Although ski season has only just begun, the Jasper Ski Team has already hit the slopes, beginning its training on Marmot Basin’s opening weekend.
This year’s team is 65 racers strong, with the majority of those skiers falling in the under 10 program.
“These are the kids who are learning to ski,” said Landon Shepherd, the team’s vice president. “One of the driving philosophies of the Jasper Ski Team is the idea that we want kids, at the end of the day, to come away as really good skiers—that applies to every age level.
“Kids that ski with the program for a couple of years, they’re going to be strong skiers and kids who progress through a couple levels, they’re going to be the best skiers at the ski hill.”
That doesn’t mean they’ll all become competitive ski racers—some will, while others will go on to compete in different forms of skiing, and others still will just take the skills they learn on the team and use them to enjoy skiing recreationally.
“It’s about developing a sense of appreciation about being on the hill, in terms of the whole experience, even going up there spending time with parents—we always encourage parents to ski with kids, especially in the younger age group.
“And we want to support kids to be competitive enough so that if their interest is going into all-mountain skiing when they get older, or they want to get into freestyle, at the end of the day they’ll have those ski fundamentals.”
For some Jasper Ski Team alumni, those fundamentals have propelled them beyond U16—the highest level the Jasper team can train—and onto other competitive teams. For instance, Sam Wall is competing with the Banff Alpine Racers and Sadie Howe is with Sunshine Village’s Alpine Racers Ski Club.
Also out of Jasper is Tianda Carroll, who competes with the University of Denver ski team, and has represented Canada on the national team.
Shepherd said beyond those athletes that go on to compete as adults, there are also others that stay behind and share their knowledge and skills with up and coming skiers.
For instance, this year Maddie Smith and Emerson Ostrander will be taking on coaching roles.
“It’s really great to see that feeding back in,” said Shepherd. “All of that investment, all of those volunteer hours and parents travelling, it actually goes back into the club.
“And on top of that, it provides really cool professional employment for [the athletes].”
For updates on the Jasper Ski Team, keep an eye on the Fitzhugh this winter season, or in the meantime, check out the team’s website at www.jasperskiteam.org.
Nicole Veerman
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