PARENT SPOTLIGHT
CURTIS HIBBERT
STICK THE LANDING
A Former Gymnast and his Family Navigate the Pandemic in Style
BY LAUREN ALPERN
Life has come full circle for Canada’s most successful gymnast. Curtis Hibbert, the six-time national champion, two-time World Championship medallist and holder of six medals from the Commonwealth Games, including five golds, is now giving his two boys trampoline lessons in the backyard as he and his family practice physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. As an active family, Curtis, his wife, Cathy, and their two sons, Samuel, 12, and Myles, 8 (Class of 2029), have been doing everything they can to remain physically fit. “I’ve been teaching the kids tricks on the trampoline, and we get out for hikes in the forest,” said Curtis, who retired from competitive gymnastics in 1993. “Samuel loves playing basketball, but since he can’t play with other kids in the neighbourhood, he is stuck playing with me. I try to keep up with him!” While Myles is the only one in the family who now does gymnastics – and only on a recreational level – the Hibberts are still big on physical activity. They ski and snowboard together, waterski and bike, and Samuel is a provincial-level swimmer. Curtis, who owned a recreational gym called Kids Super Gym Club after his retirement from the sport, has been to elementary and high schools across Toronto speaking to students, helping teachers develop gymnastics programs and motivating young people to be active.
Now, more than ever, Curtis emphasizes the importance of promoting physical fitness.
“Being active is a huge benefit for mental health,” said Curtis, who moved to Canada from Jamaica at age 4 and said that by the time he was 7, he was already able to do flips and walk on his hands. “The skills you learn from sport – the visualization and concentration techniques, CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) – they’re incredible life-long skills that I still use today. They have helped me with parenting, work stress and staying fit.” Curtis credits physical fitness with changing his life for the better. As the youngest of seven children growing up in a low-income family, he says it was gymnastics that allowed him to learn valuable life lessons and see the globe. He started the sport at age 7, and by 8 years old, he had won the provincial championships. He was soon winning every competition he entered. Gymnastics quickly became his life, as he took to training three times a week until he was 12, which is when he got noticed by some of the top coaches and judges. He was invited to train at York University, along with national team members. During the summers, he would go train with the team at Canadian Adventure Camp in Temagami. “We couldn’t afford the camp, so the director let me wash dishes or be the garbage man, so I could stay for weeks on end and train. I was very lucky – it was just the right time, the right place, with the right people. The first club that I was at changed their policy, allowing anyone without financial means to go there because of me,” said Curtis. “With seven kids, my parents weren’t able to help me. My coaches were my pillars. They provided all of the guidance and support for me to reach my greatest dreams, while my family were my biggest cheerleaders.”
Curtis and his family.
His wife, Cathy, is extremely proud of Curtis and says that they often talk about his gymnastics career with their boys. “We taught them the word trailblazer at a young age, because their dad was a trailblazer. He was the first black gymnast to win a World Championship and the first Canadian to win a World Championship medal. He’s still the most decorated Canadian gymnast,” said Cathy, who was a camper at Canadian Adventure Camp and had a huge crush on Curtis. “We talk about dedication, the number of hours you have to put in, how hard it is, and even though you’re training so hard, you might not have the best meet on the day.” After his retirement from the sport in 1993, Curtis went on to have a successful 20-year career as a stuntman, doing live-action stunt shows, diving off the mountain at Canada’s Wonderland, and appearing in both Canadian and American movie and television productions, including 16 Blocks, X-Men, Chicago and Undercover Brother. His favourite movie moment was doubling James Brown. In 2006, at age 40, Curtis began his third career – becoming a police officer for the city of Toronto. “It was a steep learning curve, but I knew I was capable physically,” said Curtis. “I really like it. For a few years I worked as a school resource officer, where I was able to help school administrators and young people navigate some tricky times. The work/life balance has been great as well.”
Cathy was extremely supportive of the career move. “At that time, the film industry was tanking in Toronto and we wanted to have a family – we didn’t want to depend on something so unreliable,” said Cathy, who describes her husband as chatty, empathetic, silly, determined, loving and a great father. “His first week on the job, he chased a thief, jumped a fence and caught the guy – it was great seeing him on the news.” With the COVID- 19 pandemic in full force, Curtis is working from home, as his current office position now allows him to complete his work online. He is still enjoying the job, but he misses his fellow officers. “Now, the kids are home and it’s a team effort for all of us to get our work done,” said Curtis. “The teachers at RSGC are doing a fantastic job, and luckily our boys can be almost independent with their online learning. Cathy and I help out when we can, but she is teaching her own classes in our bedroom and I’m doing my police work at the kitchen table!” At the end of the day, pandemic or not, a family walk, a bike ride or a bounce on the trampoline makes it all okay. Curtis is happy. “Finally, I have the time to coach the kids, and they are loving their new tricks!” he said.