Another Spectacular BC Alpine Summit in the Books

by BCAadmin | Sep 30, 2025 | Featured Stories

The energy was high in Sun Peaks this past weekend as more than 100 coaches, club executives and general members came together for the annual BC Alpine Member Summit. Over three days, participants dove into meetings, workshops and conversations designed to spark ideas, share knowledge and build momentum for the season ahead.

Inspiring Conversations and Fresh Perspectives

Guest speakers set the tone, offering insights that challenged and inspired. Coaches and members left feeling equipped and energized as they look toward kickstarting the 2025–26 ski season with optimism and fresh strategies.

Celebrating Excellence at The Goldies

The weekend wouldn’t be complete without the annual awards banquet, affectionately known as The Goldies. It was a night of heartfelt cheers, laughter, and even a few tears as athletes, coaches, volunteers and officials were recognized for their incredible contributions.

One of the evening’s most poignant moments came when legendary skier Nancy Greene Raine accepted the Long Term President’s Award on behalf of her late husband, Al Raine, who passed away earlier this year. The room filled with warmth and respect as the community honoured Al’s lasting impact. Congratulations to all the winners! (see below for the full listing)

Photo Gallery!

2025 Goldie Award Winners!

A Perfect Setting at Sun Peaks

Hosted at the stunning Sun Peaks Grand Hotel and Conference Centre, the venue offered the perfect backdrop for collaboration while keeping members comfortable, well fed and ready to engage. “It was an incredible celebration of a great season and setting up next season,” said BC Alpine VP, Johnny Crichton.

The dinner and presentations closed out a productive and memorable gathering that included coach meetings, member sessions and the official BC Alpine AGM. With 26 clubs represented, the Summit once again reinforced the strength of the BC Alpine community—coming together to celebrate the past and plan for the future.

Strong start for B.C. Ski Team at Fernie training camp

by BCAadmin | Aug 1, 2025 | Featured Stories

The B.C. Ski Team spent a month in Fernie this summer laying the groundwork for the upcoming season, focusing on a range of vital skills during an intense four-week training block. The athletes put in the blood, sweat and tears to ensure a strong start to the preparation phase.

Morgan Pridy, BC Ski Team head coach, sent in this informative report. See the full report below photo gallery.

BCST – FERNIE JULY 2025 (Photos by Roger Carry)

Fernie Dryland: June 23 – July 23

The main reasons for this camp—apart from the fitness component—were to run a long and centralized session before getting on snow with our teams, focusing on:

• Providing an entry point for new athletes into the BCST environment
• Learning how the team, teammates, and new staff operate
• Aligning and collaborating on big- and small-picture values and expectations
• Mirroring the physical, mental, and scheduling stresses of on-snow camps in a lower-stakes environment
• Allowing time for goal setting, individual performance planning, and other onboarding needs

The camp began with several days of fitness testing—a barrage of physical challenges ranging from classic field tests to isometric and velocity-based strength testing. It was an intense first four days, but it gave us valuable insight into each athlete’s strengths, gaps, and current level of development.

We also introduced what we call “performance coaching 101,” as one of our objectives is to normalize talking to a third party. The goal is that, when or if athletes need support, the idea of a performance coach or sport psychologist won’t feel foreign.

Following the testing and introductory sessions to the month’s programming, we settled into a relatively predictable schedule. Athletes knew what work was coming, could prepare properly, and got into a steady rhythm. Each week, we kept one session a mystery—it’s hard, around an hour, and they only get a clue about what type of shoes to bring.

Throughout the month, we emphasized gameplay and made an effort to play as many sports as possible, considering our team size. Beach volleyball and pickleball were likely the favourites this year. For most games, teams stayed in the same pairs, and we tallied wins and losses to crown the all-sports champions of the camp. This year’s teams included Tylee/Dreas, Dylan/Jasmine, Baptiste/Lola, the Coaches, and Hannah/Dillon (with Hannah somewhat limited as she recovers from shoulder surgery).

