Natasha Bodnarchuk Interview
After ticking off ski jumping from our sports list last episode it's time to continue with some more talk about the great sport as we chat with Canadian ski jumper Natasha Bodnarchuk about her Olympic aspirations and athletic career! We find out from Natasha just why she chose ski jumping as a sport to pursue and just why she fell in love with it so much at an early age. We also learn more about the unique techniques involved in the sport and just how important the mental aspect is. Added to this we find out just what her future in the sport holds moving forward and just why she might become a rival to our show at some point soon. It's another fun chat that you simply can't miss!
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Please note this is an automated transcript that may contain errors.
BEN WATERWORTH: It is Off The Podium, An Olympics Podcast, coming to you today for another Athlete Interview as we get closer and closer to the Beijing Olympics. We are talking more ski jumping today. We had, of course, Ale Loutitt on yesterday, and now we are straight back into it. As we speak to a teammate of Ali's, Natasha Bodnarchuk. Now, this is a great chat learning a lot about the sport, more about the training aspect, getting involved, the techniques. I'm always very fascinated to hear about the techniques when it comes to a sport, which is so unique, such as ski jumping, and learning a lot about that, her journey in the sport, how she got involved, the disappointment of not making the 2018 Olympics, and how she overcame that, and just where her future is in the sport of ski jumping. It's a bit of a unique chat here to learn about aspirations for Beijing and beyond. And if that quite doesn't pan out for Natasha, just where that potentially may lead her. So great chat here. You're gonna get a lot out of it, and we're gonna get straight into it right now. Here is our chat with Canadian ski jumper, Natasha Bodnarchuk.
BEN WATERWORTH: As we get closer and closer to the Beijing Olympics, we are getting very excited to chat to some athletes involved in the sports at the Olympics, and that, let's just say this right now, we'll be there at the Beijing Olympics, because it's very exciting to return to the sport today of ski jumping and learn a little bit more about it from the perspective of an athlete from Canada, who is on the cusp of going to her first Olympic game, which is a dream which she's had for quite some time. And I'm so excited to learn more about this dream and everything else in between. It's a pleasure to welcome to the show Natasha Bodnarchuk. Natasha, first of all, welcome to Off The Podium. It's a pleasure to have you on the day.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Thank you so much for having me. Happy to be here.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's an exciting time, obviously, the closer and closer we get to Beijing. From my perspective, sitting in a chair, being able to talk to people like yourself and being able to cover it. But I can't imagine for you, sort of this dream of yours to go to an Olympic Games with every day closer. It gets a little bit more realistic on that journey. I mean, right now, the time of recording this, to date this, I will say it's 100 days, exactly today, until the Beijing Olympics. So how are you feeling right now with every single day that it gets closer and closer to this dream potentially becoming a reality for you?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: I'm feeling good. I've actually been taking a little bit of a hiatus from the sport. I took a bit of a break. I'm taking a bit of a break from since the winter, and that's been really good for me. But yeah, the excitement is there, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what ends up happening.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'm always intrigued to find out from, I guess, how they get involved in the sport. And we obviously spoke to Ali Ludic a little bit about her sort of her journey into the sport. But I believe it seems yours was slightly similar. She sort of mentioned there was a multi-sport camp and sort of her brother had gone, and sort of she took it from there. And I believe you also went to a multi-sport camp. I mean, I don't know if this is the same one or not, but I mean, this might be some sort of fast track for ski jumpers to get into the sport, it seems, going to multi-sport camps in Canada.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Literally, yeah, it probably was the same one. I think there's been so many athletes who came from that multi-sport camp. Yes, I was also in a multi-sport camp held here in Calgary. And yeah, it's just like this week long camp where you do a bunch of different activities every day. And one of the days it was ski jumping, and I gave it a try and really liked it. And a coach was watching nearby and asked if I wanted to try it more seriously. And I was like, sure, why not? And the rest is history.
BEN WATERWORTH: So what other sports are you doing? Is this purely winter based sports? Is it a mixture of winter and summer sports? And it's just basically today you're going to try this sport, tomorrow you're going to try that sport.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Basically, yeah, it is a mix. You know, there's a variety. We did like mountain biking, archery, luge, a whole bunch of different things. So yeah, it's a really good mix. And yeah, I was recruited through that.
BEN WATERWORTH: And were there any other sports that you did that you were enjoying as well that maybe had you focused on them? We could be talking to you about a different potential Olympic sport that you could be going towards.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Oh, maybe. I don't know. I remember I liked the bungee jumping, which was just like you jumped on a trampoline attached to a bungee cord. So that was fun. And I think there was also some like gymnastics elements that I thought was fun. So that's a possibility. I've actually never really thought about that.
BEN WATERWORTH: So what was it specifically then about the ski jumping that drew you to it? Was it the adrenaline aspect of it, the speed, the technique? I mean, a combination of all of those?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, I think it was a combination. I think it was I liked the speed and I liked the jumping part of it. I think that we only did it for, you know, an afternoon when I did the camp when I was nine. But then once I was recruited into my ski club, I really fell in love with how multidimensional our training was. Like our training isn't just ski jumping. We also would play soccer and volleyball and go running and rollerblading and skiing. And I always thought that that was super fun. And I also developed some really great friendships with people who I'm still friends with today. And just being able to see them like every night at training really motivated me to want to go and keep it up.
