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The Men's Varsity Team took the top spot at the USCSA Western Regional Championships last week in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, with the resurrected Women's Team also qualifying for the National Championships for the first time in five years.
The Ski-Birds success was not without adversity. After two days of race training under sunny skies, Saturday's Giant Slalom event was held in blizzard conditions. Kim Webber started the team off well placing ninth, but the questionable disqualification of second seed racer Joanna Rosenfeld left the Women's team in sixth place, one spot out of qualification for the Nationals. The Men's team had a better day with Trevor Bruce taking the silver and leading the team to the top spot in the team standings. Alexander Boedtker and Brian Hikisch had career-best results placing sixth and ninth respectively, while Graham McLorie rounded out the Men's season-best performance with a solid finish.
On Sunday, the UBC Women had their backs up against the wall with their season hanging in the balance. Team Captain Stephanie Rodenkirchen seized the opportunity to lead her team back, placing .02 of a second off the podium in 4th. With another solid top-ten finish from Kim Webber and solid performances from both Joanna Rosenfeld and Kait Jones, the Women completed their comeback, placing fourth and earning a ticket to the Nationals in California.
With the Women safely through, the UBC Men made Sunday a day to remember. The day started off well with Paul Boskovich, Alexander Boedtker and Trevor Bruce all sitting in the top six after the first run. But when Giant Slalom hero Brian Hikisch crashed in the first run, the remaining guys knew that a second run disqualification would mean the end of UBC's season, as three team members are required to finish the race. In the end the Killer B's