Q:
How has skiing on the Escarpment helped you hone your
skills for the world stage?
A:
The Escarpment may not have the biggest jumps, and the longest
ski season, but we do have awesome rails, which are usually the first
elements to be added in early season and the last to go at the end of
the season. I have had so much fun at the late season hike parks with
friends on the Escarpment, which has helped me dial in my rail tricks.
Q:
How do you handle the costs of the sport –what do you
do about funding?
A:
Unfortunately skiing is not an inexpensive sport, especially travelling
to events. This year’s travel schedule is especially demanding, with it
being an Olympic year. There has already been aWorld Cup event in
New Zealand, and from December to February there are World Cups
in Switzerland, California and Colorado. I am a very fortunate recipient
of funding from the Craigleith Athlete Development Fund and have
been an Ontario Quest for Gold recipient.
Q:
You sacrificed a lot coming up through the competitive
circuit – would you do anything different?
A:
I definitely haven’t had the usual high school experience, but I
wouldn’t trade my skiing experience for anything. I love skiing, travel
and the competition. There is nothing else that I would rather be doing.
My brother Reid and I have been travelling and competing together
for years. It’s great to be able to support each other and share the ex-
periences. I have had many people influence me over the years I’ve
been skiing including coaches, other athletes, family and friends.
Q:
What will you need to do in
order to qualify for the 2014
Olympic Winter Games?
A:
This season I need to place twice in the top 12 of the World Cup in
order to guarantee a spot. However I hope that if I am still the best
Canadian GS skier at the point when the Olympics begin I will still be
able to represent Canada.
Q:
What are your career highlights to date?
A:
The most recent year was my most successful. I won my first NorAm
race and finally clinched a World Cup GS spot of my own. However
the previous five seasons have been rewarding as well. In 2009 I won
the NCAA Giant Slalom Champs and managed to win a total of eight
NCAA races tying Jimmy Cochran (former Middlebury Panther and
Vermont Catamount like myself, and a member of the US Ski Team for
10 seasons) for most wins in a season. I finished my NCAA career with
25 wins (most by a male racer ever), two Academic All-American hon-
ours, four 1
st
team All-American spots and four NCAA Championship
podiums; two in 2010 and one more in 2013.
Q:
What are your goals for the future?
A:
Short-term my goals are to get into the top 30 in both Soelden and
Beaver Creek GS races. This will allow me to go into Val d’Isere and
Alta Badia with some confidence and hopefully a better first run start
spot. I want to finish the season still the number one GS skier in the coun-
try and hopefully inside the top 15 in the world. Long-term I want to win
World Cup Giant Slaloms, and get my slalom back on track as well as
move into the speed events, which I truly believe I can be successful at
on the hardest downhill tracks in the world.
Q:
Who are the athletes to watch in your discipline?
A:
Without a doubt the man to watch is Ted Ligety. Especially now that
the ski regulations have been altered. To make the skis work the way
he does in GS anyone with half a brain has to know that he is doing
something remarkably special. It’s why every other athlete on the US
Ski Team tries to emulate him. And, of course the father of modern Giant
Slalom, Michael Von Gruenigen.
38
Escarpment Magazine Harvest & Holiday 2013
ESCARPMENT FEATURE
|
on the road to sochi
Evan McEachran
Age 16
Sport & Discipline: Freestyle Skiing, Slopestyle
Home Club: Craigleith Ski Club
Member Canadian Slopestyle Team
David Donaldson
(
aka: Donnie or Uncle Donnie)
Age 27
Sport & Discipline: Alpine Skiing, GS
Home Club: Georgian Peaks
First overall FIS NorAm Cup in Slopestyle
8
th
- World Cup 2013 in Switzerland
9
th
- Dumont Cup, Sunday River, Maine
Career highlights...
David Donaldson wins UVM Winter Carnival NCAA, Stowe VT, Jan. 2013
photo | Stella Holt
photo | Courtesy CFSA