The month ended with “Games Day Finals,” a full day dedicated to sport and the deciding round for this year’s champions—culminating, as usual, with nine holes of best-ball golf.

Highlights from the camp:

Activity Day

• This year’s challenge took place on Heiko’s Trail, with bike transit to and from trailheads.
• Women’s team started from the western trailhead; men’s team from the eastern side.
• Two aid stations (trucks in the bush) served as transition zones for bike-to-hike gear swaps.
• The route included: 27 km alpine hike and 33 km of biking
• The women’s team encountered a major rainstorm and were nearly stranded due to a washed-out service road—but everyone made it out safely and with a great story.
• The goal of activity day: equal parts preparation and testing athletes’ staying power.
• Baptiste completed a custom ultra challenge:70 km with 2,250 vertical metres. Handled it “way too easily”

Games Day Finals

• A highlight of camp—fun and competitive.
• Great opportunity to observe improvement over the month.
• Noticeable gains in both individual performance and team cohesion.

Final Conditioning Session

• Camp wrapped with an early morning field workout before travel day.
• Athletes pushed hard, knowing it was their final challenge.
• Coaches joined the session—usually outpaced by the athletes, who then helped motivate them to the finish.

Personal Highlight

• Witnessing each athlete’s growth throughout the month was a standout.
• Rookies, in particular, showed noticeable gains in:
  • Confidence
  • Communication
  • Performance and overall readiness

BC Alpine announces continued sponsorship with Teck Resources Limited

by BCAadmin | May 26, 2025 | Featured Stories

Vancouver, B.C. (Monday May 26, 2025) — BC Alpine Ski Association is proud to announce a continued partnership with Teck Resources Limited (Teck) as the lead partner and major sponsor of alpine ski racing in British Columbia.

Teck’s significant contributions over the next five years will have far-reaching and long-lasting effects on the development of ski racers in communities throughout BC. 

Teck has been a partner with BC Alpine and its 32 ski clubs and over 6,700 members since 2008, as the title sponsor of the Teck U14 and U16 race series, a provincial program for 11-to 16-year-old skiers from across the province. Teck will continue to play a large role in the success of more than 50 ski race events hosted by BC ski clubs between December and April each year.

Anders Hestdalen, CEO of BC Alpine, says that a huge part of BC Alpines success is that we have been able to sustain programming and support over decades, through ups and downs, and that’s how you end up as a successful organization and sport. “We have very strong grassroots programming and medalists from World Championships and the Olympics. That is largely thanks to our Teck partnership that now will continue for another five years. Thank you, Teck and let’s build our communities even stronger!”

The unique relationship between Teck and BC Alpine is based on “community”. Teck employees are passionate and engaged in community activities and many are involved as volunteers or have children in BC Alpine clubs across the province.

The agreement between Teck and BC Alpine commences in the 2025–26 season and extends to 2030–2031.

For more information please contact: Kathy Stahr, BC Alpine – kathys@bcalpine.com 

Mega Camp and Mega Cup 2025 set a new standard for spring training in Canada

by BCAadmin | May 6, 2025 | Featured Stories

BC Alpine coaches and staff are still smiling from ear-to-ear after a massively successful camp and race series at Sun Peaks, to cap off the 2024-25 ski racing season and kick-start next season, all at the same time.

The racing and training conditions at Sun Peaks Resort were world-class, and teams from across B.C. and from other parts of Canada were ecstatic about the on-snow environment on home snow.

“Spring conditions, personal bests, and an unmatched training environment came together for a week of unforgettable skiing at the 2025 Mega Camp and Mega Cup Races,” said BC Alpine VP, Johnny Crichton.

With athletes and clubs from B.C., Alberta, Ontario, and the United States, this year’s event proved that world-class alpine training and competition can thrive right here at home—and at a fraction of the cost of traditional summer camps abroad. Link to results at the bottom of the story.

With the resort closed to the public and fully dedicated to ski racing, participating clubs had access to premium, uninterrupted terrain, top-tier grooming, and race-quality snow surface preparation throughout.

