Insider's look

Photos: ©Martin Beaulieu
 We caught up with Jenn while she was on her first Marcelle photoshoot last November. Passionate, joyful and inspiring, it was a real pleasure to talk to her about mogul skiing, her family and her aspirations.

Is there a specific move you’re working on right now?
In mogul skiing,  an athlete’s score is broken down into three parts; turns (50%), jumps (25%) and speed (25%). Turns and jumps  are evaluated by a panel of judges while speed is a function of time measured from start to finish line. So it’s always a trade-off between speed and jumps because if it’s a new trick, you can’t come in as fast.

My coach and I decided that I’m going to stick with my old jumps, but do them bigger and better. My secret goal is to close the speed gap between the men and the women. We do two jumps on each run.  Right now I do a 360, so I take off do a full spin in the air. And for my bottom jump, I do a back flip while making a cross in my skis when inverted.


Which of your jumps is the hardest to master?
To be honest, the back flip is easier to control than the 360. You’re moving forward more and it’s easier to control and get your hips into it.

In a jump, it’s all about the take off. That’s one of the things we’re really practicing. So if you "miss your take off" as we call it, you can adjust in the air. In the back flip for example, if I’m flipping too fast, I’ll stretch my arms and my legs and try to be as long as I can to slow down. And if I haven’t put enough rotation into it with my hips, then I’ll tuck into more of a ball to get around. So it’s easier to adjust. But a 360 is so precise: if your weight isn’t perfectly balanced, it’s going to really show in your trick. You adjust with your arms a little bit, but the judges don’t want to see that.


How do you practice new tricks?
In 2003, the rules to our sport changed. Before 2003, if you did a flip you would be disqualified. But after 2003, we were allowed to flip. But I couldn’t even do it on a trampoline so it was pretty intimidating and I had a lot of work ahead of me.
 
I learned how to do a back flip on a trampoline first. It’s all about setting the rotation with your hips and adjusting in the air. And then I did over 100 jumps on the water ramps with different speeds so you can control your jump under any circumstance. And after that I did it on the snow. I remember the first one I did in Whistler during the summer, I was so nervous!


Did you always want to be a professional skier?
Since I was really young I always wanted to go to the Olympics. Growing up, most of my sports were summer sports; I actually swam competitively for a long time.  I thought I’d go to the Summer Olympics but skiing was something we did as a family. It’s a sport I always loved. As time went on, it became more serious and I thought I’d see where I’d go with it. But I’m from Edmonton, so it’s pretty ironic to have a world-class skier from the Prairies!



How did you get into sports?
I did a million sports growing up like long distance running and swimming. I think it’s because I had so much energy my parents wanted to make sure I burnt it off (laughing).

For skiing, I’m lucky to have such amazing parents. Every week-end, they would drive my older sister and me 4 hours one way to go skiing. We’d leave Thursday or Friday night depending on school, drive to the mountains, and then come back Sunday night for work and school Monday morning. It was a huge commitment from my parents.


Where is your favourite place to ski in the world?
Honestly, the Canadian Rockies are THE best place in the world for skiing in terms of terrain and conditions. I learned how to ski in Marmot Basin in Jasper, so it’s really close to my heart. I love to ski there, especially the Rock Garden run…the more extreme run of course! But every Christmas, my family and I always go up to Marmot’s. It’s my favourite place.


How many years have you been competing on the national team?
9 years. I was 16 when I started on the national development team and I was 17 when I made the national team.


What would be your career highlights?
Not surprisingly, winning at the Olympics. It’s something I’ve dreamt about since I was 9 years old. But for us skiers, the Crystal Globe is very important; it’s the overall World Cup title. It’s been one of my most difficult accomplishments because every week-end, whether you’re feeling sick or tired, you have to bring your best. It was pretty exciting winning it 4 seasons in a row, but winning that first one was absolutely amazing.

What is more important to you than skiing, if there is such a thing?
Absolutely there is such a thing: my family and my friends. I really try to balance my life. I love skiing, I’m still so passionate about it after all these years. I love competitions and I find it so much fun to go out there and challenge yourself. But I really try and balance it. So I enjoy living in Montreal and going out to dinner with my friends and I love when I get home to Edmonton with my family. Because I have less of those moments, I try to enjoy those moments and through myself in those moments much as I can. I even enjoy doing laundry! It’s a luxury for me to do it whenever I want. On the road, you have to take it to a Laundromat and wait.