AST Athlete Journal: Katie Smith
Hello Everyone and Happy New Year!
I last wrote to you from Chile and it’s hard to believe we’ve finished our first few races and are back to training at home following Christmas.
When we got back from Chile, we settled into the gym for a few weeks while waiting for the hills at home to be ready for training. Once ready, we had some good camps at both Nakiska and Panorama in advance of our first race series.
Our race season kicked off with a Slalom at Norquay on the first weekend in December. Because Panorama was hosting the first NorAm of the season the following week, we had a strong women’s field which made for good scoring opportunities. The ROC did an amazing job running a race that was almost full quota with early season conditions.
Following Norquay, we headed to the Panorama NorAms the following day. The NorAms were tough! The Pano series included Super G, GS and Slalom races and attracted athletes from all over the world and some with World Cup experience. I’m really happy for my teammates Polly, Caleb and Gered who all scored NorAm points in slalom! I want to also congratulate former AST athletes Jesse Kertesz-Knight for winning his first NorAm slalom and Liam Wallace for a successful return to racing following his injury winning one of the GS races and achieving a podium in the other.
After the NorAm, we stayed at Panorama for the Maclachlan GMC Cup. Once again, we had a huge field for both women and men and the ROC was amazing getting through the series on some of the shortest days of the year. We were on the hill for some beautiful sun rises and finished before the sun set! A big snow storm meant that the men lost one slalom race during this series but were able to complete two GS races.
Unfortunately, I did not get the start I was hoping for and did not perform to the level I was expecting. I definitely struggled to ski my best when we were racing and was struggling to make second runs. I was disappointed, because I felt more prepared than ever before, and had amazing pre-season training. It was an awesome experience but a long 12 day block of racing and I left Pano feeling very frustrated in my skiing and ready for our Christmas break.
Before settling into Christmas, I picked myself up and went to join my home club at Lake Louise to participate in the “Santa Slalom.” It was so nice to go back to my home club for a fun race with multiple age groups that really showed how passionate the skiing community is. It was a much needed reminder of how fun ski racing is and why I love the sport.
I spent Christmas at home in Canmore with my family, including my grandparents who were visiting from Nova Scotia. It was a much needed break to rest and reset for the upcoming training block. I went for some ski days with my family, walks with my dogs, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the mountain bike trails weren’t snow covered so I was able to do some rides and enjoy the nice weather.
The team is now back into training after the break at Nakiska. The whole team is here except for Polly, Zoe and Kyle who are down in Colorado racing in some university races. I am really looking forward to this training block and am hoping to figure out some things in my skiing before hopping into our next NorAm series at Lake Louise and Norquay.
Thank you to our team sponsors GMC Dealers of Alberta, Karbon Sports, Genstar Canada, Mountain Fire Foods, and Gear up Mountain Sports. I would also like to thank our community of volunteers both those on the hill and behind the scene. Our season wouldn’t be possible without them!
-Katie
