Sun Peaks Alpine Club hosted the Teck Okanagan U12/U14 Zone race on January 21-22 at Sun Peaks Resort. In spite of a slow start to the ski season due to variable snow conditions, the racers came out of the start gate flying!
The weekend featured GS racing on Saturday, with two one-run races for the U12s and one two-run competition for the U14s. Sunday was all about slalom, with two separate U12 runs featuring a panelled and stubby slalom, as well as a two-run slalom for the U14 racers.
Fresh snow, along with changing weather and race conditions, made for some challenging racing. The Sun Peaks volunteer race committee was up to the challenge! We owe a huge thank you to all the race volunteers.
This Teck event brought back the longstanding tradition of the Sun Peaks Racers fire pit at the race start. BBQ’ed smokies, hotdogs and beverages were once again being served to celebrate a great race weekend. Congratulations to all the racers for some impressive ski racing, having lots of fun, and being great sports!
Kootenay Zone athletes, coaches, volunteers and parents rallied together last weekend (January 13 & 14, 2024) to pull off the Teck Kootenay Zone Race and BC Games qualifier event, despite frigid temperatures.
Kimberley Alpine Team (KAT) and Kimberley Alpine Resort welcomed over 50 of the hardiest U14 racers from the Kootenay Zone – including Fernie Alpine Ski Team (FERNI), Golden Kicking Horse Alpine Team (GKHAT), Red Mountain Racers (REDMT) and Whitewater Ski Team (WHWTR).
With the support of Dreadnaught Racing, the operations crew at Kimberley Alpine Resort and all our volunteers – we moved through several contingency plans to complete 2 slalom runs for both women and men on Saturday, and 2 panel slalom runs for both women and men on Sunday. It was too cold to run the chairlifts, so we opted for short runs in the sunshine, during the warmest part of the afternoon. Parents shuttled athletes to the top of the course and Kimberley Alpine Resort provided a warm-up room at the base of the course for athlete staging. Incredible effort on the part of everyone!!
For the men’s events on both days, Kimberley Alpine Team swept the podium with Garrett Christie (KAT) taking 1st place both days. Keiran Bettcher (KAT) claimed 2nd place on Saturday and 3rd place on Sunday, and Sylas Welch (KAT) took 3rd place on Saturday and 2nd place on Sunday. For the women’s events on both days, it was Tessa Wever (FERNI) in 1st place and Gemma Leishman (WHWTR) in 2nd place. On Saturday, Parker Digiacomo (WHWTR) took 3rd and on Sunday, Eloise Yu (FERNI) claimed the 3rd spot.
Everyone brought a great attitude, creativity and flexibility to complete this event under extremely challenging conditions. Special thanks to Teck, BC Alpine, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies and Dreadnaught Racing for all the support.
“Mother Nature threw her best challenges at us this weekend, but the whole community – parents, athletes, race crew, volunteers and the resort – pulled together to achieve this once-in-a-lifetime race, full of fun and memories. This one certainly goes in the books as a special event. Kudos to all involved!”
Dave Nighswander, Chief of Race
Kimberley Alpine Team wishes to acknowledge the following sponsors and thank them for their support:
When BC’s own Cameron Alexander blazed to a podium finish at the challenging Bormio, Italy, World Cup race track in late December, he knew it would be a big challenge. See his report sent to BC Alpine on how he executed a medal-winning approach.
“Bormio this year was as expected. Icy, bumpy and dark. It’s one of the most physically and mentally demanding tracks we ski on the World Cup circuit. The battle of just skiing down is an accomplishment in itself, so to be able to have a run that was fast enough to be on the podium is a very special feeling.”
“It’s funny when you start early like I did on race day. I felt like I skied well and executed my game plan, but when I saw the time in the finish and I was 1.2 behind Sarrazin my initial though was I didn’t have a chance at the podium. It was long wait watching everybody else come down but it did end up being a very good run and enough to be on the podium. Those other two guys just skied at a very high level that day.”
“I knew I could be fast after two solid training runs. The game plan is pretty simple here. The feeling on the skis is never going to be amazing due to how rough it is so if you fight to stay over your skis and release them that’s usually good enough to go fast.”
Please join us in hosting the 2024 Nor-Am Cup Finals at the Panorama Mountain Resort, April 1 to 11, 2024. The champions in each discipline will earn World Cup spots for the 2024-25 season.
BC Alpine is seeking support during the races, as well as for set-up and tear-down. It is a long race series, so we welcome you to assist even for just a few days. There’s something for everyone! Please use the link below to register as a volunteer and someone from our team will follow up with you.
The Panorama Nor-Ams are not only an amazing athletic opportunity for our BC FIS athletes, but are also a great chance for race officials to learn and gain experience, both in speed and technical disciplines, at an international level. This experience leads to greater knowledge and future opportunities!
Johnny Crichton, BC Alpine CEO
*Photo: BC Ski Team racer Dylan Timm. Photo by Derek Trussler.
Alpine Women in Sport (AWiS) is set to present the second in its 2023-24 webinar series on mental health, “The Coaching Life: Surviving or Thriving?”
Mental Performance Coach, Heather Cribbin, will be back to lead the discussion and provide tools to help create strategies and set boundaries.
Monday, January 22, 2024 // 5:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time (8:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time)
“Setting Boundaries and Other Strategies to Support Well-being.”
The concept and impact of well-being may be generalized, but the experience of what creates it will be profoundly personal. What is well-being, how do we notice when we don’t have it, and how can we cultivate it for ourselves? The ability to resource oneself, that is, find energy to persist, is essential in an industry that is built on a seasonal model that requires a great deal from its coaches. Intentionally choosing a mindset that fosters optimism can offset the stresses of a demanding environment. And that begins with setting boundaries—think time management, email and general communications, meetings, and more.
Click the button below to sign up through SnowReg and receive education credits!
*Reminder that you can earn ACA education credits when you register and attend AWiS webinars.
In what will be a highly interactive session, Heather will delve into the following topics:
What is well-being, why is the term trending, and what does it mean for you?
The Wheel of Life as an indicator of well-being. (Have a pen and paper ready.)
What is the impact if well-being is missing? Can ski coaches have “burnout”?
Is burnout the opposite of well-being?
How do boundaries contribute to or protect your well-being?
What happens when boundaries are missing/crossed?
Values as a way of identifying and holding boundaries, and supporting well-being
How can we see time as a boundary and not a commodity?
Emotional intelligence as a tool for conversations to express/hold boundaries
About Heather Cribbin
Heather believes everyone is capable of high performance, in any arena, without sacrificing peace of mind. Using her knowledge of neuroscience, positive psychology, and emotional intelligence, she coaches for mental toughness to uncover and enhance grit, resilience, and confidence. Heather has participated in, parented, and coached high-performance athletics for many years. She competed at a high level in rowing and in triathlon and enjoys skiing, tennis, biking, and hiking. Earning her Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) from the Coach Training Institute (CTI), and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) accreditation from the International Coaching Federation (ICF) helped Heather to connect her passion for supporting clients with her previous degrees in Physical and Health Education, and Social Work.
Heather has coached high-performers on the Canada Snowboard Team, athletes at the NCAA college level, competitors at the World Cup, Europa cup, University Games, and Canada Games stages. She supports executives at large organizations such as Dell and Microsoft as well as entrepreneurs. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Heather now calls Zurich, Switzerland, home.