BEN WATERWORTH: That sounds a fun sport that if you're allowed to just do things like just play soccer and all these kind of random things while you're also jumping, I mean, that kind of helps with that. When you say you get, I guess, recruited, I mean, does it come from a fact that they like your technique, you've got a certain style, they see potential. I mean, kind of what are they looking for when they kind of tap you on the shoulder and say, Natasha, this might be something that you should pursue because you've potentially got a future in this sport.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: I think it was a mix of being one of the few kids in my group to actually do the jump from the day that we did it. And also probably my body type has a factor in them kind of pointing to me because I've always been really small and short. And that's kind of the ideal body type for ski jumping.
BEN WATERWORTH: And when you mention going on a jump, is this the main jump that you're going straight away or are you kind of, I think as Ali described them, like a bit of a bump jump, kind of like what sort of jump is it that you're going off to get that? Because I mean, surely the nine year old is shoving you down a large hill basically ski jump at the Calgary Olympic Park. I mean, unless they do, good for them. But I can't imagine that's what they do straight away.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: No, yeah, usually you start just like skiing down the landing hill and maybe just jumping on your own, kind of just getting a feel for jumping in your skis and with your boots on. And then as you gain some confidence and you kind of learn a little bit of the skills and the balance, then you might go off the jump. And at the time, the smallest jump we had was a K-18 metre hill. And there's different gates that you can put down so that you can not really go full 18 metres, but the first gate is like a five, you know, five metres of the track. And so that's kind of just kind of practising to actually get on the bar, have a little bit of speed and jumping off the end.
BEN WATERWORTH: And then do you remember that moment when you get an opportunity to jump off the main side, the Olympic size one? And sort of what age were you when you were able to do that for the first time?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Well, the size of the jumps that we compete on at like a Continental Cup or World Cup international level is 90 metres or 120 metres. And I think I was around maybe 14, 14-ish when I first jumped a 90 metre hill. Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Geez. Pretty daunting task for a 14 year old to do, to kind of just go straight on to something that big. I mean, is it a case because you've worked yourself up so much to that point where you've been practising on sort of the other ones that had no fear? Or I mean, is there a fear factor to it the first time you do go down a jump like that?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: I think there's always a little bit of fear just because you're kind of questioning, can I really do this? But at that point, it really is kind of more of a mental game, and ski jumping is a very mental heavy sport. So I just had to trust myself and trust my coach. And at that point, I also wanted to jump bigger hills and go farther. So it was that excitement too that drove me to just do it.
BEN WATERWORTH: Now, did you land your first jump off the 90 metres?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: You betcha, I did.
BEN WATERWORTH: All right, that's what we want to hear with that. Did you have dreams as a young child to go to the Olympics? Was this something that had always been in you, or was this more of a case of you got into ski jumping and then this became a realistic option that you could go to an Olympics?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: From the get-go, pretty much. When I was recruited through the multi-sport camp, the coach who recruited me said, oh, Natasha, you're a future Olympian. And I was nine being like, what? So yeah, pretty much from the get-go, that's always been the dream and the goal, and it wasn't really made to feel super real until women were actually accepted into the Olympics in 2014. And before that, I was doing it because it was fun. So pretty much after 2014 is when it became an actual feasible goal that I was working towards.
BEN WATERWORTH: Do you remember that? I don't know how old you would have been when you would have at least heard or maybe seen the 2014 Olympics and kind of, as you're saying, realise that could be a goal, because I love hearing from athletes on this show who are in a sport which isn't either an Olympic sport or maybe their discipline isn't at the Olympics, because as you're kind of alluding to there, it adds a bit of weight or something a bit different to what you're already doing, realising that, wow, I can now do this at an Olympic Games.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, I was about 16 when the Games were in 2014, and that was kind of when I started to really look at ski jumping in, I guess, more of like a serious light and started to consider travelling internationally and just upping my training and changing my diet so that I could really thrive as an athlete and just prioritising everything ski jumping. And I had lots of meetings with my coach who really believed in me and really gave me a lot of encouragement to just build this confidence in myself. So that was kind of a transitional period where I thought, oh, this is something that I could actually do.
BEN WATERWORTH: And in terms of female ski jumping at the time in Canada, I mean, how many athletes were around at that period compared to, say, now leading into an Olympics where this is the third time that women's ski jumping has been involved? I mean, was there an increase? Did you see it? I mean, were you sort of in a limited group back before it became an Olympic sport?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: A bit. I mean, in terms of kind of on an international scale, definitely the sports evolved over the years. Back in 2014, you might have 40 women at a World Cup, and now we have 70, 60, 70. So definitely the field has increased a lot over the years.
BEN WATERWORTH: Still no Australians, though. Can I just point out? I'd like to always establish that Australia has never had an Olympic ski jumper, which I'm not actually sure off the top of my head. I mean, surely there are other winter sports. We've never had an Olympic curler, for example. So there's a couple of winter sports that Australia has never had athletes in. So I'm trying to always just push it out there for Australians to go into ski jumping. I'm trying to see if there's, you know, Allie kind of shut me down a little bit the other day with that. But, you know, I'm always looking for a way in, Natasha. So maybe I can recruit somebody to help me or the other way around. I can just become a coach. I have no idea.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Pull a little Australian Eddie the Eagle thing.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, exactly. You know, we've got some good freestyle skiers. I'm sure we can just build a jump a little bit longer and different to make it work. That kind of goes that way. I'm always intrigued about sort of the training aspect. And obviously, going down a jump multiple times, getting everything together is probably the best way. But when it comes to, say, the technical aspect of the sport, are there things that you can do to kind of work on that technique while you're in the air outside of jumping? So, for example, you know, I've seen aerial skiers might go on the trampoline and kind of perfect the sort of the in-air techniques. I mean, is there a method that you can do sort of in that flight mode, which doesn't involve jumping down a jump all the time?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, part of our training, we do what's called imitations or IMOs, which basically is just us practising the split-second movement on the end of the jump when we're jumping off from our in-run position in the track into our flight position. And this is either done with the help of another person, like your coach or your teammate, who's catching you, or sometimes you can just jump onto a mat. And yeah, that's like the most crucial moment on the hill, because it's so fast, you don't want to hesitate, you have to have proper timing and commitment. So yeah, we do lots of those kind of repetitive motions to just perfect the technique.
