Mackensey Young - Alpine Ski Racer

Fernie is home to one of Canada’s most successful Alpine Ski Racing Clubs – the Fernie Alpine Ski Team, or FAST. This club draws not only local ski enthusiasts in Southeastern British Columbia, but Southern Alberta as well. Over the last 17 year the club has grown from approximately 30 kids to more than 200, impressive to say the least. Rod Timm has been head coach during this time and actually won the Jason Lapierre Memorial Domestic Coach of the Year award at Alpine Canada’s 2010 Awards of Excellence.

Not surprisingly Mackensey Young, this month’s featured athlete and a member of FAST, attributes much of her success to Rod Timm. That and of course the luxury of having a ski resort in her backyard. This 17 year old Fernie resident whom recently graduated from Fernie Secondary School has made the decision of continuing to follow her dreams and passion even after being faced with trying times.

“I guess you could say for most of my ski racing career I have been faced with adversity. This past year I was in my third year of FIS and also my grade 12 year. It was a huge year for me because I needed to either get results and make the BC team or think about moving on and going to university,” she says.

The previous summer Mackensey came down with mono, not allowing her to participate in dryland conditioning – a crucial aspect of training for the sport. With three months off, she felt weak and discouraged when back on the snow.

“I fought hard to get back where I needed to be and managed to stick a few good results in. But was inconsistent, blowing out of races almost as often as I finished them,” she reflects. This is where Rod Timm comes in. He put time and dedication towards Mackensey, helping her gain back the strength, speed, confidence and spirit needed to succeed in this sport. “We spent many, many weekdays in the freezing cold, or in two feet of powder, lapping the T-bar, working to get me faster. He has looked out for me this past year and I am more grateful than I think he can imagine,” she adds.

Fortunately all that hard work paid off. This past spring Mackensey was invited to be a part of the BC women’s training group and was given the opportunity to earn a spot on the team by proving herself at camps throughout the summer, which included two on snow camps in Mount Hood Oregon, and two dryland camps in Whistler and Fernie.

“I am now heading into my fourth year of FIS, I opted out of going to university, because as my coach loves to say, skiing is my job. But I am looking forward to a busy and challenging season on the BC women’s ski team...finally.” Good luck Mackensey!

1. What is it about competing you love? I know it sounds really lame, but I honestly love everything about competing. I love training and being on the road, it has taught me a lot about responsibility and independence. And I get to ski almost every day in the winter. So that is a plus. I already have over 40 days on snow, and it is the beginning of November! I love my team - they are amazing. Even though skiing is an individual sport having a good team is huge, they keep me sane being away from home for so long.

2. How do you prepare/train for your events? Many, many hours in the gym, and just as many early mornings. A typical training day consists of waking up ridiculously early, getting to the hill ridiculously early, a full day of skiing, then home for another couple of hours in the gym, then tune our skis, and go to bed ridiculously early.

3. What are the events you are competing in this winter? My first race will be a Nor-Am cup in Lake Louise, then off to Panorama for another Nor-Am, then to Nakiska for a BC cup. After Christmas we will be heading to Sunday River, Maine for another Nor-Am, Lake Louise for Alberta cup, Apex for BC cup, Red mountain for BC cup, Whistler for Nor-Am Finals, Nakiska for Senior Nationals, and finally back to Panorama for Spring Series. Needless to say my winter is pretty busy, often times I go from one race directly to another.

4. What are your main goals when competing? Consistency is a huge one. You can't win a race if you don't finish. I am working on putting two fast runs together. And of course, getting on the podium is always on the list.

5. How do you think Fernie's recreational side has changed since you've lived here? I have always seen Fernie as a really active place and basically everyone I know skis or bikes or hikes.