Hey Everyone!

I hope you are all having an amazing start to the season! Sadly I didn’t get to go watch the Lake Louise World Cup, but a HUGE congrats to Brodie and Mitch for being the top Canadians!

We have just finished the first BIG race of the year! Norquay slalom was a big success for the team with a few great wins. Kiki winning U19 both days, the overall title on day two, and Jamie taking the overall title on day two as well! I want to thank everyone who volunteered, especially after a TON of snow! We had an amazing race.

Now on to the Lake Louise NorAm Cup Downhill and Super G, which I am not racing this year, and then on to the Nakiska tech NorAm series. Following that, we have a quick stop in Panorama before Christmas, which everyone is excited for!

Now another quick thanks to all the sponsors who are helping out with Alberta Cup and the Alberta Ski Team! Bruce Legree with Descente, Lone Star Mercedes-Benz, Sporting Life, our training team at CSI Calgary, and rehab partners at G23 Medical Clinic. And a special thank you to Team Versa who have been helping Kiki and I out! I hope to see you all on the slopes and have a very Merry Christmas!

-Ashleigh Alexander

This week was the week of my first race in a year and a half. One could say I was…a little stressed. It was only one race day in sun peaks: two races, four runs. We had trained there the day before, which, to be completely honest, didn’t instill much confidence in me. The snow was soft and nothing like what we’ve been training on in Nakiska, and even though I knew everyone was probably feeling the exact same way as me, I couldn’t help but feel like I wasn’t as ready as I could be. But that night I watched video from the day with the girls and realized that I looked better than I felt. An experience all of my teammates can surely relate to. I knew what I had to think about in my skiing, but I also knew that I was capable of having a great race the next day and that I had nothing to worry about. 

That doesn’t mean I wasn’t nervous. It wasn’t typical butterflies-in-the-stomach nervous, but I was quiet(even more than usual), and I think my teammates could tell how reserved and anxious I was feeling. Perhaps because I told them a few times. Fortunately the snow had hardened quite a bit from the day prior, but of course, that didn’t stop me from being nervous. But when I got in the start gate and heard my teammates cheering me on, it felt just like every other race I’ve done before, and I knew exactly what to do. I wasn’t nervous anymore. I was just racing.

Overall, I’m very happy with how my first race went. I made it a goal to charge hard every run, and for the most part, I think I was successful. I had some timidness to struggle with, but I pushed through it as best as I could and I think I skied rather well. There’s still a lot I have to work on, but of course, that won’t stop me, and I’m not worried about it. Everyone has things to improve on. I’ve already made massive gains since I began training with AST, and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

I’d also like to thank all of the team’s sponsors for helping us be able to have these opportunities to race across the country, the entire team is incredibly grateful for your support!

Hey everyone! Now that the ski season has begun I hope you’re all taking advantage of the early snow. The team is currently training hard at Nakiska to prepare for races in Colorado and Sun Peaks! Now when I say the team, I mean everyone except for me! For those who don’t know, I suffered a hip dislocation in mid September during the pre-season training camp in Chile. Although it has been a major setback, I’m working hard to get back on skis as soon as possible.

Now some of you may be thinking, how do you dislocate a hip while skiing? Great question! Well apparently all it takes are some tired muscles and a slight misplacement of your ski tip. It happened on the last day of a very exhausting camp in Chile. I came around for my last run expecting to end the trip on a high note, but my skis felt otherwise. When I was skiing through the flush, my tip caught on the second pin and my right leg flew up into the air. My left leg crashed into the third pin, sending me tumbling forward. When my right knee hit the snow, the impact was so great that it forced my hip out of its socket. I was lying on my side in complete shock. My mind was telling my leg to move, but my body couldn’t respond. I could wiggle my toes and I could feel my leg, but it was stuck in a bent position. Fear set in and I started screaming for my coaches.

