The first contest of the year turned out to be one of my best. As always, I had no expectations going into it, and my anxiety levels were probably higher than normal. I had ended my previous season with a broken pelvis and collarbone, and hadn't felt like I got a lot out of summer training in New Zealand. And after competing well the year before, it's hard not to put pressure on yourself to keep getting good results. I'm pretty good at putting pressure on myself. But that's why I value my coach and my teammates and family so much. They are always there to remind me to have fun and ski the best I can, because that's all I can do.
Competition day turned out to be perfect. The sun was out and the temperature wasn't in the negatives like it had been all week. I went into qualifiers with an easy run; the same I had been doing the entire year before but without a 900. The judges didn't seem to like it very much and I realized I was playing it too safe. For my second run, I added the 900 and received a higher score, qualifying in 3rd place for finals. My coach, Ben, knew I didn't want to push it too hard since I was nervous and it was the first contest of the year, so we agreed to keep the same run for finals. In training, I kept hitting the deck on my first hit 540, so I was really focusing on popping harder in finals. Finals began and I landed my first run but it was sloppy and had a few bobbles because I was still so nervous. I knew I needed to clean up my second run if I wanted to podium, and after a small talk with my coach, I was up again. I pushed out of the start gate, and I guess I was carrying some extra speed because even though I popped hard on my first hit, I still clipped the edge of the deck pretty good on my 540. Somehow, I played it off like nothing happened and I continued my run, carrying speed all the way down. My full run ended up being this: 540, allyoop, 900, allyoop 540, 700. At that point, I was just happy I made it down with my skis still on. It was an extra bonus when I heard my score and realized I was sitting in first with two more girls to go. I watched anxiously, but content that I had podiumed no matter what, as the next two went. Their scores didn't hold up, and at the end I was announced the winner.
Obviously, it's always nice to win, but I think winning this contest meant more than the usual. I had so much doubt going into it, and it was nice to prove myself wrong. Not only did it amp me up for the rest of the season, but I showed my sponsors I was still the same skier I was before I got injured. The only thing that made the day better was watching my teammate, Tai Barrymore, dominate the mens field and come out with his first big win as well. Our coach was happy, to say the least.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
ESPN face time
Here's my interview with Sasha Coben for ESPN, recapping my X Games and Dew Tour performances. We did this right before I came out to France.
EUROtrip
2 weeks ago I came to France, stoked to ski for the first time since I fractured my pelvis at Dew Tour. After looking forward to this trip all season, i was determined to heal as fast as possible and get back at it. I met Ben, Tai, and Devin in La Plagne just in time to watch my two teammates win the xgames qualifier SFR comp. I think that night set the tone for the rest of the trip, at least for Devin and Tai, who both continued to kill it at xgames and the world cup. My first day skiing was one of my favorite days this year. Being in France and those amazing mountains on a sunny perfect day was already amazing, but the feeling you get when you get to ski again after (what seems like) a long break, just really made me the happiest person in the world that day. I love skiing so much, in my mind, it really is worth any and every injury I may acquire.
A couple days later we packed up and moved to Tignes for Euro X. Getting back in the pipe wasn't the same as getting back on my skis and cruising. The first two training sessions were rough. My nerves wouldn't go away and my strength wouldn't come back. With some noticeably weaker legs, I was definitely affected by the slightly under-vert walls. Every hit required so much attention and thought. It was a weird feeling to go back to, after skiing pipe all season like it's the most amazing and mind relaxing activity. I did a lot of straight airs during those training sessions, just trying to get comfortable again. Finally I felt like it was coming back, and started spinning. On our third training day I felt better than I had all week. After one run, I decided I wasn't going to ski like a little girl. I was at Euro X, I might as well go for it. My second run was just as good, taking even more speed into every hit. It felt natural again and my legs felt strong... until maybe the 5th hit when I forgot to pop. I decked pretty hard and front flipped into the pipe, landing on my collarbone. I think that was the most pain I've ever been in. Everything hurt. They gave me an IV with morphine and took me straight to the hospital. Broke my collarbone in 4 places.
To say the least, this trip hasn't turned out as I expected. I've been a spectator instead of a competitor. I think that's the hardest part.. to have to watch you're friends do the only thing you want to do. The back to back injuries doesn't help either. I keep wishing I could have just broken everything at once and cut the healing time in half. But the trip hasn't been all bad. I'm still in France with some awesome people, seeing new things and celebrating their accomplishments. My girl Devin has had such an amazing year, and it's been so cool to see her kill it at every competition, never missing the podium. And watching Tai ski in the xgames made me so happy. He's one of the ballsiest skiers I know, and he makes an impression on everyone who watches him.
