Orillia’s Samuel Aitken became a provincial champion in ski cross over the March break.
The Barrie native started skiing when he was three or four years old, after his family moved to the Horseshoe Valley area.
“The hill was a five- to 10-minute drive,” Aitken explained. “It was so close that we could just pick up and go whenever.”
The 14-year-old Orillia Secondary School student says he fell in love with the high speeds that come with racing down the slope.
“I just really love the sport,” he said. “I love hitting the jumps and being in the air.”
The Grade 9 student realized he wanted to take skiing more competitively when he and his sister noticed downhill racers training at Horseshoe Resort.
“We watched them for a bit, and my sister wanted to do it right away,” Aitken said. “My dad put me in a ski school at Horseshoe and I moved up to U10 to start racing.”
Aitken was six years old when he got into competitive skiing, a year or two earlier than when most people start.
“You are supposed to have two years of U10 experience, but I had four,” he explained. “I was too good for the ski school because I was beating everybody in that.”
Aitken always seemed to be ahead of the pack in skiing — something he attributes to his small body frame.
“I’ve always been quicker and faster on turns,” he said.
After always finishing in the top three in tournaments and events during his young career, Aitken finally broke through and won his first provincial championship last month in the U16 division — even though he was battling against many older athletes.
“It was a very big moment for me,” he said. “It’s the best I’ve done at a provincial event. Being the best in Ontario for U16 ski cross is a pretty big deal to me.”
With the win, Aitken can now qualify for North American championship events. He hopes, one day, to make a run at competing in a World Cup or the Olympics.
“I have the opportunity. I just have to get myself there,” he said.
Aitken’s goal is to help grow the sport to a place where sponsors want to provide opportunities for kids who don’t have much money to pursue their ski-cross dreams.
“It would be a big deal for me to get there,” he said.
To make his dreams come true, Aitken does a lot of training for balance, leg strength, and speed. He also plays other sports such as lacrosse, football and rugby.
“In football, I messed up my shoulders a bit,” he said, “but I really enjoy playing contact sports and the risk of injuries isn’t really a worry to me because once I’m healed, I’m going right back onto the hill to train.”
Aitken has two coaches — his father, Christopher, and Brad Neal. Another major influence for his career has been his sister, Kyleigh.
“She was really good at skiing and could have gone somewhere with it, but she went for lacrosse instead,” he explained. “I’ve always been chasing after her in skiing.”