By the time the ski patrol were able to get to me, I was in excruciating pain. Any minor movement sent shooting pain all over my body, and it was then that I realized the journey off the volcano was not going to be easy. And boy was I right! Since the bumps on the hill were causing me too much pain, the ski patrol had to lift the sled off the snow and carry it all the way to the bottom. (that’s 250lbs for 15mins!) Once I made it down, the ambulance was waiting for me and we started heading to the hospital. The road into town was filled with bumps, traverses, rocks and turns. All this made for a painful drive, not to mention the constant jerking of the stick shift. It was a rough 50 minutes to Villarica, but I was assured the hip specialist there would provide the care I needed.

When I woke up in the hospital, my hip was back in place and I felt so much relief. Now it was time to start the trip back to Canada. After a 12 hour bus ride, 14 hours of flying, and a 3 hour car trip back to Edmonton, I was very glad to be home. Luckily, two days later I was able to see Dr. Duffy who instructed me to take 6 weeks of rest. On Oct 28th I got cleared to start physio and light exercise. I’m happy to say that I’ve been progressing quickly and I hope to be skiing by the new year!

         I would like to thank everyone who has supported me the past few months including the ski patrol, doctors and nurses in Chile, all my teammates,   Dr. Duffy, Amy Bauerle at Group23, Nathaniel Morris at CSI, and most importantly my family and coaches! I would also like to thank my sponsors Sporting Life, Pro Sport Protection, Descente International, Silvertip Resort, Nakiska Ski Resort and our most recent sponsor Lone Star Mercedes-Benz! Lastly, I would like to thank my personal sponsor Mixcor! I’m so glad to be partnered with them this year! I look forward to getting back on snow, but for now I’ll be busy in the gym!

Hope to see you soon,

Tora Hoshizaki 🙂

Hello all, my name is Konstantin Petkovic but most of you probably know me as Kosta. This is my first athlete journal as I have recently been named to the Alberta Ski Team.

Our training camp in Hintertux was a blast and the conditions were amazing. I managed to get a lot of work done in regards to my skiing and I’m excited to see how it translates in the first few races of the season. I was very happy with how our dryland program prepared me for the aggressive conditions and allowed me to capitalize on my time on snow. Hintertux is one of my favorite pre-season training destinations because of its great terrain and snow conditions. After the camp, my team returned to Calgary and I continued on to Serbia to visit my family. I spent time with my grandmother and helped her with various tasks around her farm such as feeding livestock, cutting wood and plowing crops. It was nice to take a short break from the training environment and to detach from everything.

When I returned home I spent my only day there packing up my things for the winter, and then hopped in my car drove to Canmore. I missed the first few days of training at Nakiska but my other teammates seemed to be satisfied with the training conditions. On my first day on snow, I was greeted with unusually warm temperatures for the pre-season, nevertheless, it was better than the standard 10-15 degrees below zero. We now have one more week of on-snow preparation before the team heads to Colorado for Nor-Ams races and to Sun Peaks for the first FIS races of the season. I’m very excited to get the season started with this great team and I can’t wait to see what we can all achieve!

    -Kosta

Calgary, AB — The management team of Alberta Alpine is thrilled to officially announce that Lone Star Mercedes-Benz has become the Official Vehicle of the organization, providing incredible transportation support to the 2019/20 Alberta Ski Team and Alberta Ski Cross Team, and will join the family of Alberta Alpine Series Sponsors at the U14 level. 

Hello Everyone, 

My name is Kiki Alexander and I am from Sunshine Alpine Racers. Welcome to my first of many athlete journals. I am super excited to keep you all updated throughout the season on what the team is up to! This being my first year on the team, I feel very lucky to be apart of the 2019-2020 Alberta Ski Team and I can’t wait to see what the season ahead brings us. We are a team of 13 that is full of energy, great character and of course exceptional racers.  

Currently, the Alberta Ski Team is back home from an awesome camp in Hintertux, Austria. It was my first time ever being in Europe and WOW what a cool experience. It’s amazing how our sport can bring us to so many amazing places to see and meet some new and old friends along the way. Our team got in a lot of great GS and SL training and are now feeling strong and ready for the fast arriving race season. At the end of our Hintertux camp, we had the opportunity to watch the first Men’s World Cup GS race of the season in Soelden. What a great inspiration these athletes are to our team! 

