India Sherret named FIS Ski Cross World Cup 'Rookie of the Year'

India Sherret named FIS Ski Cross World Cup ‘Rookie of the Year’

Cranbrook athlete caps off breakout season with top freshman honour at highest competitive level

The Ski Cross World Cup season had an anti-climactic ending, with the finals in Megeve, France cancelled due to troublesome weather conditions. The year was a huge success, however, for Team Canada and one local athlete.

Although not in attendance at the cancelled March 17 event, India Sherret received her trophy this past weekend as ‘Rookie of the Year’ for the 2017-18 season. Her first year as a full-time competitor on the circuit, the 21-year-old’s best result was a bronze medal finish in Indre Fjall, Sweden on January 13.

Sherret’s podium finish at that event earned her a spot on Canada’s Olympic team in Pyeongchang, Korea where she unfortunately experienced a season-ending back injury.

A whirlwind year, Sherret used her social media platforms to thank her “amazing coaches, techs, and teammates” for allowing her to earn the ‘Rookie of the Year’ recognition.

Sherret also shared in Canada’s third-straight Nations Cup win, as the best overall team on the World Cup circuit. Finishing just six points ahead of Switzerland, a great deal of the credit went to Brittany Phelan and Kevin Drury, who placed third overall in their respective categories.

Speaking to the Townsman following her Olympic experience, Sherret said that her main priority for the near future is improving her results on the World Cup circuit.

“I’m focusing on being really consistent on the World Cup,” she explained. “That’s what I want, not to be a one event performer, but [to be] really consistently in [the] top [finishers]. Sandra Naeslund and Marielle Thompson are the most dominant women on the circuit and that’s, ideally, where I want to be.”

Naeslund took home the 2017-18 Ski Cross Crystal Globe as the top overall women’s ski crosser. She had previously won the ‘Rookie of the Year’ trophy in 2012-13.

Cranbrook Townsman