I was speaking with Tannis Boisvert yesterday, and just for a laugh, I asked her what time it was.
On the clock it was 9:30 am, but in her head after an intense week of skiing in FIS competition in Switzerland and Austria, in her head, it felt like 4 in the afternoon.
Such are the adjustments an international skier has to deal with.
Boisvert is dealing with far more than simply jet lag these days.
First of all, she’s still contending with a sore foot after suffering a broken heel in training this summer in the United States. She admits there’s still pain and bother to deal with, but she also rationalizes there likely isn’t an elite skier in the world who’s not competing with a physical ailment or misery.
Boisvert is also dealing with the cold hard reality of how intense and difficult skiing is at the international level.
During her week in Europe, she nosed around the top 30 mark, but after gauging the level of competition, she understands skiing in global competition is the big leagues.
To her credit, Boisvert feels highly motivated by the experience and is eager for the next competition, which brings us to another issue to deal with; what’s next ?
She’ll train at Collingwood in the short term but in the long term, it’s a ” maybe ” situation; maybe Quebec, maybe California, but nothing is set.
While the uncertainty might fluster some, Tannis Boisvert is dealing with it, just like she’s dealing with lingering injury, the desire to move upwards internationally, along with the attempt to get her mind and body back to North American time.
I’m Fred Wallace