Photo: Contributed

A young Vernon athlete is one step closer to his Olympic dreams, and is seeking sponsorships to fund his international training.

Oliver Young, 19, qualified to join the BC Alpine Skiing Team after spending last year on the BC Development Team.

“My long-term goal would be to be on the national team and ski at a World Cup level, and then with that would come the Olympics, but that's only once every four years,” says Young.

“So, my main goal would be to get on the Canadian national team, and it would be great if the Olympics came along with that.”

A slalom skiier, Young has already started training for the season. He went to Chile for a month in August, where it’s been winter. He will be heading back there soon for two weeks.

For the northern hemisphere ski season, training will take Young across the country and overseas. The team will go to Colorado, Ontario, Quebec and Europe.

The team helps a lot with costs, but still, it adds up. Young says he probably spent about $40,000 last season on equipment, travel and miscellaneous team expenses.

He has a goal to raise $10,000 to help fund his training this year. It’s the same amount he raised last year, but this time he's seeking corporate sponsorships.

“I’m just looking to raise funds however I can,” said Young.

“It's a way I can make money and be giving back to someone in the process by repping their brand or whatever I can do. I like the idea better than just asking for donations like I did last year.”

Those interested in sponsoring Young can email him at [email protected].

Young started skiing when he was 12 in Edmonton, but it wasn’t until he moved to Vernon that he really started chasing big goals.

“I think as soon as I moved to Vernon, I made it my goal to make the B.C. team because I saw those guys when I was in U14, and really looked up to them and thought that that's where I want to be. So it was a goal of mine for five years to be on the B.C. ski team.”

Photo: Contributed