At first glance, Sarah Goldman seems like a typical Tufts student. The junior from Long Island is a psychology major, a member of the diving team, an avid reader and a sports fan.
Goldman, however, is also currently ranked eighth in the National Freestyle Skiing standings. Come February, she will be spending her weekends traveling to competitions and eventually competing in the 2005 Nationals.
"It's an incredible feeling to be upside down in the air one second and then skiing away the next," Goldman said.
Goldman has been downhill skiing since she was three, but when she saw the aerials during the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, she "decided to give it a try. I didn't ever expect to do it on snow," Goldman said.
Despite the fact that she did not begin to ski competitively until she was 18, Goldman has quickly risen in the world of freestyle skiing. Although she has only been competing for a few years, Goldman finished ninth in last years' nationals.
She remains modest about her accomplishments, however. "A few people were injured last year," said Goldman, adding that this fact may have inflated her ranking a little.
Goldman credits her passion for aerials to her combined love of skiing and gymnastics. "When I was a kid, I was constantly climbing on things," she said. "I love to do flips, and I also always loved
gymnastics."
"I also love to ski, so aerials puts
together my two favorite things," Goldman added.
In order to continue improving her flipping techniques, Goldman joined the Tufts diving team. "Any type of flipping is good practice right now," Goldman said. In addition, she trains on a trampoline at her coach's house every other week.
Goldman finds that it is not too difficult to balance skiing with schoolwork, since the bulk of her training is done in the summer. She spends two and a half months in Park City, Utah, where she is a member of the U.S. Development Team. The team takes two to three people who are ranked behind the actual ski team.
According to Goldman, the team uses a technique called "water ramping," which entails skiing down wet plastic and landing in a pool of water. "[This practice is] important because it is exactly the same as jumping in the winter - but you don't have to worry about the landing," Goldman said.
During the winter semesters, Goldman tries to fix her schedule so she has free Fridays, which will work for her next spring. That way, since most competitions are on the weekend, she will only miss a few days of school.
Winter training takes place in Waterville Valley. Though she frequently skies there on weekends, Goldman saves her aerials for meets "because the jumps are usually not open," she said. "In March when I go to Nationals we have a few days of training [before the competition]."
Goldman's favorite jump is currently a lay-tuck, which is a double flip. The first flip is straight and the second one is tucked.
"I can only do it on water right now, but I'm excited to do it on snow as soon as it's ready," Goldman said. For a double flip, skiers must complete 125 jumps on the water ramp and be able to score an 80 percent before they are ready to attempt the jump on the snow.
Of all her accomplishments, Goldman was "most proud to go to Nationals last year. It was lots of fun." She also took pride in her ability to make the leap from doing flips on a trampoline to
skiing.
Despite already having reached many of her goals, Goldman is still aiming high. "I'm hoping to make the U.S. Ski Team next year," she said. She plans to train until the 2010 Olympics, which she says would be "incredible" to participate in.
If she does not make it into the Olympics, then "my career will probably be over at 26," Goldman said with a laugh.
Until then, Goldman plans to keep practicing her flips on the diving team.
