Well it has been an exceptionally long time since I last
submitted anything to my blog. It is not for a lack of me not doing anything interesting
in fact I am writing this post from the majestic island state of New
Zealand, not to be confused with Old Zealand if there was or is such a
place, but I will get to how I got here in a bit.
The last time
I posted how I fared at a race in Winter Park Colorado and how things
could have gone better for me, followed by a brief stay in Kimberly BC
to just free ski and generally mess around. After that nice easy week I
went through a disastrous series of speed races back in Kimberly that
left me soured to wanting to post anything pertaining to my racing. But
I got back on the horse and got back into the training grove and
focused on Giant Slalom and Slalom for the month down time that was
March 2013 to get ready for the British Columbia Para Alpine
Provincials, US Nationals in Park City Utah, as well as Canadian
Nationals in Sun Peaks BC which would mark the end of the racing season.
As far as those races are concerned they went very well for
me, I cleaned house at the BC provincials walking away with 3 golds.
The Us Nationals were good also but the competition there was allot more
stiff compared to the BC races, especially considering that there were
some of the best para-skiers in the world there. I still managed to walk
away with 6th in both the National and the NorAm Giant Slalom, as well
as 4th in the National Slalom race. Canadian Nationals I fared a bit
better with a silver in the National Giant Slalom and a gold in the
NorAm Slalom, I almost secured a gold in National Slalom but crashed
out about a quarter way though the course and while still finishing I
didn't place very well. But with how well I did perform in both the US
and Canadian Nationals I was invited to train with the National Team in
Mt. Hood, Oregon for a week and half for one of their tech training
camps. The Oregon trip was nice but conditions were really soft and
some times unsafe considering that there were exposed rocks all over the
place which resulted in one of the female American para athletes
getting injured.
Which brings us to how I got to New Zealand.
Apparently according to other peers of mine who are already on the
Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team as well as the coaching staff that my
skiing has improved considerably in the past season and it is in their
opinion that I would be competitive at the World Cup level. If this was
any other season I would likely be in Chili right now which would also
be pretty cool but this year also happens to coincide with the New
Zealand Winter Games which hosts a series of events at the World Cup
level that spans both para and able bodied events. So this year there
are some World Cup Para-Alpine races in New Zealand, and so far I do not
have any World Cup starts, and it has been suggested and hinted at that
if I can meet the criteria for the Paralympics that my attendance in
those games may be a distinct possibility but not a guarantee. That
criteria is that one must have at least two finishes in the top 12 of a
World Cup race and IPC points in each event lower than 220. I already
have IPC points lower than 220 in all events so what I need now is two
World cup finishes in the top 12, which is why I believe that the team
asked me to come to this set of training camps and races. Now what is
the possibility of me getting these finishes here at this event you may
ask? well I would answer with if the coaches didn't think that I could
do it then they would not have invited me to this month long training
camp and associated races. It should also be noted that i also think
that I can achieve this bench mark as it would be the culmination of a
long lost child hood dream to go to a winter Olympic game albeit a
Parlympic games it is still far beyond any point many of my childhood
peers ever made it in the alpine racing world.
So I hope that all
of my followers who know of my endeavors will wish me luck and all the
best in achieving this goal not only to represent Canada but to
represent a community of individuals who strive to be the best and most
unique in all that they do in their own ways.