BEN WATERWORTH: And that takeoff aspect of it, you sort of mentioning the speed, obviously by the time you let go of the bar to when you get to the jump. I mean, how crucial is the timing of that launch off the jump? And how do you work on perfecting that more so? Is it a mental sort of game or is it sort of going back to it, saying about the technique or a combination of the both?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: I think it's a combination of both, but I would say ski jumping is a super heavy mental sport, like probably 80% mental, 20% physical. And I think, you know, some people think, oh, you probably hesitate when you're sliding onto the bar. That's probably the moment when you're a bit nervous. But really, I think the main part where you hesitate is just at the last minute. And if you do, you feel it right away. It can result in you being late off the takeoff, which just feels like your feet kind of fall out from under you. You don't get any effect from your jump. Then you get stuck behind, and it's just not a good feeling. But when you jump on time and you just commit to that movement, you feel like you're immediately lifted, and it's like the best feeling ever. You know you've had a good jump the moment that you're off the takeoff, and then you just have to fly, and it's super fun.
BEN WATERWORTH: I was going to say with that, that it must be one of those moments. Yeah, like you've nailed it. You've nailed that takeoff, and you're flying, and it must be one of those moments where you literally almost feel unstoppable in a weird way, because you kind of are unstoppable when you're in flight. You can't really do much from that point on, except hope that your technique is going to be good. The judges like you, and then you're going to land okay. Boom, everything's kind of clicked together.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, you can still be active in your flight, and kind of pull out more, and make sure that you're very symmetrical. But that's like the most fun part of the sport, I think, is the flight, and just having a good takeoff, you just feel like you're being lifted higher and higher, and you just got to stick that landing.
BEN WATERWORTH: Do you sometimes want to hum like the Superman theme in your head while you're in the middle of a flight? Because I just kind of think that, you know, that would be just a fun aspect of going like, you literally almost are Superman at that point while you are literally flying.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, I could. I mean, I usually don't have much to think about other than just like a couple things.
BEN WATERWORTH: You can even set up a perfect competition one day. You can just start going for it.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, I'll try that.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, it would be a fun little aspect to do that. But on that mental aspect of it, though, what training methods do you take to do that? Is it a simple case of working with a sports psychologist? Are you working with your coach? Is it something as simple as just, I'm going to do a Sudoku puzzle today to kind of work the brain out? Like, I mean, what sort of mental training do you really like to kind of do to help that aspect of it?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, I've worked a bit with a sports psychologist. Mostly, I just focus on kind of independent visualisation, just kind of sitting in a quiet space and closing my eyes and just imagining a perfect jump, just imagining me doing a perfect jump and what that feels like. And that's just really crucial to just know exactly what you need to do. And it's such a powerful thing to compete or train, and you feel like you're in a bubble and to feel like you're just so in the zone that afterwards you're like, what did I even do? Because you're just so mentally there. It's kind of a weird thing, but it's really cool.
BEN WATERWORTH: And you mentioned before, it's sort of 80% mental, 20% physical. Do you kind of do that with your trainings, or are you mainly focusing on the mental aspect, or are you still working on an average training week on that physical side of things equally as much as that mental side of things?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: I mean, we still train a lot. Don't get me wrong. We train a lot. I think the mental side definitely comes from kind of me doing things in my off time. I'm not going to be going to the gym to close my eyes for half an hour and visualise. So it is very heavy on the physical as well. And again, kind of how when I first started ski jumping, the training was very multi-sport. Our training now is still very diverse with lots of different activities and exercises to kind of just make us well-rounded athletes and super strong because it's an extreme sport. So the stronger you are, the safer your body is going to be.
BEN WATERWORTH: And in terms of, I guess, the diet aspect, it's obviously not a sport in which you are weighed and restricted by a certain weight for a division, but going back to your point about your body size and the fact that I can imagine it does favour a certain body type. So like, is it a restrictive sort of diet sport? Are you constantly having to maintain a weight because that certain weight will help you perform, or is it maybe not as restricted as it may seem?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, I would say it's pretty restrictive. It's basically, you know, the lighter you are, that's a big benefit. It's like if you had two paper airplanes and you threw both of them, but one of them had a rock on it, the rock is going to make that airplane sink, but the one without is just going to catch the wind and fly. So, you know, that's why your diet and your body size comes into it. And so that can be, you know, a challenge. There's definitely, you know, some darker sides to the sport. It's challenging to maintain such a lightweight, but that's when you just need to, you know, prioritise yourself and your mental health. And, you know, if some sort of physical weight's going to be detrimental to your mental health, then it's not worth it. They really need to work in tandem.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which I can imagine, yeah, with any sort of sport where it's based around a weight portion of it, it can be very challenging, particularly at a young age when you're sort of growing up and, you know, you are at an age where you're kind of wanting to just eat pizza all the time and kind of just, you know, go drink with your friends and things like that. So I guess that's that mind over matter aspect sometimes too, where you're like, OK, my goal is to get to an Olympics. This is how I'm going to achieve it. But as you were saying, without doing it in an unhealthy way in which you're being forced upon a certain image, I guess, which you must maintain to get to that.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, exactly. And I think, you know, if you have the passion in your sport and if you like to do it, then that's a super great drive to maintain your training regime and everything. And yeah, I think that, you know, even just looking at things in terms of like the Olympics, the Olympics is amazing. It's, you know, the epitome of high performance sport. But if it's just one day, you know, is it enough? Is that enough drive for you? So you really have to find your why and find what works for you and just to customise it to that.