“From the opening day of camp to the final racer across the finish line, we showcased the full potential of late-season training in Canada,” explain Crichton. 

World-Class Terrain, Homegrown Opportunity

According to Crichton, the elite alpine training environment was able to support every level, including:

• Roller Pack Lane – Perfect for athletes to develop foundational movement and agility.
• Cariboo Trail Pitch – A true technical challenge for SL and GS work, with consistent surface and very steep pitch.
• Speed Terrain – Super G blocks allowed safe and progressive speed exposure for U16 FIS-level racers- including a jump. 

“This camp checked every box, great terrain, great surface, and no distractions,” said a coach from Ontario.

Mega Cup Races: Fair, Fast, and Full of PBs

The Mega Cup Races, held April 24–27, were a true highlight—executed with professionalism, precision, and athlete-centered intention. Despite late-season warmth, the race surface was kept firm and consistent thanks to a perfectly timed salt application program, high-level grooming, and a relentless commitment to efficiency.

Races were completed in under three hours, a near-unprecedented feat for a dual-gender, two-run FIS event with two separate courses and ~125 athletes. The result?

✅ Dozens of personal bests

✅ Safe, fair conditions from first racer to last

✅ No unnecessary delays! just great racing

Collaboration Across Clubs and Provinces

Mega Camp drew participation from all over Canada and beyond, creating a rich environment for collaboration and performance growth. Athletes and coaches from BC, Alberta, Ontario, and the U.S. shared training lanes, learned from each other, and pushed standards higher—all without the costs and logistics of international travel.

“It was high-performance, athlete-focused, and community-driven,” said BC Alpine VP Johnny Crichton. “This is the future—training together, investing locally, and making sure every athlete has access to excellence.”

A Blueprint for the Future

With elite terrain, zero public traffic, and a strong collective effort from clubs, coaches, and volunteers, Mega Camp 2025 delivered a spring training and racing model that’s sustainable, scalable, and proudly Canadian. Plans are already in the works to build on this momentum for Mega Camp 2026—and after what was accomplished this year, the expectations have never been higher.

Personal bests. Professional execution. Proudly Canadian.

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Impressive Girls Fast Forward kickstarts next season @ Sun Peaks

by BCAadmin | May 1, 2025 | Featured Stories

Another highly-successful GFF camp in the books as BC Alpine once again hosted a Girls Fast Forward camp at Sun Peaks, in pursuit of gender equity and effective mentorship within the female-identifying ski racers in the province, and this time supported by the Vancouver Ski Foundation.

A total of 46 skiers from all over BC in the U14 to FIS age groups were coached by six World Cup and Europa Cup level female ski racers from Canada, alongside coaches from the provincial team and Canadian para-alpine ski team and national team alumni. 

The camp kickstarted the 2025-26 season by working on building a strong foundation and athletic position on snow. 

Off-snow, the coaches led a tuning info session, athlete panels on female health and menstrual cycles, as well as how to take ownership on your development. Fitness sessions with core and mobility and video tech talks with national team athletes all happened in 3 days 

“The athletes developed strong bonds and built upon their confidence on and off snow all in a positive, fun environment,” said Montana Molyneux, former BCST coach and driving force behind the Girls Fast Forward program.

“Having so many strong female leaders at this camp models for these young athletes that they can be ski racers, coaches and so much more moving forward in their journeys! If they can see it, they can be it. FIS numbers have grown for female ski racers in BC but we still are lacking representation at high performance levels and at the coach and program director levels. This camp aims to inspire more athletes to stay involved in sport!”

Coaches:

• Samantha Fournier – GFF coach lead 
• Rachel Topping – Canadian Para Alpine Development team 
• Amanda Smith – Alberta Ski Team 
• Sam Mulligan – national team and BCST alum

VIP Coach/Athletes:

• Cassidy Gray – CAST W
• Britt Richardson – CAST W 
• Amelia Smart – CAST W
• Eleri Smart – Windermere Valley Ski Team
• Kiki Alexander – CAST W
• Mollie Jepsen – CPAST W 

Photos by Jackie Atkins.