Hello! My name is Nicola Dempsey. I am a 21 year old semi-professional snowboard cross racer from Halifax, Nova Scotia competing in the North American Cup Circuit and international events.
12 YEARS OF SNOWBOARDING
It all started with my favourite childhood movie. Little Nicola wanted to ride the Hawaiian Rollercoaster ride just like Lilo. Except there were two problems, surfing wasn’t exactly the big activity in freezing Nova Scotia, and I couldn’t swim. At the age of 8 I took a family trip to Canada’s 2010 Winter Olympic venue, Cypress. The next best thing to riding a wooden board on water; Riding one on frozen water! I was hooked. Immediately, I enrolled in lessons at my home ski hill, Martock, developing my skills until I made the local race team. I found myself as the only girl on the team, which would become familiar throughout my career. I continued on to make the N.S. Development Race Team, followed by the High-Performance team the following year. I competed in my first FIS races, finally feeling that I was getting somewhere. At the beginning of 2020, I was presented with the opportunity to leave home and move out West to the mountains. This would become the most important and life altering decision for my future. My younger self who candidly terrified and full of doubts, left everything she knew and loved for this chance. I joined the Big White SBX team and trained with the Canadian Sport School in Kelowna. Fast forward to the present, I have graduated, joined the B.C. Team, and devoted my time to snowboarding in order to achieve my goals.
PASSION
I fell in love with every aspect of snowboarding to its core. It is the only pathway without uncertainty that has truly called to me and feels right. The satisfaction of a deep carve on freshly groomed snow or the warmth of the sun shining down on a bluebird day are unmatched feelings. There is no shortage of my need for speed. While racing, there is a certain feeling when the start gate drops and the race begins. The outside world instantly disappears and all you can feel is the race. It’s only you, the track, and your opponents. When your board and body become one you can feel the flow of speed. You’re locked in as you fight board to board with the other racers pushing yourself to the absolute limits. It is first these feelings and my pure enjoyment of the sport that drives me before any other factor. How lucky I am to be able to pursue my passion!
PLANS
I will be focusing on the North American Cup Circuit this year. My big focus this season is my mental performance. In highly competitive sports, there are many challenges, doubts, and roadblocks the mind has to face. Mind game is an important skill athletes have to train and what will separate two racers performances. I am going to make sure I’m having fun while also getting the job done!
Some on-snow techniques I will work on are my agility, stability, and timing. I plan to dedicate myself off snow by continuing to go to the gym 4+ days a week. I will to continue promoting myself on social media to build my platform and find people who want to follow along and support the development of my athletic career.
GOALS
Last year I set 3 goals: Finish top 10 in the North American Cup Circuit and top 5 in Canadian Nationals, both goals I achieved. My third goal was to qualify for my last year at Junior World’s. I surpassed this goal and placed 8th in the Team Duos event; The best any North American team has accomplished to date.
This year I am setting the goals: Finish top 3 in Canadian Nationals and make a North American Cup Big Final.
My long-term goals are to make the Canadian National Team and someday compete in the Olympic Games.
Nicola Dempsey 