THE CANADIAN FREESTYLE SKI ASSOCIATION
Hamel bids farewell to freestyle skiing
Christel Hamel has officially retired from freestyle skiing. The native of Montreal, QC first joined the national mogul team in 2011 and mostly competed on the FIS World Cup circuit the last two years.
Hamel, 23, amassed 22 World Cup and 54 Nor-Am starts over the course of her career.
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” said Hamel. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while. My results weren’t what I wanted them to be this season. It’s a good time for me to think about doing something new.”
“I still I want to be around the team as much as I can and I will support the team as much as possible. I’ll definitely be in attendance and doing my best to cheer them on when they compete in Quebec.”
One of the many members of the women’s team from the province of Quebec, Hamel enjoyed some of her best success at the World Cups in Val Saint-Côme, including a career-best ninth place finish in 2014.
“I’ve had some amazing memories training with the team,” added Hamel. “We got to travel the world together and see wonderful things. My favourite memories will always be the competitions in Quebec at Val St-Côme. Some of my best performances were there and the best times of my career. I also really loved skiing in Japan and experiencing the culture there was always amazing.”
Hamel will now focus on another passion of hers – healthcare. Currently, Hamel is enrolled at the University of Montreal and will begin her nursing degree in September.
She hopes that the lessons she learned as a freestyle skier will carry on to the next phase of her life.
“Competing at this level has really taught me great discipline,” said Hamel. “I think you need to have that when competing at the national level. I believe it’s something that I will naturally apply to other aspects of my life now. I really want to help people and take care of them. I have a passion for it. I look forward to the future and what it has to offer.”
