SKI CROSS:

'Look at her now': Serwa steals world ski cross spotlight

Feb. 8, 2011 — Canada Ski Cross      ♦ Photos: Kelsey Serwa atop the podium and in action at Deer Valley (John Evely)

Some people seem destined for greatness from an early age.

But as a 6-year-old Highland dancer competing in the Canadian championships, future ski cross star Kelsey Serwa certainly had her mom fooled.

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“When she was little she was a highland dancer,” explains Terri Serwa, while standing at the bottom of the ski cross course at Deer Valley, Utah, where her daughter was competing at last week's World Championships.

“She was supposed to be on the stage in five minutes and I couldn’t find her anywhere.

“Eventually, I found her playing in the elevator, completely unaware of what was going on around her. I thought, ‘She’ll never make it.’ But look at her now.”

Two weeks ago, Serwa fulfilled one of her lifetime goals when she won the skier X final at the Winter X Games.

The 21-year-old, of Kelowna, B.C., also became the unwitting star of sports highlights shows all over the world when, en route to winning the gold medal, she launched herself off the final jump, landed awkwardly and slid across the finish line on her back.

Serwa avoided serious injury but was left with a badly bruised and strained back that made walking, let alone skiing, extremely painful.

Two days before the qualification round at the World Championships, Serwa lay in bed unable to move. Her coaches left her on the competitors’ list for the worlds, which kicked off with a qualification round just four days after her crash. But they were not alone in questioning whether there was enough time left for her to recover.

Instead of joining her teammates on the hill at Deer Valley for training, Serwa put her battered and bruised body into the hands of team massage therapist Kristi Easton and physiotherapist Bianca Matheson.

Intense twice-daily sessions, plus a little acupuncture and a lot of painkillers, helped Serwa get back on her feet and make it through the time trial-based qualification round relatively unscathed.

But at the bottom of the hill after her run, she hobbled over to her teammates, her back arched over and her face a picture of pain.

“The skis are ripping,” she says, trying to explain how she managed to make it down the hill in one piece, let alone qualify with the fourth-fastest time of the day after skipping the training runs. “It was mostly the skis that got me down fast.”

Whatever the reason, a much bigger task awaited her.

On finals day, she would need to finish in the top two to advance past the first heat, then do it all over again in the quarterfinal, semifinal and final.

“You really learn a lot about human character and what the body can endure,” says Terri, as she waited for her daughter’s race to start.

“Who would have thought Kelsey would land on her back and get up after falling 140 feet? You can’t believe that stuff. I don’t know where she gets it from. Kelsey is very tenacious but she’s very much more relaxed than I am.”

Terri watches her daughter race whenever she can. This year, she and her husband, Brad, decided to take a few weeks off work to watch their daughter try to achieve her two major goals for the season: winning X Games and then the world championship.

“I hope to watch her, get in some great skiing and just be there for her,” says Terri. “You are always worried about them getting hurt but it’s better for me to watch and see how confident she is when she skis. That usually makes me feel better.

“In her first X Games she took a huge spill. You are sick to your stomach, waiting for that telephone call that says, ‘Mom, I’m OK.’ ”

At this year’s X Games, everything happened so quickly at the finish line that the joy of seeing her daughter win was quickly replaced by the realization that her daughter might be hurt.

“We were jumping up and down and screaming,” says Terri. “We stopped pretty quickly and waited for her to get up. It was good that she was always moving.”

In the minutes after the race, Serwa got up on her feet and gave a live interview on ESPN.

“Maybe I’ll make the highlight reel twice – one for the crash, one for the win,” she says, blood dripping from a nasty scrape on her nose.

When the adrenaline wore off, Serwa's back started to freeze up and she realized all was not well.

“She went to the medical tent and called us while we were in the athletes’ lounge,” says Terri. “We went down there and hung out with her and took her to the hospital.”

Serwa, like most ski cross athletes, got her start in alpine skiing. Her parents, who own an excavation company in the Kelowna area, are keen skiers and active in the B.C. skiing community. Brad is a FIS (International Ski Federation) delegate and was assistant chief of course during the 2010 Olympic Games, while Terri was a jury secretary. Kelsey’s grandfather, Cliff Serwa, was a co-founder of Big White Ski Resort.

“We’ve always been very involved,” says Terri, who has two other children — Kristi, a kinesiologist, and Jason, an engineering grad. “All my children are incredible. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

All three Serwa children skied, but it was the youngest of the three who ended up taking it to the highest level. Kelsey was racing in a Nor-Am event in Quebec in 2008 when her then coach pulled her aside and told her about the sport of ski cross. She was informed that the first ever national championships were due to be held in a few days in Rossland, B.C.

“She jumped on a red-eye and ended up finishing second,” says Terri. “I asked Kelsey about it and she said, ‘You always told me to have a backup plan.’ I said, ‘Yes, but that was supposed to be university.’ ”

Kelsey fell in love with the sport and has steadily improved, becoming more consistent and recording better results.

“I've always said that once Kelsey gets enough experience under her belt she will dominate,” says teammate Ashleigh McIvor, the Olympic gold medallist who suffered a season-ending injury during a practice run at the X Games.

McIvor’s prediction seems to be coming true. Prior to winning the X Games, Serwa was the dominant female racer on the World Cup circuit.

“In her first World Cup race, France’s Ophelie David (one of the world’s best) came up to her and said, ‘Where did you come from?’ ” says Terri. “She said, ‘Kelowna.’ ”

Kelsey looks forward to the times when her parents are able to join her on the road.

After her crash at X Games, she was particularly grateful to have mom and dad around.

“It was awesome. After I hurt myself they looked after me,” she says. “They are great to have on the road because they are totally independent. They are not a distraction at all.”

On finals day at the World Championships, Serwa made it through the first three rounds, which featured a couple of crashes that were spectacular and horrific.

Matched up against Sweden’s Anna Holmlund, Austria’s Katrin Ofner and her teammate Julia Murray in the final, Serwa grabbed the lead and never let go.

She crossed the line first – without any of the drama or pain she experienced at X Games – and was delighted to see Murray just behind her, making it a 1-2 finish for Canada.

“It was good when I came through the finish and I saw their smiling faces,” says Kelsey of her parents.

“My dad was right in the finish corral – I went and gave him a hug. I could see my mom smiling and waving and jumping up and down.”

Skiers are a tough breed and competing hurt is all part of the game. But the courage and determination Kelsey showed to win the world title was noteworthy even among a group of athletes known for high pain thresholds and a never-say-die attitude.

In her official bio, Serwa lists “Pain is just the weakness leaving your body” as her motto.

“Her nickname is Kenny,” says McIvor, before letting out a hearty laugh. “She’s as tough as a dude.”

After completing a sweep of the two biggest races of the year in front of her parents, Serwa admits she’s relieved she was able to achieve her goals in front of two of her biggest fans.

“For them to come to the last two races and for me to win both of them is great,” she says.

“Before, when my parents showed up, I started crashing. They are my new lucky charms.”