BEYOND THE PODIUM: Jasey-Jay Anderson
.png)
Jasey-Jay is the greatest snowboarder of all time in terms of Olympic Games representation and World Cup starts in any discipline, from any country. This is a huge claim, but no other rider has done what Jasey-Jay has managed to do over the past 30+ years. He will never lose that title, as no one can ever again be in the position he is in of having represented a country at six Olympic Games, literally all of them to date. Oh and he has also won an Olympic Gold medal and every other major title in Alpine Snowboarding and SBX over that time.
2020 will see the launch of the TKO Alpine Snowboard World Cup in Blue Mountain, Ontario. In a build up to the event Canada Snowboard is highlighting everything great about snowboarding and our World Cup disciplines and when it comes to Alpine, Jasey-Jay is the Godfather so where better place to start. Let’s see what Jasey-Jay is up to and whether we will see him at a 7th Olympic Games?
Most High-Performance riders have had an Olympic cycle, best case two and they adapt their lives around them. You have had six Olympic cycles. You are unlike any other Olympian - your past 25+ years have been one long Olympic cycle. How have you set your life up to work as a full time ‘Professional’ Olympian?
To live in 4-year cycles just becomes part of your life. Every cycle has had its own successes, challenges and adversities. What keeps me motivated is the challenge of finding what allows us to predict results. Not an easy task as conditions, hills, rules, staff, varied countries all affect the outcome of Olympic results.
I unfortunately can’t ride as much as I used to or would like due to wear and tear of my body. I can’t say it affects results, but I did have to modify how I approach training and race prep. I use visualisation much more effectively than I did in my younger years. Physical fitness and consistency are inevitably required to stave off injury. Equipment and developing equipment such as boards and interface are a must and probably the biggest key to staying on top of the game.
What do you do when you are not Snowboarding?
Sports! I love doing all different sports… Aside from all the different Snowboard disciplines- Alpine Skiing, Cross country skiing, Randone skiing, Ski Joring, Paddleboarding, Kiteboarding, Kayaking, Biking, Hiking, Tennis, Golf… I work a lot at building skis and snowboards and developing the next greatest thing.
When I am with my wife Manon, when the kids aren’t in school, we drag them out to play at all of the above.
How did it feel to win the Olympic Gold Medal after all those years of hard work?
Winning in Vancouver 2010 was more than a dream come true. It’s something that has forever changed my life. Once this was accomplished, I could move on to different goals in my life. Winning races became easy, winning selected races was a big challenge until this moment. Racing took a different “turn” after Vancouver because winning became secondary.
Why is it that Alpine Snowboarders seem to mature with age whereas no other discipline does?
Quite simply, its complicated☺ There are so many facets to becoming a well-rounded alpine snowboarder. Technique, equipment, tactics all take time to develop unless you have someone shortcutting you to the finish line. Most athletes guard their secrets aggressively and I’m no exception!
As a very technical discipline what does a training look like for you?
A training day is nothing special for me. I usually take fewer runs than most because I work on different equipment parameters and adjustments in between runs which dictates the training. I like this also because it helps me manage wear and tear on the body. Most of the hard work and sleepless nights come before and after training as I am always developing and working on what will be tested at the next training camp or WC.
What have you learnt along the long and amazing road you have travelled with snowboarding?
I have learned many things, too many to enumerate but the main subjects:
Humility, the most important and something to continually work on.
Self-Motivation, outlining reasons to keep working towards the goals.
Perspective, seeing life in different ways to suit the situation or to rationalise.
Perseverance, to be distinct from obsession.
Assuming responsibility, every time something goes wrong in my environment, taking responsibility when possible so to proceed to fixing it.
You must have been everywhere in the world by now that has mountains and snow. Where is your favourite place to ride?
Dolomites are the most beautiful.
Japan has the most magical snow.
Tremblant is where my heart is.
Where would be the most unique place you have been snowboarding and why?
Tremblant has many things to offer but my favourite is building boardercross courses in the woods. These are the most challenging and fun at the same time.
What are the benefits for the young kids coming through having World Cups in Canada?
Racing WC in Canada is like having our own little Olympics. Aside from the big events like World Championships and Olympics, WC’s at home are the events we focus on for measuring against the world. We usually have family and friends present. Our personal sponsors are usually local and there’s nothing better than to offer them a moment of glory and publicity to validate their support.
Will you be trying to compete in China at a 7th Games?
One season at a time!
Thanks Jasey-Jay
#shredthenorth
