In January 2012, the world lost talented 29-year-old Canadian freeskier Sarah Burke in a tragic accident. An outpouring of grief, love and support for Burke's family by her fans and fellow skiers followed. Now, less than three months later, the Association of Freeskiing Professionals intends to honor Burke in a very special way as well.
Here are the details:
About the Posthumous Honor
On March 28, 2012, the Association of Freeskiing Professionals announced that it would be renaming its Overall World Championship award to the Sarah Burke Trophy. The name change is the organization's way of paying homage to the beloved free-skier's contribution to the sport. The trophy's posthumous name change will reportedly become official at this year's Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) Awards Ceremony. The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place at the conclusion of the AFP World Championships in April 2012. In addition to the renaming, awards ceremony attendees are being asked to don formal attire in memory of Burke.
My Thoughts
Personally, I find the AFP's tribute to Burke both touching and appropriate given her longtime involvement with the organization. As a Sarah Burke fan, I was very saddened by her death and miss not being able to watch her compete. She embodied the characteristics that many young women aspire to have—strength in conviction, grace under pressure, a drive to succeed, and compassion.
In addition, her love for the sport was so infectious that it seemed to radiate from her every pore. It pulled people in and made them want to do more than just watch the sport. It made them want to go outside and ski because surely anything that could cause that kind of joy in a human being had to be worth trying at least once. That, in my opinion, is Sarah Burke's greatest accomplishment. Having a world championship trophy named in her honor is just extra powder on the slopes.
Potential Trophy Recipients
The women currently in the running for the newly named Sarah Burke Trophy are American Devin Logan, Canadian Dara Howell, and American Keri Herman. All three top the AFP Women's Overall World Ranking for the 2011/2012 season. Although any one of the three would be deserving of the award, I'd like to see it go to Dara Howell so she can bring the trophy home to Canada. I think having it go to someone from Burke's home country the first year of its issue would make it all the more special. However, a substantial points difference exists between the two and with so few events left on the AFP calendar, it looks like that would be a long shot.
Killeen Gonzalez enjoys winter sports with her family and has traveled extensively.
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