Sarah Rocque is certainly keeping a family skiing tradition going.
But more than that, the 12 year-old out of Saltair is off to Mission for the BC Winter Games Feb. 20-23.
Registering as an extra, Rocque will compete for the medals in the moguls skiing event this weekend, as she sets off Thursday alongside her other Island teammates.
“My goal for the BC Winter Games is to try my best, have fun, meet new people and learn more skills,” said Rocque who is aiming to imitate Canada’s Alex Bilodeau in Sochi recently. “I want to bring home a medal, but I still want to have fun as well. It’s like a mini Olympics for kids.”
Like Sarah who has been skiing since she was two and a half, mom Amber has also skied her entire life.
“The judges base it on their skiing technique, air time, degree of difficulty in your jumps, finesses, how you hold your feet and landings and take-off, things like that,” she said.
Davis Road Elementary student Sarah is part of the Mount Washington Freestyle Club and is trained by coaches Peter Stubbs and Ian McFadgen.
“At the weekends I would normally train at Mount Washington but since there’s been no snow we’ve been going to Whistler and I’ve been training there with my coach,” said Rocque who is in training almost all year-round. “I train in the summer at Whistler for practice and I might go to the Momentum ski camp up on the glacier.”
There is no doubt skiing is one of Rocque’s biggest passions in life.
“Skiing means a lot of things. I like having fun, enjoying the snow and hanging out with my friends. It runs in the family. My goal is to be in the Olympics one day.”
The skiing events for the BC Winter Games will take place at Hemlock Valley Resort, between Mission and Agassiz, on the Lower Mainland.
