Content is presented by Sporting Life, National Partner of Canada’s Ski Teams.

B.C. is home to some of the most beautiful mountain ranges and ski hills making it a perfect destination for skiers. It’s also home to BC Alpine’s ski team. As partners of BC Alpine, we are proud to support these great Canadian athletes and their journeys.

BC Alpine is an organization dedicated to helping their members grow and improve their skiing skills while still having fun on the slopes. They offer a multitude of programs and clubs for people of all ages and skill levels. The main goal for BC Alpine’s provincial team is to advance BC ski racers to the Canadian Alpine Ski Team. The provincial team is an elite development program designed to select the best-performing ski racers in the province and provide them with training and competitive opportunities. The BC Alpine team is full of young, talented athletes who love the sport and take pride in what they do.

Learn more about the BC Alpine Ski Team athletes below with some fun facts.

Nathan Romanin

When and why did you start ski racing?

I started when I was 10 at the Whistler Mountain Ski Club and after the first day of wind in my face and smashing plastic, I was hooked.

What is your favourite part about being on the team?

My favourite part about being on the team is the tight knit friend group created by a bunch of people with the same goals, as well as, the support that I get from sponsors and staff to be the best I can be every single day.

Who is your mentor & favourite Canadian athlete?

My favourite mentors are the staff at BC Alpine. As for my favourite Canadian athlete, Terry Fox has always been an inspiration.

Your biggest milestone/achievement in the Sport?

My biggest achievement is taking the time to learn new techniques to ski faster than others.

Fun Facts:

• Favourite gear: My favourite gear comes from Rossignol, Shred Optics & Level gloves
• Favourite place in Canada to ski: My favourite place to train is the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort in British Columbia. My favourite place to ski is on the Whistler Mountain.
• Favourite training routine: I Like to swing a leg or two.
• Other sports I play: I really enjoy biking and climbing when I am not skiing.
• Favourite Olympic moment: Watching all of my favorite athletes compete on the world stage.

Heming Sola

When and why did you start ski racing?

I was 4 years old and I tried to go into freestyle and they didn’t let me because I was too young, so I went into ski racing.

What is your favourite part about being on the team?

My favourite part about being on the team is having a good environment to have friendly competition and be able to talk to your best friends about things that other people might not get.

Who is your mentor & favourite Canadian athlete?

Marcus Athans has been both a mentor and a role model to me. My favourite Canadian athlete is Sidney Crosby.

Your biggest milestone/achievement in the Sport?

My biggest milestone/achievement so far has been making the British Columbia Ski Team.

Fun Facts:

• Favourite gear: Dynastar, Lange, Sweet Protection , Karbon and my Level Gloves.
• Favourite place in Canada to ski: My favourite place in Canada to ski is at Apex Mountain Ski Resort in British Columbia. It has trails for all skill levels and the views are stunning.
• Favourite training routine: My favourite training routine includes 4 runs of slalom. This is important as it helps keep athletes warmed up, helps focus on good posture and helps work on technique.
• The other sports I play: When I am not skiing, I enjoy playing Beach Volleyball and Golf.
• Favourite Olympic moment: My favourite Olympic moment of all time is Sydney Crosby’s Golden Goal in the 2010 Olympic games in Vancouver.

Tait Jordan

When and why did you start ski racing?

I started ski racing when I was 9 at Whistler Mountain Ski Club. I saw racers and thought it was kind of cool so I tried it and stuck with it.

What is your favourite part about being on the team?

My favourite part about being on the team is the culture that we have made to balance fun and push each other as hard as we can.

Who is your mentor & favourite Canadian athlete?

Right now, the Norwegian ski team because that they are like us in a lot of ways – always smiling and find a way to compete at the highest level. Steve Nash is my fav Canadian athlete.

Your biggest milestone/achievement in the Sport?

My biggest achievement so far is making the British Columbia Ski Team.

