Member News | BC Alpine Ski Association
Community Service Recovery Fund: Grant opportunity for BC Alpine Clubs

Community Service Recovery Fund: Grant opportunity for BC Alpine Clubs

Application deadline is February 21, 2023!

The Community Services Recovery Fund is a $400 million investment from the Government of Canada to support Community Service Organizations as they focus on how to adapt their organizations for COVID-19 pandemic recovery. Now more than ever, Community Service Organizations are playing a key role in addressing persistent and complex social problems faced by all communities. The purpose of the Community Services Recovery Fund is to strengthen the internal capacity of Community Service Organizations facing immediate and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Project Focus Areas:

  • Investing in people – Funding will support one-time projects that focus on how organizations recruit, retain, engage and support their personnel, including staff, volunteers and board of directors. See project examples on page 10 in in Application Guide linked below.
  • Investing in systems and process – Funding will support one-time projects that invest in the systems and processes involved in creating the internal working of an organizations overall structure. See project examples on page 10 in Application Guide linked below.
  • Investing in program and service innovation and redesign – Funding will support one-time projects primarily focused on program and service innovation and redesign using information gained during the COVID-19 pandemic. See project examples on page 11 in Application Guide linked below.

TECK RECAP: Whistler’s Hannah Jensen & Kingsley Parkhill claim historic Teck Enquist titles

The historic Teck Enquist Cup was back at Mount Seymour this past weekend featuring a two-run slalom races each day, with the top male and female finishers over the two days earning the coveted Enquist Slalom trophies, awarded since 1953.

Saturday saw a mix of all types of weather on the Unicorn run, while conditions Sunday softened with mixed precipitation overnight and throughout the event. The varying conditions provided a challenge for the U16/U19/Masters athletes from BC Alpine’s Coast Zone.

With first place finishes in the U16 category each day, Hannah Jensen (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) was the recipient of the 2023 Women’s Teck Enquist trophy. On the men’s side for U16, Marek Novak (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) took the top honours on Day 1, while Kingsley Parkhill (WMSC) took the top spot on Day 2, and by virtue of results over both days, Kingsley Parkhill (Whistler Mountain Ski Club) earned the 2023 Men’s Teck Enquist trophy.

The Mount Seymour Ski Club thanks race series sponsor Teck, all the volunteers who made the race possible, and Mt. Seymour Resorts for its continued support.

Race report submitted by Susie Ernsting, Mount Seymour Ski Club

TOP 3 RESULTS

FULL RESULTS HERE:

U16 Women – Saturday, February 11, 2023
First Place: Hannah Jensen, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Second Place: Lilia Rose, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club
Third Place: Nicole Webb, Whistler Mountain Ski Club

Overall Women – Saturday, February 11, 2023
First Place: Hannah Jensen, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Second Place: Erica Zander, Cypress Mountain Ski Club
Third Place: Lilia Rose, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club

U16 Men – Saturday, February 11, 2023
First Place: Marek Novak, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Second Place: Nick Kokot, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Third Place: Kekai Chalmers, Whistler Mountain Ski Club

Overall Men – Saturday, February 11, 2023
First Place: Thomas Hung, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club
Second Place: Marek Novak, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Third Place: Nick Kokot, Whistler Mountain Ski Club

U16 Women – Sunday, February 12, 2023
First Place: Hannah Jensen, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Second Place: Marlowe Cook, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Third Place: Eva Wyse, Apex Ski Club

Overall Women – Sunday, February 12, 2023
First Place: Erica Zander, Cypress Mountain Ski Club
Second Place: Hannah Jensen, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Third Place: Marlowe Cook, Whistler Mountain Ski Club

U16 Men – Sunday, February 12, 2023
First Place: Kingsley Parkhill, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Second Place: Liam Gottfried, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Third Place: Jaden Chow, Cypress Ski Club

Overall Men – Sunday, February 12, 2023
First Place: Sacha Fivel, Cypress Ski Club
Second Place: Thomas Hung, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club
Third Place: Malcolm Elvidge, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club

TECK RECAP: Smithers club showcases superb track; overcome weather snags in epic races

TECK RECAP: Smithers club showcases superb track; overcome weather snags in epic races

The Smithers Ski and Snowboard Club knows how to party. And they know how to host great ski races. The second and final North Zone Teck Series race of the season took place at Hudson Bay Mountain Resort last weekend with 83 athletes ranging from age 10 to 67 taking part in a weekend showdown. See the race results at the bottom.

Athletes and volunteers were in awe of the new infrastructure SSSC had worked so hard to establish over the summer, thanks to the incredible Community Economic Resilience Infrastructure Program grant from the Government of BC. New start huts, hard wire timing, timing gear, safety netting, event centre amphitheatre, and more came out to save the day.

The volunteers, athletes, coaches, and race organizers faced adversity and unexpected events, and time and again found ways to overcome. Road closures, lift closures, a coastal snow storm, soft snow, as well as hurricane-force winds could not deter the passion and excitement of race weekend.

Saturday’s high winds forced all lifts to be closed, yet the local ski cabin community came out to the rescue en masse and snowmobiles shuttled hundreds of bodies to the top to get the race completed.

Sunday arrived with 20+ cm of fresh snow and relentless accumulation; the morning run had athletes wiping their goggles multiple times during their race run in full survival mode. The afternoon run turned into a hurricane wind event and a continued blizzard and everyone involved prayed for the lift to keep running long enough to finish the 2nd run.

