Whistler Mountain Ski Club hosts Teck U16 Coast Zone GS/SL, January 15 & 16
Ski racing is back! Zone racing returned to Whistler Mountain after an 18-month hiatus, with over 80 U16 and FIS racers from the Coast Zone racing strong on Whistler Mountain this past weekend. The U16 and FIS racers competed on a near perfect, hard-packed Ptarmigan run, which proved to be a challenging and rewarding re-entry back into racing. The format was a two-run combined time GS on Saturday and a two-run combined time slalom on Sunday.
Everyone was grateful to the Dave Murray National Training Centre on Whistler Mountain, and to Vail Resorts, for producing a high-quality race surface after rainy weather earlier in the week. Racers enjoyed a little sun with fog on Saturday, and overcast conditions on Sunday. Volunteers from all Clubs (Whistler, Grouse, Cypress, Seymour, Sasquatch, and Mt. Washington) helped to make this first race of 2022 an outstanding experience for the racers.
U16 Teck Coast Zone Men’s GS Race January 15 Podium Top Ten
U16 Teck Coast Zone Women’s GS Race January 15 Podium Top Ten
U16 Women’s Saturday SL Top-10
Thomas Legge, WMSC
TOP-3 U16 FINISHERS
Women’s Giant Slalom January 15th First Place: Vanessa Young, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Second Place: Marlo Parkhill, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Third Place: Viveka Deck Stang, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Men’s Giant Slalom January 15th First Place: Tai Exley, Cypress Ski Club Second Place: Thomas Hung, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club Third Place: Gavin Santoro, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club
Women’s Slalom January 16th First Place: Nicole Webb, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Second Place: Hannah Jensen, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Third Place: Erica Zander, Cypress Ski Club
Men’s Slalom January 16th First Place: Gavin Santoro, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club Second Place: Thomas Legg, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Third Place: Archie Clarke, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Sun Peaks hosts successful Teck Okanagan Zone Race, January 15 & 16
After an almost two year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sun Peaks Alpine Club welcomed back ski racing to the Nancy Greene International Race Centre at Sun Peaks Mountain Resort on January 15th and 16th, 2022. The smiles on the faces of the athletes, coaches, officials, parents and volunteers said it all!
The Teck Okanagan Zone Race featured U12, U14 and U16 age groups for both men and women. The U12’s competed in four single-run giant slalom races over two days, while the U14 and U16 age groups competed in a two-run giant slalom on Saturday and a two-run slalom on Sunday.
The event followed all PHO COVID protocols and even though ski racing had not occurred at Sun Peaks since the U16 Nationals ended abruptly in March of 2020 when the pandemic hit, the event went off without a hitch. The energy at the event was palpable, with the common theme being simple: we love that ski racing is back.
A huge shout out to BC Alpine, the Sun Peaks Race Organizing Committee, and all of the participants at the weekend’s event for a safe return to ski racing. We all needed it!
Maria Davis Photography & Art
Maria Davis Photography & Art
~ Story submitted by Todd Ring. Photos by Maria Davis Photography & Art
Today the BC Games Society and the Greater Vernon 2022 BC Winter Games Society announced that the Greater Vernon 2022 BC Winter Games that were scheduled for February 24 to 27, 2022 will not take place this year.
Greater Vernon made every effort to stage these Games, however the ongoing pandemic, coupled with external factors such as wildfires and floods in many parts of our province this past year, have made it impossible to stage a safe and memorable Games this winter.
Games organizers and stakeholders will explore options to see if the region can deliver this multi-sport event in the future, possibly in 2023.
BC Alpine will be conducting a number of coaching courses in January and beyond. So far this season, BC Alpine has run 11 EL courses for 71 prospective coaches. As well, Coach Licensing is at an all time high.
Courses coming soon (dates, locations & times TBC):
Entry Level Evaluator Training
SnowReg training for Club Admins
Upcoming Coaching Courses:
Both Development Level and Performance Level courses will be offered in the spring. DL and PL courses in the spring.
“Now that the Entry Level training part of my season is done, I am shifting focus to those coaches who want to move forward with their education,” said John Newton, BC Alpine Coach Education manager. “All of the planning for these courses will be confirmed and finalized soon.”
1. Due to concerns over the rapidly spreading Omicron COVID variant, the Race Organizing Committee and Panorama Mountain Resort have decided to postpone the BC Cup FIS Series scheduled to begin January 8th, 2022. It has been rescheduled to run January 29th to February 3rd, 2022. Please contact Panorama Mountain Resort to change your bookings.
Kimberley Race Events:
1. The 2022 FIS National Downhill Speed Camp planned for January 24th to 26th at Kimberley Alpine Resort has been cancelled due to a fire in their upper lift station which unfortunately disabled lift access to the race venue.
2. The FIS Speed Race Series and Night Slalom scheduled for January 27 to February 1, 2022 are also cancelled.
3. The BC Teck Open Series, Round 1 (U16 Speed Camp and Super G) will be relocated to SilverStar Mountain Resort on the same dates, February 3rd to 6th, 2022.
