When I was 9, my parents moved us from one mountain town (Mont-Tremblant) to the next (Whistler). Though I had skied for a long time being in Whistler all year consolidated my love for skiing. For me, skiing is a place where I can have a routine, work hard, and improve. A place where I can focus on myself while appreciating the beautiful landscape I get to call home. When I was 3, I first started skiing. Being brought up in a family of ski instructors and fanatics, I didn’t have much of a choice. I am grateful for that every day. My parents have been teaching skiing for ages and that brought them to Whistler. We would spend most winters in Whistler while homeschooling starting at age 4. Though I never thought I would go into racing as a kid, I ended up joining at 10 years old and fully committed around 14. When covid hit, it was harder to connect and skiing was an amazing space for me to appreciate nature and do the sport I loved. In one of my first ski cross races in February last year, I got injured. Being injured allowed me to reflect on what I could do to improve my mental health, greatly augmented my perseverance while working through many setbacks, and allowed me to get ahead in school so that I could ski the coming year. At 17, I had a newfound appreciation for skiing and I found a balance in my school, sport, and mental health by shifting my training to work for me. Though it brought me injury last year, I learned a lot from being injured and Ski Cross gave me the opportunity to strive for the Youth Olympic Games in South Korea this year, where I participated in January 2024. Through the ski club, I have volunteered for many of the WMSC community ski swaps and being in FIS means being a leader for the younger kids in the club.
Next year, I will be attending University of Calgary while being on the Ski Cross Dino’s team. I find being a student-athlete motivates me more for school and helps my time management. This program will allow me to pursue Ski Cross while getting a post-secondary education. Though I’ll be at school, I will still be training 5 days a week and leave for races regularly. My goal for next year is to continue to improve my skills, achieve better results in the Nor-Am circuit and to qualify for World Juniors. As for long term goals, I want to keep working hard and see how far I can go in Ski Cross.
