There are pros & cons, positives and negatives, to virtually everything we know or do.
Owen Sound skier Larisa Yurkiw is experiencing this first hand as she prepares to depart for Switzerland later this week for another ski camp in preparation for the elite ski season.
While definitely Canadian, a political decision by Alpine Canada, means Yurkiw is not on the Canadian team, and in essence, is a free agent.
After years of following an Alpine Canada regime and schedule, Yurkiw and her coach Kurt Mayr are on their own, setting their own agenda, creating independent funding, seeking training partnerships and programs here & there, all the while trying to maintain the same level of preparation required to compete at the elite level.
All of which makes for a murky existence and future.
Yurkiw knows she’ll be in Switzerland in September and at similar camp in October.
She knows she’ll get 5 starts at Beaver Creek, Colorado & Lake Louise, Alberta in the late Fall plus will again venture to Europe for Super G races prior to Christmas.
After that……………?
Depending on Larisa Yurkiw’s success, both in terms of funding and competitive results, there may be huge opportunities in 2014. But for the moment, it’s almost a day to day existence chasing a competitive lifestyle and an Olympic dream.
I’m Fred Wallace