At just 13-years-old, Cadence Bashow is making waves as one of Alberta’s top young freestyle skiing talents—representing Cochrane on the provincial stage and coming home with medals to prove it.
Freestyle Alberta’s Provincial Championships took place from March 27 to March 30 at WinSport Calgary, AB where the young Cochranite won silver in the U14 slopestyle and struck gold at the half-pipe event.
“Winning at the AB Championships means a lot because I've faced some challenges with injuries,” said Bashow. “Just being there, doing my best, putting on a show, and winning felt really nice.”
At the tender age of three, Bashow was introduced to the world of skiing then quickly found her way into competitive freestyle skiing. She has competed with Bow Valley Freestyle Ski Club and Southern Alberta Freestyle Ski Club and is now with Calgary Free Riderz.
“What I love about skiing is that I get to try new things and push myself,” she explained. “I love the snow, I love my friends that do it, I love that I get to meet new people – especially those who have been in big competitions and even the Olympics.”
Among her inspirations are Olympian Rachael Karker and NorAm Big Air medallist Evelyn Mullie.
“I love getting to ski with these girls,” said Bashow. “They are super inspiring, and they’ve given me such great motivation and coaching.”
Bashow’s performance at provincials was particularly impressive given that she’s been working through a lingering knee injury.
“I've had it for quite some time, but it's gotten a lot better with physio and chiropractor and a bunch of stretching and exercising.”
She competed against four of the top girls in U14 for slopestyle and edged out five others to secure first place in half-pipe, a testament to her persistence and focus.
Prior to the Alberta Championships, Bashow had competed at the Junior Nationals, becoming one of the youngest participants at the competition. The prestigious invite-only event only draws the country’s top ranked skiers.
“I got invited to it and it was really fun. Even though I was one of the youngest athletes that competed, I did pretty good for myself.”
Bashow posted the third highest score in her age bracket in halfpipe and made her big air debut in the national event.
With the accomplishments she has been racking up, sky is the limit for Cadence Bashow, but she remains grounded focusing on getting a little better every day.
“One day I hope to compete in higher level competitions like Canada Cups and NorAms,” Bashow explained. “But for now, just progressing my skills is a really big goal for me.”
