Mia Cape receives the Snow Australia 2022 Young Achiever Award

Para Alpine sit skier Mia Cape has been announced as the 2022 recipient of the Young Achiever Award in the Snow Australia Community Sport Awards. This award recognises a young athlete who has achieved excellence both on and off the snow, or who has overcome adversity, or achieved something special within the community.
 
Cape was a hopeful to join the Para Alpine development program as a sit skier during the 2022 season, but unfortunately, she was unable to be classified as her condition does not meet the current minimal impairment criteria for Para Alpine Skiing . 
 
Devastated by the outcome, Cape's strong will and undying spirit willed her to still show up to training and get on with the job of being a ski racer. Cape continued to train and ski, again competing in the multi class Interschools events and wowing everyone with her skill, determination and talent.
 
Cape, now a role model at her school, showcases how disabilities do not define you. She proves to her classmates that despite being differently abled, she continues to push boundaries and strive for larger goals. In this way, she is a disability advocate for her school and her community. 
 
This award came as a complete surprise to Cape, who couldn’t believe she was eligible for such an award.
 
"I really feel like this award was a compilation of my achievements over the past year and tied together with how strongly I feel about this sport. It was really interesting to see I had received this award, I wasn’t expecting it at all," said Cape.
 
"When I was reading the award, I found the bar was set very high and looking at the previous winners there was a lot of internal conflict and a little bit of imposter syndrome as to whether or not I should be receiving this award. But within my own ski season, I have been given incredible opportunities and have been able to progress as a skier and person." 

 
Having not met the classification requirements needed to be able to compete as a para athlete, had a large impact on Cape mentally and made her question her place in the sport and within the community. Through conversations and an early morning ski Cape realised how important being on the snow is for her physical and her mental health. 
 
"Coming up to the classification, I had been training week on and week off and the training was getting intense. I was told if I received the classification I would be going overseas which was quite overwhelming. When I was told I didn’t pass the qualification my entire plan and timeline was shattered,” said Cape.

“I had a conversation with my mum and we were talking about leaving the mountain all together and moving onto something new. I was so confused on what to do, so the following morning I got up at 4am to make my way onto the mountain. In that moment I realised how much I need to be on snow and how much I value my relationships and community."
 
Cape has been sharing her experience and journey before and after classification on social media, such as ‘day in the life’ videos of a sit skier. Through doing so Cape has been able to find a larger community of other sitskiers on an international level by sharing her experiences and passion for the sport.
 
"Through my social media I have been able to find a lot of other disabled athletes from all over the world. I have been making little sit skiing videos and was shocked when I found there was a larger sit skiing community overseas than in Australia," said Cape. 
 
"With my social media I really hope to grow the community in Australia through my social media. I just really enjoyed sharing this part of my life with people who didn't know much about it, especially those who didn't know what sit skiing is."
 
Cape is extremely grateful to those who supported her through both the highs and lows of her 2022 season, from coaches to roommates, Cape has been able to create a trusted support network that will stick with her for years to come.
 
"Ali Bombardier and Tom Hodges, who have been my coaches over the past couple seasons, everyone I went to Hotham with much earlier in the year and Georgia Gunew and Keiraley O'Connor, who were two para athletes I was living with in Jindabyne - they were a lot of fun and really helped me through being unclassifiable. I have kept tight communication with them and that is the most important support group to me," said Cape.
 
Looking towards the future, Cape will look at getting a review of her para classification, while still training to be the best sit skier she can be in either case.