BEN WATERWORTH: I also just found probably my first main roadblock into getting into ski jumping. Well, I mean, also the fact we don't have any facilities in Australia, but secondly, that I would probably be the rock on that paper plane. You know, I might have to kind of shed a few pounds in order to achieve that. I don't know how much I would fly, probably jump off and just go straight away.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Well, you'd probably go pretty fast on the end run, so at least you have that.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'd be intrigued to see how I could even potentially land. I mean, actually on the landing aspect, going back to sort of the things that you can do, training outside of just jumping, are there sort of grounded landing techniques that you can do? Can you literally get your coach to kind of launch you and kind of put you on an aspect where you are working on that sort of technique of landing?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Kind of. I mean, yeah, landing is super important. We land in a telemark position, one foot in front of the other in our hands out, not only because that's one of the safer ways to land, but also just because ski jumping is also a judged sport. So the nicer your telemark landing is, the higher the style points that you'll get, and then those points are added on to your overall points and will increase your ranking. So yeah, anytime we're doing like those imitation movements where you're jumping and if you're being caught by someone, every time you land, you're practising landing in that telemark position, or if we're doing other exercises, squat jumps, box jumps, we're practising landing in that position as well, just to make it like second nature basically.
BEN WATERWORTH: I always love finding out from athletes in judged sports about, you know, you talked before about sometimes when you jump off, you've got that perfect feeling, this is going great, you land, everything in your mind is like, yes, that was great, nailed it. Do you sometimes just look at those scores and just go, fuck off Slovenia, I was better than that. Like, come on, like, what the, what the heck? And is it that mental aspect where, because I tell you now, if I was in a sport like that, I couldn't maintain my emotions. I'd be like, you'd be seeing me mouthing the words, God, oh, come on. Like, I can imagine that's a bit of a challenging moment where you're just looking at the scores going, what the heck? I did everything right there.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, I mean, I think, yeah, with any judge sport, there's always a little bit of room for error in that way or bias. So, but you kind of just have to hold your tongue because you don't want to develop some sort of bad rep or anything. But yeah, I mean, that happens, I think.
BEN WATERWORTH: Is there, and you can answer this if you want to or not, is there like one judge that sometimes you go, oh, not them. No, not them. Seriously, I'm not going to have a good day today.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: No, there actually isn't. No.
BEN WATERWORTH: Right. All right. Just always like to kind of see that. In terms of 2018, I believe you sort of got very close to making the Olympics in 2018. Sort of what happened in the lead up to that, and just how close were you to making that team?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, so basically the summer season before 2018, I had a really great season. I got my best Grand Prix result. I was 10th. I was sitting in a qualified position. Like if the Olympics had been in the summer for some reason, I would have gone basically. And so I was really excited leading up to the winter. And then basically anything bad that could happen did happen. I just had a really tough winter. It was kind of a new thing for me. I was relatively new to the national team, so we were travelling a lot more than I was used to, and it was just difficult to kind of get accustomed to that with the travelling and different team dynamics and stuff, and I had a new coach as well. So there was a lot of variables that I was trying to work around that were just not really working for me. And then in competition, again, it was just like, you know, I was so close, I would be qualifying, but wouldn't make top 30, and you have to have top 30 to score points. So I think, and there were also some weather issues, too. Competitions cancelled, but never got rescheduled. And so that was like, oh, two less chances now. And at the time, women's ski jumping didn't have a lot of competitions. So really, I had like, you know, each competition that I didn't score points in was like less chance, less chance. And then by the end of it, I knew, oh, well, I basically have to get, you know, like, you know, two top 20s or a top 10. And that didn't happen. So I basically went from having a spot to not having a spot. So I was very close, but just missed it. So that was pretty hard thing to get through. But it kind of proved to me, like, why I'm doing the sport and why I was in it for so long.
BEN WATERWORTH: Because sometimes these challenges that help you as an athlete, isn't it, in a weird way, and the fact that, of course, you're disappointed that you don't reach the Olympics, but that then lights a bit of a fire, and you no doubt that you can use every single day between 2018 and today, when you're once again so close to a potential debut Olympic experience.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, for sure. And I think, you know, it's... I kind of look back on it now, and I'm like, oh, boohoo, you were so sad you didn't make the Olympics. Because, like, you know, I get to experience this world and this life that so many people don't get to experience. So, in a way, it kind of humbled me and just made me grateful for the career that I've had.
