‘We don’t need sticker to celebrate Sarah’

Before dropping into the Olympic halfpipe, Rosalind Groenewoud plans to bow her head and tap the right side of her helmet. Out of habit. Out of respect. Out of love.

“That’s where the Sarah sticker always is,” Groenewoud says, knocking on the right side of her head like a tree for good luck. “I’m sure I’ll end up doing that here when I’m competing.”

Like most of her teammates and many of her competitors from rival nations, Groenewoud has worn a “Celebrate Sarah” sticker on her helmet for two years in honour of the late Sarah Burke.

The International Olympic Committee banned the stickers for Sochi, saying “political statements” are forbidden during competition.

“For us, it’s not a surprise,” says coach Trennon Paynter. “It’s not a big deal. We don’t need a sticker to celebrate Sarah. Just being here and really carrying forward with what she started is an incredibly powerful thing. It’s really more than a piece of vinyl could ever bring.”

One of the chief advocates for ski halfpipe’s inclusion at the Olympics, Burke died on Jan. 29, 2012 after crashing and hitting her head on a routine training run in Utah.