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Errol Kerr takes a well deserved break at home between events. photo by Emily Rademacher |
CommentsFast Skis and Palm Trees: A Jamaican Olympic Dream
Published: February 13, 2009by Emily Rademacher
Kerr trains at Alpine Meadows between events.
photo by I.J. Valenzuela
Click on images for slideshow
What do Jamaica and Tahoe have in common? Other than the sky and people, not a lot. But, we do have Errol Kerr. The 22-year-old Truckee local is skiing his way to the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, as a member of the Jamaican Ski Team. Founded in 2008 by Kerr himself, he and the Jamaican team are rising into public attention with as great a speed as the country’s infamous bobsled. Backed by an uncanny love for the sport of skiing, an amazing mother, super supportive sponsorship, the nation of Jamaica, and a spirit of remarkable optimism, Errol is finding himself in the midst of a lifelong dream.
The snow really all started to fly when his mother, Catherine Kerr, asked 9-year-old Errol where he would prefer to live. Living in the Bay Area at the time, memories of numerous ski trips to Sugar Bowl grabbed his soul, and there was no question that Truckee would be their new home. He and his mother moved to Donner Lake, and after an absurd year of snow, decided that Glenshire might be a better fit. Now he sees himself living in Truckee the rest of his life. At age 11, after trying snowboarding for a few years, Errol saw a ski race on TV. That was the breaking point: He “grabbed a pair of skis, and never looked back.”
As a child, Errol spent many hours admiring the races of his idol, Daron Rahlves, who is a top American Skier still today. Errol has a sweatshirt that Rahlves signed for him back in 1998. “When I started racing against Daron, that was just a trip,” Errol gleamed. “It’s like playing against your favorite basketball star. I still look up to him.”
He began his racing journey as part of the Squaw Valley Race Program and his skills developed into a broad range of disciplines, including Giant Slalom, Downhill, Slalom, Super-G and Combined. Recently, his competitive skills, no doubt enhanced by his background of motocross and BMX racing landed him in the more edgy environment of skicross, where he placed 5th in his first X-Games competition in 2008, and 7th in the 2008 World Cup.
His growing successes rekindled a dream he had been brewing and working on for years. Developing an international ski team might seem an implausible goal to most, but in the mind of Errol Kerr, this goal was naturally tangible. With a father who was born, raised and recently passed just 10 years ago on the soils of Jamaica, and an American-born mother whose love for the country is strong, Errol felt a pretty powerful connection. Errol applied for his Jamaican Citizenship in 2000. In 2004 he was accepted, and in the spring of 2008 visited the country for the first time.
Kerr accompanied Richard Salm, founder and president of the Jamaican Ski Federation, to the Jamaican Olympic Committee to request the team. Salm developed the Jamaican Ski Federation in 1998, and had presented the idea for the Bobsled Team 20 years ago. The Committee obviously agreed, and is now gaining confidence in Kerr’s representation of Jamaica. Kerr says the Jamaican government is preparing to support the team, and is also hoping to pull in support from the Jamaican Tourist Board.
The development of the team has pulled in enough monetary support to finally enable Errol to dedicate himself 100 percent to skiing, which, according to Errol is like letting a kid roam free in a candy store. “I feel like I get ADD with skis,” he says. “There’s not one day I wake up that I don’t want to go skiing. I love it more than anything in the world.” Outstanding sponsorship from Alpine Meadows has been the bread and butter of the team’s recent advancements. “Alpine has bent over backwards and taken me under their wings. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to do what I am doing.”
But above all the support he is receiving from his sponsorships (Alpine Meadows, Spyder, Porters Sports, Atomic, Jamaica, and more), his technician Eric Holmer from Bend, Oregon, and his ski coach Raul Guisado, with whom he recently parted ways, none comes close to the unconditional and enduring encouragement from Catherine Kerr.
Catherine met Errol’s father during a visit to Jamaica. They had decided to raise Errol in New York, but Errol’s father returned to Jamaica soon after. Catherine raised Errol on her own, and did so with inspiring dedication. The two of them moved in with her parents in the Bay Area, and then moved to Truckee in the mid 1990s. Catherine has done everything in her power to instill courage, confidence, and a sense of playfulness balanced with determination in her son, and has enabled him to constantly follow his potentials. Catherine lead the development of the BMX track in Riverview Park in Truckee, gaining the project $90,000 in grants. This was after Errol had won 14th place in the BMX Nationals as a child. She also single handedly manages Errol’s budding business. Errol said of his mom in an article by Freeskier Magazine, “She’s the best. My mom is a single mom, and everything I have, everything I’ve accomplished, she has helped me and given to me, everything. I owe it all to her. When I’m down, she’ll pick me up. When my head is full of helium, she gives me the reality check that I really need.”
Errol’s more recent events have proved to be great learning tools for him, despite the less desirable placements. At the Lake Placid 2009 World Cup event, Errol placed 17th. As his technician Eric Holmer states on Kerr’s website, “From what (Errol) said, he made a move to pass…(he) didn't quite have enough steam and got forced to the outside and ended up in the ‘red room’ (b-net).” He also recently finished 13th in the 2009 Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado. Hitting a patch of fresh snow slowed him down just enough to lose his critical positioning. He remains optimistic, however, realizing that he wouldn’t be where he was if he dwelled on the losses. “Some people are OK with losing, some get sad. But (losing) just lights a fire under me.”
Looking forward to the Olympics and far beyond, Errol remains open-minded and prepared for improvement. Considering the possibility of sitting on the podium in Vancouver, Errol “has no doubt that he is fast enough,” but recognizes that he is still “super young.” He will be competing in the Skicross event, new to the Olympics, in 2010, but sees himself returning to some of his more traditional disciplines of skiing once the glitter has settled. He say’s that these styles take a lot of maturing and honing on skills.
For up-to-date information on Errol’s life, schedule and results, visit errolkerr.com.
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