BEN WATERWORTH: In terms of then the Olympics come about, are you sitting there cheering Taylor on, or are you kind of struggling a little bit, that you're sort of still in that phase where you're kind of like, oh, you know, I was so close, and unfortunately I'm not there?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, definitely a bit of both. Definitely still cheering her on. But yeah, I was also very bittersweet that I was at home watching it on my couch instead of being there. And you know, my family was at home on the couch with me instead of being there cheering me on. So definitely a little bit of both.
BEN WATERWORTH: So then do you take that opportunity to get straight back into it? You kind of work on those little things that no doubt didn't get you there? Or do you take a bit of time off back to the mental aspect where it's important to just have a bit of an R&R session every now and then, take some time off, go on a holiday, something along those lines, to then recuperate so that you can push towards the cycle that you're on now?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, so that was the time when I started to see a sports psychologist, just because, you know, from my perspective at the time, I felt like a complete failure, that everything was my fault, I'd let so many people down, so I met up with a sports psychologist just to kind of just work through everything that I was feeling, because I felt like I had lost an amount of passion for the sport, Well, I'm going to start with the first one, which is the one that I wrote. And I wrote this poem, which is called, I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a So, that's kind of what I was focusing on more, is just like working through how I was feeling. And then my whole perspective kind of changed from that point. And I didn't take a break, I still went, you know, right back into training. But I just wanted to ski jump kind of just for me, and just because I liked it, rather than, you know, going to fulfil, you know, someone else's goal for me, or just to be able to say, oh yeah, I went to the Olympics, like, I just wanted to do it because I wanted to do it, and I wanted to get better and prove that I was good enough, basically.
BEN WATERWORTH: So right now, obviously, again, as I said at the top of this, the day of recording this, it's 100 days to Beijing. Obviously, by the time people are listening and watching this, it will be a little bit closer. But where are you at now? Because I believe Canada's got an extra quota right now as they did for Pyeongchang. So obviously, I would assume that means your chances are slightly increased because there's two slots available. But how are you tracking right now on that potential to qualify for Beijing?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: So right now, I'm taking a bit of a break from the sport, and I haven't really considered coming back for the winter either. The break's been really beneficial for me to just focus on other things. And I think even if I were to come back for the winter, I don't know if Beijing would be a super realistic goal for me. But I don't know, yeah, it's a little bit bittersweet. I look back, I'm like, oh, I wish that we had this chance back in 2018, and there's so many more competitions now, which is amazing. It's so many more opportunities. And also just different coaching and travel experiences that are happening now that would have been beneficial. But yeah, I think for me right now, I'm kind of just exploring different things. And I'm liking doing that.
BEN WATERWORTH: So is there a reason behind that? Sort of like, sort of why you sort of have taken that mindset? Or is it kind of just a combination of factors that you just think to yourself that maybe this isn't the time right now to pursue this?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: I think it's a combination of things. I think that honestly, I was trying to refuel my passion for the sport over the past couple of years. And at the end of every season, I kind of still felt the same. I felt like, oh, this isn't really something that I'm loving as much anymore. And, you know, I think a part of that is just all of the pressures that you have as an athlete to, you know, always be on top of your game. And the pressures of, you know, maintaining perfection all the time was really starting to weigh on me. And I just didn't want to get to a point where I hated the sport or hated any fun in it. And I just didn't feel like it was worth it to keep pushing it, if that was a possibility. So I'm glad that I can, you know, look back on the sport now, and I don't have any animosity towards it or anyone. And I don't want to get to a point where I do.
BEN WATERWORTH: So it's sounding like as much as it might be the end for you, there's still that potential that a Beijing could slightly be a possibility. But do you think this is something that if maybe it's not Beijing, that you might all of a sudden in a year's time go, well, hey, I love this sport, still, I want to give it another go. The Olympics is an unfulfilled ambition that you will push then towards Milan Cortina as something that could be a potential in the future.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, I mean, never say never. Yeah, I don't want to say anything too official because I don't know how I'll be feeling in a couple months, in a year or whatever. And I know that if I ever did want to come back, that I have that support system with my club and with coaches and teammates and stuff that I would be welcomed back in, which is really nice to know.
BEN WATERWORTH: Because also that challenging aspect, I remember earlier this year, we talked to Nathaniel Ma, Nordic Combined Skier, and he was sort of talking a little bit about the challenges that come from that sport in terms of funding and support. Because I guess, as I've said a few times on this show now, as an Australian, we think any winter sport in Canada must be completely well funded because you guys are so good at it. But obviously, it's not the case for certain sports. And I believe ski jumping is one of those. So I mean, a big challenging aspect, I can imagine for yourself and your teammates, is that funding and everything along those lines. For a sport that Canada has never won a medal in at the Olympics, it also adds challenges. So I mean, how challenging is that aspect? Because I'm sure there's fundraising aspects and things you've got to try and get sponsors and everything, which if you're a hockey player, you're not struggling to get, are you? So that obviously adds a bit of a challenge to it.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, it's definitely a challenge. It's kind of like this weird circle where you need to have good results to get sponsorships, but to get sponsorships, you have to have good results, and it just goes round and round. So yeah, it's definitely something that's challenging within the sport. And my whole career, we're always trying to find the best deals, the cheapest flights, the cheapest accommodations. And I'm really lucky that I have had some financial support in terms of sponsors and cardings and things like that, that's really enabled me to pursue ski jumping for as long as I did. But that is a thought. Coming back into it is, okay, how am I going to fund this?
