There’s no resting on his laurels for Silver Star Freestyle Club skier Patrick Dew.
There’s really no resting. Period.
A day after winning double gold on his home Silver Star Mountain at the recent Canadian Freestyle Skiing Championships, Dew was on the road to Whistler for more training.
“I’m doing two weeks of glacier skiing in Whistler along with some water ramping (ski jumps into a large pool), said Dew, 16, a Grade 11 student at Vernon Secondary.
“I also have a planned trip out to New Zealand for three weeks of snow training, and I also have gym work I’ll be doing regularly to keep my body in shape.”
Dew won gold at Silver Star in the Male18 division big air and slopestyle finals, and dominated both disciplines. Yet competing on his home mountain didn’t give him any advantage.
“Due to all the travelling I’ve done this year, I haven’t had much time to ski at Silver Star,” said Dew, the youngest member of the B.C. pipe and park ski team.
“The course was very unfamiliar to me. The advantage I did have was the support from the people I know around the hill.”
Dew credited the twin-gold performance to a pair of doubles perfected throughout the season.
“In slopestyle I pulled off two doubles, one being a switch double rodeo 900 and the other a double cork 1080,” he said. “No other competitor put down two doubles so that helped me stand out for sure.
“It was an awesome feeling to take home double gold on my home hill. I skied my best and ended up coming out on top. There is no better feeling than hard work paying off. The fact it was at home is a huge bonus. Skiing in front of all of my family and friends, and having their support, just made it that much better.”
Said provincial team head coach, and former Silver Star Freestyle Club coach Jeremy Cooper: “To be back at Silver Star and see Patrick perform well was a delight. It was awesome. He is a very driven, very well-rounded athlete. He’s got a strong work ethic and a positive attitude. He’s showing a tremendous amount of skill with his skiing and with the results he’s been getting this season.”
Dew started skiing when he was five, and started freestyle skiing three years later in the level-entry Jumps and Bumps program at Silver Star.
Dew and his program mates would do runs through the terrain park, through trees and taking jumps. After that, he made his way through the levels of the Silver Star Freestyle Club until he reached the provincial team.
“He still comes out and helps with the younger guys on trampolines and on the hill,” said current Silver Star Freestyle Club head coach Wade Garrod. “He’s exemplary. He’s the kind of kid you want representing the club and the sport. He’s a great kid.”
On Dew’s career radar are competing at the Winter X Games and the Olympics.
“I’m currently working my way up through events that are on a national and international level,” he said. “I just need a couple of more years to put together a run that would stand out against the best skiers in the world.”
Dew would be nowhere in his skiing career without the help of his parents, Todd and Karen.
“They are the biggest influences,” said Dew. “They are behind me every step of the way. They help in a huge way financially, allowing me to travel to different places all over the country and internationally.
“They push me just the right amount in my skiing life that I progress quickly yet I still stay safe. They were the ones that put me into the Jumps and Bumps program.”
Dew doesn’t hold down a job but he “does what he can for family and friends” to make some money, and pushes a broom at his dad’s pharmacy to make some cash.
He carries sponsorshipfrom Sun Valley Source For Sports, Smith Optics, Eira Outerwear, Nordica Skis and Swany Gloves.
