Ski coaching pioneer Karin Harjo's advice to young women: "Don't be afraid and follow your heart"
Canada's Norwegian head coach is the only woman currently fulfilling that role in alpine skiing's World Cup. She shares how her passion for the sport helped her break barriers.
Alpine Skiing
Karin Harjo was never a professional alpine skier and seemed destined for a career in science either as an academic or a doctor.
But her love of the sport saw her end up as a trailblazer for women in ski coaching.
She recalls, "I've been skiing since basically I was born. You know, my parents were both Norwegians. It was just something that I always did with my family."
Since March 2022, Harjo has been head coach of the Canadian women’s team making her the only woman to occupy the role in alpine skiing's elite World Cup.
The only previous female head coach in history was two-time Olympic champion Marie-Theres Nadig who led the Swiss women in 2004.
“It was never a goal that I set out for, but it was never something I thought was impossible,” she says.
“The way my philosophy was, I just focused on being the best that I could be where I was and whatever that was. And with that philosophy, you're really happy with what you're doing. And when you're the best at what you do, then usually other doors open up.”
“I love skiing and, quite frankly, being able to share something that you're so passionate about with somebody else and helping them improve, that never gets old. It really doesn't. And it's why you get up every single day.” - Karin Harjo
Karin Harjo: Choosing skiing over a "very good" job in research lab
Harjo was born in Tokyo and grew up in a multicultural environment: “We moved around quite a bit because my parents were missionaries,” she said.
"They worked for a Norwegian mission out of Oslo in Japan. So they actually worked for that mission for 25 years. When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time living between countries, between Norway and Japan. I think that experience itself just led to, you know, being exposed to all sorts of fun places, to go skiing and have fun.”
She then moved to study in the USA, first at a boarding school in Minnesota and then at the University of Washington in Seattle.
At college, she took molecular biology and started to work in a research lab. On weekends, she taught skiing to be able to continue enjoying the sport.
"I wanted to go into the medical field, whether it was research or being an actual doctor. I hadn't quite decided. But I kept going back and spending every weekend on the mountain and going, 'Oh my goodness, I love this!'" she admits.
Just before graduation, Harjo was offered a full-time job with the university laboratory. After a conversation with a mentor, she understood that being a full-time ski instructor was what she really wanted and quit the job at the laboratory.
“I told everybody what I was going to do and they thought I was nuts,” she remembers with a smile.
"They thought I had fallen off the deep end, you know, leaving a really good job, leaving a very good potential profession, to go and live out of my car and teach skiing in the winter. And I've never regretted that choice."
Karin Harjo: What I learned from Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin
Since making that life-changing decision, Harjo dedicated herself to her coaching career.
She went through every ski instructor certification in the United States and took every possible coaching course to help her gain more knowledge.
"It was just something that I was obsessed about. I loved learning and in growing that way, a lot of times I joke and say, 'I got a master's in skiing,' after graduating from university," she says.
Now she has spent over 20 years in the business and coached at all levels, from teaching children and senior citizens to working with the best U.S. speed and tech skiers such as Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin.
“I learned more from both of them than I ever taught them. I can tell you that,” she confessed. “Just watching how they operate, how they go about daily business every single day, the commitment, the focus on the details... and that's the thing that always struck me, that every little detail matters and the consistency in those details."
In 2016, at the Flachau slalom, she became one of very few women to set a World Cup course, and her rise was recognised in March last year when she was named head coach of the Women's Canadian Alpine Ski team.
In this, her first season, Horji has already achieved success with Valerie Grenier becoming the first Canadian woman to win a World Cup giant slalom for 49 years.
On making the move to Canada, she explained, "I love challenge and I love new opportunities. And so with every new position that I've taken, I've taken it for two reasons. One, the challenge that it can offer, but also the people that you get to work with. And that's really what matters. It's never been about the title."
Karin Harjo: How grassroots initiative can help increase women’s participation in elite coaching
Female coaches in high-level sport remain rare. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games just 13 per cent of the coaches were women compared to 11 per cent at Rio 2016.
The numbers in alpine skiing are similar with Harjo just one of a handful of coaches on the World Cup circuit. Another notable exception is Eileen Shiffrin who is part of her daughter's team.
As to why numbers remain low, Harjo replies, "I don't know. I wish I had a really good answer for that question, but I don't.
"If you do look around, there's plenty of women coaching at junior levels all the way through, at least in ski racing."
And she hopes her example can encourage other young women to reach the highest levels in coaching.
She said, "Maybe the message that anybody needs to hear is like, 'If you want to do this, then go and do it. Seek it out and find it. And then you can do that.' And that's what I love telling anybody that's trying to work their way into the highest level of the sport. You can get the education... seek it out, learn, figure out how to be your best and be hungry for that. And just like anything, the better you are, the more doors will open."
"Step out and try and anything's possible. If you want to do this at the highest level you can. Don't be afraid and follow your heart." - Karin Harjo
The International Olympic Committee has funded a four-year Women in Sport High-performance (WISH) pathway programme to equip around 100 women to coach at elite levels.
"I think the WISH programme is a great example of providing opportunities for women to network, to meet and grow,” Harjo commented.
"Programmes like WISH are incredible because they provide an avenue for women to take a step forward and start. And that's often the hardest thing to find and do.
"Beyond that, I think the IOC and other organisations like FIS with a lot of the initiatives that they have, they are starting to bring more and more awareness into more gender equity and inclusion for diversity.
"I would say the best way is just to look for the best-qualified people and not close your eyes to somebody because of race, gender or orientation. But look at the best qualified people. And I think that will raise the bar of everybody.”
Karin Harjo: The art and science of coaching
Harjo, whose husband Randy Pelkey is also a ski coach, admits she feels "blessed" growing up in two cultures - Norwegian and North American - which support women in sport and in any endeavour: “I never had this thought in mind that I couldn’t because I was a girl,” she said.
She also believes that as a woman, she doesn’t necessarily bring anything different to her profession: “I think coaching is about who you are as a person and is something that transcends all genders and race.
"It's about human connection and what you bring every single day as a human being to help somebody else is the difference maker. Because at the end of the day, as a coach, that's what we're here to do. We're here to help people be better.
“And it's a huge responsibility. It's something that you can't ever take for granted or take lightly because the words that you speak into somebody's life are very impactful for good and bad. And so I think having that awareness and those kind of skills are unique to each individual. But I don't think it means that you have to be male or female to possess the qualities that make you successful."
The desire to help people improve and passion for the sport are ultimately what have driven her to excel:
"The art and science of coaching is my favourite part about it because there's so much technical side and study and analysis that you can do to find the hundredths to get the edge. But then the art side is really amazing. That's what sets it apart because you're dealing with a human being, not a machine.
"It's not like you can just program somebody to do something and they'll do it. You're dealing with a human being and you need to somehow help them learn and change and formulate and become their best. And that takes all sorts of, I guess, skills."