[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”19″ display=”basic_thumbnail”]Upon our arrival home, there was no time to spare as we had our second annual Highest Peak Gala on October 30. For those of you who couldn’t make it to the gala this year go to Alberta Alpine’s Facebook page to see highlights of the night.  You will see our AST athletes start the night off by strutting down the runway showing off some of Sporting Life’s new outfits along with our 2019/20 team uniforms which for the first time in a long time is not BLUE! I want to give a big shout out to the AST boy who clean up very nicely and the girls who all looked absolutely beautiful, even though we were all still suffering from a bit of jet lag. I also want to personally thank everyone who was apart of making the gala amazing. Thanks to all the sponsors, donors and volunteers who made this event a huge success. Awesome job to our very own Rob McCloskey and Kelly McBroom on the mic, who MC’d the night, you guys did a fantastic job. Big congrats to all of the Hall of Fame recipients, your dedication to this sport is a huge inspiration to the community. Thank you for your spirit, your hard work and your passion towards skiing! For the final announcement. If you haven’t heard yet, Alberta Alpine has partnered up with Lone Star Mercedes-Benz! This was very exciting news to the AST athlete, and we are all very excited to represent all our new and returning sponsors this season.

[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”18″ display=”basic_thumbnail”]The season is coming fast and I couldn’t be more excited to get this race season going! The AST athletes will keep you updated on how the season is progressing. Thank you so much for reading my first ever athlete journal! See you all on the hill! Happy skiing!

 – Kiki Alexander 

Hello all,

We have just finished our fall camp in Hintertux. Everyone worked hard and I feel like we all have seen improvements in our skiing. We were lucky to have hard snow and clear skies for most the camp.

Two other highlights of our camp were going to the waterslides and watching the World Cup in Soelden. We went to the waterslides on our day off and had a great time. It was a good break from skiing and it helped us refocus for the last few days. On the last day, we watched the Men’s WC GS in Soelden; a new experience for many of us. Seeing all my childhood heroes in action was a pretty surreal experience for me. It was exciting to cheer on the Canadians and see them do so well. Erik Read got a career best result of 7^th, Trevor Philp scored some WC points, and Riley Seger started his first WC race. It was also inspiring to see some young up and comers contend for the podium. It’s motivating to see that our younger generation can be competitive with the best.

Hope you enjoy the video!

 – Jamie Casselman

A dedicated athlete who now shares her passion for ski racing as a valued leader of the Canadian Medical Team

For over thirteen years, Dr. Marcia Clark has been giving back to her community. Professionally, as Chief of Surgery and the Calgary South Health Campus Hospital, through teaching as an Orthopaedic Surgeon and Clinical Associate Professor with the University of Calgary and by volunteering to her sport with the Canadian Ski Team and supporting the athletes on snow for training or racing.

“Ski racing helped me learn to set goals, achieve those goals, learn from failure, and gain confidence in myself and abilities” shared Marcia. “I was once told that I couldn’t be an orthopaedic surgeon because of the strength needed and the tools I would have to use. Skiing helped with giving me strength, and when I think of all the bindings I put on (a fall job at Abominable), how much ski tuning I did, and all the knitting I did in the van…. I wanted to prove those naysayers wrong.”

Marcia certainly did prove them wrong. Her Dad, Ted, introduced her to skiing through the Banff Kinsmen Ski School program. She joined the Banff Alpine Racers and went on to become one of Canada’s top junior athletes, winning the Cavendish Cup (Pontiac GMC Cup series equivalent), racing in the 1986 Sunshine World Cup downhill, taking home a bronze medal in the 1988 Canadian Championship slalom and forerunning the 1988 Olympic Winter Games.

Turning her attention to academics in 1991, Marcia earned her undergraduate degree racing NCAA with the University of New Mexico Lobos. “Earning a scholarship for NCAA helped me to think of skiing as a team sport and challenged me as a student” shared our Marcia. “I wouldn’t be a surgeon if I didn’t learn that I had the abilities to achieve in University and I think it was due to the support and competitiveness of my teammates at the University of New Mexico that pushed me along.”

