solid team and sponsors and backing so that way if there is an athlete in
Jamaica who wants to ski, there is a pipeline for them to come up, whereas now there is nothing,” says Kerr. “We’re pioneering this, we’re fighting
tooth-and-nail to get everything going here.”
Kerr says its time for skiing to break the tradition of European domination. “In order for the sport to be successful it has to evolve … bringing an
island like Jamaica onto the map brings more interest to skiing and makes
it exciting for people to follow it,” he says. “You don’t have to be a ski racer
or be passionate about the sport; when you hear somebody racing for Jamaica or somewhere new, you’re interested in it.”
Though Kerr is one of the few athletes from non-snow countries with an
excellent shot at a medal, his trip to Vancouver is about more than just
hardware.
“It comes down to representing your country,” says Kerr, who recently
qualified for the Games as one of the fastest 32 ski cross racers in the world.
“I think that’s why people serve in the military, why they run for government office. You’re proud of your country, you’re proud of your people and
you want to go show that on the world stage.”
The founder, head coach and chief benefactor of the Nepal Ski Team, British
businessman Richard Morley, agrees with Kerr.
“I believe that the citizens of all developing and small nations feel a tremendous sense of achievement and hope for the future when their athletes
are able to compete in the same
arena as major sports stars,” says
Morley. “Alpine skiers such as Bode
Miller, for example, are known all
over the world, and when a Nepali
athlete is able to race alongside
him, the people of Nepal will feel a
great sense of pride that their little
nation has risen to such heights.”
Morley says he recognized the
courage and strength of the Nepalese people in 1984 when he suffered a collapsed lung while hiking
in Nepal and a local policeman ran
for three days to reach help. It was
a gesture that Morley never forgot.
In 2000 he founded the Nepal Ski
Team, which produced the country’s first Olympic Winter Games athlete;
cross country skier Jayaram Khadka represented Nepal at the Salt Lake
2002 Games.
“The opening ceremony at Salt Lake in 2002 was the most magical moment in my sporting career,” says Morley. “The sudden cheering of the
crowds as they recognized our traditional clasped hands brought upon me
a rush of emotion that is impossible to describe. It meant that the home of
Everest, the world’s highest mountain, had finally reached the pinnacle of
mountain sport and taken it’s rightful place amongst the family of Winter
Games nations.”
It is partly in search of a return to this feeling that Morley has spent the
last eight years grooming Nepali racer Shyam Dhakal for the Vancouver
Games. But, like athletes from many underdeveloped countries, Dhakal
may not get to wave the Nepali flag in Vancouver due to recent political
turmoil in his home country that ceased his funding.
“Sadly Nepal has suffered terrible tragedies and political torment since
my journey with the ski team began 10 years ago and we are still immersed
in that struggle,” says Morley. “[Dhakal] has suffered the most excruciating
funding and visa problems but we live in hope and struggle on. Shyam’s
participation has always been the most important element of our campaign
and until the entries are closed we must hope that he will be there.”
The list of obstacles facing budding national ski programs at times seems
never-ending. “Improved equipment and training techniques at the top
of sport raises the qualification level for emerging athletes every month,”
says Morley. “That is the principal problem faced by athletes from poorer
nations, as such equipment and training is very expensive. Each pair of
skis will cost about $1,250 and whilst the top skiers are given every season
around 30 sets for each race discipline, racers from poorer nations often
have to use outdated or second-hand equipment simply through lack of
funding.”
Morley adds that skiers such as Dhakal must always race from the last
start position, usually a disadvantage. “In short, the odds are stacked in
favor of the rich nations and the hurdle faced by my Nepalese athletes to
reach them is as big as Everest itself,” says Morley. “But then, perhaps, that
is the reason why we try to jump it.”
Athletes from smaller countries are forced to adapt and to use what re-
sources they have to get a ski program off the ground. Morley was given the
task of selecting athletes to the national team in 2001. He recruited Dhakal
(a talented kickboxer) after seeing his bravery and coordination, and says
it’s a decision he has never regretted. “Shyam is a very gifted natural ath-
lete and has always been extremely hard working and dedicated in every-
thing he does,” says Morley. “He
has attended our training base in
Les Arcs throughout every season
since 2002 and he not only trains
or races every day but he even
comes home and cooks the most
amazing Nepali food for us in the
evenings.”
So why do team’ like Nepal fight
so hard when their chances of win-
ning are so slim?
