Q and A with Young Achiever of the Year Jack Adams

Jack Adams was recently awarded Young Achiever of the Year at the 2019 Snow Australia Community Sport Awards.

This year, Jack has been active within the community, providing advice, support and mentoring to young athletes.

Jack is currently completing full time university studies whilst spending six months overseas each year for his sport.

We caught up with Jack to ask what he most enjoys about Alpine Skiing, who inspired him to take up the sport and more.

How did it feel to win Young Achiever of the Year?

Jack: Receiving the Young Achiever of the Year award was incredible because it recognises everything I do and that creates a sense of pride in myself and motivation to continue, two things that are often strained in pursuing sport at a high level.

Do you have any pre-competition routines / superstitions?

Jack: I used to have a couple of pre-race superstitions, I needed to wear my favourite underwear, and socks, and I considered it great luck if my bib had my lucky number 7 in it. I now try and focus on the variables I can control, but I still wear my favourite underwear on race day. In terms of pre-competition routines, it is something that has changed a lot over the years and is still evolving as I experiment and determine what works best, but my favourites are positive visualisation, cold showers, 8 hours of sleep and thorough warm-ups.

What do you most enjoy about Alpine Skiing?

Jack: When I’m sliding around the mountain on a set of skis I feel really, really comfortable, it just feels very natural and because of that I feel like I can do anything on a set of skis. I love that sense of freedom. I also love how exceptionally difficult it is to ski ‘perfectly,’ it is a sport where we constantly return to the most basic types of turns, literally spending hours upon hours skiing slower than walking speed and yet there is something incredibly addictive in doing this and in perfecting the craft of skiing.

Who inspired you to take up Alpine Skiing?

Jack: My parents inspired me to ski, they loved the mountains and they loved skiing, and as a result I spent a large chunk of my childhood in the snow and from what I can remember I loved it from the start. If I had to name a moment that inspired me it would have to be watching Craig Branch (Triple Winter Olympian) compete in the 2005 Kandahar Downhill. I was 7 years old, at the time, and had never heard of Craig before, but he came and spoke to us in the finish area and have me his bib from the race. I still have that bib today, in fact I actually train in it when we are doing race simulation.

What are you goals for the future?

Jack: My main goal is to master the sport of Alpine Skiing. In pursuing that goal I aim to compete at my first European cups this season, the 2021 World Championships and the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.