Marcia attended the University of New Mexico for her undergrad and in 1996 started Medicine at the University of Calgary. She then went on to the University of Alberta, specializing in Orthopaedic Surgery.

Marcia is now a valued member of the Canadian Ski Team Medical program, traveling to volunteer her support for our World Cup athletes and through her sports medicine clinic in Calgary. She also provides medical care to numerous sports teams including Calgary Wolfpack Rugby, to the football University of Calgary Dinos, International Speed Skating and the Montreal Formula One Motor Racing Grand Prix.

“I really like this quote from Woody Allen,” says Marcia. “Eighty percent of life is showing up. The other 20 percent is asking for help”. “This has held so true in many things in life, from getting up early to head to the hill, to tuning skis, to showing up to change policy for patient care, etc. I have so many examples in life. Showing up – you’re committed, asking for help – you know your limitations. Plus, so many things in life don’t get done without teams and other people together”. So, her advice for young athletes is similar: “Show up…no matter how you feel. Just being there you’ll find your community and mojo. It is noticed when you don’t show up. You will always gain something by showing up.”

The bonds of the ski community are strong from her racing days. “There is so much interconnectedness,” says Marcia. “Someone that you met and were friends with 25 years ago, turns up again in a different setting and the friendship continues.” Her children are following their mothers’ passion. “Now, seeing the community of my home club and how my kids – Aiden (FIS athlete), Adeline (U14 athlete) and Iain (U12 athlete) have embraced skiing and the fellowship within the club. I love connecting with the community of parents in the club and racing circuit too”.

Join us to recognize the tremendous contribution and the continuing dedication and enthusiasm of Dr. Marcia Clark as our Honoured Alberta and Canadian Ski Team Alumni as she is inducted into the Canadian Rockies Ski Racing Hall of Fame.

The 2019 Class will be inducted at the Highest Peak Gala, hosted at the Markin-McPhail Centre at WinSport in Calgary on Wednesday, October 30^th. This event was first held in 1968, to support ski racing excellence in Alberta and western Canada. The Canadian Rockies Ski Racing Hall of Fame event is a legacy event with the goal to support future champions in the province, with all proceeds invested into Alberta Ski Racing programs.

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Hello! My name is Gavin Donald. I’m part of the Alberta Ski Team and we are in Hintertux.

Check out my first “vlog”/athlete journal.

To start off the ASXT’s Athlete Journals, I’ve compiled a video from our inaugural Alberta Ski Cross Team camp in Saas Fee, Switerzland, in September.

 – Phil

Two leaders who bring a lifetime of innovation and excellence to benefit Canadian athletes

Her family emigrated from Germany, while his pathway originated in Great Britain via Australia, yet it has been Canada, and Canadian ski racing, that has been the enormous beneficiary of three decades of dedicated passion, excellence and tireless effort from our 2019 Honoured Builders, Sigrid and Mark Sharp.

Sigrid skied on snow, while Mark started out as a grass-skier. Both were drawn to teaching and coaching, and in Panorama in 1988, their careers converged – Sigrid with the Windemere Ski Club and Mark with Team Panorama. From there, they joined the Banff Mountain Academy and the Avalanche Ski Club. Mark was offered coaching positions first with the Alberta Ski Team (2 years) and then moved to Alpine Canada starting with the Canadian Development Team in 1997 and working up to the World Cup with a crowning achievement of a bronze medal performance from Allison Forsyth in the 2003 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships. While Mark was focused at the elite level, Sigrid was recruited to lead Team Panorama as Program Director, a club that had seen great success in building athletes but was seeking an enthusiastic leader to revitalize the program.

It was the next chapter in this coaching partnership that lifted Canadian ski racing to new heights. Sigrid poured her passion into building Team Panorama, which has become one of Canada’s largest ski clubs, with her enthusiastic leadership, innovative events, careful recruiting of coaches and positive guidance of Ski Club parents. Mark moved to the position of Director, Domestic Development and transformed the Canadian athlete pathway through the Aim-2-Win Long-Term Athlete Development Model and the “Rising Stars” camps. Almost every athlete on the current Canadian Alpine Ski Team participated in a Rising Stars camp, a Whistler Cup Team or a World Junior Championship Team under Mark’s leadership.

