Hello there! My name is Sammie Gaul and I am a 22-year-old Australian national alpine ski team member from Pambula Beach, NSW and a resident of Canberra, ACT.

I am predominantly a slalom skier and have 33 FIS points and am the #2 ranked female slalom skier in Australia. I am currently part of the Kronplatz Racing Center, an Italian-run international ski team based in the Süd Tirol region of Italy. My dreams are to make it on and be a contender on the FIS World Cup slalom circuit, and I need your help to get there!

For more information about me, please check out my website: https://sammiegaul.com/

While Snow Australia provides some non-monetary perks and services for which I am very grateful, we are not funded or on a salary. We have to source funding for ourselves. There are monetary prizes based on placings at World Cup, Europa Cup, and some FIS races; however, it is not nearly enough to sustain a professional ski racing program even with prize money earnings, unless you are consistently on podiums at the World Cup level. Funding for winter sports in Australia goes to the disciplines most likely to produce Olympic medals. Alpine ski racing is in a challenging position where it is one of the most popular and competitive winter sports in the world and Australia, yet it is also the most underfunded in Australia. This makes it challenging to get the highest levels in skiing due to the funding disadvantages we face against our counterparts.

Alpine ski racing is not a mainstream sport in Australia and we are considered the "underdogs" amongst the larger alpine skiing nations. Most of the European national teams partially or fully fund their athletes, and there are avenues to also be on police and military teams that pay a salary as skiing is so culturally ingrained in that part of the world.

Even at FIS races, I observe the Europeans I compete against in Armani race suits, with double the number of skis I have, multiple coaching staff members, physiotherapists and personal ski technicians. Of course, I don't pay attention to this because it is a factor outside of my control, paying attention to this will make me feel less than these athletes, even though that is certainly not the case. Most times I end up doing just as well or better than these athletes on the results sheet.

Though the unignorable takeaway from this is that I have to work harder than my competitors and take complete ownership of my program, maximise my opportunities, and run my ski racing career like a small business. Nothing is handed to me on a silver platter, nothing is a given, and any opportunity and support I get, I fully take advantage of as a result.

By doing well in the sport it is possible to get more funding in Australia, but it is paradoxical that to do well in the sport to obtain that backing, you need ample support to get there!

One of the personal highlights of my career is when Australia came 3rd in the Dual Slalom Teams Event at Whistler Cup. Henry Heaydon, Tom Hoffman, Zoe Micheal and I performed a massive upside by tying Switzerland. I personally beat girls from the U.S., Norway, and Switzerland which was totally unexpected coming from a sport like Australia, which turned a lot of heads. The team effort and performance were especially remarkable and that is what made the moment so special.

I am so honoured to get to represent Australia internationally and I want to keep pulling off these upset performances as the underdog that nobody expects to perform well–and I want that for other Aussies too! I want to leave a legacy where up-and-coming alpine skiers from Australia are more supported and equally respected and I want to give back to the communities that I come from in turn.

Ski racing is an individual sport but requires a team to accomplish anything. I hope you can be a part of mine!