Rosalind Groenewoud (CAN) has been named the 2010 AFP Overall Women’s Champion for the second year in a row. Better known as Roz G, Groenewoud put together impressive results both in the halfpipe and slopestyle disciplines to edge out fellow Canadians Dania Assaly in 2nd, Sarah Burke in 3rd and Kaya Turski in 4th. “I am so stoked!” elates Roz. “This year, more than ever, I felt so proud to be part of a community of such amazing skiers, so it is an honor. It’s so awesome to see my fellow Canadians — Sarah, Dania, and Kaya — filling out the top four spots in overall!”
In the Superpipe arena, Groenewoud’s stronger suit, she finished 2nd in the AFP rankings with her strong, consistent season. Kicking things off with a 2nd place at the Pure NZ Games last fall, Roz continued to put it down with a 3rd place finish at the Winter Dew Tour in Breckenridge, CO. Continuing her podium streak at both Winter X Games, Roz took home the bronze in Aspen, CO and the silver in Tignes, France. It was those four finishes that placed Roz high in the AFP Superpipe standings. “I had more success in halfpipe because it is my focus but I wish I had more time for slopestyle as jumping was my first love,” explains Groenewoud.
In slopestyle, Roz kicked off the season at the Pure NZ Games with a 2nd place behind Anna Segal (AUS). Despite having no more slope podiums (but two finals finishes at the Kristi Leskinen Homecoming Invitational at Seven Springs, PA and Winter X Games in Tignes, France) Roz accumulated enough points to finish strongly in 8th place by the end of the season. As seen on the men’s side, competing in multiple disciplines is increasingly more difficult to train and compete on a high level at. “It is difficult to compete at both events,” says Roz. “The training for slopestyle and pipe is often scheduled at the same time. I hope to continue to figure out how to juggle both of them!”
Where skiers are increasingly specializing in their competition disciplines, Roz has managed to find success in both arenas of women’s competition. “Most female skiers have competed in both events during their careers but have a preference and have focused on that choice,” says Roz.
Whether or not skiers are specializing, it’s skiers like Roz who excel in multiple aspects that take hom overall prizes. Hard work, dedication and consistency are all keys to Roz’s success. “I’m still working on the perfect strategy to achieve all my goals,” explains Groenewoud. “Figuring out the physical and mental aspects and then putting it all together is my challenge. The invaluable coaching from Trennon Paynter has helped me start to figure it out. Also, skiing with awesome people like my teammates is a good strategy —Sarah Burke, Justin Dorey, Mike Riddle, Matt Margetts and Dania Assaly inspire me every day.”
Behind Roz, the top five on the 2009-2010 AFP Women’s Overall rankings were as follows: Dania Assaly (CAN) in 2nd, Sarah Burke (CAN) in 3rd, Kaya Turski (CAN) in 4th and Grete Eliassen (USA) in 5th. For full rankings, visit the AFP Current Rankings page here.
