“Let’s not travel, stay close to home, and miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said no best friends ever.
Pelham’s Gracie Lowes and her BFF Lily Bateman, of Canning, Nova Scotia, hit the national stage last night in CTV’s season premier of The Amazing Race Canada, a show that’s become synonymous with thrill of the of the race mixed with the fear and excitement of the unknown.
Lowes, who is 25 and now lives in Toronto, and Bateman, 24 and now living in the Yukon, are one of 10 teams vying for the title of champion and a $250,000 prize.
The pair met as Loran Scholars while on internship in Vancouver in 2018.
“We really just clicked right away,” says Lowes. “And we only lived in the same city for four months five years ago, but we have sustained a blossoming friendship digitally ever since.”
The decision to apply to be cast members came out of their desire to spend more time with each other.
“We happened to have this one month in Toronto when Lily was moving out of Toronto and I was moving to Toronto. We were spending every day together and we were both feeling like: I can’t believe this is ending; we have to find a way to travel and be reunited. One of us saw a trailer for Amazing Race and it was like: we should just apply and see what happens.”
Apparently producers of the show like the thought of having a pair of lively academics as part of the cast. Not long after making a few written and video submissions followed by in-person interviews, they were chosen.
The show, which is entering season nine, takes contestants through a myriad of challenges and obstacles as they race their way across Canada. Each week contestants are eliminated until a final pair stands as victors. A segment this season was filmed in Niagara-on-the-Lake, but what happens in any location is a closely guarded secret until the date of broadcast. The Niagara episode will air on Tuesday, Aug. 15.
“Lily is such a thrill seeker, which is really something that really benefitted us as a team,” says Lowes. “I am less like this so we knew that when we ripped open the next clue, the wilder it was then the better it was because I knew Lily was checking something off her bucket list. I mean, literally there were times when I was shaking in my boots, but having such a thrill seeker on the team was definitely to our benefit.”
While the outcome of the show cannot be revealed, Lowes says she is very happy with the way she and Bateman performed. She is especially grateful for the experience the pair shared not only amongst themselves but with the rest of the cast as well.
“We signed up for the race to have fun, to travel, and to spend time together. And the cast is from all over Canada and from different backgrounds. It is such a privilege to be in a space with so much diversity – geographically and community-wise. And it is such a privilege to get to see so much of what Canada has to offer.”
Through it all, Lowes has chalked this experience up to something she will never forget. And it’s not like the people of Pelham will let her forget either.
“Both of us being from small towns it is so cool to feel how our communities are so supportive. There are so many people in Pelham who have reached out to me from either the Rotary Club or my elementary school,” says the Glynn A Green public school graduate. “It does just feel like the whole town is rooting for you. I feel very grateful to be from Pelham and I hope that I do Pelham proud.”
The Amazing Race Canada appears at 9 p.m. Tuesdays on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app.
