Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Legacy and loss

It was with a sense of terrible loss and incredulity that we learned of the death of freeskier Sarah Burke.
opinion_editorial1

It was with a sense of terrible loss and incredulity that we learned of the death of freeskier Sarah Burke.

Of course, we had been following her injury in the newsroom, but it was also the source of many a conversation at home, in the aisles of our local stores, and on the chairlifts of our mountains.

The rest of the world reacted to the loss of a trailblazer, of a role model to be proud of, of a superstar athlete, the loss of a woman who put her love for her husband out there for everyone to see in a video that has gone viral — but here in Whistler we also reacted to the death of an athlete doing what she loved.

And perhaps that is where it hits home for many in Whistler: When we crank the buckles on our kid's boots, when we wave them off into the "ski school" lane at the gondi, when we ask them about their tricks at the end of their ski day it's in the back of our minds.

I'd be lying if I said I sent my son up without an extra hug in last couple weeks, and perhaps just a couple of extra "be safe" comments — OK more than just a couple of those.

But here is the thing, we love the mountains and so do our kids, and while you wouldn't catch me in the terrain park — except scooting between obstacles to keep track of my 11-year-old trickster — you can't keep the kids out.

And do we want to?

In the last several days we learned how Burke's dad Gordon would take her to competitions even if they knew she wouldn't be allowed to compete. Her parents supported her all the way to the top and no doubt would have been there at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games where she likely would have taken gold.

People like Burke inspire us — those who embrace their passions and push to make their dreams come true, never accepting a "no" or "can't be done" as part of the conversation. It is a message all of us should try to embrace at some level every day.

It's the very message we want our kids and our leaders to listen to. If you want something, if you want to accomplish something, go and do something about it — work to make it a reality — don't wait for someone else to do it. This is Burke's legacy and surely will be one of the things all the athletes in Sochi will be thinking about come Games time.

Her death at 29 forced all of us, including those at the top of the sport of freesking, to look again at questions of safety and logistics around the sport. Surely it is intuitive to understand that launching off the side of a pipe and twisting or flipping is risky, and yes, dangerous. But these are athletes who know the risk, who have competed with casts on, practiced hurt and worse. And in most sports it is the athletes and coaches who are driving safety improvements whether it is through technology, training or at the venues.

But accidents happen. Burke's death was described as a "fluke" by Peter Judge, CEO of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association. And so while we should look at safety in sport we also have to accept that accidents happen and move on.

That is not to say there aren't lessons to be learned. One of which has to be an investigation of how travelling, competing or performing athletes insure themselves or are insured.

The waters are still a little muddy around insurance issues in Burke's death. Within hours of the news of her death breaking media outlets were calling for donations to cover medical bills in the U.S.

Tens of thousands of people donated then learned that maybe all that money wasn't needed for bills after all. As it stands there is close to $300,000 in an account in Burke's memory to offset costs and pay for memorials and perhaps even set up a foundation in her memory (Two memorials are expected to be held for Burke — one in Whistler. ESPN will also be airing a special memorial to her at its X Games coverage tonight, Jan.26).

On Jan. 20 the Canadian Freestyle Association said this: "Athletes and coaches of the CFSA are covered with both liability, accident and disability insurance for all activities that fall within the Canadian team program and mandate, be these within Canada or abroad.

"The inclusion into the Olympic Games Sport program has produced a period where halfpipe and slopestyle skiers are transitioning from being wholly independent professional athletes to members of full-service national team programs. There are occasions where athletes are involved in private sponsor training, photo shoots and events which operate outside of the National Team program and mandate."

This was one of those times as Sarah was skiing as a sponsored athlete for Monster Energy — that company, while silent for many days, has now come out and said it is supporting Burke's family through this — though it is likely there will still be some bills to pay once the dust settles. The B.C. Ministry of Health will also help cover some of the costs.

One National Post story quoted Russell Reimer, skicross racer Chris Del Bosco's agent.

"I'm going to look at a more comprehensive insurance strategy for my agency," he said. "I think it probably falls to us as well as representatives to make sure if there are holes or gaps in liability or assumption of risk.

"Obviously, I'm not an insurance agent, I want to help my clients in every possible way that I can.

"This is an unbelievably tragic reminder to make sure we're taking a closer look at liability."

While Burke's trailblazing personality and accomplishments are her legacy perhaps changing the rules to make sure financial worries don't overshadow athletes and their families dealing with injury and loss in the future could also be a gift she gives those she leaves behind.