Family invests big in daughter’s skiing dream: a costly ascent
Julia Hubatka (15) from Valais wants to become a professional skier. The effort is immense and not just financially.
It’s race day on the Riffelberg mountain above Zermatt, where the U16 juniors are competing in the slalom. Among them is 15-year-old Julia Hubatka, who dreams of a career as a professional skier.
“My main goal today is to ski with a lot of self-confidence and do the best I can,” explains Julia shortly before her first run.
Her dad is a relentless motivator
Her father, Gert Hubatka, is at her side in constant support: as a coach, motivator and helper. He reflects on the unexpected demands of skiing: “I didn’t realise it at first. I thought you just take your skis to the races. But then you realise the effort involved: waxing, making edges, waxing again, making edges. That’s when my role really began, in terms of the effort involved.”
Julia is competing for the Allalin Saas-Fee Ski Club at the Valais Championships. As she prepares for the start, she gets some final tips from her coach. Her father follows the race closely via a live ticker on his mobile phone.
The results are mixed for Julia. She achieves tenth place in the first run and improves to seventh place in the second. Nevertheless, she remains critical: “I certainly took some good things away from the races, but I now also know what I need to work on,” she says.
Family moved to Valais for skiing
Her father, Gert Hubatka, emphasises the financial challenges of this sport: “You have to reckon with CHF15,000 to CHF20,000 per season ($17,630 to $23,506), including fees, skis, hotel accommodation and equipment.”
But that’s not all: the family moved to canton Valais from canton Thurgau and now lives in Saas-Fee so that Julia can concentrate on skiing there. Gert Hubatka has also taken over a hotel in Saas Fee and wants to expand it over the next few years.
Without all these changes made by parents, it is almost impossible for young skiers to make it to the top. This is because most juniors at this age do not yet receive any support from the ski associations.
Despite the challenges, there are also moments of success. The very next day, Julia achieves third place in the giant slalom. Her father remains optimistic: “Julia knows what she needs to work on and I am convinced that we will soon see her on the podium again.” And that happens faster than expected: the very next day, Julia makes it onto the podium on the same slope – in the giant slalom.
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