Selection: BC Alpine Awards Committee makes the final selection for this award
5. Moira Jaatteenmaki Officials’ Award
Criteria
A continued dedication to the Officials’ program and the sport of ski racing by serving as a committed BC Alpine Official over a period of several seasons
As a result of his or her contributions, this Official has helped ski racing continue at the highest level in the province, offering participating athletes the best opportunities for advancement in their pursuit of excellence in the sport.
We know there are many outstanding and dedicated coaches who keep the clubs going and the athletes fit and motivated. We will be recognizing them too! A committee of Program Directors and Coaches, along with BC Alpine, will honour coaches in the following categories:
On April 2nd and 3rd, the final weekend of the Mount Washington Ski Resort’s scheduled 2021/2022 season, 195 athletes from teams across the Coast Zone, including Whistler, the 4 Lower Mainland ski teams (Cypress, Grouse, Seymour, Sasquatch) joined 30 Mount Washington Ski Club athletes to compete in the Teck Coast Zone Finals. The two-day event was scheduled to have 3 different age groups being timed for top place in slalom on the Saturday and head-to-head racing in the Dual Slalom on the Sunday. (See awesome action shots in Don Tait’s Flickr Albums)
The conditions were excellent on Saturday for a great race. The snow was hard, the weather was clear and the race committee and equipment operated flawlessly. The U12 age group raced two individually timed slalom races while the U14s & U16s combined the two times of their runs for a total overall ranking. (FIND FULL RESULTS HERE)
Top three included:
U12 girls Run 1: Cecily Gibbons (Whistler), Anya McColm (Whistler), Danica Williams (Mt Washington)
U12 Boys Run 1: Joe Orde (Grouse), Eric Krastev (Grouse), Aaron Na (Cypress)
U12 Girls Run 2: Nikita Ciesla (Grouse), Charlotte Severin (Grouse), Danica Williams (Mt Washington)
U12 Boys Run 2: Aaron Na (Cypress), Joe Orde (Grouse), Bodie Morgan (Whistler)
U16 Girls: Maeve Pretty (Grouse), Alice Cameron-Boyes (Cypress), Rachel Na (Cypress)
U16 Boys: Nick Kokot (Whistler), Malcolm Elvidge (Grouse), Archie Clark (Whistler)
Danica Williams, MWSC – PHOTO CREDIT: Don Tait
Unfortunately, the Sunday races were cancelled as too much snow fell over a short period of time to be able to safely run the race.
“Its too bad we could not safely run the race. The Dual Slalom is a fun event to watch as athletes go head-to-head with the winners moving on to the next round until a winner is determined. We tried our best but we could not keep up with the falling snow. Ironically, 30 minutes after we officially cancelled the race, the sun came out, the powder skiing was amazing and Mount Washington had great weather for the ‘Slush Cup’”
Ryan Williams, Chief of Race for the Teck Zone Finals
The Mt Washington Ski Club celebrated its 40th year this year. Athletes can be as young as 5 years old in the Nancy Greene Ski League and as old as 18 years old and racing on the interprovincial FIS race circuit. Thank you to the following sponsors for 2021/2022: Race Series Sponsor – Teck; Platinum (Mount Washington) – Rick Gibson of Royal LePage, Colonial Countertops, Gold (Mount Washington) – Ryan Williams of REMAX, Accent Inns Vancouver Island, Arrowsmith Bikes, Ski Tak Hut, Frame & Co Injury Law, Grant Signs.
With the buzz of local and national races rattling Canada, the coast zone shone a light on U16 athletes last week by bridging the present and future with two special guests as forerunners. On March 30th, the Grouse Tyee Ski Club welcomed 54 racers, consisting of 34 female and 20 male racers, to a two-run slalom race. Courtney Hoffos, a member of the Canadian Ski Cross Team, and Brodie Seger, a member of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team, were inspiring guests and forerunners for the U16 race. (Above photo:U16 Top 10 Girls with Courtney and Brodie – Photo Credit: George Liu)
The racers were welcomed to Grouse with warm temperatures and blue-bird skies. Although they faced soft and slushy snow at the top of Grouse, the race hill was well salted and held up for an exciting spring race. Both courses were set wide and ran fast and smooth, allowing the race to run ahead of schedule. As one athlete said, “my second run went a lot better than my first [as] I was able to take impressions from the first run into [the similarities of] my second-course inspection.” However, despite the perfect weather, quick-paced schedule, and good set, athletes were most excited to end their school day off with a race alongside Team Canada athletes.
Brodie Seger and Courtney Hoffos (Photo Credit: George Liu)
“Meeting and talking to [Courtney and Brodie] was inspirational because I realized that they are regular people who have put in a lot of work to reach their dreams and goals. This was a moment of encouragement for me as an athlete going into FIS [because] if I discipline myself and put effort into reaching my goals, I can do it”
Maeve Pretty, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club athlete
As we heard from Maeve and other athletes, having Brodie and Courtney at the event was a rewarding opportunity, as it drew attention to the future for them. Furthermore, to share the same course with a World Cup athlete made the race inspiring, not to mention nerve-racking!
