Through both varsity and club levels, the COVID-19 pandemic has sidelined college athletes across the country in a way unseen in recent times. This year, the bulk of varsity athletes have returned to play, while club and intramural teams still wait.
The Alpine Ski Club at the University of Oregon has been no different. COVID-19 has forced a back-to-basics approach for the sport, utilizing small-group activities, limited — if any — practices and socially distanced team get-togethers. But while the team has stepped away from competing, many of its members have taken a wider scope to examine what the sport of skiing means to them, not only through a competitive lens, but also as a way of life.
In competition or away from it, the skiers have embraced the fond memories, experiences and long-lasting friendships as reminders that skiing, to them, is more than just a sport. As they stand away from the starting gate for now, they lean on each other to fill the void.
“We get to travel all those weekends, do long drives in the vans together,” team president Mia Giacobazzi said, remembering fondly the times before COVID-19. “Those long, 12-hour drives together really bring that team bonding.”
Under normal circumstances, the team of 20 would travel, competing with other club teams from all around the western United States. Four weeks out of every winter term, the team took to the slopes in a series of races across several states.
This year, things have been different. The season ended abruptly last year, and the team looked forward to a return to competition this year. But things didn’t go as planned.
“Two weeks before our first race, our region was cancelled,” Giacobazzi said. “We’ve just been doing ski weekends since then, trying to keep in touch, trying to do hikes together, doing Zoom activities to get to know the freshman. We just want to keep it going for next year, because hopefully things will be different.”
With the lack of competition, some of the skiers relish the opportunity for pressure-free, care-free skiing.
“It’s great in a sense where it’s not as nerve-wracking, since we [don’t] have to put on our bibs, and be at the start gate at a certain time, and have the pressure of racing,” said senior Annie Storrs. “At least for myself, it’s more like ‘hey, show up at the mountain and just free ski all day.’”
While this year has presented a series of challenges for teams and clubs like UO Alpine all around the world, the skiers have met the hurdles head on, leaning on one another and their common love for the sport to get through these strange times.
In a year full of changes, the friendships and camaraderie have remained a constant.
“What’s really kept me on [the team] is just having a small enough team where we truly know every single person on the team really well,” Storrs said. “If I had the option to be a Division I skier, I would not take it. I would stay with this club team any day.”
To them, it’s simple. Anytime they can be with their team, whether it be on the chairlift, at the gate, in the vans, or this year, in Zoom meetings and limited small-group events, it’s a blessing. It’s an opportunity none of them would trade away.
“It’s the best thing that happened to a lot of us on the team through college,” Giacobazzi said. “And it’s still a little light through the dark term of winter.”
