Whoa! I just checked the OFSSA (Ontario High School Champs) Results.
There were 140 Sr. women. 140!!! Why can't we retain even 3% of this field. Its clear that at the Highschool and younger levels there is a high volume of girls not just skiing, but racing! But at the Noram Sr.Women Level there are on average about 20-25 female starters?
Now if we could only rally the other provinces to have a HS racing system such as Ontario, I think there would definetly be a lot more girls interested in pursuing this sport when HS is done.
I know this is huge can of worms to open and almost impossible for me to write a well articulated and research based argument as to why there are not that many female skiiers at the top level in Canada. What I can say is that opportunity and experience are two things that must exist in order to expose jrs. and Srs for that matter to understand that this sport is something you can pursue.
I didn't know anything about World Juniors until I was 19, and even then I didn't know that it was a stepping stone to something bigger, I didn't know that it was an experience that prepares you for the Sr. Ranks or that it opens your eyes to the highest level of skiing and provides the knowledge base to start working harder at a younger age.
All I know is that 140 girls at a highschool skiing event is huge, its positive and kudos to the coaches (I know many of them) who have continued to inspire and share their love for this sport!
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Remember, those are just the OFSAA athletes. I went to go watch my old HS compete at the National Capital OFSAA qualifiers hosted by Nakkertok and there were an equal amount, if not more young women racing. I was shocked to hear that other provinces don't have HS skiing. HS skiing is what got me hooked!
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