Athabasca cross country skier, Maya Maclsaac-Jones has been representing her hometown and country very well during the FIS World Cup Ski Tour in Quebec.
This is the first year the 20-year-old skier has competed for her country at the senior level .
ìComing here has been a huge goal of mine,î Maclsaac-Jones said. ìItís really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to be able to race so many world cup (events) in my home country.î
Maclsaac-Jones has completed all four of the racing events held in Gatineau, Montreal and Quebec City, racing over 70 different skiers from around the world.
ìOver the past few days, a lot of the focus for me is working on my mental approach to this event,î she said. ìItís a series of races where you need to be on not only physically everyday, but mentally you need to be in the game for every race.î
Maclsaac-Jones finished her first race on Mar. 1 placing 29th, which is currently the best result of her ski career and best result of a Canadian women this year.
She also said that the strong finish would likely mean sheíd get nominated to the senior national ski team the next season.
She continued her success, finishing 34th and 60th during her final two races in Quebec City. Her success has allowed her to continue on with the rest of the competitive tour that is being held in Canmore, which was one of her main goals from the start of the tour.
ìOne of the biggest challenges for me (was) to remain in the tour until the Canmore section,î she said. ìI know that there will be some younger skiers from Athabasca and family and friends who will be coming up to watch those races.î
Bringing the race close to home, Maclsaac-Jones hopes her recent racing success will inspire some of the young local skiers from her area.
ìIím really excited to be able to race for Canada and honestly just to be able to represent Athabasca,î she added. ìIím hoping that some of the younger skiers in the town can see that Iíve been able to compete in a high level coming from a small town. (Hopefully) theyíll feel that they can do the same and be inspired by the sport as well.î
Her next two races will be at the Canmore Nordic Centre on March 8 and 9.
