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How to Become Truly Canadian
ALLISON KENNEDY DAVIES
How to Become Truly Canadian: Spend a Day on the Slopes
There are few things more Canadian than bundling up on a -10°C day in no less than three layers and heading outdoors… for fun.
Winter sports in Canada are like no other, and skiing and snowboarding have become essential to the enjoyment of Canadian winters. So, for those new to Canada eager to embrace the Canadian way of life—or at least alleviate the cabin fever that accompanies the cold months—jamming their feet into ski boots and braving their adopted nation’s quintessential pastime seems like a sensible solution. And the road to really feel the identity of the Great White North in one’s bones starts on the snowdusted “bunny hills” at Blue Mountain Resort.
In recent years, nearly 30 per cent of new immigrants to Canada have settled in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). That makes Blue a good choice for many to learn the most Canadian of pastimes, aided by the fact that the slopes are much gentler on learners than the peaks of Whistler.
Yiqing Wu, president of the University of Waterloo’s Chinese Student Association (UWWE), will be sending groups to Blue this winter to participate in the Newbie Program (see below). She sees snowsports in Canada as highly developed across many communities, but with some room for fine-tuning. “People who live in Canada are affected by the snowsports phenomenon no matter if they are an international student or new immigrant,” she said. “For new Chinese-Canadians, language is one of the biggest barriers to learning. To make it more accessible, we could try to provide support such as appointment booking, equipment rental/ sale and coaching/training in Chinese.”
As part of Beijing’s bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, the Chinese government created a campaign to increase participation in winter sports. China hoped that by hosting the Games, it would encourage the country to become a winter sports destination and deliver on a target set by President Xi Jinping to get 300 million Chinese involved in winter sports.
However, the ski industry as a whole is faced with the challenge of making the sport more accessible, said Paul Pinchbeck, president and CEO of the Canadian Ski Council.
“The ski industry is identified as largely male and largely Caucasian, which has an implication in terms of our growth if we don’t work towards changing that situation,” said Pinchbeck.
The focus of the council is on growing the sport, and in particular, growing the participation of women and new Canadians. According to Pinchbeck, the industry is currently 62 per cent male, with only about 12 per cent participation from visible minority segments. (Compare that to the seven million Canadians who identified as a member of a visible minority in the 2016 Census, which accounts for just over 22 per cent of the total population.)
Becki Relihan, director of programming and recreation at Blue Mountain Resorts, agreed. We have to collectively be a part of the growth and the diversity of the sport, and make sure that we’re getting our programs right,” she said.
Relihan points to Blue Mountain’s Newbie Program as an example, which was designed for people who want to try skiing and snowboarding without the commitment.
The self-guided Newbie Circuit takes beginners through the fundamentals of either sport by using something called smart terrain. (See article on p.19.) The Newbie Ski or Snowboard Package also includes a beginner lift ticket, equipment rentals and helmet.
“It’s designed to make it accessible to anybody who is new to the sport,” Relihan said. “You can come with nothing, and we make sure that you have everything to have a good time.” –Maddie Johnson
