Float like Abi: How Canada's Strate leans on beekeeping to master art of ski jumping

For two straight World Cups, Abi Strate has been missing the bee sticker on her right ski.

The Canadian also hasn't reached the podium in either event.

Yes, it is highly likely that correlation does not equal causation in this instance, and that Strate, the ski jumper from Calgary, is capable of winning a medal regardless of whether there is an image of a black-and-yellow bug attached to her equipment.

But there is at least one sting of strategy associated with her bee sticker.

"I have it on my right ski so I always know which ski to put on which foot without thinking about it too much, because you never want to put the wrong ski on the wrong foot," said Strate, who is a certified beekeeper.

Strate, 23, was part of the Canadian team that won bronze in a mixed event at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, securing the country's first-ever ski jumping medal.

She appears to only be rising from there. In a five-day stretch as 2023 turned into 2024, Strate collected three World Cup medals, then added one more later in January.

Now, as she approaches a similarly busy stretch of schedule, the ski jumper known as "The Bee" is aiming to recreate that success as a launching pad into February's world championships in Norway and the Milan-Cortina Olympics one year later.

"Whenever I'm waiting to jump, especially in a competition, and I catch a glimpse of [the bee sticker], it always makes me smile because it's just a little cartoon bee and it's so silly and I don't know, it brings everything else into perspective. Like, it's really not that deep. Sport should be fun," Strate said.

Strate called the beginning of her fascination with bees "super random."

Strate, a certified beekeeper, is shown at the Honey Meadows Farm in DeWinton, Alta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Beekeeping course

It all started when she and her dad, Rod, took a beekeeping course together — partially because Abi always thought bees were kind of cool, but also since she figured it would make her dad happy to spend time together.

And before they knew it, the Strates had a hive of their own.

"You don't really know what to expect because there's all these rules in beekeeping, but there's so many variables and you're kind of learning on the go," Strate said. "But it's been a really fun adventure and obviously the honey is a nice bonus from that."

Strate's ski-jumping season continues Saturday and Sunday with a pair of large-hill competitions in Engelberg, Switzerland.

In some ways, it is not all that different of an activity than ski jumping.

As renowned Team Canada ski jumping head coach Janko Zwitter explained, like beekeeping, there are plenty of variables to consider when launching yourself off a hill, too.

"You have to be very precise in executing all the technique. You have to be on the one side really straightforward, [and] on the other side really romantic because you fly through the air," Zwitter said.

"You can't force a rhythm of a jumping hill that it isn't yours, so you have to adapt to the rhythm of the jumping. You have to adapt to speed, you have to adapt to outside temperatures, to maybe tighter tracks than wider tracks, all that stuff. It's really, really sensitive."

Zwitter, who's coached Strate since taking over the Canadian ski-jumping program in 2021, said the bee motif fits the sport well.

"Bees are probably also following their instincts more than you would suppose, so there are lots of things who go hand in hand, and if you find something that brings you back to your roots, that brings you back in, too," Zwitter said.

Strate always thought bees were kind of cool. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Honey in form of medals

And, of course, if all the technique is executed properly, and the variables land in your favour, and the judges award you a good-enough score, then there is some honey — in the form of medals — waiting at the end of a ski-jumping competition as well.

But Zwitter and Strate both said their focus lies in the process.

"The people that I have, the friends that I've made and my coaches and my teammates, that is really what I think is valuable to myself. The trophies and the medals and everything, it's obviously awesome also and the money that comes with that is awesome, but I think there's a lot of a bigger picture to see," Strate said.

Zwitter lauded Strate's mindset.

"Her personal approach, her technical approach [and] her mental approach towards this sport is something you can't learn," he said.

The Canadian ski-jumping hive is mainly located in Slovenia during the winter season since there are no longer any training hills in Canada.

In the few years since the move, there have been immediate dividends. Besides the Olympic bronze medal, Strate's teammate Alexandria Loutitt won Canada's first-ever world championship gold medal in the sport two years ago.

"Our successes can be motivation for the few athletes that we do have. We don't have a large group, but we do have a group of kids, I think between the ages of 15 and 18 that have started coming to Europe and started competing internationally. And I think that them seeing us living this lifestyle and making it enjoyable, it can be really motivational to them," Strate said.

From left to right: Canada's Alexandria Loutitt celebrates with teammates Matthew Soukup, Strate and Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes after winning a bronze in the ski jumping mixed team event at the Beijing Winter Olympics on Feb. 7, 2022. (Matthias Schrader/The Associated Press)

Strate herself is a woman of many talents – in addition to ski jumping and beekeeping, she is also completing a degree in graphic design.

Strate has already earned contracts with FIS (the international skiing federation) to create posters for events while she was injured.

But especially as beekeeping during Canada's winters consists mainly of packing the bees up and praying they make it to warmer weather, Strate's main focus remains on ski jumping.

"The kind of stride I hit in the new year last year was the most euphoric thing. I've never hit a flow like that as an athlete where I almost didn't even process what was going on and I just was trying to keep doing what I was doing," Strate said.