Ski racing is alive and thriving in the West Kootenays! A large contingent of 150 ski racers between 8-14 years-old were treated to an impressive one-day event at Whitewater Ski Resort.
The resort provided FREE lift tickets to the racers and as well the Whitewater Ski Team waived the entry fee for all skiers from the West Kootenays clubs: Red Mountain, Salmo, Phoenix and Summit.
100 percent free event.
“Having no cost races is a long-held tradition with our club and we have maintained this free lift ticket tradition successfully through many changes in ski resort management over the years,” said Dylan Henderson, Whitewater Ski Team Program Director. “This year was another amazing celebration of ski racing,” he added.
The festival format featured 5 skill stations: Distance Jump, Speed Trap with big rollers, Skier Cross, Super G, Dual and Slalom. All participants receive a certificate with their jump distance, top speed, and time from the SG and as well awards were presented the fastest times for U12 and up for Super G and Dual Slalom. Every participant gets a ribbon according to their team placing.
In another interesting twist, there were club awards presented based on a formula of first to fifth based using times from top U8, U10 and U12 from each club. The coaches also had fun, taking their groups from station to station in an order of their choosing and repeating their favourite stations as many times as they chose.
This was the final event of a great four race series for Whitewater. Red Mountain held a Dual GS in January, Salmo a Super Combined Sl/SG, and Phoenix a Dual Slalom in February.
“Athletes and coaches commented on how much they love being able to move from station to station without having to wait in line at the start,” Henderson said. “Stations closed at 1pm and coaches were able to take their kids and explore the wild terrain of the Whitewater until the awards at 3:00. What a day!”
In the photo at the top is the Whitewater Ski Team “Yeti” doing some crowd surfing. This Yeti represents the Whitewater Ski Team team values: Respect, Community, Development, Grit and Fun.
Well done Whitewater!