Dominique Maltais

Interview with Dominique Maltais
By Jessica Powers
National Sports Academy ‘08

FIS World Champion in Boardercross 2006
Bronze Medal in 2006 Olympics (SBX)
Canadian SBX Champion in 2003 & 2004
European Cup SBX Champion 2004 & 2005
Firefighter for the City of Montreal

Jessica Powers: Hi, I am student at National Sports Academy and we are conducting a series of interviews with people who are engaged in an Olympic Journey that will be part of an exhibition that we hope will be displayed in Vancouver. Do you mind if we ask you some questions?

Dominique Maltais: No, no go right ahead.

JP: OK, my first question is how did you get into Boardercross?

DM: I don’t know! I’m from a small place called Charlevoix near Quebec City. I started snowboarding when I was twelve. I was always riding in the woods, going crazy on jumps and just enjoying free riding and having fun on my board. Then I started to do some stuff and started to do some TV shows and stuff like that. Some of my friends convinced me that I should start competing. I looked at three options in snowboarding. There was GS, Alpine and Snowboardcross. The reason that I chose Boardercross was because I hadn’t done GS before and we did not have an Alpine path at home, so it was Boardercross for sure. I tried it and found that it was totally my kind of sport.

JP: What were you doing before you started racing Boardercross?

DM: Pretty much, I spent all my free days on my board during the winter and then during the summer I would do a lot of downhill biking, swimming, rollerblading, hiking and all that stuff. I quit pretty much everything for my snowboard since I was fifteen years old. I quit pretty much everything for my snowboard when I was fifteen.

JP: I heard that you were a firefighter for the City of Montreal during the summer.

DM: Yeah, that’s what I like to do. I am studying at the same time to be a firefighter. Before I started competing, I was trying to be a firefighter, and then I got a job in Montreal as a firefighter and at the same time I started having great results. After that I keep going working as a firefighter and still competing at the same time. But after the Olympics in 2006 it was so busy for me I just decided to quit my job for the next four years until 2010. I’ll see after that if I am going back or not.

JP: Have you always wanted to be a firefighter?

DM: Yeah, that was one of my dreams. I had two dreams in my life when I was young, to become a firefighter and be really good on my snowboard; to be one of the best riders in the world. So yeah, I just went for it. I just believed in my dream and did everything I could to reach those two goals.

JP: Along the way to becoming one of the best riders in the world, who have been your mentors. Who have you looked up to?

DM: For snowboarding?

JP: For everything!

DM: My family has always been really important for me. I always watche dmy older sister. She was a model for me. She isn’t a firefighter, she doesn’t snowboard, but hr mentality and the way she things has helped me. But naturally it is my friends and family, the people around me.

JP: What sacrifices have you made to come this far?

DM: I had to quit my place for a few years and my studies  and for my job, it is a bit far from where I am from, at least four hours. I am from a little small village, only eight hundred people. I am working Montreal, which is a big city. That was big sacrifice for me. And for snowboarding, you need to travel a lot. The whole thing is when you really enjoy what you are doing it is not really a sacrifice.

JP: Do you ever get afraid on the course?

DM: Yeah for sure. Especially when I came back this year because I hurt myself last year. When I came back on the course I was really scared about my knee. And some courses are really crazy and you are scared about yourself, you don’t want to hurt yourself again.

JP: How do you deal with that, being fearful and getting over your injury?

DM: That was hard, especially this year. I had a really hard season this year. I did not spend a lot of time on snow. I did not train a lot too because, well just for some reason, and after that just trusting my knee was kind of hard too. It’s all about experiences. If you are doing your race you are still learning about yourself, about racing and competing, and this makes you more confident. Race after race I feel a bit better, or worse when I hurt myself. Right now I think I am on the right way and it is coming pretty soon.

JP: What don’t you like about the sport?

DM: When I am losing. Sometimes everything is possible in Boardercross.  I hate it when I am riding really well and a girl touches my board and I crash and it is just done for me because she was not riding very well and she cut my line or something like that. That’s what I really hate.

JP: What do you love about the sport?

DM: I really enjoy going for a big jump. Its all about snowboarding. I really like it and enjoy it.

JP: What are your dreams in and outside of the sport?

DM: I want to be proud when I retire. I am expecting really good results for 2010. I am still looking forward to competing after 2010, but I’ll see about after the Olympics… I want to be happy, enjoy life and have new dreams in front of me.

JP: Thank you so much…

DM: Thank you!