Prince George Ski Club Entry Level numbers up thanks to new 2016 program

by Kathy Stahr | Jan 12, 2016 | Member News

Prince George Entry-level Ski Program Numbers Soar

Hart Ski Hill hosts new program and experiences 150% participation increase

Prince George, January 12, 2016:  The Prince George Alpine Ski Club (PGSC) has launched a new ‘Learn to Ski Race’ program, at the local Hart Ski Hill, which has brought in an unprecedented number of registrations.

The local ski club collaborated with the Hart Highlands Winter Club for the first time this year to provide a unique opportunity for kids to try out ski racing without having to leave city limits.  Thanks to a sport expansion grant from viaSport, enrollment in the new ski race program has increased our entry level programming from 18 to 44 kids effectively doubling the size of their club. 

Most local ski race programs are offered at Purden Ski Village, 45 minutes east of Prince George.  The considerable travel time, to and from Purden, presents a barrier to participation for many families.  In response to this obstacle, the ski club decided to offer an introductory program closer to home.  Program Entry Level Chair Alison Hoskins states, “During registration, many parents of the participants indicated that they’ve wanted their kids to join our ski club for a long time; but, they didn’t want to make the investment of time and money until they were convinced that their kids really enjoyed ski racing.  This is exactly why we are offering the program.”

The PGSC saw an opportunity to partner with the Hart Highlands Winter Club, a popular local ski hill in Prince George, and created a partnership that benefits not only the ski hill and the ski club, but also the numerous up-and-coming athletes. Encouraged by the program’s initial success, the PGSC hopes to see at least a few participants transition from the Hart Program to the full Development Level Program at Purden Mountain.

There are many sports to choose from and the PGSC hopes to put alpine racing on everyone’s radar.  Very few sports offer the family focus that skiing can bring.  The focus on family involvement continues to be prevalent even when kids are racing! 

The mandate of the PGSC Entry Level Programming is to teach kids to love to ski.  They approach racing in the early years with a focus on fun and skill development.  The Hart Program integrates a few fun races into the 10-week session; children may continue their exploration into ski racing by joining an invitational race at Purden Ski Village which includes out-of-town competitors.

The program runs Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5:30PM to 7:00PM offering participants exclusive access to the popular Hart Ski Hill for the first hour of the program.  After 6:30PM the hill opens up to the public and the Hart Ski Hill membership.    The program is covering the costs of the hill opening early and has brought a number of new membership holders to the hill, thus exposing more families to the Hart Ski Hill, a great asset to our city.

For more information on the Prince George Alpine Ski Club please visit the website or contact our Program Entry Level Chair, Alison Hoskins.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Alison Hoskins, Program Entry Level Chair

E | ahoskinp@shaw.ca

P |778-349-1792

W | www.alpineski.ca

Sun Peaks plays host to Teck Open Event, Nancy Greene hands out awards!

by Kathy Stahr | Jan 11, 2016 | Member News

Sun Peaks U16 Teck Open Race, January 2016 PHOTO CREDIT: Jim Bennett, WMSC

BC Alpine U16 Open Series Event hosted by Sun Peaks Alpine Club and Sun Peaks Resort