Since 2010, Sigrid and Mark have been working as partners at Team Panorama, while continuing to provide leadership within the Canadian Ski Coaching Federation, contributing to ongoing projects with Alpine Canada and Alberta Alpine, all while also guiding their three boys – Keegan, Jedd and Trigg – through all levels of the Canadian alpine ski racing pathway.

And it doesn’t stop there, “Mark is a talented artist and for over twenty years has donated the proceeds of original works of art and limited-edition prints to organizations at every level,” said Dave Greig, a parent member of Team Panorama. “His generosity has generated well over $200,000 and counting – all to help our ski racing programs find the critical resources to help Canadian athletes realize their dreams and aim to represent Canada.”

With over 30 years of coaching, Sigrid and Mark have worked directly with hundreds of athletes and parents. But their coaching methods, energy and passion have impacted the entire country. “Always reflect on this sport as a journey of overall development for our kids,” says Mark, “And whatever point they decide to change paths they will never lose what they gained from alpine ski racing”. Sigrid shared, “Cherish your time as a ski racer. You will have the privilege of spending a lot of time with your family and friends for many years while you focus on your sport.”

Like the coaches they are, Sigrid and Mark have advice to guide all athletes:

• You must have ski racing heroes. Pretend to be them when you ski
• Watch, understand and be interested in World Cup ski racing
• Always be fit and strong
• Tune your skis every day
• Play many sports as you grow up
• Be a strong free skier
• Never waste a training run.
• Have a plan for school after ski racing.

“Ski racing became the vehicle for me to affect many people’s lives in such positive ways,” says Sigrid, “To be able to live and work with people in a life-long sport is a gift.”

Join us to help show our gratitude and appreciation for the tremendous influence of Sigrid and Mark Sharp as we induct them as our Honoured Builders into the Canadian Rockies Ski Racing Hall of Fame.

The 2019 Class will be inducted at the Highest Peak Gala, hosted at the Markin-McPhail Centre at WinSport in Calgary on Wednesday, October 30^th. This event was first held in 1968, to support ski racing excellence in Alberta and western Canada. The Canadian Rockies Ski Racing Hall of Fame event is a legacy event with the goal to support future champions in the province, with all proceeds invested into Alberta Ski Racing programs.

This is my first athlete posting as a new member of the Alberta Ski Team.

Throughout the summer we were provided with some exceptional dryland training and I was to get back onto snow in Chile. Two days before departure I sustained a fairly severe concussion and all options for skiing in Chile were out. I spent the following four weeks laying fairly low. In my time off I was instructed to start to return to daily normality. That meant going for walks and doing things I would normally do in a day, and eventually progressing to low impact activities or sports. I found myself learning to refine a retirement game. I had picked up golf and was quite enjoying it. It was a nice way to be able to get out and feel like I’m doing something again, have the challenge of learning something for the first time and the reward you get when you start to figure it out. It reminded me a lot of the challenges I face with skiing and why I love my sport so much. 

                During my time off I watched a movie by the name of “In Search of Greatness”. It explores the role that creativity played in the careers of some of the greatest athletes. The group of athletes suggest that all the practice in the world can only go so far for those who don’t love what they’re doing. The movie introduces the idea of “implicit learning” which happens when young children aren’t being taught in obvious ways; language and speaking, for instance, is learned simply by living around adults as they speak. Compared to a child whose parents make her practice piano three hours a day becomes a different kind of player than one who casually starts playing in a room, aimlessly playing while life goes on around them. If the learning isn’t natural and fun, it’s hard to become a genius. Amongst many other things I learned from the movie it highlighted the importance of free-skiing and play as a natural and important part of developing into becoming a world-class skier. I highly recommend the movie. (Watch it on iTunes)

This week we are off to Austria. We are well prepared, having invested lots of time off snow and many hours spent visualizing and in the gym. I’m more than excited for what’s coming.

On this Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, I’m thankful for the joy that skiing brings to my life and I’m very grateful to be part of the Alberta Ski Team for this upcoming season. 

 – Devin