The Vernon Ski Club proudly hosted the U16 Western Championships presented by Sporting Life, March 24-28, 2025 at SilverStar Mountain Resort.
“This was one of those events where nothing went as planned! Despite months of meticulous work, Mother Nature dealt the mountain a challenging blow and the ROC (Race Organizing Committee) was left scrambling to adapt each race event for the 237 athletes from across Western Canada,” said Brooke McLardy, alpine director of the Vernon Ski Club.
With the solid determination of race enthusiasts, a committed and experienced ROC, an army of volunteers, and incredible on-hill support from BC Alpine, Alpine Canada and SilverStar Resort staff, the event was a great success.
The original plan had slalom, GS and super-G races as well as a skills combined, but the conditions forced some events to be cancelled and the scheduled to be adjusted multiple times. By the end of the event, two slalom races for both men and women, as well as a “skiing skills combine” as well as a team dual event were successfully run, all on Vernon Ski Club‘s Cloud 9 Race Centre. Despite the challenging conditions, the competition was fierce the athletes showed up ready to race. All are commended for their perseverance and commitment to the series.
Festival Atmosphere
A highlight of the week was the impressive array of off-snow activities hosted by the resort and club. Monday night featured a parade through the SilverStar village and a welcome by the resort’s General Manager Herwig Demschar, who shared his personal ski racing history and commitment to alpine sports. Cam Alexander from the Canadian men’s alpine team joined by Zoom to speak to the assembled athletes about perseverance and a growth mindset.
On Wednesday night athletes enjoyed a party at Tube Town with a bonfire and s’mores. Thursday there was a BBQ lunch and the athlete banquet, coach and volunteer appreciation, a village carnival and awards where podium athletes were treated to bottles of bubbly to spray at the crowd, in World Cup style.
There are many great results to celebrate from the series, however it was the Skiing Skills Combine that saw a BC sweep for women’s and men’s podiums. The 2025 women’s U16 podium saw Maggie Cormack of Whistler Mountain Ski Club in 1st place, followed by Elena Deda of Windermere Valley Ski Club in 2nd and Valerie Chan of Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club in 3rd. The 2025 men’s U16 Podium saw 1st place go to Quin Clark of Red Mountain Racers, 2nd place to Declan Kirker of Whistler Mountain Ski Club and 3rd place to Eric Krastev of Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club.
The 2025 U16 podium for women’s overall went to Elena Deda from Windermere Valley Ski Club and the men’s overall was a tie between Andrew Cross from Calgary Alpine Race Club and Eric Berthiaum from Banff Alpine Racers.
Huge Pat on Back for the Volunteers
While the athletes were enjoying all SSMR had to offer, the ROC, coaches and volunteers were working steadily in the background to make and keep the race centre a viable venue, adjust volunteer rosters, reschedule events and programs, and much, much more. It is truly the efforts of this group that made Western Championships the success that it was. And incredibly, everyone showed up each day with a huge smile, words of encouragement for each other and a drive to put on a great event for these U16s.
Thank you to everyone who put in long hours, stayed nimble and kept smiling. Thanks to the athletes and vollies who tore down the two original venues, including 300 B-Net on the backside of the mountain. Thank you to Sporting Life, BC Alpine, Alpine Canada, local sponsors, SilverStar Mountain Resort and each and every person who pitched in to make this an incredible U16 Western Championships.
A total of 72 International Ski Federation racers from 11 ski clubs in the province – as well as others from Spain, Iran, Germany, Japan and Eritrea – arrived at Apex Mountain Resort ready to showcase their best stuff as the competitive season starts to wind down.
“We had an amazing volunteer crew, starting with Martin Parilak who made sure the course was perfect. Chief of Race David Warriner helped make everything run smoothly and the TD, Julie Klotz, was so knowledgeable and helped make the race a great success,” the club said in a statement after the race series.
A few U16 racers from the Apex Ski Club had the opportunity to forerun the races, to set the track and to gain experience, an added bonus for the club.
A big thank you to Apex Mountain Resort to helping make the race possible on the Adrian’s Alley trail.
The Big White Ski Club hosted 130 athletes from across the province, ranging from U12 to U19 categories at the Teck Provincial Ski Cross Championships on Mar. 21–23, 2025, on the impressive Telus Park Snow Cross track at Big White Resort. The event welcomed 130 athletes .
The first day kicked off with a full day of training, giving athletes the opportunity to get comfortable with the course ahead of a big weekend of racing. Saturday delivered a great day of racing.
Little Rippers Put on a Show
The U12 category ran a 3-round points race format, with the top 8 athletes advancing to the semifinals. In the U12 Women’s Big Final, Revelstoke’s Indie Carson took the win, followed by Maddison Kreuger (Vernon Ski Club) in second. Big White Ski Club’s own Marlowe Dessaulles and Amelia Thomas placed third and fourth respectively.
