TRAILBLAZER: Alice Robinson
Alice Robinson is something of a skiing savant. Born in Australia, but raised in New Zealand, Alice now competes around the world as an alpine ski racer. With numerous podium finishes at several Giant Slalom World Cup races and two Winter Olympics under her belt, she is set to take the skiing world by storm.
Alice Robinson is fresh off a podium win in Austria when I catch up with her over video chat. Relaxing on her hotel bed and generally. Not taking herself too seriously, Alice is easy to talk to and even easier to admire. Since she began competing professionally, she has finished on podium at ten World Cup Giant Slalom races. And if this wasn’t enough to make you question your own life choices, in 2019, Alice became the youngest woman from any nation to win the Sölden World Cup. She was just 17 years old.
Now aged 22, Alice agrees that she caught the skiing bug early. “I first started skiing when I was three,” says Alice, “I was born in Sydney, but our family used to go on skiing holidays. Then, when I was four, my parents moved the family to Queenstown – and I’ve been based there ever since.” From a young age, Alice was all about skiing. It was also a sport she took seriously she was still a teenager when she began to think that skiing might just be more than a hobby. “I was about 16,” says Alice, “when I first thought that skiing racing could be something I did for a living. I did my first year in the open category, and I remember thinking, ‘Okay, this could be for me.”
Once Alice began skiing competitively, she focused on becoming the best in the world. “That was always my biggest dream since I started ski racing,” says Alice, “I Just always wanted to takje the sport to the next level. I push myself a lot, I’m competitive, and I love extreme sports that’s what’s special about ski racing; it’s an extreme sport, but you’re out in the mountains, so the elements are different every time you race. It’s not like going out on a rugby field. Every race is completely different depending on the weather, snow, and mountains you’re skiing on.”
Alice describes ski racing as a full-throttle experience. While each run lasts only a few minutes at a time, the adrenaline kick is intense. But does she still get nervous? “I get nervous for different reasons now,” says Alice, “I want to perform to the best of my ability, so I have performance anxiety, I suppose. Since I started racing more downhill, I have also become a bit more nervous about my safety. You’re racing at 130 [km/hr], and you don’t have anything protecting you, so you know that if you crash, you’ll probably get hurt.”
Yet despite competing in a fast-paced sport at flat-out speeds, Alice has never been seriously injured. “I have had one injury, though,” says Alice, “I crashed during a downhill training run and went into the nets. I was going about 100 [km/hr] when I hit the nets, and my whole face was gushing blood. I had cuts all over my face and lips and I was so swollen that, for a while, it looked as though I’d had really bad Botox! Luckily, I was fine and even raced the next day.” While Alice shrugs off the memory, I can’t help but ask how she convinces herself to get back on the skis after coming off at speed. “Well,” says Alice, “if I were too scared to get back on the skis after a crash, I’d be in the wrong sport. And ultimately, as long as you aren’t injured, the best way to get over it is to do it again.”
Along with her considerable talent and drive, it’s clear Alice possesses a strong determination to push past her limits. But apart from these admirable skills, what does Alice credit to her success? “I am lucky to have had a very supportive family,” says Alice, “I’ve also had great coaches and people guiding me, but my parents never pushed me or forced me to do anything I didn’t want to do. A lot of kids, especially in New Zealand, get sent to ski academies or ski schools in the US, and it was never something that I wanted to do. I was lucky in that my parents allowed me to stay at my local high school, pursue ski racing locally, and have a quite a normal childhood. I never felt like my life revolved around sport, which kept me hungry and motivated.” But while it is easy to see how the adrenaline of alpine racing could fuel the competitive fires, chasing an eternal winter seems less of a draw card. So, now that Alice is fully ensconced in the competitive world of skiing, how does she feel about the months-long winters? “I do miss summer a lot,” says Alice, “but I couldn’t do this if I didn’t’ love winter as well. Still, I think there’s a lot people don’t understand about ski racing. People tend to think it’s a bit glamorous. But when you’re out racing in places that aren’t that nice, and it’s freezing, and bucketing down with rain – it’s not that glamorous!”
Despite the wins, the podiums, and the accolades, it’s clear that Alice has her feet firmly on the ground. When asked about the months of travel involved in her chosen profession, she describes returning home to her family and friends as the thing she most looks forward to. And that first World Cup win at only 17 years old? Well, Alice is down to earth about that, too.” “At the time,” says Alice, “I didn’t realise it was a big deal. I flew back to New Zealand the day after the win because I wanted to graduate high school with my friends. But I do look back on the win now, and I think, “Wow, that was kind of impressive.”
“THAT WAS ALWAYS MY BIGGEST DREAM SINCE I STARTED SKI RACING … I PUSH MYSELF A LOT, I’M COMPETITIVE, AND I LOVE EXTREME SPORTS.”
Image: Winter Games NZ