Name: Yuki Tsubota 
Sport: Freestyle Skiing (Slopestyle)
Hometown: Whistler, BC
Nickname: Yuk, Sushi, Suki
Favorite Sports Memory: Going to the Sports Illustrated Next Snow Search 2007 was a really big thing for me. It was my first big contest I ever went to, I was 13. There was a qualifier in Whistler for it and the finalists got to go down to Steamboat CO for the finals. It had a very similar feeling to X Games but for kids. In the contest everyone had to compete in halfpipe, slopestyle, ski cross, and big air. The experience was amazing, it being the biggest contest I had ever been to.
How you got involved in your sport: I’ve been skiing ever since I can remember but I joined the Blackcomb Freestyle Team when I was 10. I skied moguls until three years ago when I decided to make the switch to slopestyle skiing. I made the switch for a few reasons some being that it was announced as an Olympic event and also that it allowed me to be more creative with my skiing.
The moment you knew you wanted to represent Canada: When the 2010 Olympics came to Vancouver. Watching Alex Bilodeau win gold was an amazing moment and that was the moment I knew I wanted to represent Canada at an Olympic Games.
Favourite Quote: “The less ‘on time’ you are in life the less time you spend waiting.”
CAN Fund Testimonial: CAN Fund is allowing me to use all my time to focus on my skiing whether it’s on snow or in the gym. It is giving me the extra support so I don’t have to have a side job. Being two months out of the Olympics time is so critical and every training moment I get counts.
Best Result:
–1st 2012 The North Face PPOS
-3rd 2012 WSI
-2nd 2012 Dew Tour
Share one valuable tool that you use on a daily basis that helps you to be the best athlete you can be: The one thing that I always come back to and remind myself every day is to remember why I do what I do and it’s because I love it and have fun doing it.
Who is one person in your life that has impacted your career and what was it that they taught you: My mom. She has been there for me since day one; she raised me as a single mom and has done everything she could do to get me to where I am today. She always made sure I got to where I needed to be and had what I needed. She’s taught me to work as hard as I can for what I wanted, to appreciate everything, and to take nothing for granted.
Fun Facts: I have a few superstitions; I have a left ski and a right ski, I carry a small Ziploc of small charms, papers and picturse in my pocket when I compete, I also sing a verse of a song in my head before a contest but the song is a secret no one knows.
