Ski Cross Canadian Emeline Bennett represents Boundary Bay Airport at NorAm’s, FIS races and Europa Cup
Gore, United States NorAm – February 7/8th
Gore, United States FIS race – February 10th
Sunny Valley, United States NorAm – March 1/2nd
Reiteralm, Austria Junior FIS Race – March 11/12th
Hey guys!
It’s been just over a month since I last filled you guys in on what I’ve been up to, and I am super excited to let you know what’s been happening!
We were in Gore, NY for just over a week and they set up three great races, two NorAm’s and a FIS race. The first NorAm was super exciting as I got to walk away with my first NorAm win of the season! The second day I turned my brain off for a split second in the big final and had a little crash that landed me in fourth. I was upset but now realize how fortunate it is to walk away from any crash uninjured and be able to go on like nothing happened. It took a little perspective to put that all together, but I did get my redemption the next day by taking the win in the FIS race.
After a night layover in Montreal, I got to head home for a quick two weeks, spend some time in the gym, catch up on missed appointments, and refocus myself for the last block of races.
Before I even realized it, I was back in the Montreal airport and driving to Sunday River, Maine for two more NorAm’s and a FIS race. The weather didn’t cooperate as much for this event which meant the track was very soft. We finally did get the race off and I was stoked to grab a third with a few of the National Team girls showing up to strengthen the field. The second day we had even more snow and they ran a qualifier only which means those were the results for that day. In those conditions, the track would have been unsafe for four skiers. I skied like I could, knowing everyone was facing the same conditions and doing my best to make the most of it and I snuck into second just 0.06 seconds off the win. It was a really good feeling to know I could put up a fight against some of our National Team girls. That rounded out our trip to Maine, and we were back at the airport.
We landed in Munich on March 7th, and after some travel and prep we were back at it. Our most recent race took us to Reiteralm, Austria for two Junior FIS races. Reiteralm is a notoriously large track with a lot of feature combos, and it is fun to race. Every time we’re on this track, there’s the initial fear but once you get your first run done and remember what you’re capable of, it feels like flying. I was super stoked to take second both days in those races, the first day’s field was especially deep with European talent, and it felt really good to know that I could still put down a good race against the top juniors in Europe.
Arguably the most exciting part of this email is that they finally announced the Canadian World Juniors team to us (no public release yet), and I am super proud to be representing my country at the event again this season. I feel stronger, more ready and more confident going into the event this year and I am ready to see what we can do!
It’s hard to believe but the season is coming to an end and there are only a few races left on the calendar besides World Juniors:
– San Pellegrino, Italy Europa Cup (to replace EC in Les Contamines, France) March 15/16
– San Pellegrino, Italy Europa Cup, March 23/24
– World Junior Championships, March 26/28
– Nakiska, AB NorAm finals, April 8/10
Thank you so much for your support this season. None of this would have been possible without the support of Boundary Bay and I hope to finish off this season on a high!
Talk soon + all the best,
Emeline
