Meet Qualicum Beach area youth skier Priya Daniel
QUALICUM BEACH, British Columbia — At the tender age of eight, Priya Daniel has already been a skier for four years. Her goal is to “ski faster than my older brothers,” she says.
Priya’s biggest challenge is that “it gets hard when I’m in the powder, because it’s really deep. Sometimes I can float through it but it’s hard to turn and I catch my edges,” she says, adding that “when I fall down, it’s hard to get up again. It helps to use my ski poles on powder days and my mom and dad also help me”.
For Priya, skiing is a fun thing to do with her family, especially when she “goes back and forth really fast”. A special treat is Ichiban noodles for lunch and hot chocolate.
Before starting down the slopes, Priya taps her poles together for good luck.
Outside of her sport, Priya enjoys reading small chapter books, doing art and being creative. She also likes playing card games like Five Crowns and Dutch Blitz with her family.
Priya has learned to stick together with her family on the ski hill, which makes it more fun. “Sometimes we have to split up on the chairlift because there’s five of us, depending on which one we’re on, but that’s ok,” she explains.
She recalls an occasion when she ran into someone else. “We were both doing the zig zag thing, but we were going opposite directions and we crashed into each other. We were ok though. I learned to be more mindful of my surroundings and watch for other people,” says Priya.
Priya’s parents put her on a snowboard before her third birthday, but it was hard and she switched to skiing. “I really enjoy it! My favourite chair is the Sunrise. And it’s funny to see all the things stuck in the trees on the Eagle chair, like the duck, racoon, the bras and necklaces.”
Priya is also involved in gymnastics, surfing, and mountain biking.
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