1) How did you qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympics? How does it work, who else made it?
 
STEPH: To qualify for the olympics you have to ranked top 25 in the world, you must have over 200 FIS points (Fis is the governing body behind ski and snowboard world cup & Olympics.) And you must have two top 16  world cup results results in the pre Olympic season.

I made a comeback from a knee injury last January which saw me miss 5 of the qualifying events, which effected my world ranking. I fullfilled all the criteria already back in September with my second top 16th place in the world cup in Argentina, but I still had to fullfill the Top 25 in the World Ranking list. Some good results and a lot of hard work got me back in the rankings. I will be the only girl representing Australia in Boardercross at the Olympics.


2) You have been training for this for a long time, how does it feel to achieve your dream?

STEPH: The last 2 years have been some of the most challenging of my life, both mentally and physically. I've been not only training hard on snow but also spent hours and hours in the gym, getting my body ready for the tough demands of boardercross. It's always exciting to learn just how far you can push your body what you can achieve personally. For me snowboarding has always been my passion and to turn that into my full time job and make it to the Olympics is a pretty exciting feeling.


3) What are you expectations/goals for Vancouver.

STEPH: I don't think any athelete goes to the games not wanting a gold medal. It's a step by step process but once you qualify amoungst those top 16 girls i think it's anyones race to be won
 
4) What does it mean for an athlete to make the olympics?

STEPH: I believe the Olympics is the icing on the cake to  years of hard work, passion and training. It's a wonderful way to represent your country and inherit a proud tradition to tell your grand kids one day.

5) What is Boardercross:

STEPH: Boardercross is like motorcross on snow. A startgate opens and 4 people are released onto a course filled with giant obstacles like rollers, burms, step-ups, jumps and kickers, usually a massive jump before the finish line.

Before you race against others, you have to do an individual time trial. The top 16 girls then get put into heats of 4. Four girls start and 2 advance to the next heat. No intentional contact is allowed but it always happens when there is 4 in a heat, making it a great spectator sport.

I compete on the LG FIS Snowboard World Cup http://www.fissnowboard.com/, which is the international Top level of the sport. You start off doing Fis-races. After getting your points up you are allowed to enter Nor-Am or Europacup races.

After gaining enough points again, you are allowed on World Cup. Fis and Europacup fields are usually around 50-60 girls and i've managed to podium a couple in 08/09. I also came 2nd in the overall Europacup ranking. In World Cup, the field is limited and there's about 40 to 50 girls in each comp, after qualifying only the top 16 get to race each other in heats.

Here's a vid we found of Steph from a few years ago chatting about Boardercross on Goin Ballistyx Snowboard Show:

Follow Steph at www.stephhickey.com.au or on her facebook.