Do you think you have what it takes to be on The Amazing Race Canada?
Many audition. Few are accepted. Fewer still actually win the whole thing.
Count Stephanie LeClair and Kristen McKenzie among that last category. Known simply as Steph and Kristen to their fans, they were the winners of season 4. They became the first all-female team to win The Amazing Race Canada and the first lesbian couple to win the show anywhere in the world. “The response has been amazing. It’s been really, really special,” says McKenzie.
Now Steph and Kristen are hosting The Amazing Race Canada Auditions, a spin-off series airing on Bell Fibe TV1 this June. It showcases some of the past season’s hopefuls who made exciting and entertaining audition tapes, but didn’t necessarily make the show.
The couple stopped Ottawa on Tuesday to record a segment with Brit O’Neill and Karen Sagle, who auditioned unsuccessfully for season 4.
So what tips did the “pros” have for the hopeful future contestants? It turns out the lesson of the day wasn’t athleticism or cleverness or perseverance.
It was trust.
"Honestly I think the biggest thing for us and why we were so successful is because we trust each other fully," says McKenzie.
The two teams headed to Vertical Reality, an indoor rock climbing gym where, the higher you climb, the more you need to trust the person holding your rope. "Obviously in order to get through the race together you've got to trust your partner and have faith that they can do all the challenges that you can so, (we’re) kind of just pushing that on them today," explains LeClair.
It’s something the Ottawa team will definitely take into consideration when they audition for the show again… and again. “We have wanted to be on the show since it came out,” laughs Karen Sagle. "Oh yeah, we'll probably audition forever, pretty much, basically until they take us."
