I absolutely love skiing. Skiing has always been an enjoyable pasttime for me. I have been skiing since I was 5 years old. My sister and I go skiing on the weekends at a place not too far from our house. Every 4 years I watch the competitive ski racers in the Winter Olympics. I envy them so much.

When I was 11 years old, my parents put me into an in-house ski racing team. This means I only race against the people on my team. I won second place in my first year of racing. I wanted more of a challenge, so I started skiing at a bigger ski resort. I did it one year but didn't enjoy it very much. I really wanted to get to race against other teams, not just an in-house team, so I joined a competitive ski racing team the following year.

It’s called Glacier Racing Ski Club. At first I was really scared to join. There were tons of racers who had competitive experience since they were little and they have all known each other forever. It was like I was the new kid at school. Fortunately, I made so many good friends and have raced in many competitive races, where my ski team usually came in first.

I'm really passionate about skiing. I love the rush it gives me to speed down that hill. I love how I am on a team. It feels good to be a part of something; I meet loads of amazing people that all share the same interests as me. I have made a lot of close friends by joining a ski team.

My coaches have taught me so many great skills. I learned how to control my speed while going down the hill; that it’s okay to go fast - especially in racing - but we don’t want to hurt anybody else or hurt ourselves during a race. I’ve improved a lot with simple skills like carving your skis, going faster, and pole planting.

I have been skiing competitively for 2 years. This year I'm not going to be a part of a team because I will be skiing in Whistler, British Colombia and possibly will be coached for being a ski instructor, so that I can teach young people how to race.

My coaches put me into a program called Gooch Cup, which was a huge race in the biggest mountain in Ontario. We trained for two days and then raced which was possibly the most dangerous experience ever. The race was to go straight down the mountain but still had to turn sharply around sets of gates that had some jumps. I was screaming the whole way down the mountain. It was the biggest adrenaline rush ever.

The pictures I have are from Gooch Cup. Anytime I look at them I feel really confident and brave. It was very scary going down those hills. I knew a couple people who broke several bones, but I made it down the hill safe.  I came in 19th in Ontario for grade nine girls.

Becca Tran is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program.

All photos courtesy and copyright Becca Tran.