Rising Stars

ALPINE ATHLETES

WHO ARE THEY? WHERE DO THEY COME FROM? WHY ARE THEY SUCCESSFUL?

By Kim Roberts

NOT ALL ATHLETES ARE EQUAL OR VIEW THEIR SUCCESS IN THE SAME WAY. SUCCESS IS MEASURED AND VALUED BY A VARIETY OF THINGS; A PERSONAL BEST, A WIN, OR OVERCOMING A CHALLENGE. AT THE END OF THE DAY, THEY ALL WANT TO HAVE TRIED THEIR BEST. EVERY TRAINING OPPORTUNITY IS A STEP CLOSER TO THEIR FUTURE SUCCESS.

The one thing all athletes share is how important their sport is to them, but they cannot reach their full potential on their own. They need to balance their sport and the dedication to training and competing with other “life” commitments, and of course, the financial aspect of achieving their goals.

How does Alpine help them in pursuing their goals and assist them to focus on the training that they diligently put into their personal goals and successes?

Over the years, Alpine has been privileged to be a part of many athletes’ journeys to success, and we hope to continue this critical involvement that every athlete thrives on. We believe that each new season is the potential start of the career of a future champion.

We provide instructional programs to get them started, coaching to prepare them for competition, and venues where they can compete. Many of these components of their competitive career are supported through the Alpine community and their dedication to our ongoing fundraising efforts.

The infrastructure required to support our athletes is critical to their success. Race equipment for both ski and snowboard disciplines allows our athletes to train in safe and challenging environments. Our freeski and freestyle snowboard athletes rely on our park builds, features and maintenance throughout the year. All of this infrastructure and training is showcased when Alpine becomes the host venue for the various competitions from grassroots levels to Masters! All of these pieces of success depend on member support and sponsorship.

As we move out of this pandemic and look to our future, we need to put the pedal to the metal and help our rising stars make up for the lost time. How can you help? Annually members have supported our fundraising efforts through the donation program aligned with our dues payments.

This season we are looking forward to re-engaging with some live fundraising or online auctioning.

One of the programs that we have developed in support of our elite athletes is our Scholarship and Bursary Program. You can feel the depth of our athlete support and success when you visit our Athlete Hall of Fame in the lower level of the clubhouse. You will see we have lots of room to showcase our future champions!

This season we are extremely proud of our athletes who are competing on the world stage. To manage their schooling, training, travelling, and competing amidst a global pandemic truly speaks to their commitment and passion. Athlete traits that lead to success at any level.

Recipients this year receiving financial support from a scholarship are: Derek Livingston, National Snowboard Halfpipe Team Abby VanGroningen, Riley Kimer-Choi and Ben Heldman, Members of the Canadian Next-Gen Alpine Snowboard Team

AN UPDATE ON OUR ELITE ATHLETES

ABBY VAN GRONINGEN CANADIAN NEXT-GEN ALPINE SNOWBOARD TEAM I’m stoked to have already kicked off the start of my season in September with a five-week training camp in Italy. With the pandemic being a daily challenge and travel across the ocean to Europe, I decided to stay overseas last season to train and compete on the European Tour and World Cup events. I was graced with opportunities in training last season that aided in huge strides in my performance. I’m determined to continue my progress as we head to our next camp in Nakiska, Alberta early November and for the first competition in Austria!

BEN HELDMAN CANADIAN NEXT-GEN ALPINE SNOWBOARD TEAM I am very grateful to be able to keep training through the pandemic with the support of Alpine Ski Club. Last year was a very unusual season, but I was lucky to get a World Cup spot at two races in Europe and had a personal best in placing 37th. I finished last season at Junior Worlds in Russia, where I placed 5th. I am very thankful for my funding from Alpine as it has allowed me to build a home gym in my garage to stay fit in the offseason while gyms were closed in Ontario. The whole summer, my focus was getting myself into the best shape possible heading into the season; this includes building muscle strength, explosiveness, and endurance to optimize my performance in training and racing.

We just finished up our 5-week camp in Europe, focusing a lot on technical skills that will be essential moving into this season. The first camp of the season is generally the toughest physically since we are focusing on volume and time on snow while setting the theme/standard for the season. Our next training camp is at Nakiska in Alberta, where we will focus on race prep. This means bringing in all the technical skills we worked on in September-October and bringing it into a replicated race environment in training. Here we will fine-tune technique, equipment, and mental toughness before the racing starts. I have always found these pre-season training camps to be the most crucial for my season, as it’s an opportunity to build confidence and comfort on my snowboard. I’m very excited for the upcoming season as it looks like there will be lots of racing in Europe but also in North America too. My first big event of the season is at the World University Games in Lucerne, Switzerland, December 14-15. This will be my first World University Games, so I am very excited about this new experience. After this event, the season will involve a lot of travelling for training and races, going between NORAM’s, Europa Cups and maybe even some World Cups until the end of March. Then I will prepare for my final World Junior Championships in Valmalenco, Italy, which will be my final race of the season. A big thanks to Alpine Ski Club for supporting my season!

RILEY KILMER-CHOI CANADIAN NEXT-GEN ALPINE SNOWBOARD TEAM After making the difficult decision not to travel and compete during the pandemic last season, I am more motivated than ever to make a return to competitive snowboarding this coming winter! Pre-season training has already begun, with a training camp in Europe this past October, and an upcoming one in Calgary this November. Competitively, I am entering the season with the goal of finishing in the top 3 overall on the North American Cup tour. I will also be competing at all European and World Cup events for which I qualify that work with my schedule. Simultaneously, I will also be completing the final year of my Bachelor of Engineering degree at Concordia University!