January 8 – 10, 2016 COMPLETE OFFICIAL RESULTS

Friday, January 8 – Giant Slalom, Men – Top 10

1              CALLAGHAN, Christian (Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club) 2:00.24

2              KOWALCZYK, Myles (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 2:00.25

3              CLARK, Tyler (Big White Ski Club) 2:00.27

4              MITTERTREINER, Devin (Fernie Alpine Ski Team) 2:00.43

5              FORSYTH, Jack (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 2:00.76

6              ATHANS, Marcus (Apex Ski Club) 2:01.24

7              ROMANIN, Nathan (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 2:01.32

8              PETKOVIC, Konstantin (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 2:01.83

9              APPLEGATH, Liam (Sun Peaks Alpine Club) 2:01.94

10           YOUNGBERG, Anton (Vernon Ski Club) 2:01.98

Friday, January 8 – Giant Slalom, Ladies – Top 10

1              RENZONI, Ella (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:54.14

2              DAWSON, Erin (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:55.71

3              SWAFFIELD, Meg (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:56.93

4              VOSS, Katrina (Hemlock Ski Club) 1:57.51

5              WOOLLEY, Maja (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:57.52

6              GAUL, Samantha (Red Mountain Racers) 1:57.56

7              PLUNKETT, Lucia (Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club) 1:58.59

8              CARRUTHERS, Catherine (Fernie Alpine Ski Team) 1:58.98

9              BRATTON, Lexie (Fernie Alpine Ski Team) 2:00.07

10           WHITECROSS, Emily (Sun Peaks Alpine Club) 2:00.20

Saturday, January 9 – Giant Slalom, Men – Top 10

1              CLARK, Tyler (Big White Ski Club) 1:55.25

2              ROMANIN, Nathan (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:55.43

3              KOWALCZYK, Myles (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:55.52

4              CALLAGHAN, Christian (Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club) 1:55.61

5              FORSYTH, Jack (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:56.20

6              MITTERTREINER, Devin (Fernie Alpine Ski Team) 1:56.61

7              YOUNGBERG, Anton (Vernon Ski Club) 1:56.68

8              PETKOVIC, Konstantin (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:56.89

9              YATES, Dawson (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:57.47

10           GAIRNS, Lucas (Prince George Ski Club) 1:58.09

Saturday, January 9 – Giant Slalom, Ladies – Top 10

1              RENZONI, Ella (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:59.48

2              GAUL, Samantha (Red Mountain Racers) 2:02.31

3              DAWSON, Erin (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 2:03.19

3              SWAFFIELD, Meg (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 2:03.19

5              PLUNKETT, Lucia (Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club) 2:03.67

6              VOSS, Katrina (Hemlock Ski Club) 2:04.01

7              CARRUTHERS, Catherine (Fernie Alpine Ski Team) 2:04.37

8              BRATTON, Lexie (Fernie Alpine Ski Team) 2:05.17

9              KING, Sierra (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 2:06.02

10           KRANJC, Gigi (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 2:06.61

Sunday, January 10 – Slalom, Men – Top 10

1              YOUNGBERG, Anton (Vernon Ski Club) 1:37.73

2              ROMANIN, Nathan (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:38.52

3              ATHANS, Marcus (Apex Ski Club) 1:38.67

4              MITTERTREINER, Devin (Fernie Alpine Ski Team) 1:38.73

5              CALLAGHAN, Christian (Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club) 1:39.71

6              KOWALCZYK, Myles (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:39.86

7              CLARK, Tyler (Big White Ski Club) 1:39.88

8              VAN SOEST, Gerrit (Vernon Ski Club) 1:40.89

9              YATES, Dawson (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:41.32

10           PATTERSON, Gavin (Red Mountain Racers) 1:41.72

Sunday, January 10 – Slalom, Ladies – Top 10

1              CARRUTHERS, Catherine (Fernie Alpine Ski Team) 1:40.48

2              RENZONI, Ella (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:41.42

3              WOOLLEY, Maja (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:41.61

4              DAWSON, Erin (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:42.61

5              VOSS, Katrina (Hemlock Ski Club) 1:42.98

6              FORSYTH, Rylee (Fernie Alpine Ski Team) 1:44.64

7              KING, Sierra (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:44.98

8              CALLAGHAN, Gillian (Big White Ski Club) 1:45.44

9              WHITECROSS, Emily (Sun Peaks Alpine Club) 1:45.90

10           SWAFFIELD, Meg (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) 1:46.07

Podium shots and more courtesy of Jim Bennett, WMSC

Whistler Mountain Ski Club sweeps podium at Teck Coast Zone U14 Slalom

by Kathy Stahr | Jan 11, 2016 | Member News

TECK Coast Zone U14 Slalom Event hosted by the Whistler Mountain Ski Club

The weekend was clear, with perfect, hard snow conditions. The start was moved up a little bit on the Dave Murray National Training Center (DMNTC) track to allow for more successes in this first race of the year. Typically the slalom courses run on the lower portion of the DMNTC, over the Grand Finale pitch. This pitch is quite steep for a U14 SL Race – particularly for those from other clubs who are not use‎ to training it. So with that in mind the course was moved more to the middle section which proved to be quite successful. It had some steeps, flats and fall aways. The kids maximized their successes as a result! That goal was accomplished and it was a good weekend for everyone.