BEN WATERWORTH: Which I have to say, just on things when you're searching for cheap accommodation and things like that, I did discover a little video blog that you had, a part of, in which you and a couple of your teammates were going through a very unique, it was an apartment, I think, in Slovenia, with a sink that your hands were bigger than. I mean, those sort of moments there. I mean, what happened to the vlogs? I like these vlogs. I was disappointed I could only find one.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Oh, I know. Yes, we made some vlogs, me and my team, I guess was that a couple of winters ago now. And I'm so glad that we did that because I will look back on those in a couple of years probably and just realise that these are some of the best moments of my life. Yeah, those were fun times. My teammate Abby, she still makes vlogs now. But yeah, we stayed in some nice places in Slovenia with Tiny Sinks.
BEN WATERWORTH: I was intrigued at the fact that there was granola being kept in the fridge, which I thought was interesting. I think one of your teammates was their birthday, and I think they got pepper bought for them, which I thought, okay, interesting birthday present. And then every time one of you would swear, it kind of came to me like, I'm sick of putting in the bleeps, stop swearing.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, I don't know what it is. We just can't stop dropping f-bombs when we're together.
BEN WATERWORTH: You're Australian. You must be Australian deep down. Yeah, crikey. Look at that. It fits in very well. I mean, when I travel, I like to make vlogs and kind of I call them documentaries. They're not really documentaries. It's me with a camera in my face making a silly film that nobody watches. But there is something fun about when you do things like that, because as you were saying, it's sort of it's a memory thing. You can take photos. You can buy a couple of snow globes or something like that. But when you've got those videos and you can kind of put yourself back in that place, it's kind of it's a nice little memory to have.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Definitely. Yeah, I wish that we'd done it sooner. I wish we made more because they're they're so fun. Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which goes back to that Superman aspect, if you get in the sport, you can be humming and doing that, put a GoPro on and goes viral. Get the funding for ski jumping. There you go. That's how it works.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: You're right. I just need to become like Tik Tok famous or something that can fuel my career.
BEN WATERWORTH: Are there any Tik Tok famous ski jumpers out there?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Uh, not that I know of.
BEN WATERWORTH: See, there you go. You can be the first. That's where the market is, right? Like, I mean, I still don't know what Tik Tok is, but hey, I would download it if there's some cool ski jumpers on there. We'll we'll push for it. So if this is it for you in the sport, we'll just put the word if on there. What are what are the plans now for you moving forward? Kind of what's next for Natasha?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Good question.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, I mean, I'm being asked that question.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: I mean, it's interesting because throughout my athletic career, I was always thinking like so far into the future, like basically four years, you know, every Olympics is every four years. So that's kind of how I thought was in terms of like quads. And so I feel kind of a sense of like freedom now to just be like, oh, I can just be, I can just focus on right now. So I'm in university and working towards my degree. I'm, you know, looking for some other opportunities and jobs. And there's still lots of things that I want to stay involved with because sport has fuelled passions within me in terms of, you know, gender equality in sport and working with different organisations who advocate for things like that. And I, of course, want to, you know, always be involved with my home club to some capacity. So, you know, I'll never not be involved with ski jumping or the sporting world, I wouldn't say. But yeah, kind of right now, I'm just going with the flow. I'm just letting it be.
BEN WATERWORTH: What are you studying at university?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: I'm studying communications and media studies.
BEN WATERWORTH: Good. I like that. Yes, as somebody who may or may not have done that, it kind of works. I mean, have you thought about podcasting? Have you kind of thought about broadcast kind of things like this?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: I have. I have. I thought about making. I really like books and reading. So over the summer, I thought about making a bookish podcast, but I'm not very good with technology, and it seemed like more of a full time hustle than a side hustle. So I never got to it.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's the stuff. Once you learn, it's second nature, because trust me, as somebody who hosts six podcasts in total, it's addicting. And particularly when you've got things you like to talk about, it's fun. So I'm just saying once you open that door, you'll look back at this moment and go, okay, I wish I had have done this probably before ski jumping. Maybe not. I've never ski jumped. Yeah, exactly. And particularly with the book side of things, gosh, I talk stupid amounts of hours about movies and TV shows. I don't think I've ever read a book in my life, let's be honest. But if you have, then that's great. People need to hear about that. So ski jumping to book podcasts, you might be the first. Again, there's an untapped market in there for you.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Exactly.
BEN WATERWORTH: Just keep pushing towards these untapped markets with that sort of thing. I have to ask, we'll get to some questions we like to ask our guests just in terms of a fun little get to know you side of things. But Ali let me down on this one when I asked her this question. I'm going to try this one to you. You're in Calgary. Who do you support in the NHL?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Oh, gosh, I feel like there's a right answer and a wrong answer.
BEN WATERWORTH: There definitely is a right answer.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: I got to say, I'm from Calgary. I support the Flames.
BEN WATERWORTH: Come on, I'm pulling this out. I can pull it out now. I was nearly going to wear it, I thought. But I thought, you know, like just in case of one time, I assume that as a Calgary person, you go for that. Yeah, exactly. I've gone full length with everything. But yeah, our other co-hosts, and one of our co-hosts in the show, Colin, he lives in Winnipeg, but he goes for the Leafs. And I feel like I constantly get outnumbered by Leafs supporters on the show. Ali was one of them. So I was just like, you know, we're going to balance this out somewhere, right? Yeah, as long as you're not an Oilers fan, that's kind of the main part with that. But as I said, we wrap up our chats with a series of questions. As always, these are based on a Team Canada questionnaire that they gave their athletes ahead of both Pyeongchang and Rio. And it's just some random goodness to learn some random stuff about you. There's a drawing aspect. You don't have to draw. It's not compulsory, but there's some homework if you really want to do that. I'm looking here on this one. You can draw a picture of yourself. There's draw a picture of a teammate and draw a picture of a favourite animal. So, I mean, if you're really feeling inclined to, but I'm not much of an artist in that way. That's completely fine. We've had two people do it. And they're fun. But anyway, we'll get first question. Your favourite ever Olympic moment is?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Um, whatever. Probably in 2010, Alexander Bilodeau, mogul skier, he won gold. And when he won his brother, he had a really nice celebration with his brother, and he like carried him over the barriers. And it was just super sweet. And just like, you know, tears to the eyes.