The Grouse Tyee Ski Club would like to thank the 54 racers for their effort, the volunteers, parents and coaches for their support, and Teck alongside Grouse Mountain Resort for their sponsorship, support and assistance!
Volunteers and coaches with Brodie and Courtney (Photo Credit: George Liu)
Race Day Results (Top 3): Wednesday, March 30, 2022 (FULL RESULTS HERE)
The Revelstoke Ski Club was excited to welcome back the Teck Okanagan Zone Finals after four years, on April 2nd and 3rd. There was a great showing from visiting clubs, with 143 athletes from Alpine Yukon, Apex, Big White, Revelstoke, Sun Peaks, and Vernon. For this spring race, the athletes saw it all on the course this weekend: sun, snow, and wind, and even a whiteout where you couldn’t see two gates in front of you. The snow held off though for the hard-working course workers, with only a few new centimeters on Saturday and Sunday. For anyone who stayed over until Monday, they would be treated with 19 cms of snow on the hill! (Photo above courtesy of Jessica Amelia Photography
On Friday, clubs started to arrive for training and free skiing, and then the event kicked off on Saturday with a two-run combined GS for the U14 – U19s, and two one-run GS races for the U12s. A highlight was our celebrity forerunner, Olympic Ski Cross racer Reece Howden! He’s an alum from the Okanagan zone and Apex Ski Club, and has come a long way since his last zone finals races! It ended up being a very long day for everyone, with one last athlete having to have the lift turned back on for him so he could make it to his re-run.
Forerunner in green bib is Olympian Reece Howden! Photo by Jessica Amelia Photography
Photo by Jessica Amelia Photography
The plan changed up for Sunday aiming for a shorter day, and we succeeded! On Sunday we held the U14 – U19 first run, then the U12 paneled slalom and stubby slalom back-to-back, finishing with the second run for the U14-U19s. Everyone worked together for a super-smooth tear-down effort!
It was nice with restrictions lifted to be able to hold awards at the end of the day Sunday, with all the clubs together to celebrate some fast skiing and a great season!
Ava Dye from Sun Peaks and Egan Kelly from Revelstoke were both four for four, winning each of their U12 races. Kael Oberlander from Big White won both races in the female U16 category, as did Morgan Ring from Sun Peaks and Braden Blankley from Vernon in U14. Douglas Hunter from Sun Peaks won the GS for U16 males and Sacha Jirasek from Big White won the slalom. The full results are available on the BC Alpine Calendar.
Photo by Jessica Amelia Photography
Photo by Jessica Amelia Photography
We want to say a big thank you to Revelstoke Mountain Resort for hosting the event, all the visiting teams, coaches and parents, and to all the hard-working volunteers who made it all possible!
BC Alpine’s high-performance GFF training camp, which aims to inspire BC’s next wave of female skiers, is back with an all-star coach and athlete-coach crew, April 19 to 21, 2022 at Sun Peaks Resort.
Guest coaches may include Olympian and World Junior PGS Champion Cassidy Gray, an Invermere skier who is making waves on the alpine World Cup tour, and 6-time Paralympic medalist Mollie Jepsen, as well as Canadian men’s speed team racer Sam Mulligan.
The focus of the camp is to provide a FUN, high-performance training environment where athletes can connect with other female-identifying coaches and athletes throughout the province. Athletes can take advantage of the spring training and kick-start their 2022-2023 season with foundational work.
“Having a strong, supportive community within sport is so important for young, female athletes. This GFF camp will inspire upcomingskiers to continue their pursuit of ski racing and high-level sport.”.
Anders Hestdalen, BC Alpine CEO
Eligible: Any female-identifying racer born 2008 or older that is registered with a BC Alpine club (2nd year U14s, U16s & FIS-aged female athletes)
When: April 19th to 21st, 2022 (arrive between 4pm and 6pm of April 18, and depart 2pm to 3pm of April 21, 2022)
Where: Sun Peaks Resort, BC
Hotel: Nancy Greene’s Cahilty Hotel & Suites
Confirmed Coaching Crew :
Montana Molyneux – BCST Coach
Samantha Fournier – OST FIS Coach
Katie Findlay – Revelstoke Program Director
Leslie Firstbrook – Smithers Program Director
VIP Athlete Coaches:
Cassidy Gray – Olympian
Mollie Jepsen – Paralympian
Sam Mulligan – World Cup Ski Racer
Included:
3 nights accommodation, April 18, 19 and 20 (checking out on the 21st)
Meals (dinner on the 18th, breakfast, lunch & dinner on the 19th & 20th, breakfast & lunch on the 21st)
3 days on-snow & off-snow technical work
All-Star athlete panel & female athlete nutrition and health talk
3 days of inspiration!
NOTE: transportation to and from Sun Peaks NOT INCLUDED
Total cost payable to BC Alpine is $660.00 – accommodation is based on double occupancy
