Image
My name is Elli Clark. I am 18 years old, and this season will be my second year racing with the Ontario Ski Team. My whole life, my family has been involved in sports. Growing up, I participated in competitive cycling, gymnastics, horseback riding, and skiing. In more recent years, I have focused intently on skiing and cycling, but last summer, I hung up my bike to pursue my goals in the alpine world. Aside from sports, my interests lie in the written word. Sometime in the near future, I wish to attend university to study creative writing or English. Out of it all, though, skiing was my first. From the minute I started to walk, my parents had me in a pair of ski boots, learning my way around the slopes. As a kid, my family spent our winters out in Big White skiing before we moved to Wakefield, Quebec, and I began my racing with Mont St. Marie. For the end of my U10 years, we moved back here to Ontario, and I joined the Toronto Ski Club, where I stayed all the way through until the end of U16. TSC became my second home, where I met the bulk of my closest friends and raced along with some super skiers. It was these places that fuelled my love for this sport, and that got me here in my 3rd year as a FIS athlete.
Going into the second half of this season, I am a 51.83 pt skier in slalom, 54.13 pts in giant slalom, 75.71 in Super G, and 97.03 in downhill. My plans for the rest of the year will be to follow the NorAm races to Whiteface, Collingwood, and then Panorama, as well as Nationals at Red Mountain. Next year, I would like to go to World Juniors.
Skiing has been my everything, and the opportunity to travel around Canada, the US, and Europe for races is such an amazing experience. I couldn’t be more grateful for the support of my parents, who allowed me to pursue my goals despite their high cost. Snow Athlete Canada is a great partnership that can hopefully help raise money for travel, equipment, training, and more. I’m thankful for any and all help that is offered.