BEN WATERWORTH: Am I not mistaken, that was the first home gold for Canada? Was that the first of the Vancouver Olympics?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: You know, I think it probably was. I think it was.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. And you beat, I just say, the great Dale Begg Smith, Australian mogul ski, won gold and turin and silver in Vancouver. I mean, he's a Canadian. He just came to Australia to compete for us. But, you know, remember that. Colin, big moguls fan. So he would be very happy that you answered that one. So there you go. If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Probably teleportation. Even though I'm not, you know, travelling right now, it would be so useful to just teleport to Slovenia and back with the snap of a finger would be really nice.
BEN WATERWORTH: Casual Tuesday, Slovenia. Why not go and go to that one? Which is actually interesting. I love sort of this one when people answer flying, but I mean, you already fly, so you don't need that superpower, right?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, it'd probably be like a violation. I wouldn't be allowed to compete.
BEN WATERWORTH: Ali told us about chicken-wibing a violation. I can't imagine that flying literally would not work that way. Your favourite sports movie is?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Does She's The Man count?
BEN WATERWORTH: That works.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Love that one. I like that.
BEN WATERWORTH: This is the first time I've actually been able to ask this question to a ski jumper, and you didn't just go with the cliché Eddie the Eagle. I mean, you know, let's...
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: I haven't seen it.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's good. I mean, have you seen Cool Runnings?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Like ages ago.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's basically Cool Runnings or ski jumping. That's how I describe Eddie the Eagle. It's basically the same movie.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: I find a great, great joy in my heart that Hugh Jackman knows what ski jumping is. So, I'll take that.
BEN WATERWORTH: I will say, though, Hugh Jackman with an American accent still weeds me out, but, you know, I mean, Hugh Jackman didn't anything. I mean, he could read the phone book, and I would be watching it, you know? It's just, yeah. As you can tell, all Australians are like Hugh Jackman. It's just natural, basically. Your funniest childhood memory is?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Funniest childhood memory? Probably, I don't know. I have an older brother, so he and I are, you know, always been best buds, so we just have a lot of funny memories together, like building forts or, you know, visiting my grandparents and having, like, you know, water gun fights. Those are always good memories.
BEN WATERWORTH: Standard chart, I like that. Did you ever have a water fight in a fort? Like, did you kind of combine the two?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: No, we should have.
BEN WATERWORTH: You got time, say. You're never too old to do forts and water fights, I say. You know, that works. Your favourite pump up song is?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: See, probably either, what is it called? Unstoppable by Sia or anything by Beyonce, honestly.
BEN WATERWORTH: Of course. Queen Bee, come on. It's got to pump those up there. I like that. The most recent TV show that you binge watched is?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: What was it? I think I haven't watched anything in a long time. I think it was I rewatched Stranger Things season one a couple months ago to try and get myself into kind of a fall spooky mood. I have not watched Squid Game, which everybody probably answered with.
BEN WATERWORTH: I still have no idea what the hell Squid Game is. I don't even know. Is it real? Is it a drama? Like, what is it?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: I can tell you.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. Okay. But strangely, I will admit, I've never watched Stranger Things, but it's on the list. Oh, you should. Yeah. I've never seen Game of Thrones, so I'm that weird person that just...
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Oh, I haven't either. Hey, look at us. There we go. Not the only one.
BEN WATERWORTH: Great. There is a little club out there. Fantastic. Your least favourite foods are?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Anything sweet. I don't know why, but I just... I've never liked anything sweet. I don't like the taste, and it makes me feel kind of sick. So that's been kind of good as a ski jumper. Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: So is there a threshold? Like you said, kind of what's the sweetest you would go? Like, I don't know if you can sort of look at a type of candy or something along those lines and go, okay, nothing sweeter than that.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Like, I could have like tastes of things, like little bites. And like I try to, because, you know, the downside of it is that I don't, I can't eat fruit. So I try to like incorporate fruit. Like if I mix blueberries into like, you know, oatmeal or something like that, then like it kind of masks the flavour. But like, I really can't do anything sweet that's in a drink form, like pop or juice, like absolutely can't do that.
BEN WATERWORTH: Interesting. You do well on keto then basically. No, nothing sweet. You would just be, you know, you'd be enjoying all those flavours.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, I guess so.
BEN WATERWORTH: Kind of works that way. Your favourite, I mean, chips aren't really sweet, I guess, but your favourite chip flavour is?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Oh, I am a chip fiend. I'm a chip connoisseur.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow, said with such passion.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Literally, like, the hard bite sponsor me. I like the original classic. I like a good class, original ripple or kettle cooked or sour cream and onion.
