Lara Mussell Savage is a world champion in

Ultimate Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums *Ultimate (Bryan Adams album), ''Ultimate'' (Bryan Adams album) *Ultimate (Jolin Tsai album), ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album) *Ultimate (Pet Shop Boys album), ''Ult ...

, earning a gold medal in both 2000 and 2004, as well as bronze medals in 1998 and 2008. Leading up to 2010, Lara was a part of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) as Project Manager for Aboriginal Sport and Youth. Previous to this, she was the Operations Manager for the Air Canada PGA Tour Championship. Adding to her resume, in 2015 Mussell Savage became an ambassador for viaSport’s Gender Equity #LevelTheField campaign promoting gender equity in sport and became a Trustee for the British Columbia (BC) Sports Hall of Fame & Museum. Mussell Savage is a member of

Skwah First Nation The Skwah First Nation or Skwah Band () is a band government of the Sto:lo people in the area of the City of Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. It should not be confused with the Skway First Nation in the same area, which is a member of the ...

, where she has served as an elected Councillor for her nation since 2014 and as Chief since being elected Chief in 2020. Mussell Savage was awarded the National

Tom Longboat Thomas Charles Longboat (4 July 18869 January 1949, Iroquois name: Cogwagee) was an Onondaga distance runner from the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ontario and, for much of his career, the dominant long-distance runner. He was known as t ...

Award as Canada’s Female Aboriginal Athlete of the Year in 2005. She was raised on the

territory in

Chilliwack Chilliwack ( ) is a city of about 100,000 people and in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located about east of the City of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley. The enumerated population is 93,203 in the city and 113,767 in the gr ...

and in the urban setting of Vancouver. and completed her bachelor's degree (BKin - Sport Management) at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

and master's degree (MBA) at Simon Fraser University. Since her retirement from Ultimate in 2008, Lara has continued to be an active advocate for Indigenous sport. Mussell Savage was inducted into the Chilliwack Sports Hall of Fame in 2016 for her achievements in and contributions to sport and is the first female and first Indigenous inductee. Mussell Savage currently resides in Chilliwack, BC, on the Skwah Reserve, with her husband, Kirk Savage (also a World Champion Ultimate athlete and hall of famer), and their two children.

Early life and education

Mussell Savage was raised in the Skwah First Nation of Stόlō territory in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. As a youth athlete she competed in several sports such as

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

, and later,

. Lara graduated from the

as a Wesbrook Scholar with a degree in

Kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, Biomechanics, biomechanical, Pathology, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kines ...

, Leisure & Sport Management (2001) and completed her MBA at Simon Fraser University (2019). Her father is Sxela':wtxw till, the late Chief Roy Mussell and her grandmother was the first female Chief of Skwah First Nation, elected in 1959. Her cousin, Kaila Mussell, was the first professional female saddle-bronc rider in North America.

Career

Mussell Savage was first exposed to Ultimate in 1992, when she was in her senior year of high school. During university, Mussell Savage and her classmates entered a team in the

Vancouver Ultimate League Ultimate Canada is a Non-profit organization, not-for-profit organization that serves as the governing body of the sport of Ultimate (sport), Ultimate (also known as "Ultimate Frisbee") in Canada. It runs the Canadian Ultimate Championships (CUC) ...

and she later went on the play for the University of British Columbia's varsity-club team. Serving as team captain, Mussell Savage helped lead the team to three National University Ultimate Championship titles. In 1997, Mussell Savage joined Vancouver based touring team Goo (later known as Prime, then Traffic) that played in both American and Canadian tournaments. In 1998, her team went on to win the national championships, earning the chance to represent Canada at the World Ultimate Championships in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. She went on to help Canada achieve a bronze medal in 1998, and a gold medal in 2000. In 2004, as one of the national team captains, Mussell Savage lead the undefeated team to their second gold medal. She went on to win a bronze medal once more in 2008. After her 2008 season Mussell Savage required neck surgery, which eventually ended her athletic career. Since retirement she continues to be involved with sport management. Career highlights include 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, serving on the

organizing committee A union organizer (or union organiser in Commonwealth spelling) is a specific type of trade union member (often elected) or an appointed union official. In some unions, the organizer's role is to recruit groups of workers under the organizing ...

(VANOC) as Project Manager for Aboriginal Sport and Youth. Mussell Savage has helped run the Air Canada PGA TOUR Championship in British Columbia, and has also been employed by the

in their athletics department. Since 2010, she has been a part of the Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Council
ISPARC
and was also Chef de Mission for the Team BC for the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) for the 2014, 2017 and 2020 program and has become an ambassador for ViaSport’
#LeveltheField campaign
promoting gender equity in sport. Mussell Savage currently sits on the Board of Trustees for the BC Sports Hall of Fame and was featured in th
Women in Sport Spotlight
ViaSport BC’s series featuring inspirational female athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, and leaders in British Columbia. In 2018, Mussell Savage became one of the featured athletes in the award-winning Indigenous Sport Gallery in the BC Sports Hall of Fame & Museum. In 2022, Mussell Savage was invited to work with the Four Host First Nations, being the Lil'wat, Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh Nations, and the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee as part of the BC 2030 Feasibility Team to lead community engagement work on the prospective Indigenous-led bid for BC to host the 2030 Winter Games. While the bid ultimately did not go forward due to lack of provincial support, the Indigenous-led project was groundbreaking and presented a new way of approaching major Games hosting and conducting business within a spirit of reconciliation. In 2023, Mussell Savage was named one of the

"https://www.thestar.com/sports/2023/03/08/23-influential-canadian-women-in-sport-to-watch-in-2023.html

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mussell Savage, Lara Ultimate (sport) players First Nations sportspeople Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Simon Fraser University alumni