Revelstoke Mountain Resort and the Revelstoke Ski Club were excited to host their first Teck U14 Provincial Championships, welcoming 19 clubs from around the province to Revelstoke. There was a great showing from visiting clubs, with 226 athletes from Apex, Big White, Cypress, Fernie, Golden, Grouse, Kimberley, Lightning Creek, Mt. Seymour, Mt. Washington, Prince George, Red Mountain, Sasquatch, Smithers, Sun Peaks, Vernon, Whistler and Whitewater.
For this spring race, the athletes felt like they were back in winter with the cold weather arriving Friday, then Saturday and Sunday bringing about 8cms of fresh snow each day. The snow made for some challenging conditions at times, but everyone worked together to ensure the race was safe and fair.
Clubs started to arrive for training and free skiing on Thursday. The event kicked off on Friday with a two-run combined GS over two days (due to the large numbers of competitors). We wrapped up Saturday with a banquet at the Community Centre for all athletes and coaches where there was a presentation from Greg Hill who successfully skied over 2 million vertical feet in one year. A photo booth contest provided lots of fun pictures of the athletes – check out #TeckU14ProvincialsRevy on Instagram to see some of the photos. It was nice for all the kids to get together off the hill, sporting their BC Alpine/Teck “Send It” shirts provided by BC Alpine.
Sunday we were back on the slopes with our second discipline: the slalom race. It was a beautifully run race! The officials were able to run the races at 20-second intervals to get all racers through. Thank you to coaches, athletes, and volunteers for all working together for a super-smooth tear-down effort!
A highlight of the weekend was our announcer Mark Hatton from Mt. Seymour. A former luger and two-time Winter Olympian, Mark pumped up the energy by announcing at the race, the banquet and the awards. Also assisting at the final day’s awards was Benjamin Alexander, the first alpine skier to represent Jamaica at the Olympics, in Beijing 2022.
Top-3 finishers in GS:
- U14 girls: Elena Deda (Whistler) Morgan Ring (Sun Peaks), Valerie Chan (Grouse)
- U14 boys: Luka Buchheister (Whistler), Bodie Ottem (Sun Peaks), Berry Crew (Fernie)
Top-3 finishers in slalom:
- U14 Girls: Elena Deda (Whistler), Maggie Cormack (Whistler), Kinsay Boudreau (Lightning Creek)
- U14 Boys: Nathaniel Hung (Grouse), Dylan Mcdowell (Red Mt), Quin Clark (Whitewater)
“A huge thank you to Revelstoke Mountain Resort for hosting the event, all the visiting teams, coaches and parents for travelling to Revelstoke, BC Alpine for their hands-on support for this race and to all the hard-working volunteers who made it all possible!”
– U14 Provincials Race Organizing Committee
“We would also like to thank our local sponsors who provided lots of fun swag for us to send the athletes home with: Free Spirit Sports, Revy Outdoors, Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Eagle Pass, Skookum, Mica Heli Ski, Wax Bench and WorkWest Workwear, Integrated Apparel, Tantrum Bikes, Flowt Bikes, Valhalla Pure, Powder Rentals, Pulse Boots, Southside Market, Save On Foods, Pharmasave and the Revelstoke Accommodation Association. Your generosity and community involvement are always greatly appreciated.
Last, but not least, thank you to our Platinum Sponsors: Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Eagle Pass Heliski, Cabot, Regent Hotel, Cheers Liquor Store, Best Western, Stoke Hotel, The Keg Kelowna, Skookum Bike & Ski and Downie Timber. Thanks also to Tourism Revelstoke for supporting our banquet.”