Alpine skier makes Provincial team

A Jasper alpine skier has taken a major step towards fulfilling her Olympic dreams. 

Tianda Carroll, 15, has made the Ladies A Alberta Alpine Ski Team, a highly respected ski team with an Olympic pedigree. 

Carroll is on a roll this year with her skiing. She finished first in her age group (14-16 years old) at the Alberta Cup Finals this year and is hoping to continue her winning ways this upcoming season.

“I feel pretty good about this. I’m really happy that they’ve giving me this shot,” said Carroll, who got into skiing by following her older sister. “I am definitely aiming for the Olympics. That would be a major accomplishment.”

First, however, the AST program will take Carroll away from Jasper to New Zealand this spring and summer for winter training in the southern hemisphere. Following that, she’ll have to leave her home in Jasper and set up shop in Calgary for the foreseeable future.

“It’s sad, but I think that it’s worth it, really. This could be my career, and that means a lot to me,” said Carroll.

“The move to the AST program is a significant step in their careers and the summer training environment gives them the opportunity to show that they have the commitment and talent to ski full time at the Provincial Ski Team level,” said Jim Davis, Alberta Alpine’s High Performance Director. “Overall, the AST is poised for an excellent summer of training.” 

The life of a professional skier in training is full of early mornings and a lot of time on the road. Carroll said it was hard being away from her friends here in Jasper so often. She has missed plenty of school this year, and would frequently leave school in the middle of the week to make the trip down to the Nakiska ski training facility, outside of Canmore, for the weekend. 

“My mom, she could drive that road blindfolded now,” said Carroll, referring to the Icefields Parkway.

Add to this recent training in Austria and the upcoming New Zealand trip with a new team, and suddenly it’s hard for this 15-year-old to do the things a normal 15-year-old girl often does.

Still, Carroll said she has met some amazing people in the ski world. Recently, she’s been able to share an apartment with several other girls and, generally, she sees a lot of the same people at events, many of whom have become friends. 

“It’s just a lot of fun,” said Carroll, who says that her favourite thing about skiing is the social aspect.

Caroll said that she’s looking forward to training with the team this summer.

“There’s been a lot of really hard work I’ve had to do this year, improving my technical aspects,” said Carroll. She’s hoping more training regimes will help her really advance her skiing.

She said that one of the hardest things she’s had to focus on this year is learning how to lean forwards more when she heads down a hill.

“It’s kinda just like keeping my posture up. It’s been pretty tough,” she said.