Juanita High School graduate Sarah Silva is doing big things in college, and she’s doing them while flying. A varsity athlete in high school, competing in swimming, softball and basketball, Silva has now embraced a new sport – competitive snowboarding.
“I like spinning a lot on jumps. I really like big jumps, for one,” said Silva during a phone interview. “I’m really tuning in my 360 (full spin) right now, but I landed a five (one-and-a-half spins) the other day and that was pretty exciting.”
The 2009 Juanita graduate now attends the College of Idaho as a freshman. In her first year in the Coyote snowboard program, she has already placed very well in the collegiate regional competitions for the Northwest. She placed first in the slope-style (big-air jumps) competition, and second in both half-pipe competitions at Mount Hood earlier this year, according to her results page at the USA Snowboard Association Website (USASA.org).
“My favorite thing about freestyle snowboarding is that you can do anything. There’s no rules about what you can do on the board – you can just be creative,” explained Silva. “It’s really fun. Especially when you land a cool trick that you’ve been working on, and someone else sees it and then they’re like, ‘Ohhh!’ or something and they say it’s really cool. That makes you feel really good.”
Silva started snowboarding when she was 12. She has been competing since 2008 at her home resort, Snoqualmie Pass, where she scored several second and third places.
“It scares me to death, but I know that that’s her passion,” said her mother, Lorraine. “And I know she takes precautions. … Even though it’s scary, it’s not like I’m going to tell her she can’t or shouldn’t (compete).”
Silva trains with her team two or three times a week at Bogus Basin, just minutes from her college campus. She enjoys getting pushed by her team to try bigger and better tricks, leading her to land tricks that she maybe wouldn’t have tried by herself.
Silva is sponsored by Newt and Harold’s board shop in Boise. “We’re glad to have her on the team,” said Lori Wright, who works at Newt and Harold’s. “(Silva) represents snowboarding in a good, positive way.”
The shop gives Silva discounts on gear as a team member, and she represents the shop at competitions and on the slopes.
When asked what advice she would offer to aspiring competitive snowboarders, Silva had this to say:
“Don’t give up. With girls especially, it can be intimidating riding the park. There never seems to be very many other girls; it’s mostly boys. And especially if your tricks aren’t as big, it can just be really intimidating. But you just have to keep going, because eventually you’ll get to that level.”
Justin Vorhees is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.
