AST Athlete Journal: Julia Buehrer

Hi everyone!

I am checking in to update you on the final weeks of the season! I am writing from home as our team has just returned back from the final race of the season in Sun Peaks! It has been another busy month filled with many successes and best scores to finish the season off strong for our Alberta women.

In the past few weeks, the Women’s team has had the opportunity to work with an amazing coach who shared his experience and helped us all build our confidence. PL wrapped his season up with our Canadian girls on the world cup circuit and came to help us finish our season strong. His guidance and positivity lead us all to season bests and we are super grateful for the time we have spent with him.

One of my highlights from the past month was our ski day with the Lake Louise Ski Club. The team and I got the opportunity to spend a day filled with dual slalom, free skiing, and a whole lot of fun. I got paired up with a super eager group of U6 athletes who definitely kept me on my toes and inspired me with their fresh ambition and excitement for ski racing. Connecting with different ages and levels in our sport is so important to maintain a sense of community and I am very grateful I got the chance to spend time with the future generation of ski racing in Alberta. It was a very happy day!

After Lake Louise, I headed home for a short Easter break with my family in Edmonton. I then met my team back in Nakiska for our last home hill race. To continue the theme of the season, the weather brought some obstacles and changes in schedule but our amazing team of coaches and volunteers were able to pull off two GS and two slalom races. I approached both GS races with confidence and worked my way to second and third place. My team mate, Polly also found success as she joined me on the podium both days. The slalom was slightly less successful for the AB girls but we saw some solid skiing and I am positive we have more in the tank! The spring race in Nakiska is usually one filled with many emotions as we celebrated some of our fellow athletes’ retirements. This is a remarkable sport filled with very special people. Congratulations to all the retirees and best of luck with whatever comes next, you will always be a part of the ski racing family!

Last but not least, we were off to Sunpeaks for two days of training and what was supposed to be one day of GS racing and one day of Slalom racing. We had an incredible GS race in which the entire women’s team executed and gained their best scores of the season. Due to unforeseen weather conditions (huge shock, I know) the slalom race was canceled. Although we were disappointed in the cancellation, we are glad to have finished off the racing season on such a positive note.

As this is my last athlete journal I wanted to thank everyone who made this season possible, and so special. Coaches, teammates, sponsors, parents, and volunteers, we could not do this without you. Thank you to our sponsors, GMC Dealers of Alberta, Karbon, Mission Wealth Advisors, and Sporting Life.

Have a great summer and I will see you next season!

Julia Buehrer