Three Bow Valley skiers are tearing up the hills as members of the Alberta Alpine ski team, bent on continuing the Rocky Mountain’s tradition of producing Canada’s top ski racers.
ZOE BELCZYK
What does it mean to you to be part of the provincial ski team?
The provincial team has always been a goal of mine, and it was a great opportunity for me to get to be part of the team this year.
What are some of your goals for the season?
In a couple of week I head to U18 national championships in Collingwood, Ont., where I hope to achieve some of my better results of the year.
What is your biggest strength? Biggest weakness?
A strength would probably be how competitive I am sometimes, it tends to push me, especially on race day. My weakness is balancing my last year of high school with racing. Missing school can be a little difficult, but I have managed.
What do you enjoy about ski racing?
I enjoy ski racing because of the experiences; the sport has taught me so much, like commitment and competition. It has allowed me to travel, meet new people, and pursue my love for ski racing.
How did you get into ski racing?
Skiing has been part of my family for a long time. Since I live in the Rockies, I was put on skis at a very young age. We have skied every weekend since I can recall. My whole family grew up ski racing and I joined in on that tradition.
Who is your ski hero?
I don’t have a certain hero in ski racing, I respect and look up to anyone who has the commitment and skill to make it to the world cup level. And, of course, my mom and family who have supported me.
From Coach Brett Zagozewski: Zoe is a real natural on skis. She skis with a very relaxed mind and has the gift of finding the fall line and letting the ski run, resulting in the ability to generate a lot of speed in GS and super-G. She is also a quick learner. She really does listen to the coach’s feedback and makes adjustments instantly.
BEN LEGREE
What are some of your goals for the season?
My coaches and I decided this year to goal set based on different criteria, one of which was technical goals. All my technical goals are based around specific improvements in the way I ski in order to achieve my result-based goals. As for results, one of my goals is to be ranked in the top three in our overall series, the Alpine Insurance Alberta Cup.
What is your biggest strength? Biggest weakness?
Lately my biggest weakness has been inconsistency. I have struggled to have both runs in a race that I am fully satisfied with, and in a sport like ours, I have to perform well in both in order to have the result I am looking for. As for a strength, I would say I am pretty good at changing aspects of my technique and tactics in order to be faster.
What do you enjoy about ski racing?
I truly enjoy most elements of the sport. The competition, the environment, the people I’ve met, the places I’ve been … Skiing plays such a massive role in my life.
What I enjoy most about the sport is really just the feelings. I love the feeling of speed, the forces and getting a little sketchy in a challenging part of a course.
I also enjoy the sense of accomplishment at the end of a good day and seeing my hard work pay off. Even though there are also bad days when I’m not happy with my result, or I took a bad crash, or it’s just miserable conditions, it is usually not long before I forget about how bad a certain day was because the next day or other days will be great.
How did you get into ski racing?
Ski racing is something that runs deep in my family on both my mom and my dad’s side.
My dad grew up skiing in Vancouver and Whistler representing the Grouse Mountain Tyee ski club.
It is a similar story with my mom’s side of the family; a family of four kids, all of whom ski raced while they were young as part of the Banff Ski Runners.
My Aunt Kerren is an Olympic and world champion medalist and to have someone in the family achieve that kind of success really has helped me see that it is possible.
With the combination of both sides of the family developing such a love and passion for the sport, I have no doubt that the reason they signed me up with Banff Alpine Racers at the age of five was simply because they wanted me to have the same opportunity that they did as kids.
Since then, I myself have developed an appreciation for the sport and began to love it more and more as I got older and better while I moved up through the ranks.
Who is your ski hero?
I do not have one hero, but a couple of people who I look up to and aspire to.
One of those people is definitely Brad Spence, who is recently retired from the Canadian Alpine Ski Team, and is recognized as one of Canada’s best technical skiers. I have always looked up to Brad because he is still an active member of the ski racing community to this day. He overcame injuries and always came back to skiing with such a positive attitude that inspired kids like me.
I remember when I was in U14 he gave me his old helmets, goggles, poles, things like that and I remember I thought that was so cool of him to do and I can’t thank him enough for doing things like that for me.
I look up to Paul Stutz for similar reasons. Paul was a member of the Canadian Alpine ski team and previous to that was a member of the Banff Alpine Racers. Whenever Paul had an opportunity, he would come and ski with our team and show us how it’s done.
Both these amazing people are always out on the hill giving back to the community that supported them and I hope to be given the same opportunity that they did.
Coach Zagozewski says: Ben is one of the guys that makes our team such a great group. He was selected by his teammates as the captain and spokesperson for the team. Ben can be pretty quick in slalom and has a great ability to make the impossible recoveries in training and competition.
HUSTON PHILP
What does it mean to you to be part of the provincial ski team?
To me it is a pretty big accomplishment. Only a select few athletes in Alberta are able to qualify for the provincial ski team. From there on out, the provincial system builds and creates athletes like ourselves to continue on to the next level, such as the Canadian Ski Team. Being on the Alberta Ski Team means a lot, it shows that our talent and skiing ability is able to be improved.
What are some of your goals for the season?
Goals for this season have been to increase my consistency and be able to perform my best on race day, which has started to happen more frequently. I am working towards qualifying for world juniors, making that next jump up to the Canadian development team and/or skiing my way into the college circuit.
What is your biggest strength? Weakness?
I would say one of my biggest strengths is being able to cope with almost any conditions, distractions, and weather. Aiming this strength more towards race days, I tend to be able to accomplish my daily goals and perform my best regardless of the circumstances. Being able to focus and get down to business is where I excel.
What do you enjoy about ski racing?
I enjoy several different aspects of ski racing, including the speed and the adrenaline rushes it creates, the traveling and being able to experience different countries and their cultures and, most of all, the skiing community.
The community is what makes the sport so enjoyable. The foundation of the sport is formed by the people you’re surrounded by and the people who are there to support and push you to make your dreams come true.
How did you get into ski racing?
Ski racing has been running through the family ever since my oldest brother went through the system – Jamie Philp, who made it to the Alberta Ski Team also. My middle brother, Trevor Philp, made the Alberta Ski Team several years ago and has now made his way up to the Canadian Ski Team. I was put into the skiing program at the age of four, and ever since that day I have had a huge passion for the sport. I grew up skiing locally with Banff Alpine Racers out of Mt. Norquay.
Who is your ski hero?
I consider Paul Stutz to be a hero. Over his ski racing career he had very successful performances at the world cup level. He was never known for finishing, but when he did he had huge potential.
The motivation and drive he showed on the hill was something I looked up to. His last few years of ski racing as an individual was where the motivation and drive really stood out. He kept pushing and believing in himself day in and day out. He would fly himself over to Europe for the few slalom world cups to sometimes just make a few gates and then blow out.
However, it was the motivation and drive he displayed that kept him coming back for more that makes him a hero.
Coach Zagozewski says: A true talent. He certainly follows in his brother’s footsteps. Huston is a great performer on race day. He skis with confidence and does not let any distractions ruin his focus.
He is very gifted in slalom and giant slalom, making him one of the top up and coming ski racers in the Canadian system.
