Alumnus joins the professional ski circuit
Alumnus Joins the Professional Ski Circuit
We recently had the pleasure of catching up with Zac Poulsen (CHA 2024), who is now part of the International Ski Federation circuit, a huge milestone in what’s turning into a very exciting skiing journey.
Zac started skiing at the age of 6 and has always loved being active. Through his Ecolint’s extracurricular programmes, he joined many sports: gymnastics, football, tennis, rugby, and track and field. Each one taught him something different, but he eventually chose alpine skiing as his main sport “which combined many of the skills I had developed from these other sports.” he says.
He first joined a local village ski club in France and from passion, competitions soon followed. He targeted the top 30 in the French Championships in U12 and U14 and after three years of juggling Ecolint and Apex ski school in parallel, he decided to take the next big step.
He moved to Tignes to join Apex2100, a dynamic international ski academy with fantastic facilities and a strong focus on both education and sport. It was the perfect fit for him. “Their aim is to develop internationally educated, world-class skiers with great character, who pursue lifelong excellence through joy, passion, and hard work.” he explained.
After successfully completing his IB, he’s now diving full-time into the world of professional skiing, proving that with the right mindset, you really can balance high-level sport and academics.
His hard work paid off; he participated in La Scara, an international race featuring the best U16 athletes in the world, where he finished 3rd. More recently he represented France at the 2024 Gangwon Youth Olympics, finishing top 10 in the Giant Slalom, a huge milestone for the young skier.
Now, his sights set on the Europa Cup, World Juniors, and with long-term goals of reaching the World Cup and Olympic Games, Zac continues to give everything to his dream.
What started as a hobby has turned into a professional career path for Zac. As he continues to chase his dreams and carve his way up the ranks, Zac is proving that when you combine passion, hard work, and a bit of courage, amazing things can happen.
His words of wisdom to current students: Don’t get too caught up with results—focus instead on enjoying the process of getting there. This will make the pathway towards fulfilling your dream far more rewarding. In short, you can’t live off the results alone, as that would be an unfulfilling life. Put simply: make the dream worth living.
Every dream needs support! Discover more about his journey in his presentation and if you’d like to contribute personally, you can do it here (donations are tax-deductible: 66% for individuals and 60% for businesses.).