The U12 Men’s Big Final saw Big White athletes dominate the podium, with Isaac Ramsay claiming first place. Cole Trent (Whistler) finished second, with Big White teammates Niko Yamamoto and Sebastian Weber taking third and fourth.
In the U14 Women’s race, Soneva Lott (Sun Peaks) took the top spot. Olivia Cook (Kimberley Alpine Team) finished second, with Big White’s Marin Oberlander in third and Evelyn Duffy (Grouse) in fourth. The U14 Men’s category was won by Corvin Lott (Sun Peaks). Parker Johnson (Grouse) came in second, Brodie Trent (Whistler) took third, and Mateo Colvin (Revelstoke) rounded out the top four.
U16 Big White Racers Lead the Way
Big White Racers athletes dominated the U16 Women’s category, with Mikalah Taylor taking first and Alexandra Walker finishing second. Grace Allaway (Yukon) took third place. For the U16 Men, Trayle Porter (Sun Peaks) claimed the win, followed by Eames Kim (Grouse Tyee) in second, Alberto Booker (Lake Louise) in third, and Ziggy Suchy (Whistler) in fourth.
In the U19 Women’s race, Kael Oberlander (Okanagan Ski Team athlete and Big White Ski Club alumni) finished first. Ellyann Dinn and Annie McNeill, both representing Yukon, took second and third. For the U19 Men, top results went to Harrison Duess (Whistler), Wyatt Kindred (Skykomish), and Matthew Nann (Mt. Seymour).
Race Crew to the Rescue
Sunday brought a major weather shift, with heavy snowfall beginning early in the morning. Despite significant effort from the race crew to clear the course, the snow continued to fall so quickly that conditions became unsafe to continue racing. While disappointing, athletes, coaches, and families made the best of it and enjoyed a classic Big White powder day.
Despite Sunday’s cancellation, the weekend was a big success. Thank you to all the volunteers, coaches, and Big White Telus Park staff for making the event possible and delivering a memorable experience for everyone involved.
Saturday evening wrapped up with a banquet for athletes, coaches, and families at Happy Valley Lodge.
A whopping 570 young skiers arrived in Sun Peaks last weekend to challenge themselves, ski a lot and have a tremendous amount of fun.
The Hub International Nancy Greene Festival at Sun Peaks Resort showcased all that is great about the sport of skiing and ski racing. The young skiers took to the mountain with determination and enthusiasm, tackling moguls, kombi, obstacle, downhill speed trap, jump, and the dual glalom venues, spread around the vast Sun Peaks terrain.
“From first-time competitors to future champions, every child gave it their all, showing incredible skill, courage, and sportsmanship,” said Jeff Robinson, Chief of Race. “It was a thrilling couple days filled with big smiles, fast runs, and unforgettable memories!”
Nancy Greene Raine was her usual present and engaging self, cheering on the young skiers and handing out awards at the end of the weekend, alongside Jan Hudec, former Canadian World Cup star and Olympic medallist.
Congratulations to the Sun Peaks Alpine Club for another terrific festival. And a big thank you to all the visiting clubs, parents, coaches and volunteers who participated and supported the event. And thank you to lead volunteers for their dedication and hard work: Race Organizers: Jeff Robinson: Chief of Race; Dave Fox: Chief of Events; Scott Karpiak: Chief of Course; Gabrielle Fox: Chief of Volunteers; Sara Thomson: Race Admin; Gavin Friskie: Chief of Timing.
For three days, a total of 186 skiers aged 13 and 14-years from across the province were treated to Northern hospitality and a spectacular event at the Teck U14 Provincial Championships, at Hudson Bay Mountain, in Smithers, hosted by the Smithers Ski & Snowboard Club.
Starting with GS on Thursday on an ideal pitch, the girls tackled a couple of nice sets on the Cinderella run, while the boys squared off on a slalom race on Turkey Shoot. They swapped disciplines the next day as the club impressively ran the event with a double organizing committee.
On Friday evening, the Smithers club hosted an athlete and coach banquet where teams of 10 for the double elimination dual on Saturday were announced. The next morning a 20-team elimination dual head-to-head race was a smashing success, with winning teams all receiving placards … and bragging rights. See the complete results below.
Each athlete attending provincials received their own U14 provincial champs toque, which was well received by athletes.
The mighty Smithers Ski Club received praise by coaches, volunteers and athletes for how smooth the events ran and how excited they were to be in beautiful Smithers.
BC Alpine congratulates and thanks the Smithers Ski & Snowboard Club for hosting an outstanding provincial championship event!
