By Sarah Tone, Communications Coordinator
The Fulton twins from Birtle Manitoba will be part of Manitoba’s freestyle skiing team for years to come. Mae (pictured below) and Evan are only 15 and are representing Manitoba at the 2023 Canada Winter Games. They ski against competitors who are much older, as the maximum age at the Games is 21.
Both kids have been skiing for 11 years, and have been part of the provincial freestyle program since 2019. As parents Tyler and Dorelle are both skiers, the twins were introduced to skiing at a young age. Mae remembers the 99-cent deal at Asessippi, where kids could rent skis and get a lift ticket for 99 cents on Sundays. Those days, however, are long gone.
Freestyle skiing has 4 disciplines – slopestyle, big air, aerials, and moguls. Partly due to the lack of access to aerials and moguls training in Manitoba, both Evan and Mae prefer slopestyle the best.
When asked who is the better skier, one gets interesting answers. Mae believes she is better on jumps, partly because of her gymnastics background, but gives Evan the edge on rails. Evan (pictured below), on the other hand, wastes no time in saying “me”, when asked who was better! One thing both coaches and athletes agree on is that Mae is the more competitive of the two.
Although both love freestyle skiing, it’s not like they aren’t involved in other sports. Mae continues with gymnastics, and both siblings play sports at their high school, from soccer to basketball to track and field. Their love of skiing is evident when you watch them ski or talk to them.
Evan loves how creative you can be and the independence in training. Mae, on the other hand, just loves to win. When it comes to training, they do lots of it. Throughout the season, the family will often make the 3.5-hour trek to Winnipeg on weekends, where they can join their teammates for practice at Springhill Sports Park. More frequently though, they train at Asessippi Ski Slope, a mere 45 minutes from home.
Mae comes to the Games with a season-best 3rd place at junior nationals and believes she can podium in PEI. Probably a good bet that you will continue to hear great things about the Fulton twins for years to come, and don’t be surprised if they return to the 2027 CWG as medal threats.
