Local skier named to national team, aims to qualify for Olympics

by Wendy Turrell

Without significant elevation or consistent cold weather, Ohio is not known for creating ski champions.

Those facts didn’t stop Sagamore Hills native Kyra Dossa from placing 7th individually and 4th in the mixed team event at the 2024 Freestyle Junior Ski World Championships; then going on to place 8th in her first World Cup event in Deer Valley, Utah. She competed in the aerial category, which includes single, double and triple flip jumps.

Dossa began skiing at Boston Mills at the age of three, and her natural athleticism was honed during 16 years of competitive training at Gymnastics World in Brecksville. Dossa’s family members are avid skiers who took weekend ski trips and an annual spring break trip to Utah or Colorado.

When she was 17, Dossa’s family took a ski trip to Park City, Utah, where Dossa met retired freestyle aerial coach Carrie Miller. He mentioned the lack of women who compete in the aerial category and advised Dossa and her mother to check out the sport at the training facility in nearby Utah Olympic Park. They did, and Dossa said, “I was in awe of the jumpers. I told [my mother] I wanted to try it, so we booked another trip to do a drop-in camp.”

After participating in the camp, Dossa was hooked. “After five days of jumping, I immediately knew I wanted to pursue aerials, so I joined the Park City Ski and Snowboard Freestyle team,” she said.

In freestyle skiing, participants specialize in one of two categories: aerial or mogul skiing.

The road to becoming a top-ranked aerial competitor is arduous, and training doesn’t stop when winter ends. Dossa lives and trains year-round in Park City. During the off-season, her regimen changes from snow skiing to training on ramps, in the pool and multiple workouts per week.

Dossa’s first coaches were Jack Boyczuk and Madie Varmette with the Park City Ski and Snowboard team. She also spent half a summer in Ohio under the tutelage of Bill Harris, who runs Mont Chalet Freestyle from his backyard in Chesterland, where he has a small jump and pond. “He is an amazing man, who lets athletes train for free,” said Dossa. “He has produced numerous national team athletes and a couple of Olympians, including Brian Currutt from Ohio.”

At 20 years old, Dossa has enjoyed much success in just three years. Her meteoric rise in the sport is all the more impressive considering the severe injuries she sustained during those years.

“My first year attempting to jump on snow in 2022, I tore my ACL and was out for a year. This was devastating, especially because I already had a later start to the sport,” she said. “I moved back home to Sagamore Hills and worked my butt off at physical therapy.

“Fast forward a year, and I took a fall on the water ramps and shattered three of my metacarpals. Luckily, I had surgery and was back training in two months. I was able to compete for the first time in 2023.”

In May, Dossa found out she had been named to the U.S. National Ski Team, which carries the opportunity to qualify for Olympic competition.

“I received a call from the head coach telling me I made the U.S. Ski Team. I was speechless. … This past year was my second year competing, so to find out I made the team after my second season was insane,” she said. “I was proud I did this with numerous setbacks. It was extremely rewarding and felt like a testament to my hard work and mental toughness.”

Dossa explained there are several levels of freestyle competition to earn one’s way to the World Cup tour. First is regional; then the Federation of International Skiing tour; then the NORAM North American tour; and finally, the prestigious World Cup. Ordinarily to qualify for World Cup competition, one must be a member of the U.S. National Ski Team. At the time of this year’s World Cup competition, Dossa was not a member, but because the U.S. was the host country, they were allowed to qualify additional skiers who could pass a “selections” process, which Dossa did.

In addition to the pressure of the impending World Cup Olympic qualifying season – during which she will compete in China, Italy, Lake Placid, Kazakhstan and Canada – Dossa said she plans to complete school and hopes to graduate from the University of Utah in a couple years.

“For this season, my goal is to raise some money to help me compete and afford this expensive sport,” she said. “Hopefully I can acquire some sponsors to represent, while I compete on a bigger stage, especially with the events being televised.”

Dossa has set her sights on the pinnacle of sports, “My ultimate goal is to compete in the Olympics, whether it is this one or the next.” ∞

Photo: Kyra Dossa. Photo by Steven Vargo.