World and Junior World Championships

After being away for over a week, I have found myself back in the land of academia, in fact it has been a harsh re-entry as I go from the high of competing in World Championships, to the rocky-bottom low of second semester midterms. The high was worth it, and despite my disappointing results in the Classic on Friday (I finished with a great time, and then was disqualified); I have to remember that it is all about perspective. All week, it was hard for me to accept the fact that I was not skiing to the best of my ability, yet even though I was not at my full capacity, I was still competing with the very best in the world. All week long I received texts, emails, and phone calls from family and friends showering me with encouragement, congratulations and praise which helped me keep in perspective that I am a full time college student involved in rigorous academic programs, that I do not have the recourses that many other of the athletes do and because of that my experience at World Championships was a chance to experience athletic competition at the very highest level that exists, against athletes from all around the world who all share my passion for the growing sport of telemark racing, and no matter how I did, I can not be disappointed with myself.

Going back to perspective, I really did have great finishes; 15th and 10th in the Senior and Junior sprints respectively, and 18th and 11th in the Senior and Junior Parallel Qualifiers. To put that in a sentence: I am one of the top 15 female telemark racers in the world. How can I possibly complain about that?

Other highlights of the week included seeing sponsor Bishop Binding Co. slope side on Wednesday, making the jump line during Parallel Qualifiers and cheering on USA teammate as she made it to the semi-final round of the Junior Parallel on Thursday.

Two more days of midterms until spring break. NATO TeleFest on March 7th and 8th- last one ever! Going to the tele fest has been a birthday tradition for me for a very long time, this will make it year number 10 (crazy!). Can’t wait to get some free-skiing in, demo some equipment and have a great time with some old friends. A week later it will be onto US Nationals, in Glenwood Springs CO. It will be a time to catch up and ski with my USA teammates who were not at Championships, and to compete for National Champion.