As a fourth generation “Rossland’er”, Catherine Adair has had front row seats to countless family skiing moments, many of them involving local or regional ski competitions.
Now, in her career as a Manager of Community Development for Teck Resources at their Vancouver head office, Catherine’s favourite topic may still be her Kootenay roots.
“I had a ski pass every year so it’s what we did as a family every weekend,” Catherine explained, about growing up on the slopes of Red Mountain. “I wasn’t much of a ski racer – I did the Nancy Greene ski league for a while – but my sister and my two cousins Jenni and Julia Delich raced competitively.”
During her youth, Catherine got to know many of the ski areas across the province when the family travelled to various ski areas in the interior and Coast, one of the perks of being in a skiing community.
“My grandfather on one side and great grandfather on the other side moved to Rossland to work in the mines,” she explained, when BC Alpine connected with her in March. “Then my grandparents [the Delich’s] operated “Delich Jewelry” in town for a number of years.”
All in the family
Catherine’s mom (Teresa) was a successful national-ranked ski racer, winning the Pontiac Cup in the 1970s, as she trained on the slopes of Red Mountain. And Mike Delich – Catherine’s uncle – was instrumental in the development of ski racing in both Rossland and Fernie. Mike, a long-time FIS Technical Delegate as well as the former Chair of BC Alpine, is a developer and builder in Fernie, where he laid roots in the 1980s, raising daughters Julia and Jenny, both former national team skiers for Canada as well as graduates of NCAA ski racing university programs in the United States.
“Ski racing builds so many of the skills that you need to be a successful adult. We have many people who work with Teck who used to be ski racers.”
For Catherine, her professional journey brought her back to Rossland in 2010 when she worked at the Teck Trail Operations Smelter – one of the world’s largest fully integrated zinc and lead smelting and refining complexes – for close to 10 years.
The experience allowed her to experience her hometown as an adult, including all of the outdoor pursuits and snow-filled recreations.
Natural partnership
As a long-time sponsor and supporter of BC Alpine and ski club programs across the province, Teck employees are passionate and engaged in community activities. As Catherine explained, a large number of Teck employees live in the communities across the province where ski clubs exist.
“A huge part of living in BC, particularly in the rural areas, is the opportunity to recreate in nature and skiing is such a big part of that,” she said. “A huge amount of our employees are involved with ski programs in BC so we want to support what they are involved in.
“What our communities care about is where Teck wants to be.”
As a sponsor and engaged partner with various sports and arts programs across the province, Teck continues to nurture and help build these community connections through their involvement.
First-hand perspective
Catherine attended a BC Alpine Teck Coast Zone U16 race in Whistler in February, and was impressed with the skiing level of the racers and the hard working volunteers.
Catherine Adair (left) and Anders Hestdalen (BC Alpine CEO) in Whistler.
“I saw so many people helping with the races, and it seemed to me like a really fun and welcoming community,” she said. It was really fun, it was my second time skiing Whistler. Anders [Hestdalen] showed me around the mountain and it truly is a spectacular and world class resort … and to see the facilities that ski racing has set up there was really impressive.”
Ski racing in BC is no doubt a close-knit community and Catherine can appreciate the volunteerism and professionalism shown by the ski clubs and BC Alpine.
And the experience of growing up in Rossland was something Catherine certainly doesn’t take for granted.
“I was so lucky, it’s such a safe and welcoming community where everyone takes care of each other and there was always something fun to do outside … Rossland will always be home.”
Photo at top: The Teck U16 Western Championships were held at Red Mountain in March. Photo by Steve Hilts – freshshots.ca
Nothing says spring skiing quite like when a sea of over 600 kids descend the slopes of Sun Peaks, bashing through moguls, racing through a ski-cross style kombi course or glalom race, tucking through a speed trap or launching off a speed jump.
This is seriously fun stuff, for the young skiers, their parents and the dozens upon dozens of volunteers who host this event, the largest in the province.
Ski racing at its finest.
And always nearby is the ultimate spectator and fan of youth skiing and ski racing – and a champion skier in her own right – Nancy Greene, the namesake of the NGSL program and festival. Nancy was on hand to cheer on the racers, sign helmets, and hand out awards. What a special treat for the kids.
In a busy season for the Sun Peaks Alpine Club, which saw them host a series of zone and club races, this 18th annual Nancy Greene Festival – sponsored by Hub International – has become the biggest NGSL festival in Canada. It was expected that over 2,000 guests in total came to enjoy the many perks on and around Sun Peaks, namely its fantastic skiing conditions this season.
SPAC president Duncan Currie, was most impressed by the overall experiences by the participating families.
“[The events aren’t about competitions because] results at a young age don’t necessarily translate to what you’re going to do as a young adult … We’re trying to create lifelong skiers rather than diehard ski racers,” Currie explained to Sun Peaks Independent News.