Fun Facts:

• Favourite gear: My favourite gear consists of my Karbon mid-layer Vest, Rossignol, Level Gloves and Komperdell.
• Favourite place in Canada to ski: My favourite place to ski in Canada is Whistler Mountain in British Columbia.
• Favourite training routine: My favourite training routine is doing crunches. This exercises helps focus on core abdominal movement which is important in skiing and posture.
• Some other sports I play: I play include Rugby and do Mountain Biking.
• My favourite Olympic moment: When the Canadian men’s hockey team won the gold medal in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic games.

Gerrit Van Soust

When and why did you start ski racing?

I started whenever they could take the youngest ski racers at Silverstar (Vernon Ski Club). I started racing because my dad wanted me to.

What is your favourite part about being on the team?

My favourite part about being on the team are the perks that is included with it. This includes good tuning equipment, good staff, good organization, etc.

Who is your mentor & favourite Canadian athlete?

My favourite mentor and Canadian athlete is Jeff Read.

Your biggest milestone/achievement in the Sport?

My biggest milestone is being on BC Ski Team.

Fun Facts:

• Favourite gear: Has to be my Komperdell Poles, Head SG Skis, Karbon mid-layer vest.
• Favourite place in Canada to ski: My favourite ski location is Mustang Powder Lodge in British Columbia.
• Favourite training routine: My favourite training routine incorporates lunges. Overall, lunges are good for skiing as it gets you into your ski stance and work your quads, glutes and hamstrings so you have stronger legs.
• Some other sports I play: Other than skiing, in my free time I enjoy playing soccer.
• My favourite Olympic moment: When Usain Bolt & Andre De Grasse race in a preliminary round and Usain gives Andre a finger shake for running fast and smiling.

Dylan Timm

When and why did you start ski racing?

I started when I was 4 on the Fernie Alpine Ski Team because my parents got me into it.

What is your favourite part about being on the team?

My favourite part about being on the ski team is having really good teammates and collaboration with each other.

Who is your mentor & favourite Canadian athlete?

My favourite Canadian athlete and mentor is Trevor Philp.

Your biggest milestone/achievement in the Sport?

Making the BC Ski Team is my biggest achievement as of right now.

Fun Facts:

• Favourite gear: My favourite gear is my Head Skis, Swix Poles and my Karbon vest.
• Favourite place in Canada to ski: My favourite place in Canada to ski is Mt. Sima in Yukon. Mt. Sima is a great skiing destination as it offers trails for people of all levels and the mountain tops have beautiful views.
• Favourite training routine: My favourite training routine is Jogging off snow or side-plank hip raises on the snow.
• Some other sports I play: Some other sports I play include Dirt Biking and Mountain Biking.
• Favourite Olympic moment: My favourite Olympic moment was when Jan Hudec tied Bode Miller during the medal ceremony for men’s super-G event at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games.

Heiko Ihns

When and why did you start ski racing?

I started ski racing when I was 7 because my friend invited me to Christmas ski racing camp and I loved it.

What is your favourite part about being on the team?

My favourite part about being on the BC Team is the camaraderie and friendships  I’ve built travelling around the world with the other guys.

Who is your mentor & favourite Canadian athlete?

My favourite Canadian athlete at the moment is Alphonso Davies.

Your biggest milestone/achievement in the Sport?

My biggest achievement in the sport is making the BC Team.

Fun Facts:

• Favourite gear: My favourite gear consists of my Atomic skis, leki poles and karbon gear.
• Favourite place in Canada to ski: My favourite place to ski is still my home ski resort, Red Mountain.
• Favourite training routine: I’m not the guy you want to take advice on this from. I’ve wrecked my knee twice.
• Some other sports I play: Away from skiing I mountain bike and have played soccer in the past.
• Favourite Olympic moment: Sidney Crosby’s golden goal in Vancouver is still my favourite Olympic moment.

Stay tuned for more spotlight stories from our Canadian ski athletes. You can also gear up like the pros do by shopping our one-stop Ski Shop.