Despite setbacks, Perotti says nationals a blast

NORTH CANAAN — As Ali Perotti headed for Colorado on April 4, with mom Laurie, brother Matthew and her ski coach, Chad Snyder, in tow, her school friends and lots of other people back here were rooting for her.

An earlier win at the Catskills Regional gave her this opportunity to compete in the USA Snowboarding Association Nationals at Copper Mountain. Local fundraising made it possible.

The 13-year-old North Canaan Elementary School eighth-grader has been skiing since she was 4. It wasn’t long ago that Matthew taught her to slope ski, which uses the same terrain park assortment of pipes and rails as snowboarding.

Ali was thrilled to be back on skis this season, after a year of dealing with a fractured growth plate in her foot. But the day after arriving at Copper Mountain, with her competition scheduled for the next day (Tuesday), she developed a bad migraine.

Her dad, Rob Perotti, said he was devastated to get a text message about it Monday night. He suspected lack of sleep and/or the high altitude may have been responsible.

“She gets devastating pain that has put her in the hospital,� Perotti said. “I was afraid she wasn’t going to be able to compete, which for Ali, would be worse than a bad headache.�

Determination is one of Ali’s strong suits, and while she finished a somewhat disappointing eighth, she still called it an amazing trip. She plans to work toward qualifying for next year.

“It was the most fun skiing I have ever had,� she said. “The snow there is completely different, all fresh powder.�

While the conditions were great, they are not what she is used to, adding difficulties to a performance that was already hampered by her efforts to get past the migraine.

“It snowed the night before, and the fresh powder is slower. My skis are not good in slow snow, so I definitely could have done better. But it was still the best time ever.�

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