Freshman skier Trevor Philp concluded a month of traveling around the world for competitions by becoming the 2012 Canadian slalom champion in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, last Monday.
“I’m really excited right now,” said Philp, who was born in Toronto but grew up in Calgary, Alberta. “It’s a pretty cool feeling to win at the Canadian championships.”
Philp, 19, is still considered a junior racer, but beat out numerous skiers from the World Cup circuit to claim the title. Despite sitting in 2nd after his first run, Philp was able to clock the fastest time in the second run and move into 1st place.
“I think he did really well,” said Canadian coach Dusan Grasic. “It was better skiing than what we saw in the Nor-Am [North-American Cup on Saturday]. I think he finally found the right way to ski. He stayed a little more grounded. I think the first run was good but nothing special, and I think he really stepped up during the second run and showed that he can ski slalom really well.”
Two days before the race, Philp competed at the Nor-Am on the same mountain in Quebec, finishing 3rd in the slalom.
Earlier in the month, Philp was halfway around the world competing at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships in Italy March 2-9, finishing 4th in the slalom and 7th in the giant slalom.
“You are competing against the best guys around the world who are 19 and under,” said Philp. “It was my third time going, so I was hoping to have a solid performance. I went in with a little confidence and it turned out okay for me.”
Unfortunately for the Pioneers, the FIS Junior World Ski Championships overlapped with the NCAA championships, for which Philp held a No. 1 seed in the slalom. Though he did not want to forego competing at the NCAA championships, Philp said the opportunity in Italy was one he simply could not pass up.
“This would be my oldest year at the World Juniors and I knew what to expect. It’s a big deal to go to this competition with contention to be in the top spots,” said Philp. “It really is too bad they overlapped.”
Benefiting Philp is the fact that regulations have now changed in the FIS, moving the age restriction for juniors back a year which then made Philp eligible to compete in the World Juniors again in 2013.
He will have a busy plate next year, as his performance at the Nor-Am was good enough to earn him a 2012-13 World Cup spot. The top two in the Nor-Am standings automatically qualify for the World Cup. Philp finished third, but Jonathan Nordbotten of Norway does not qualify since he is not from North America, so he earned the bid.
During the 2012 season, Philp skied in four slalom races for the Pioneers, earning a 1st place finish in three of them and finishing 3rd in the other. Between the various competitions, Philp had to work hard to keep up with his academics at DU.
“Winter quarter was a little difficult,” said Philp. “Of the 10-week quarter, I was here three and a half weeks. I was going up skiing, racing, training and then coming back down and getting work done.”
Despite the difficulty of balancing skiing with his education, Philp said he is dedicated to the sport and looks forward to the rest of his career.
“Skiing started as something I did with my family, then I got into racing and I have always enjoyed it,” said Philp. “You make so many friends, travel to so many places; it really is incredible. I’ve skied at 45 different places around the world and I always have fun with it.”
