowboarding in her future,” Joanne smiles.