January 9 – 10, 2016 COMPLETE OFFICIAL RESULTS

Congratulations to the top-10 finishers below!

Whistler Teck U14 SL – Tait Jordan 1st; Lukas Forssander 2nd; Alexander Katrusiak 3rd; PHOTO CREDIT: Steele Jordan

Enjoy news article courtesy of the Whistler Question

BC Team’s Wearmouth wins Nakiska FIS GS; VST’s Natalenko fastest U18

by Kathy Stahr | Jan 7, 2016 | Member News

Women's Nakiska FIS GS Podium (Antonia Wearmouth 1st; Stefanie Fleckenstein 2nd; Georgia Burgess 3rd) PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Fleckenstein

Stephanie Fleckenstein – "The weather today was definitely a difficult factor to overcome, but we've been trained to trust our skis and work through any obstacle which allowed us to throw down some solid runs. I'm really happy with the progress I've been able to make this year and can't wait to see how the rest of the week goes."

Nakiska FIS Series GS – Ladies (Unofficial Results)

(RED indicates top 3 U18's)

Nakiska FIS GS Women's U18 Podium (Kristina Natalenko 1st; Soleil Patterson 2nd; Nicole Mah 3rd) PHOTO CREDIT: Martin Tichy

Men's Nakiska FIS GS Podium (Huston Philp 1st; Riley Seger 2nd; Sam Mulligan 3rd) PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Fleckenstein

Riley Seger – "It was nice to start off 2016 with a few podiums.  I'm feeling ready to roll into the races down in Montana with some confidence."

Nakiska FIS Series GS – Men (Unofficial Results)

(RED indicates top 3 U18's)

LADIES' OFFICIAL FIS RESULTS

MEN'S OFFICIAL FIS RESULTS

BC Team’s Seger takes FIS SG Gold at Nakiska; Smith of WMSC is top U18

by Kathy Stahr | Jan 6, 2016 | Member News

Women's Nakiska FIS SG Podium (Antonia Wearmouth 2nd; Stefanie Fleckenstein 3rd) PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Fleckenstein

Men's Nakiska FIS SG Podium (Riley Seger 1st; Karl Kuus 2nd; Sam Mulligan 3rd) PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Fleckenstein

FLASH QUOTES:

Antonia Wearmouth (2nd Overall) – "I'm happy that I put a solid run down today. After not being on super-G skis for a while it was nice to get some confirmation that the skiing is still there. I just stuck with the process 🙂 and it worked out!"

Stefanie Fleckenstein  (3rd Overall) – "It's good to be back in the gates after some fun free skiing at home during the break. Can't wait for the rest of the races this month."

Riley Seger (1st Overall) – "It was nice to get another push out of the start here in Nakisha after a bunch of cancelled races in the fall. With good conditions I tried to push the line and was able to execute my game plan."

Sam Mulligan (3rd Overall) – "Executing a run the way you hoped isn't always easy and a little slip up cost me some time. Riley was able to do exactly what he wanted and that was great to see. When your teammate (and friend) does well, it inspires the rest of us and hopefully we can build on his result !"

Max Kirshenblatt (2nd U18)- "My skiing felt good today, it was nice to get another super-G start here in Nakiska. The snow was solid and the track held up nicely so I felt able to really attack."

Nick Cooper (Head Coach) – "Not a bad way to start the New Year. We came into today really wanting to dominate and of course ski racing doesn't always go as planned. Still happy to have 5 podiums with a win and we will continue to try and build from there"

Nakiska FIS Series Super-G – Ladies (Unofficial Results)

(RED indicates top 3 U18's)

Nakiska FIS Series Super-G – Men (Unofficial Results)

LADIES' OFFICIAL FIS RESULTS

MEN'S OFFICIAL FIS RESULTS

Stay tuned for Thursday's men's and women's giant slalom races – LIVE TIMING HERE