It was the chicken sandwich that young Scott Morgan probably looked forward to the most, but it was the time and support that his father brought along with it that helped Scott become a world-class gymnast.
Scott recalls his younger days at North Vancouver’s Flicka Gymnastics Club where his father James would come pick him up after practice, arriving with Scott’s favourite KFC meal.
“He was always great with supporting me and my sport,” says Scott. “I loved the chicken sandwiches. He’d sit down with me and I’d eat it and I’d beg him to stay longer. He’d let me stay and my old coach would be OK with that. I’d stay with a second group of boys for an hour or two. He’d sit there and watch – it was super supportive. He was my biggest fan.”
Scott has since become one of Canada’s best gymnasts, making the final in the floor routine competition at the 2013 world championships; earning four medals, including two golds, at the 2014 Commonwealth Games; and representing Canada at the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio.
Scott’s parents James and Carol talked about going to Brazil to watch their son compete in the Olympics last year but in the end decided against it, the travel complications and costs proving to be too much. They decided instead to focus their family efforts on getting to Montreal – the city that James grew up in before eventually settling in North Vancouver – to watch Scott compete in the 2017 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships running Oct. 2-8 at Olympic Stadium.
That plan, however, was made before a lingering cough sent James to see his family doctor in early July of this year. Concerned by the symptoms, the doctor set up a barrage of tests for the 67-year-old, who two years ago underwent successful heart surgery that involved six bypasses and a new valve. This was different. An X-ray revealed a shadow on one of his lungs. One month after that, James was admitted to hospital, ready to start chemotherapy. One month later, James was dead.
That was Sept. 15, less than two weeks before Scott was scheduled to travel to Montreal to prepare for the world championships. With the family reeling, a new plan was hatched. A GoFundMe campaign was launched to raise money so that Scott’s mother Carol, sister Holly and brother Robbie could all go to Montreal so they could stand together supporting Scott, just as James would have done.
“My dad wanted nothing more than to see me compete on the world stage in his hometown of Montreal,” Morgan wrote in his GoFundMe note. “Although my Dad cannot be there, my family who he cherished dearly can be.”
The response was immediate – within a day the campaign reached its goal of $6,500. Carol, Holly and Robbie are set to travel to Montreal this weekend to join Scott in time for the start of qualification rounds on Monday.
“The support has been overwhelming,” says Scott while taking a break between training sessions in Montreal. “It’s been amazing. We knew that we had a tight-knit group around our family and support there, but you don’t realize how much until things like this happen. Everyone has been so fantastic that it’s been overwhelming to say the least. … It’s made the whole process a lot easier to deal with. We appreciate it.”
The donation total is now at more than $14,500. Some extra funds will go towards funeral costs, but all that is left over will go back to the men’s national gymnastics team to help other athletes in need achieve their goals. Scott says his father was outspoken about the need for athletes to have sufficient financial support so that they could focus on their sport.
“You hear it so much – amateur sport in Canada, you struggle being an athlete,” Scott says. “There’s only so much support. As much as our federation tries to help us, there’s just not a surplus of cash on hand all the time. … I wanted to take the money and put it back into the men’s national team program for Gymnastics Canada.”
As tough as it may be, Scott himself is now trying to focus on the task at hand. A gymnast only gets so many cracks at major competitions, and he wants to make it count this year. He’ll be aiming to make the final – only the top eight advance – in his specialty, the floor exercise, while also potentially contesting the rings and vault.
“The goal is to try to make a final and kind of do what we did back in 2013, and then some,” he says. Ultimately, however, it’s clear there’s something more important than a number on a scoresheet that will be driving Scott this week.
“Just make him proud,” he says.
