March Athlete of the Month: Norah Dempsey

March Athlete of the Month is Norah Dempsey, a 14 year old, U16 alpine athlete from Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Norah raced at Gore Mountain (in North Creek) and since become a part of NYSEF’s Winter Term Program. Winter Term allowed Norah to train throughout the winter while getting one-on-one tutoring to keep up with her curriculum from Saratoga Springs High School. In Winter Term, “we got so much time on snow, with excellent coaching. I loved being in an environment where I could focus on my skiing while keeping up and having plenty of support in school,” Norah mentioned.

When asked about goals for this season, Norah said, “to ski consistently fast throughout the whole year, without losing steam at the end.” Although competitive snowsports typically last four months, it is important to continue momentum into the spring especially for athletes like Norah who qualify for special competitions.

Hear what Norah’s coaches are saying:

• Head U16 Coach, Patrick Purcell commented, “Norah works hard, seriously hard and has an absolute love for what she does in the sport.”
• Assistant U16 Coach, Pieter van Ingen added, “Norah is willing to change her skiing and try new drills in order to become a better racer…something not many competitive athletes are willing to do.”
• Coach Patrick Purcell said, “Norah is one of the most coach-able athletes and 100% behind her teammates.”

Since ski racing is an individual support, athletes have to be supportive of their peers in a competitive environment. Norah added, “we choose to support each other instead of being on a team and told to support each other…I am grateful to have a group of such amazing friends for teammates.”

Norah ended the season racing against the top athletes in the country at U16 Junior Nationals in Washington. Norah goals for next season are to improve her slalom skiing to the level of her Giant Slalom (GS) and Super G. As for now, Norah is excited to start biking and running. CONGRATS ON A GREAT SEASON, NORAH!