in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, F eb ru ar y 3, 20 22 | 22 Kaylie Buck opened the email she had been anx- iously waiting for and read it. And then she read it again. Then she called her mom and asked her to read it, just to be sure. "Does this really say I'm going to the Olympics?" she asked. The Olympics had switched from a childhood dream to a goal when Buck made her World Cup snow- board debut at 16. She had become a regular on the po- dium on the top North American development cir- cuit, but now found herself competing against the world's top riders, the ones she looked up to. "Being able to travel and train a lot more helped," the Oakville snowboarder said. "After that, I could see myself making the Olym- pics one day." Buck began skiing when she was two, but following her father's lead, switched to snowboarding when she was eight. She joined the snowboard racing team at the HoliMont Ski Club in Ellicottville, N.Y. and was hooked after her first race. By 15, she was compet- ing on the Nor-Am circuit and earning medals. Two weeks after her World Cup debut, she turned in a sixth-place finish in the parallel giant slalom at the world junior champion- ship. Buck competed in her first world championship, where she finished 22nd in 2019, and in 2020 became the first Canadian woman to win a medal at the world juniors when she earned a bronze in the parallel sla- lom. "That really propelled me forward to get me to that next goal and really helped in building momen- tum," she said. Buck followed with her best World Cup season, in- cluding a career best 19th- place finish. And while Buck realizes an Olympic medal might be out of reach this time, she wants to use Beijing as chance to continue to ad- vance her career. "It's been rewarding to chase my dream. The last three years have been a big stepping-stone. I'm very ex- cited and I want take it in and gain some experience," she said of the Olympics. "I want to compete the best I can. A lot of it comes down to mileage on snow and lit- tle more technical experi- ence." A minor injury in pre- season training this year stalled her progress, but her results have consis- tently been improving over the course of the season. In addition to riding and com- peting as much as she could, the 21-year-old said it required "working on the mental side. I had a lot of fears and was hesitant." Buck worried the slow start to the season might have hurt her Olympic chances, which is what led to the nerves as she opened the email from Canada Snowboard. "I was shocked," she said. "It hasn't really hit me. I think once I get there it will all sink in." WINTER GAMES 2022 SNOWBOARDER REALIZES OLYMPIC DREAM HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com Kaylie Buck, the first female rider to win a medal at the world junior championships, will represent Canada in parallel slalom at the Olympics. Canada Snowboard photo "It's been rewarding to chase my dream. The last three years have been a big stepping-stone." - Kaylie Buck KEEP YOUR FAMILY COMFORTABLE THIS SEASON WITH YOUR FRIENDLY HEATING & AIR COMPANY WE'RE HERE WHENYOU NEED US! (formerly Appleby Systems Georgetown) 348 Guelph Street, Unit 2B Georgetown,Ontario Call Anytime: 905-877-8990 Expert Heating,Cooling,Water Heater, and Air Quality Services