Stanley Hayer 

Sport: Freestyle - Ski Cross
Hometown: Edmonton
Residence: Calgary

Stanley "Frank" Hayer describes himself as a work in progress. Surprising words for one who's been skiing since the age of "one point five." His story is a reminder that the path to the Olympics - and hopefully to the top of the podium - need not be a direct route.

Though he now lives and trains at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Hayer was born in Edmonton. He spent his earliest years on the slopes at Snow Valley, skiing under the lights two nights a week. Every weekend his family went to Jasper, where he was braving the black diamond runs from the age of four. "We would stay in our van, eat Goulash and dumplings and just ski."

Hayer's aim was to be a Slalom skier. He competed at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, and placed 10th in the Alpine combined event. Nevertheless, he met that bend in the road when he was subsequently cut from the Canadian team.

"Ski Cross" is a term Hayer had never heard until 2003. The sport, a new addition to the 2010 games, involves four to six skiers racing simultaneously down a course that resembles a motocross track. Hayer is a motocross enthusiast, so he decided to give it a chance. The balanced, "perfect" skiing style that his father insisted on served him well in the new sport.

Hayer moved to the Czech Republic to compete, and made the Czech national ski cross team. He is the 2009 X-Games champion, placed second in the world championships in Italy in 2007, and is ranked eighth overall on the World Cup start list.

Hayer returned to Calgary in 2008 when Canada established its own national ski cross program. He currently leads the way for the newly formed team, and he likes their chances: "The Canadian ski cross team is on track to become one of the best known programs in Canadian Ski History." 

Visit www.ski-cross.ca to learn more about Stan and the rest of Canada's Ski Cross team.

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