It’s official, the first snow of the season has fallen, and we couldn’t be more excited to get on skis and start hitting gates. In spite of the tumult around conference racing this year (with us being unable to travel to the U.S to compete on the USCSA circuit) we’re nevertheless excited to introduce some of the friendly new faces of UBC Alpine’s roster for the 2020/2021 season!
Marko during his time racing for Grouse Tyee.
Hailing from the lower mainland, Marko Smitran has been skiing for 13 years, with the last of those spent racing at Grouse. First-year engineering student Marko’s favorite discipline is GS and said if he had to choose one place to ski for the rest of his life, it would be at Kicking Horse or Revelstoke because of the “sick terrain and good power”. Having just come off the FIS circuit, Marko is excited to race for UBC in whatever form that comes in this year.
Like so-many of the east-coast transplants that came before her, first-year Emma Lam is stoked to be a part of UBC Alpine and get a chance to ski at Whistler – a place she always visited as a kid. Growing up racing for the past 7 years at Mount St. Louis Moonstone, Ontario, Emma loves SL and is excited to continue her skiing career out west.
Emma in Chile last summer during a training camp.
Similarly, 2nd-year Ph.D. Nuclear Astrophysics student Guy Leckenby is ready to show us how they ski down-under. Having grown up skiing in Perisher, Australia, Guy has unknowingly been committed to summer training all his life! Having only raced G.S, he’s stoked to join UBC Alpine and try his hand at slalom this year — no doubt with his astrophysical knowledge (and seeming love of air time) his skiing will blow us out of this universe.
Guy catching some air time down-under.
When not studying the inner-workings of our universe, Guy enjoys skiing right here on planet Earth especially at Happo-One, Hakuba Japan. “It’s a massive alpine mountain with some really nice open steep groomers for the days you feel speedy, including the downhill runs from the 1998 Olympics. And then true Japanese champagne powder every week. With only a quick 15-30 min hike from the top, you can ski the North and South face where they hold the Hakuba stop of the Free Ride World Tour.”
Ava and Claire in a highly secret location *the ice cave off Glacier T-bar on Blackcomb* that’s well worth a visit for those who haven’t been!
Roommate duo Ava Andersen and Claire Macdonald are equally excited to make their debut on UBC Alpine. Both grew up skiing at Mt. Seymour, love slalom, and – if pressed to choose one mountain to ski forever – would choose Whistler in a heartbeat! While Claire is in her 4th year studying Commerce with a concentration in Finance, Ava is in her 3rd year in the faculty of arts. We can’t wait to see what this dynamic duo will get up to this year!
While we’re still planning and finalizing our upcoming race season, we’re excited to welcome new and returning athletes back to the UBC Alpine Ski team! Subscribe to our newsletter to continue getting updates on our season, and results.