It was a season of improvement for Penticton’s Andi Naude.
Having completed her fourth season with the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association’s national mogul team, Naude improved her seventh place finish in the world cup last year by placing fifth.
That result is for single and dual mogul skiing combined after nine world cup events. She reached the podium once at the end of January in Lake Placid, NY.
“I’m really excited with how the season ended,” said Naude. “Duals is definitely not my forte. Coming out in fourth place was a personal best. It’s really something special.”
After defeating Audrey Robichaud, Naude was faced with the task of taking on Justine Dufour-Lapointe.
“I knew that was going to be a tough dual,” said Naude, admitting she might have pushed too hard forcing her to pull out a bit after the top air. “It was a good challenge.”
With dual moguls still being important, Naude said she and her coaches decided they would use that as a tool to help improve her single game.
“If I push hard in duals, I’ll know the level I can ski at. Pushing the envelope every dual, I can tone it back a bit for singles. Hopefully improve on that performance as well.”
Naude said it was an honour to be with the top skiers and said it was cool that Canada occupied second through sixth in the standings.
“That was pretty unreal,” she said.
Naude will get back to training near the end of April or early May in Whistler.
When asked about next season, the 19-year-old’s only goal is to improve and reach the podium. She wants to get more consistent and complete her back full jump, which is a back flip with a 360 rotation included.
She recently returned from South Africa, where she has been four times, to visit family.
“I love South Africa,” she said. “It’s definitely a different vibe to Canada. A cool spot to visit.”