Looking down the snowy mountain before her, Allie Lim (11) gripped her ski poles tight, ready to begin her race at the International Junior Competition, one of the biggest skiing competitions in Pyeongchang, Korea. Thinking of all the people cheering her on and the hard work she put in to prepare, nerves coursed through her body. As the starting sound went off, Lim flew down the slope as fast as she could, and as the cool mountain air blew on her face, muscle memory took over and her nerves vanished, replaced by pure adrenaline.
“My favorite part about skiing is the speed when going down the mountain,” Lim said. “It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe, but it sometimes reminds me of being on a rollercoaster. When I’m skiing, my mind usually goes blank, and I just let my body do what I remember, but usually, I try to focus on timing so that I don’t go into the turns too early, and it can be more stable. I take a deep breath and then I tell myself I can do it. Even though it’s cold when I’m skiing, I can’t really feel the cold, but it’s just happiness and excitement.”
The competition featured almost 400 domestic and international athletes at the Mona Yongpyong Resort, Feb. 6-12. That race took Lim 28 seconds and put her in first place in the racing category. She also won second place in the technical category.
“I was surprised and happy,” she said. “It made me feel pretty confident that I’ve showcased what I can do. At the same time, I always feel like I could’ve done better, so I still think about how I can do even better next time.”
Lim has competed in this competition for three years, and she said that the prestige of the tournament made her feel more pressure to succeed.
“[I was] nervous because I prepared for a year for this, and I can’t make mistakes,” she said. “But I also felt excited because it’s once a year, so it also felt fun competing.”
After winning two medals at the International Junior Competition, just two days later, she placed third in the BLIZZARD TECNICA Technical Ski Contest, a tournament against adults, which was held in the same ski resort.
“I felt a little intimidated because I was competing against people who are older and more skilled than me,” Lim said. “However, I could also see this as an opportunity to challenge myself and learn from it.”
In preparation for the tournaments, Lim drove to Mammoth almost every weekend with her parents. Even though it’s a long drive, she said it brings her closer to her family and allows her to destress after a week of school.
“Skiing gives me the time to spend with my family, which I can’t usually do as much during the weekdays,” she said. “It helps me relax whenever I’m stressed with school, and it’s fun.”
Inheriting her love of skiing from her dad, Lim started skiing when she was 6 years old.
“My dad was also in competition when he was younger, so he got me into skiing,” she said. “I fell in love with it, so I kept skiing until now.”
With athletes from all around the world competing in the tournaments, Lim said that it was encouraging to get to see people who share her passion for skiing and excel in the sport.
“I think it was a fun and good experience,” Lim said. “I like these tournaments because I like competitions and winning them, and it’s also [interesting] to compete with good people so I can also improve my own skiing. It was really cool to meet and watch skiers from different countries, especially from Japan, that I admire. There were so many athletes who competed who shared the same passion for skiing.”
