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Harvest & Holiday 2013
Escarpment Magazine
143 Hurontario St
Collingwood 705.293.1008
featuring
collections
made in
Montreal
Larisa Yurkiw
Age 25
Home Club:
Georgian Peaks
Sport & Discipline:
Alpine Skiing –
Downhill and SuperG
Q:
Now that you are independent of the Canadian National
Ski Team how are you managing to fund your Olympic Dream?
A:
To prepare for and travel (with a coach) for a World Cup season
costs about $150k. I have a lot of people on board Team Larisa this sea-
son. The communities I’ve grown up with have stepped up in big ways
and enabled me to have another shot at being an Olympian. In addition,
corporate and personal contributions to Team Larisa have given me the
financial platform to execute my plan. It has been a huge learning ex-
perience for me but a very simple one. I want to give myself a chance to
reach my goals, so I will do whatever it takes.
Q:
You sacrificed a lot coming up through the competitive
circuit –would you do anything differently?
A:
I don’t have any regrets about my career. If I mademistakes or felt intim-
idated, it usually led to a lesson learned or an introduction to someone who
changedmy life. I’ve been fortunate to have a family that helps me to grow
and observe as much as possible. If I had one regret, it would be that I tried,
sometimes, to be someone I’mnot and it never propelledme forward. Feel-
ing comfortable and confident going at sport just theway I amhas givenme
the most success.
Q:
How has growing up on the Escarpment helped you hone
your skills for the world stage?
A:
Snowboarding on the Escarpment has helped in many ways. Since the
laps are so short compared to big ski resorts, you can get a lot more training
done in one day. Also the conditions on the east coast are not always ideal.
Riding an icy halfpipe all the time really put you at a bit more of an advan-
tage when it comes to competition time in a perfect pipe.
Q:
Who are the athletes to watch in your discipline?
A:
ShaunWhite is always abig name towatch, he goes the biggest and it’s
always entertaining.
Career Highlights:
Gold Canadian Championships 2013
Gold Canadian Championships 2012
4th Burton Canadian Open 2012
15th Dew Tour Killington 2012
15th Monster Energy’s Shred Show 2012
Derek Livingston
Age 22
Sport & Discipline: Freestyle
Snowboard Halfpipe
Member Canadian National
Freestyle Snowboard Halfpipe
Team
My home club was Alpine Ski Club. I was a part of their
freestyle program but moved over to Blue Mountain and the
Icarus Shreducation program when I needed to start train-
ing and competing at a higher level.
photo |Malcolm Carmichael
photo Courtesy Canada Snowboard
ESCARPMENT FEATURE
|
on the road to sochi