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, yeah, sour cream and onion. Good choice. Love those flavours. If you weren't an athlete, I mean, you sort of maybe answered this, but again, you also said you're still working towards that. I mean, if you weren't an athlete, what would you be?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Well, when I was in kind of middle school and in high school, I really liked theatre and I was involved in like school plays a lot. So I really liked that. So I feel like if I had never pursued ski jumping or if I, you know, quit when I was young or something, I probably would have liked to pursue something in the arts, something like theatre industry, acting, musical theatre, stuff like that.
BEN WATERWORTH: That would have been fun. You mentioned musical theatre. Because I always found it interesting. I did a lot of drama growing up, but then I sort of got out of it because I couldn't sing. And I'm like, oh, this is a revolved around musical theatre. So I think I'm just going to, you know, take a step back. But is that an aspect that if you were to do it, that you enjoy the kind of the musical side of things? Or is it sort of a balance of maybe the non musical side of acting?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: I like a balance for sure. I actually also I work with a princess party company, so we dress up as princesses, and then we do sing and perform for children. So that's fun to do.
BEN WATERWORTH: Anytime you get to dress up as a princess, I mean, come on, that's the perfect job. Baga ski jumping, just do that as a career.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Right, yeah, my self esteem just goes through the roof. But yeah, I like a mix of both, but it's fun to like sing as a character.
BEN WATERWORTH: Fantastic. I mean, screw what I said about Superman before. Dress up as a princess in ski jump. There's your TikTok viral video right there.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yes.
BEN WATERWORTH: You know, super princess kind of flying through. I like that. And sing at the same time. Combining all these aspects for it. Your favourite vacation spot is?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Probably somewhere where I can just relax on the beach. You know, I've never been to Australia. I would love to have vacation in Australia. That would be nice. Yeah, somewhere just warm and relaxing.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, definitely Australia would be handy for that. And particularly, because I always like to say to our Canadian guests, we have real beaches. None of these gravel that you basically seem to have. When I live there, I'm like, people are like, oh, let's go to the beach. Okay, great. And you go, this isn't a beach. What is this? Like, come on. You want to see a beach? Come to Australia. But, you know, you try. Lake culture in Canada is great, though. Can I just say I'd never done the whole lake sort of thing, but that was fun. I enjoy a good lake swim.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Very refreshing.
BEN WATERWORTH: Very refreshing. People usually describe you as?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Probably, hopefully, kind. Try to be kind to everyone. Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's a good thing. I would assume that would be something that everybody would strive to achieve, to be described as. So, if not, then I'd like to hear why. Maybe that would be a unique thing. And yeah, run out of questions here. Usually they have more, but this is all the drawing aspects. I've put them right at the end here. I've used Natalie Spooner's answers, questionnaire here. I'm just seeing her drawing of an animal. She's drawn a giraffe. It's a pretty good giraffe, if I don't say so myself. And drawing a picture of yourself, she's drawn a spoon and then added, uh, at the end of it. So, um, clever. I see what she's done there. Just before we let you go, if people want to sort of stay up to date with yourself, in terms of if you pursue ski jumping further or anything, the podcast, when you get that off the ground, can people follow you on social media or anything else you'd like to plug today?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Yeah, sure. A little bit of clout. Yeah, my Instagram is Natasha underscore Bodnarchuk. I also have Twitter. I'm not on there a lot, but my Twitter is nc underscore Bodnarchuk.
BEN WATERWORTH: Perfect. And TikTok coming soon, right?
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: TikTok coming soon.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's just a goal to get everybody on TikTok, apparently. When everybody gets on it, then maybe I'll start it. Okay, well, literally, eight billion people on the planet are on it. I'm that one person who's not. Probably should start it, so we'll see how we go. Natasha, it's been a lot of fun chatting with you today, learning about your career in the sport and the sport in general. And we're a positive show. We're saying that if we don't see you in Beijing, we'll see you in Milan, we'll see you in 2030. And if not, you want to come to Australia, find a summer sport, 2032, Brisbane, come along. I don't really need to invite you because I'm not the Prime Minister or anything. But as an Australian, you are welcome here in 2032, because apparently you weren't before. I have no idea where I'm going with this conclusion. Thanks for joining us on the show today, Natasha.
NATASHA BODNARCHUK: Thanks for having me. I had a lot of fun.
BEN WATERWORTH: And a massive, massive thanks there to Natasha for her time. We might have ourselves a rival in the podcasting game there, and I'd listen to that. As I said, don't really read a lot of books, but perhaps I'll start listening to read or read to listen. One of those ways of going about it. So big thanks to Natasha again for her time. Plenty still to come. We've got more ski jumpers coming your way in the lead up to Beijing. We've got some Nordic combined athletes too. I'm excited for that. So plenty to keep you entertained between now and the Olympics. Of course, as you heard in that interview, I mentioned that we actually recorded that on 100 days to go before Beijing. So obviously we recorded that quite some time ago because we are now in the final stretch before we get to the Olympics. But that only means that you've just got some more great episodes coming your way and Off The Podium, obviously daily episodes basically from now right through to the closing ceremony. So get pumped for that. And in the meantime, if you want to get pumped for that, never miss one of these episodes. Subscribe to us on all the podcast platforms that you can find. Let's do it on all of them. You can never listen to these episodes enough. Search Off The Podium, hit subscribe, leave some feedback. We'd love to hear what you think of the show. And of course, social media. Search Off The Podium on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and never miss what we are up to on this show. Big thanks again to Natasha. Big thanks to everybody for tuning in. My name is Ben. Shout out to Jason Momoa. And as always, go left.
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