SNOWY Mountains Grammar School graduate Abbey Evans is passionate about her alpine skiing.

The 18-year-old has spent the last few months competing in an array of championships and races in the French Alps.

Alpine ski racing is a demanding sport that requires a combination of speed, agility, technical skill and physical endurance with four disciplines within the sport including downhill, Super G, GS and Slalom.

Evans mainly competes in GS and Slalom with some Super G races as well.

Evans said while all sports have their ups and downs, the highs in ski racing feel unmatched. She is developing her technique to create more powerful and smooth turns, which she describes as the best feeling.

"The adrenaline and thrill that I feel when I am alpine skiing is so much fun, the variety of events in ski racing also creates its own unique challenges ranging from the speed in Super G to the precision of slalom turns, there’s always something new to learn and try,” Evans said.

“The scenery that I am lucky enough the be surrounded by when training and racing also allows me to see the most beautiful places in the world from the Northern lights in north of Sweden to the spectacular Italian Dolomites.

“Being able to be in these places makes it feel even more special and reminds me of how lucky I am.”

A sophisticated sport that requires extreme focus, the alpine skiing technique evolved during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the mountainous terrain of the Alps in central Europe and has grown into a sport thousands compete in every year.

Evans is currently with a team, HPC, based in Leogang Austria with around six athletes and mainly trains in Leognag but travel to Czech, Italy, Slovakia and Slovenia for races.

As her team enters the last few weeks of the season they travel a lot as racing is their main goal and training becomes more difficult as the snow conditions get worse.

Most of our competitions are regular FIS events although I also had the privilege to compete in the Junior world championships with four other Australians which was held in the beginning of February in Portes Du Soleil, France, located around different mountains near Morzine.

Alpine ski racing is based off of a points system where an algorithm is used to allocate points to each racer.

A penalty is created based off of the top skiers and then points per second are given to the races based on how far they are off the leader, so the lower the points the better, this means that each race is fair and can be objectively judged based on your skill level.

Evans said while there are many different races the team can go to, each follows the same point system and depending on how you ski in the race you are allocated points.

“These systems can be rewarding, as we constantly see how we improve compared to other athletes,” Evans said.

Evans said she would like to constantly improve and see where the sport takes her.

“Going to the Olympics or competing in world cups would be amazing but there are so many steps that come before that I want to enjoy, and the satisfaction of improvement always makes it feel worth it,” Evans said.

“Being selected to represent Australia at the Junior world championships is one of my biggest highlights and although my skiing didn’t go as planned, being able to compete against some of the best ski races in the world was amazing and seeing how my skiing compares to them.

“Particularly in the previous Northern Hemisphere season (2022/23) I made a huge improvement and got some of my first podiums which is so rewarding and fun just to see how the work can pay off.”

There is a large psychological aspect to ski racing which is crucial for athletes. Being able to focus on your own skiing and zone in on your technique during training and races which many people often underestimate.

Evans said having so many factors playing into ski racing can make it overwhelming but also adds to its challenge which makes it more sophisticated but enjoyable.

“Many people can underestimate the psychological side of ski racing and how you need to have a lot of confidence in your own skiing to be able to ski well under high risk conditions,” Evans said.

“It’s always important to understand that you need to have fun and love the sport, giving you the drive and confidence to want to kind of ‘send it’ down a course.

“When athletes begin to only worry about their points and ranking, the pressure often leads to a loss of confidence which can impact their skiing so I would say its most important to just love what you do.

“Ski racing also requires us to be away from home for many months of the year in new countries and with new people so being able to be surrounded by athletes that can inspire and push you makes it more fun and helps you move towards your goals with like-minded people that support you.”