In addition, “Uncle Chris the Clown” who was all over the mountain, was seen keeping up to the youngsters and, of course, putting smiles on faces especially at the awards ceremony.
An emerging Canadian ski racing phenom made headlines and collected some serious hardware in Prince Edward Island at the 2023 Canada Winter Games.
With steely resolve, a focussed attention to details and an obvious set of impressive skills, Roxy Coatesworth, from Golden, B.C., dominated the competition at Canada’s largest multi-sports games and claimed an impressive four gold medals in four events – super-G, giant slalom, slalom and ski cross. It was a clear sign that a star was unveiled on the slopes of Crabbe Mountain, New Brunswick.
Coatesworth was chosen as the British Columbia flag-bearer at the Closing Ceremony on Sunday. “’Being chosen to hold the flag is a huge honour,” said the 16-year-old with a big smile. “It’s amazing to be able to represent everyone back home and all the athletes around me. I’m proud that I can be looked upon as a good representative for BC.”
“I wouldn’t be here without all of my support from my family, friends, coaches, sponsors, and so many more,” says Coatesworth. “All of my results this week happened with them at my side.”
Overall, Team BC finished in second place in the medal standings (see table below) behind Quebec who claimed a whopping 151 medals. BC finished with 103 total medals, including 46 gold, 26 silver and 31 bronze medals. In total, 3,600 athletes across 20 sports and 175 events were contested at 18 venues. The event is massive.
The alpine team scored multiple top 15 finishes and five medals in total – including Maddox Johnson, of the Fernie Alpine Ski Team taking a bronze in men’s ski cross – and along with Coatesworth’s four-medal dominant performance, the alpine skiers from BC (full roster below) contributed to the overall success of the provincial totals.
The para skiers from Team BC also had a strong performance at the Games, taking home three medals – a gold, silver and bronze – over two events. Matthew Leach, from the Vernon Ski Club, and Sam Peters, of the Big White Racers finished second and third respectively in the men’s para giant slalom. Leach, 15, went on to win the men’s para slalom, capping an impressive few days of racing for the youngster from Lumby, B.C.
“We went there with the goal of being the best team in all aspects, not only on the hill, but also off the hill, being respectful, engaging, supportive and energized,” said BC Alpine VP Johnny Crichton. “Our team delivered and it was noticed by the rest of the country. Well done, team!”
Team BC got off to a “golden” start today in PEI, with Roxy Coatesworth, of Golden, BC, claimed the women’s super-G at the 2023 Canada Winter Games in Prince Edward Island, winning BC’s first medal of Canada’s largest multi-sport event.
With an aggressive mindset, the 16-year-old Black Dog Ski Club racer charged the course on Crabbe Mountain, taking the win comfortably with a time of 45.08 seconds, nearly a second ahead of the silver medallist Charlie Houde, of Team Quebec, and Rebecca Pelkey of Team Alberta who tied for second in 45.93. Coatesworth Team BC teammate Hannah Jensen, of Whistler, BC., finished just off the podium in fifth position.
The course was a good set and fun to go down,” said Coatesworth, who was the U16 national champion last season in both super-G and slalom. “Everyone was really hyped for the event today and the plan of attack was delivered and everything went really well.”
In the men’s event, Team Quebec was dominant on the day, taking the top 6 positions with Marek Novak, of West Vancouver, the top BC skier in 17th.
The super-G was the first alpine event of the Canada Winter Games, with the women’s and men’s giant slalom scheduled for tomorrow Tues., March 5th. See here for the full alpine schedule.
Alpine skiing has been a part of the Canada Winter Games since 1967, with previous winners such as current World Cup race Broderick Thompson, as well as many other such as Jan Hudec and Brit Phelan.
Final Results (top 5 and BC skiers) Tuesday, February 28, 2023 Crabbe Mountain
WOMEN
British Columbia Roxy Coatesworth0:45.08
Quebec Charlie Houde 0:45.93
Alberta Rebecca Pelkey 0:45.93
Quebec Arielle Desrosiers 0:46.20
British Columbia Hannah Jensen0:46.44
Other Team BC: 14. British Columbia Madison Sherriff 0:47.96 19. British Columbia Eva Wyse 0:48.73 22. British Columbia Maika Lennox-King 0:48.82 26. British Columbia Rylie Clark 0:49.33 31. British Columbia Amy Milne 0:50.53
MEN
Quebec Philippe Savard 0:44.37
Quebec Émile Piché 0:44.54
Quebec Luka McKinlay 0:44.82
Quebec Louis-Thomas Cantin 0:45.01
Quebec Henri Michaud 0:45.12
Team BC: 17. British Columbia Marek Novak 0:47.25 21. British Columbia Nick Kokot 0:47.46 26. British Columbia Maddox Johnson 0:48.08 27. British Columbia Sacha Jirasek 0:48.29 34. British Columbia Avery Tymchyna 0:48.84 39. British Columbia Gavin Russell Santoro 0:49.45
Seventeen deserving and lucky skiers from BC will be “surrounded by ocean, beauty and spirit” as the Canada Winter Games descends upon the beautiful Prince Edward Island in late February. 3,600 athletes, managers and coaches from 20 sports will embark on the largest multi-sport event in the country.
