AST Athlete Journal: Loren Hannema

Hi everyone! My name is Loren Hannema and this is my first athlete journal since being named to the Alberta Ski Team. Like a few of my teammates, I come from Banff Alpine Racers, where I learned how to ski and did my first 2 years of FIS. This will be my first year on the provincial team, and I’m super excited for what’s to come this season!

We’ve just wrapped up our second Europe camp, and it’s been a challenging but productive pre-season. Despite some complications outside our control, including warm weather and limited training availability, we still managed to make the most of our situation and walk away with solid training. Between our first camp in the Netherlands and Stelvio, Italy, and our second camp in Wittenberg, Germany, we spent a lot of time training indoors. The Netherlands was my first time skiing indoors, and although the icy conditions were challenging, they provided instant feedback and plenty of repetition to get back into slalom. The sessions where I was challenging and pushing myself beyond my comfort zone were the ones where I learned the most. We just finished off in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, with 7 days of solid glacier training, amidst a few days of bad weather. This was my third time there, and it was great to be back in a familiar place to end our Europe training on a high note. The past two camps have been a good reminder that progress comes from putting in the work every day, even when things don’t always go exactly as planned.

One of the biggest things about joining the provincial team has been adjusting to a new training environment and learning from the coaches and other athletes around me. Everyone brings something different to the team, and being surrounded by people who are all working toward similar goals pushes me to improve. Having a group of people that help contribute to a productive environment goes a long way when it comes to my attitude and mindset on and off the hill. It’s been really cool to see the girls encourage and support one another. We’ve all competed against each other on the circuit for years, but haven’t been teammates until now. Going from competing against each other on race day to training together as a team has been a really positive and motivating aspect about being a part of the AST. 

As we fight off jet lag and get settled into being back home, we’re looking forward to returning to Canadian snow at Nakiska. It’s hard to believe race season is just around the corner! Watching the Sölden World Cup from the Munich airport got the team fired up and looking ahead to our season opener in Mount Sima in the Yukon, where most of the team will compete in early November. It’s exciting to see the first few races on the calendar, and I’m stoked to see the work from pre-season come together! 

I’m grateful to everyone who has helped me get to this point, especially my family, coaches, and teammates. A special thank you to our sponsors: GMC Dealers of Alberta, Karbon (stay tuned for the new team kits!), Genstar, Silvertip Resort, GearUp, KuuSport and BrokerLink Insurance. I’m looking forward to what’s ahead!