Beyond Ski Racing: Mackenzie Blizzard’s Inspiring Journey of Perseverance and Giving

Featured image: Mackenzie Blizzard at the World Cup Dreams Foundation event. Credit: The World Cup Dreams Foundation

Mackenzie “Kenzie” Blizzard, a remarkable U16 athlete, has overcome extraordinary challenges, pouring her heart and soul into ski racing, academics, helping others, and everything she commits to. 

At just six years old, her life changed completely when she learned that she was dealing with the challenges of inoperable brain tumors and a mitochondrial disease. 

However, she did not let these challenges get in the way of being a competitive athlete. 

Kenzie stated, “My parents have always told me it’s not a disability; it’s just a challenge I need to overcome, so it just makes me push myself harder so that I can be competitive against my peers.”

Skiing for Proctor Academy, she has continued to progress her skills on and off the slopes. She focuses hard on her studies and has somehow found spare time to become a successful non-profit entrepreneur, releasing a brand called Attack from the Back.

At the last event for The World Cup Dreams Foundation, they recognized her for her considerable donation to helping other athletes remain in the sport of ski racing, and she aims to conquer even more in the future. This story is nothing short of inspiring.

When Kenzie’s World Shifted

At a very young age, Kenzie was captivated by water and swiftly dove into the world of competitive swimming. Her competitive spirit shined as she raced between the lanes, telling everyone she was going to be the next Michael Phelps. 

Unfortunately, during one of the swim meets, she seemed to have a stroke in the pool and paramedics rushed her to the emergency room. This hospital visit would alter her life going forward. 

From that point, she had to endure months of intermittent paralysis, pain, numbness, weakness, and numerous medical appointments until the doctors were able to fully diagnose her. 

Kenzie is constantly pushing through the hardships of 24/7 muscle soreness and migraines, which makes daily life more difficult for the student-athlete.

“It definitely makes things a lot more difficult for me.” She continued, “But none of these things hinder my athletic performance; I just have to challenge myself to overcome them.”

Introduced to the Slopes and the Exhilaration of Racing

Through Kenzie’s first few years of treatment, she was unable to engage in physical activity. However, her parents would take her to Mount Snow, Vermont, where she could enjoy the liveliness of the resort. 

When she could resume physical activity with restrictions, she felt thrilled! She was able to ride her bike, play soccer and basketball, and participate in the school gym class. 

Later, her family decided to move for a whole ski season to Mount Snow, which is where Kenzie’s love for skiing ignited. She skied more and enrolled in ski lessons three days a week.

Kenzie received coaching from the retired World Cup alpine racer, Sally White, throughout her lessons. This accelerated her progress in and out of the gates. 

Sally recognized Kenzie’s natural athleticism and ability to ski, so she encouraged her and her parents to advance her into a program for alpine ski racing. 

Kenzie stated, “She thought I had potential, and she saw how quickly I was picking up on it.” 

She continued, “She convinced them [parents] to let me do it, and she’s the one who called Diann Roffe up at Burke Academy to help me get in. She basically started my entire skiing career so far.”

Advancing into an Academy as a Student-Athlete

After Kenzie’s lessons at Mount Snow, she joined the Mount Snow Academy, coached by Brian Wyckoff, for the last month of her U12 season. She was able to compete with that team for the last U12 GS race at Stratton Mountain and finished 10th. 

Then she went on to compete for Burke Mountain Academy (BMA) in 7th and 8th grade. Her first U14 race made it clear that she had some catching up to do in terms of speed, as many of her competitors had more racing experience.

Additional hard work didn’t concern her though; she leaned further into it. She finished her last race of that season with a second-place finish at the U14 Eastern Finals. 

After her 8th grade year, she transitioned to Proctor Ski Academy. 

Kenzie stated, “I really love Proctor. It’s been a perfect fit for me. The school itself is so much more than just skiing. I really care about my academics, and the academics are very rigorous.” 

She continued, “The people around me and the teachers, they’re so supportive and uplifting in everything that I do, especially with missing different things in school for skiing and my business.”

Kenzie has really started to enjoy super-G and giant slalom. 

She stated, “I really like skiing GS and hitting the gates, but also I really like going 70 miles an hour down the mountain. That is an unmatched feeling.”

Artistic Business Entrepreneur 

Two seasons ago, unfortunately, Kenzie broke her leg on the slope, which ended her season early. However, she utilized her time by turning to art and starting her own non-profit brand, Attack From The Back. 

Kenzie finds comfort in her other hobbies when she’s not feeling well or when she was dealing with this injury: “I always go to art because that’s my second thing; art and music are two things I really enjoy other than athletics.”

She made the decision to fully launch the brand when she joined a charitable organization called Education Rocks. 

Education Rocks is a U.S.-based non-profit organization that helps pay for kids in underdeveloped countries to go through school: “I only had to raise $400 for that, which I wound up raising way quicker than I thought I would the minute the brand got off the ground.”

“I didn’t want to stop at $400,” she stated.

She began to seek out another organization to which she could donate her profits, ultimately choosing the World Cup Dreams Foundation.

Giving 100% of her Profits to Helping Others 

Kenzie dedicates all the earnings from her brand to support others. She has dedicated funds to the Education Rocks and World Cup Dreams Foundation. 

She explained her initial reasoning for donating to the World Cup Dreams Foundation: “I think the World Cup Dreams Foundation is an incredible organization, and I really like their cause. We all know ski racing is ridiculously expensive, and it disheartens me that there are people who have to stop ski racing because of financial barriers.”

She then explained why she decided to donate to Education Rocks: “I’ve learned a lot about it because the lady who runs it, her son, is an alumni, so I learned about it through Proctor.”

“You get to talk with the kid that you are donating to, create a relationship with them. We have Zoom meetings with our team where we develop relationships with all the other people around the U.S. who are doing the same program,” she continued.

Honored at The World Cup Dreams Foundation Event

To Kenzie’s surprise, the World Cup Dreams Foundation recognized The Attack From the Back at their 2024 event in New York City.

“I didn’t know they were going to honor me, and my parents kept it a surprise,” Kenzie explained. 

Kenzie recounted several memorable moments at the event, including receiving recognition from her first academy coach, Brian Wyckoff, in front of the audience, receiving a custom helmet from Nina O’Brien, connecting with numerous individuals who share her passion for ski racing, touring the Vanderbilt building, and experiencing an overnight stay in the heart of New York City for the first time.

Looking into the future, Kenzie aims to only progress her non-profit further to raise more money for the different organizations she cares deeply about. 

“I just want it to become a name that’s known worldwide that brings inspiration to people and inspires them to keep going and to keep pushing through. I want to get to a point where I’m raising a hundred thousand dollars a year to donate to World Cup Dreams.”

Her upcoming step towards achieving her ambitious goals is to launch a ski shop in New London, New Hampshire. She plans to have the grand opening on November 1st!