About Heather

Heather is the most recent member of the Athletic Directions Ski Team and the first in western Canada.

Competitive Background: Heather has long been successful as a developing competitor and a committed athlete. She started skiing 3 years old, first raced at 6 years old, and became a member of a racing team at 9 years old. She placed first in the B.C. Cup at 11 years old, 3rd at the Western Championships as a 2nd year Midget, and 9th in 5 km Skate in her first Nationals competition.

Over last 2 years in B.C. she has been a consistent Gold Medals winner at all Regional and Provincial Races, achieving top overall Juvenile Girl for 05/06, and top overall Midget Girl in B.C. for 04/05. In 05/06 at the B.C. Cup No.2, she won Gold for Juvenile Girls and had the best female time of the day on the 5 km Skate race, including all Junior Girls. Her best result was 4th place in the Juvenile Sprint at the 2006 Nationals, Thunder Bay - Lappe Nordic.

Training Environment: Heather has been training with her coach Petr Jakl for 13 months. Over the summer she attended 4 5-day Camps with her Coach, and prior to that she had attended several dryland and On-Snow Camps.

Heather maintains contact with her coach by phone and e-mail every 2-3 days (your coach wants you to know it should be more often - call Petr!), and she trains independently and with other members of the Western Ski Development Society while at Camps. Her Training Program contains work in all areas; physiological, technical, and tactical.

Heather has been a committed athlete for over 2 years, with her training totaling 300 hours for 04/05, 375 hours for 05/06, and a planned 400 hrs for 06/07 season.

Competitive Status:

Two years ago....Ranked 4th overall in B.C. On B.C. Talent Squad.

Last year........... Ranked 1st overall in B.C. On B.C. Development Squad.

Currently........... Ranked 1st overall in B.C. On B.C. Development Squad.

Best Racing Abilities: Good at everything, although better results occur in Sprints.

Ultimate Goals for 2006-07: To maintain guidance from my Coach Petr Jakl and to ultimately represent myself, my Coach, my Organization and my Sponsors at the National Championships. To have the opportunity to win Gold at Nationals.

Background: Heather is enrolled in High School French Immersion in Vernon, B.C. She has maintained straight A's in all subjects for the last 2 years - an impressive feat given her focus and commitment to high-performance athletics. This year she is organizing to take some of her subjects on-line to allow more time for training.

Other Sports Interests: Competitive Swimming, Mountain Biking, Downhill Skiing (Started at age 3), Snowboarding, Soccer, Road Biking, Running, Kayaking, Hiking, Ballet (6-9 yrs.), Highland Dancing (11-15 yrs.)

Other Interests: She has played the piano for 9 years and has just completed her Grade 8 Exams. Heather has played the Trumpet for 3 years and enjoys playing in the school Jazz Band. She likes to sing and dance and enjoys doing art. She is self-motivated, determined, quiet, shy, reserved, artistic, patient, strong-willed, a good listener, serious and focused.