You can't give up on something you think about everyday. I couldn't live without skiing, and it's something that I plan on doing for as long as I physically can.
La Plagne
A couple days later we packed up and moved to Tignes for Euro X. Getting back in the pipe wasn't the same as getting back on my skis and cruising. The first two training sessions were rough. My nerves wouldn't go away and my strength wouldn't come back. With some noticeably weaker legs, I was definitely affected by the slightly under-vert walls. Every hit required so much attention and thought. It was a weird feeling to go back to, after skiing pipe all season like it's the most amazing and mind relaxing activity. I did a lot of straight airs during those training sessions, just trying to get comfortable again. Finally I felt like it was coming back, and started spinning. On our third training day I felt better than I had all week. After one run, I decided I wasn't going to ski like a little girl. I was at Euro X, I might as well go for it. My second run was just as good, taking even more speed into every hit. It felt natural again and my legs felt strong... until maybe the 5th hit when I forgot to pop. I decked pretty hard and front flipped into the pipe, landing on my collarbone. I think that was the most pain I've ever been in. Everything hurt. They gave me an IV with morphine and took me straight to the hospital. Broke my collarbone in 4 places.
X Games pipe, Tignes
You can't give up on something you think about everyday. I couldn't live without skiing, and it's something that I plan on doing for as long as I physically can.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
THE HYPE
I love music. I couldn't live without it. Follow this link if you want to see what I'm listening to http://hypem.com/#!/britasig
Monday, February 28, 2011
Season Recap: X Games 15
When I got my invite for the winter X Games, I was so happy just to be going that I didn't even think about the possibility of getting on the podium. As a halfpipe skier, X Games has been the highest level of competition in our sport since I've known what skiing is. So, naturally, it has always been a dream of mine to someday compete with the best in the world under the lights in Aspen's pipe.
Aspen's pipe, by the way, was the nicest pipe I've ever skied. Every lap was just so much fun that I never even thought about being nervous. I was stoked to be there and I was loving every minute of it. After qualifying for finals in 4th, I didn't think things could get much better.
My family and friends flew into Aspen the next day, just in time to watch me in finals. With two older brothers and one very excited sister, I'm pretty sure I had the loudest fans. Even with my headphones on, I could still hear them screaming at the bottom before I dropped in for every run. In finals I layed down one of the best runs of my life, and after skiing consistently all week, I was beyond stoked to walk away with the silver medal at my first ever X Games.
I think being in that mind state of living in the moment, and just knowing that I was lucky to be there, helped me ski better than I've ever skied before. I ski because it's fun, but sometimes that seems to get lost on competition days or stressful training days, so being able to take everything in and enjoy it was really nice for me. And of course, having my best friends and family there to share it with me, made it that much better.
My family and friends flew into Aspen the next day, just in time to watch me in finals. With two older brothers and one very excited sister, I'm pretty sure I had the loudest fans. Even with my headphones on, I could still hear them screaming at the bottom before I dropped in for every run. In finals I layed down one of the best runs of my life, and after skiing consistently all week, I was beyond stoked to walk away with the silver medal at my first ever X Games.
I think being in that mind state of living in the moment, and just knowing that I was lucky to be there, helped me ski better than I've ever skied before. I ski because it's fun, but sometimes that seems to get lost on competition days or stressful training days, so being able to take everything in and enjoy it was really nice for me. And of course, having my best friends and family there to share it with me, made it that much better.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Season Recap: New Zealand
A lot has happened over the last 6 months and since I have some free time right now, I'm finally going to write about it. It still amazes me how far I have come in such a short amount of time, and I couldn't be more stoked to be where I am right now.
Last summer I made a really good decision to go to New Zealand. I love traveling and I have always wanted to go there, so when I got my invite to compete at Junior World Championships down there, I couldn't pass up the opportunity. After exploring the South Island for a couple weeks I met up with the US team in Wanaka and started training for the comp. Skiing in NZ was awesome. I was so happy to be there, I didn't care if the pipe at Snowpark sucked, it was all fun. I met a lot of really rad kids and a pretty cool coach that I've been skiing with all season.
The day of the comp turned out to be the worst weather we'd had all week, with snow in the bottom of the pipe and a huge cloud engulfing the whole mountain. You could barely see 10 ft. in front of you, and although we waited several hours for the cloud to clear out, it never did. Riders were sent whenever there was a big enough break in the clouds for the judges to see your whole run, but that was at a slow pace. We ended up having to call it quits after everyone got one run in, which put me in first.
It was my first major win of my career and I was beyond stoked to be on the podium with some sick skiers like Keltie and Devin. Overall, it was an amazing trip and I was stoked to go home and start the season on a good note.
Snowpark
Cardrona's pipe on comp day
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