MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Winter 2020

75 words :: Allison Kennedy Davies With the 2022 Olympics on the horizon and a full slate of competitions from World Cups to X Games set for this season, you’ll want to watch these Ontario athletes on the world stage. With roots right here in our backyard, Evan McEachran and Rachael Karker have proven that hard work and passion can add up to international success. Rachael Karker Halfpipe Skier @rachaelkarker A rising star on the world freestyle skiing circuit, 22-year-old Erin, Ontario native Rachael Karker has taken a winding multisport road to the Halfpipe podium. From ski racing to competitive dance, gymnastics and trampoline, Karker eventually settled on Freestyle skiing, and ultimately Halfpipe. I caught up with Karker in Colorado where she was prepping for her first World Cup of the season. ML: How did you get your start in skiing? RK: I started skiing when I was a year and a half. Then I raced in Nancy Greene when I was five and six. Then I got into a ballet program at the National Ballet School and danced there for three years. I transitioned into gymnastics and competed for four years. Around that time, one of my brothers started skiing Slopestyle and I was intrigued. I had a falling out with gymnastics, so I started skiing Slopestyle at 14. For my first three years in Slopestyle, I also competed nationally in trampoline. When I was 17, I decided I need to pick a single sport. I chose skiing. ML: We’re always hearing about letting kids stay multisport until an older age. How did your gymnastics and trampoline help with your skiing? RK: I think the trampoline helps a lot: my acrobatic skills definitely give me an advantage in learning new things on skis. Even though most of the tricks are on a different axis, just from doing flips most of my life, I know where I am in the air. That’s really valuable. ML: Last season you had great results at World Cups and X Games. What were the highlights? RK: I won Dew Tour, I came in second at two World Cups and I finished third at X Games. It was a pretty insane jump—I only made one final the year before at a World Cup. Then all of last season, I didn’t finish worse than fourth. I was just very consistent all season. It was kind of insane—I didn’t expect it to all come together so quickly. ML: Are the 2022 Olympics already on your mind? RK: I’d say the Olympics are already on my radar. Our training schedule goes in a four- year cycle focused on the Games. ML: What are your goals for 2020? RK: I’d like to hit the podium at most events—I only missed a couple last year, so I’ll try to get them all. Otherwise it’s just my usual goal to ski very consistently and keep my head space in the right spot. That’s probably the most important thing—being able to be present and not too stressed out. ML: What advice do you have for girls who want to compete in freestyle skiing? RK: The only advice I’d give is to keep trying tricks all the time—I fall all the time ( laughs ). You just have to keep trying and not be too scared. My biggest ally when it comes to training is repetition. I try to complete every trick I’d do in competition at least five times a day. By the time I compete, I’ve done those tricks hundreds of times and all I have to think about is remaining calm and competing. ML: Who do you want to thank? RK: I’d like to thank my parents, my family and my friends, the staff and athletes on my team, Freestyle Canada, Freestyle Ontario, Swany Gloves, Blue Mountain Resort, WinSport and all my former coaches. LEFT Rachael Karker at the X Games,Aspen, 2019. ALLISON KENNEDY DAVIES. ABOVE X Games Bronze. COURTESY RACHAEL KARKER