BC Alpine announced today 14 BC Alpine skiers and 3 para skiers from 7 clubs from across the province who have qualified to represent Team BC. The alpine and para-alpine events are scheduled from Feb. 28 – March 5th.
“We have a solid crew and I like our chances,” said Johnny Crichton, BC Alpine VP. “These are talented and competitive skiers in this group so let’s see what happens.”
Most events will be streamed for free on any device HERE. Viewers of the platform will also be able to enjoy plenty of on-demand content including archived events and daily recap videos. The full 2023 Canada Games broadcast schedule, including CBC Sports and Radio-Canada Sports coverage, can be found at this location.
Team BC
The Team BC squad is led by Roxy Coatesworth, of the Black Dog Ski Club, one of the top prospects in the country. Roxy won the U16 super-G nationals last season and has proven herself on snow and in the gym as a top prospect.
The skiers named below qualified for Team BC through a point scoring tabulation in ski races in the BC Alpine Teck Open series, in multiple disciplines.
Team BC – Men
Douglas Hunter, Sun Peaks Alpine Club
Maddox Johnson, Fernie Alpine Ski Team
Marek Novak, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Nick Kokot, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Gavin Santoro, Apex Mountain Racers
Sacha Jirasek, Big White Racers
Avery Tymchyna, Sun Peaks Alpine Club
Alternate: Mason Poitras, Sun Peaks Alpine Club
Team BC – Women
Roxy Coatesworth, Black Dogs Ski Club
Hannah Jensen, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Madison Sherriff, Black Dogs Ski Club
Rylie Clark, Whitewater Ski Team
Amy Milne, Vernon Ski Club
Eva Wyse, Apex Mountain Racers
Maika Lennox-King, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Alternate: Nikola Buchar, Windermere Valley Ski Club
Team BC – Para
Matthew Leach, Vernon Ski Club (Guide: Chase Ferguson)
Former BC Alpine skiers, now competing for Canada on the World Cup tour, put forward world-leading performances of late.
Take “Big Rig” Reece Howden, of the Apex Ski Club, scorched the ski cross race track in Idre Fjäll, Sweden, taking a win and second place over two days of racing. Howden now leads the World Cup ski cross overall standings with 481 points, with a sizable lead over Mattias Graf, of Austria (328 points).
At the same race, Marielle Thompson, of the Whistler Mountain Ski Club, raced to third place in the women’s race, moving her into third overall in the World Cup standings.
Marielle Thompson. Photo: Alpine Canada/GEPA.
Marielle Thompson. Photo: Alpine Canada/GEPA.
Reece Howden. Photo: Alpine Canada/GEPA.
Reece Howden. Photo: Alpine Canada/GEPA.
Cameron Alexander 6th at Kitzbuhel; Broderick Thompson 9th
Meanwhile over in Kitzhuhel, Austria, two Whistler Mountain Ski Club stars, scored top 10 finishes in the world’s most famous – and treacherous – World Cup downhill.
With snow falling on the 40,000 thousand fans in the grandstands at the base of the Hahnenkamm, Cameron Alexander started 27th and powered his way down the Streif course to finish sixth. In his 25th World Cup start, this is Alexander’s best result this season and his first top 10 since last season’s win in the downhill in Kvitfjell, Norway. The day before Broderick Thompson made an impressive jump from start number 39 to finish ninth, his first top 10 since a third-place finish last season in the super-G in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
Broderick Thompson
Cameron Alexander
Cameron Alexander
Broderick Thompson in the start for race #2 at Kitzbuhel.
“Today felt like I skied well,” said a pleased Alexander. “I had a solid run yesterday but there were a few mistakes that I wanted to clean-up. Did my best today to do that and it turned out really well. Kitzbühel is an insane place, coming into the finish with thousands of fans cheering felt really good. I’m stoked to build on this confidence heading into the next races and into the World Championships.”
Teammate Brodie Seger and James (Jack) Crawford, both of the Whistler Mountain Ski Club, also had strong performances at Kitzbuhel with top 30 restults to finish in the World Cup points. Kyle Alexander gained valuable experience in Kitzbuhel on the most difficult race course on the World Cup.
Meanwhile, over at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Stef Fleckenstein (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) inched closer to a World Cup top 30 finishing 32nd in the super-G.
Heming Sola goes “full throttle” in second run at World Juniors
On January 25th, current BC Ski Team racer Heming Sola (Apex Ski Club) had Canada’s best finish at the World Junior Championships after a blistering-fast second run of 48.80 moved him into 14th position from Bib 49.
“I figured if I wanted to have a good day I would have to go full throttle and that’s what I did,” Sola said after the race.
