FINDING MY FORM AS A JUNIOR FREESTYLER

Left - Steve Hambling, Middle - Mike Nemesvary, Right - Mike Abson
Mont Cascades, PQ 

             On January 5th, 1976 the Ottawa Citizen newspaper sports headline read, "Tiny Freestyler Leads Games" ... I was so proud!  That was my first ever newspaper article and it referred to my victory in a local freestyle competition at Mont Cascades, PQ which served as a qualifier to select the team for representation at the Ontario Winter Games in Sault St. Marie the next month.  The article went on to state, “Even though he was the youngest, smallest and lightest skier in the competition, he refused to develop an inferiority complex.”   At the time I was 14 years old and hadn't even reached puberty ... I was only 5'2" and weighed in at 95 pounds!  That winter was my first year as a competitive freestyle skier and I never lost a single over-all title.  I went on to win the men's title at the Ontario Winter Games, the regional qualifier for the Canadian Championships and finally the Canadian Championships.

The weekend of March 6-7, 1976 was significant as the inaugural amateur Canadian freestyle skiing championship.  Up until then, the sport had developed as a professional entity without any grassroots development programs or an equivalent amateur circuit.  All that would change in subsequent years.  The 1976 Shell Cup championships were held in "my back yard" at Camp Fortune in the Gatineau Hills of Quebec just 15 minutes north of Ottawa. The event was the first time I had ever competed at a national level and I had no idea what to expect or how I would perform.  I was certainly nervous, with my family and friends looking on, but I just settled my nerves and let my natural talents do the talking.  Saturday morning and day one, was the mogul event and it was held on Camp Fortune's north side on the steepest and iciest slope, "Heggtveit" named after the great Canadian Olympic alpine racer, Anne Heggtveit.  It was a cold day and the moguls were showing no mercy.  When my name was called, I steadied my nerves, pushed out of the starting gate and got turning quickly into solid, smooth rhythm.  After about 10 turns I spotted a good size bump and performed a big spread eagle right in front of the judges; I put in a solid landing and quickly got back into my rhythm. I picked up speed and took a second air “twister” at the bottom of the course just before crossing the finish line.  My score was sufficient to put me in first place in the Junior Men's division.

In the afternoon, we had to change skis and focus our minds for the contrasting ballet event. The course was held on the Camp Fortune valley side on "Pineault".  The slope was very gradual and lent itself to the spins, intricate manoeuvres, dance steps and pole flips (all performed to music) which comprised the event.  My music choice was "Sweet Georgia Brown" (the Harlem Globetrotters

Ballet - Shell Cup Canadian National Freestyle Championships
Camp Fortune PQ

 theme song) and the spectators all had a good laugh and some even whistled along! The ballet event was my weakest of the 3 disciplines and my choreography was under-developed as yet.  However, I was quite agile, dynamic and always a showman or some might say "show off".  Although, I wasn't the smoothest ballet skier, I linked some impressive spins and jumps and even ended the routine with two front head springs.  My effort was awarded with a second place result after my good friend and first place medalist Peter Heggtveit.  Importantly I was leading the field for the next day's aerials event.

That night I was so anxious that I barely slept.  But, I woke up the next day feeling energized and on top of the world.  Day two was the aerials event and this was my forte.  I had plenty of good warm up jumps and felt 100% ready for the competition.  My opening jump was a front suicide.  I took plenty of speed down the in-run and launched into a huge front layout, then, at the last second I performed a quick, tight tuck and kicked out for a perfect landing.  The sizable crowd showed their

Big Back Layou
Camp Fortune PQ

appreciation and my score was high enough to place me first after round one.  My second and final jump was a back layout. The jump was still relatively new to me, but I had practiced the manoeuvre hundreds of times and felt confident.  I approached the jump at about 20 miles per hour and as I launched off the kicker, I straightened my body, extended my arms like an eagle and enjoyed the ride.  I spotted the landing and at the last second bent my knees to absorb the impact.  It was a perfect two ski landing and the crowd were cheering and howling.  The score cards came up and I had won the aerials event and, at age 15, I was awarded the Shell Cup and crowned Canadian Junior Freestyle Champion.

            The next day, the local newspapers were praising my performance and stating that my aerial performance alone would have ranked me among the medalists in the Senior division!  At school the next day, in his morning announcements, our principal singled out my efforts and instantly I became a celebrity in the school.  I also received letters from our Mayor, Member of Parliament and even written congratulations from the Premier of the Province of Ontario.  It seemed like the whole community knew of me and I was lavishing in all the new found attention. Finally, I had found a sport which I loved to do, an activity that would focus my boundless energy and concentration.  It would prove to be the vehicle that would give me the opportunity to travel and represent my city, province and eventually my country.  As grand as these latent thoughts may sound, my initial drive was the personal desire to compete and become the best. Shortly following my victory in the Canadian Championships, I set my goal to eventually become the best freestyle skier in the world!

Check out this retro 5 min. video shot by my father Laszlo Nemesvary at the Shell Cup Canadian National Amateur Freestyle Championships in 1976! 

Final Results
Camp Fortune PQ

Ottawa Journal - Article
March 1976