Kristina NATALENKO | Alpine Skier, BC Ski Team

Hi, I’m Kristina.

Thank you for visiting my page. I’m an alpine ski racer and member of the BC Ski Team. As an athlete, I am often on the go, training and racing on the BC Cup and Nor-Am circuits, so this space is a way to keep in touch and share some of my experiences on and off the snow.

I am very lucky to be doing what I love, looking for speed on race courses in many beautiful parts of the world, and that is thanks to my parents, friends, teammates, coaches, and sponsors who have been there for me all these years. What you will see here is a testament to the ongoing support of that extended community, and maybe, hopefully, it will inspire younger skiers to work as hard as they possibly can and dream big.

So how did I end up here, chasing speed on the hill? Click on the tab below to find out.

This is the story of how I became a ski racer.

Hello World!

I was born in the Ukraine on the 20th of June 1999, and moved to Canada with my parents and older sister a year later. My first formal lesson came at age two with my dad, Vladimir (aka Vlad), at the Mt. Seymour rope tow on Vancouver’s North Shore. That was it; I fell in love with the mountains, the snow, and the sensation of skiing down a run.

Made for Snow

My first official lesson was at Whistler when I was 4-1/2 years old. The day started okay, but by lunchtime the snow school had to call my dad. I was bored, every group they tried to put me in was too slow, and I just wanted to ski with him. After all, besides working in IT, he was a ski instructor and coached at Cypress Mountain. So skiing with him was always fun—and fast. The next day, I was up at 5:30 a.m., all dressed up in full gear—snow boots, helmet, goggles, the works—knocking on my parents’ bedroom door at Legends, and asking if we could go skiing. Dad got up and took me to the slopes. The lifts weren’t even open yet, so he pulled me up and I skied down. I couldn’t get enough.

The Early Years

Lucky for me, Mom and Dad have always been very active when it came to sports and activities. I was a normal kid who attended French immersion school. But after I was done with my homework, Dad was always in the car, ready to take me to wherever training was happening, with a club or on our own. It could have been karate, judo, gymnastics, acro-dance, swimming…I did a lot of different sports when I was young, which I am very grateful for today. At the age of seven, I got my first pair of alpine slalom skis. It was a gift from my dad and it was the gift that would change everything. I have been pretty much glued to anything that is made of wood and usable on snow ever since.

Step by Step

*That’s me in Sun Peaks with Nancy Greene.*

I began ski racing for Cypress Mountain, and then moved to the Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club for the 2009-2010 season. That’s where I spent the bulk of my formative years, and my dad is the club’s U10 head coach.

Ever since I joined Tyee, I have had wonderful coaches who have motivated me to ski as fast as I could. Even when the weather wasn’t on our side, the coaches always made something up to keep us entertained and still training hard, whether it was doing a core session in the cabin, reviewing video to gauge our progress, or even doing some team-bonding activities. They always made it work and kept us happy.

The racing portion of the program was and still is also very well organized. Coaches planned out our days from morning to night. Whether it was a morning run, ski warm-ups, doing course inspection on the hill, dryland, yoga, or video, we were always busy. Training prepared us well so that when races came, competing was easier than we thought it would be. Mental training is key for races. Grouse Tyee is an amazing club that helps young athletes build character and new friendships, as well as develop their technical skills.

Inching Closer

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in ski racing, it’s that the road to making it onto the national team and the World Cup Circuit is very long. Even after all my years of training and racing, I am really only at the beginning of the performance phase. I found that out over the last couple of seasons, which was a big growth phase for me.

My overall win at the 36th Annual Parsons SG & DH in my last year of U16, the trials for and races at the Canada Winter Games, where I got a silver medal in the GS, making Team Canada for the Whistler Cup; these were all incredible experiences. But what probably opened my eyes the most was competing with Team Canada at the Trofeo Topolino event in Italy that last U16 season. I jumped from my familiar circuit to the big international pond and was amazed how strong the other girls were. It definitely gave me something to reach for and made me want to get even stronger.

As I suspected, my first year as a FIS racer and member of the Vancouver Ski Team was another eye opener. It was great, though, and I learned a lot, especially during the time I spent with the BC Ski Team Training Group. Now that I have actually made the BC Ski Team and am ready to start my second season competing for the team, I just have to keep doing my best and see where this road (ski slope) takes me next.

Team Spirit

Ski racing might be an individual sport, but you can only progress if you have teammates around you every day to push, inspire, and support you. I’ve been very fortunate to have my closest friends training and racing with me. We’ve all had our ups and downs, injuries, successes, and now find ourselves together on the BC Ski Team. We accomplished that together, and will only get better because of it.

Looking Ahead

Now, after spending the summer and beginning of fall training intensely with the BC Ski Team in Whistler and Chile, we are off to Europe for another key training block before the start of the season. Whenever I have short periods at home, I’ll be connecting with my local community and hopefully finding time to pass on some of what I’ve learned to the kids at my home club.

When there is no snow in sight, I spend most of my free time at the gym or doing something active. I love to go running, play Frisbee and volleyball, and even football. I enjoy just spending time with my family and my friends, too.

My dream is to some day compete in the Olympic Games and represent Canada. Every year the Olympic Games happen, I can’t help imagining that in a few years it could be me racing down the hill, and 2018 will be no exception when the Games open in PyeongChang. The picture below of Word Cup racer Lara Gut and I at Copper Mountain in Colorado during some pre-season training is among the images that I keep and look at from time to time. It helps me to stay focused and motivated to work hard.

With my full focus on ski racing now that I have graduated from high school, I have set big goals for myself this year and that includes performing at my best on the Nor-Am circuit. Follow that journey on my blog.

Thank you for you interest and support.

Kristina

Train, Race, Repeat

After a needed break to heal following a crash that left me a little bruised and with minor injuries (you know, the kind that take time to get past), I was excited to be on the circuit and racing again. There was no easing into my first event, the Kimberley Dreadnaught FIS Downhill. With a third-place finish in the U19 category, followed by wins in GS and Slalom in the FIS BC Cup Series at Whistler and on Grouse Mountain, things were getting back on track.

I then kept fighting to shave off seconds in my runs at the 2018 SportChek Canadian National Championships, leading to U21 podium finishes in slalom and GS. I took that momentum into the Western Spring Series, with podium results in GS and Super-G, before the Alpine Insurance Alberta Cup led me to finish the season as the FIS BC Cup Overall Champion.

This past season has given me a lot of confidence to tackle yet another big step in racing and in life. Next season, I’ll be heading north to begin my studies at the University of Alaska and compete for the Seawolves on the NorAm circuit.

Highlights

2017-2018 Season

2016-2017 Season

2015-2016 Season

2014-2015 Season

My Sponsors

I am very proud to have the opportunity to continue working with HEAD. The combination of the B-series boots, bindings with the best safety record on the World Cup circuit, and the fastest skis on earth is unbeatable!

As a proud ambassador of HEAD, I want to say a very big thank you to all my sponsors! These also include Eat Your Cake, the Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club, Shape Management, Ski Connexions, Terra-First Solutions, and UVEX.

I’ve been fortunate to have always been able to count on my parents’ support from the time I put on my first pair of skis. Between them and my sponsors, I have found a community of people who believe in me and my dream of one day making it to Team Canada, the World Cup circuit, and the Olympic Winter Games. To get there, I’ll need even more help, which is why I started a CrowdRise Campaign and set up a GoFundMe page.

Thank you in advance for visiting the page and considering helping me out. It will be like joining me on my journey as a member of the BC Ski Team and on my pathway to the Canadian Alpine Ski Team (hopefully!). I truly appreciate it. Every bit helps.