“Saturday was surreal. We all assume that lifts will be turning on race day and it would be easy to cancel a GS in the absence of lifts. I watched the ROC strategize, communicate and implement a solution to save the race. It was a massive pivot and amazing to watch. Sunday’s weather was apocalyptic with howling wind, driving snow and hoar frost coating the b-net as fast it could be reset. Matt’s course crew worked tirelessly to ensure that athletes had a safe race environment, all the while under the threat of lift closure. Well done!”

Graham Cope, BC Alpine Chair and Race TD

Even the awards were harrowing, with spectators cowering under the new covered event center while athletes on the podium had to avoid the growing roof snow cornice from tumbling down on their heads. All in all, a most memorable weekend!

RACE RESULTS HERE

Race Report submitted by Cormac Hikisch, Smithers Ski Club

Spectacular skills and thrills on display at Whistler NGSL & Janyk Cup

Spectacular skills and thrills on display at Whistler NGSL & Janyk Cup

The Whistler Mountain Ski Club was happy to welcome back U10 – U14 athletes for two incredible race days at the Sporting Life Nancy Greene Ski League (NGSL) Skills Event, and as well for U12s at the 4th annual Janyk Cup on January 28-29, 2023.

Both events took place on the same weekend this season, with the Skills Event taking place on Saturday, January 28 and then the Janyk Cup on Sunday, January 29.

The Janyk Cup was created in honour of Andree Janyk in celebration of her unwavering commitment to volunteerism and sport. The WMSC club’s mission – developing champions in life and sport – is precisely the leadership and passion that Andree exhibited with her two children and those she came into contact with.

Athletes from Cypress, Grouse-Tyee, WB Race Development Program (RDP), Sasquatch and Mt. Seymour Ski Clubs enjoyed crisp winter days with bluebird sunny conditions. Snow conditions were perfect for both days; firm, hard-packed on Ptarmigan. The terrain was carefully prepared by the Dave Murray National Training Centre and WMSC Coaches and Volunteers, and the course itself was tended by course crew volunteers from all clubs (see results below).

The NGSL Skills Event followed a multi-station format; including Start & Skate, Speed Trap & J-turn, Dual Slalom and Combi Course. Each team was able to test their skills multiple times through each station. On Sunday, the Janyk Cup featured a two-run combined-time GS.

For many of these athletes, the Janyk Cup presented their first opportunity to compete against other clubs after training at their respective clubs. This year’s top female and male athletes came from WMSC; Cecily Gibbons taking first place with a combined time of 1:08:42, while Olivier Courcelles took top spot with a combined time of 1:04:58.

“It was a spectacular weekend with lots of sunshine and smiles. It was really great for me personally to see all the young racers from throughout the sea-to sky corridor up in Whistler competing and having fun.”

Andrew Kirker, Race Chair

Girls, January 29

First Place: Cecily Gibbons, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Second Place: Ngaire Kelly, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Third Place: Ellie Eliason, Sasquatch Ski Club
Fourth Place: Evelyn Duffy, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Fifth Place: Natalie Uskoski, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Sixth Place: Chloe Xu, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club
Seventh Place: Eleanor Monroe, Mt. Seymour Ski Club
Eighth Place: Sasha Harriman, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Ninth Place: Annabelle Booth, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Tenth Place: Abigail Anderson, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club

Boys, January 29

First Place: Olivier Courcelles, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Second Place: Finley Wood, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Third Place: Monty Cormack, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Fourth Place: Logan Bailey, Mt. Seymour Ski Club
Fifth Place: Daniel Gold, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club
Sixth Place: Alin Andrus, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Seventh Place: Oliver Chiu, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Eighth Place: Scott Nann, Mt. Seymour Ski Club
Ninth Place: Declan Quinlan, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Tenth Place: Brodie Trent, Whistler Mountain Ski Club

Team Standing

First Place: Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Second Place: Sasquatch Ski Club
Third Place: Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club
Fourth Place: Cypress Ski Club
Fifth Place: WB Race Development Program (RDP),
Sixth Place: Mt. Seymour Ski Club

Race Organizers

WMSC Janyk Cup Chair: Andrew Kirker
Chief of Race: Michael Janyk
Chief of Course: Martin Suchy
Chief of Volunteers: Georgia Dahle

Photos by: Al Han WMSC photographer volunteer (download great action shots HERE)

SPORTING LIFE Recap: Kimberley crew challenges young Kootenay skiers’ skill and speed at festival series

SPORTING LIFE Recap: Kimberley crew challenges young Kootenay skiers’ skill and speed at festival series

After a two-year hiatus, the Nancy Greene Festival hosted by Kimberley Alpine Team was reborn and took place February 11-12 at Kimberley Alpine Resort. Under bluebird skies, 150 athletes from Lake Louise (Black Dogs Ski Club), Windermere (Windermere Valley Ski Club), Golden (Golden Kicking Horse Alpine Team), and Fairmont (Team Fairmont) challenged the disciplines of Long Jump, Giant Slalom, Moguls, Speed Trap, and Dual Slalom

Athletes, volunteers, and coaches were treated to a bbq event at the base of the famous Dreadnaught run. A celebration of participation and team spirit for the athletes’ concluded both days in the main plaza area with everyone taking home a souvenir of their experience in Kimberley.  

All in all, the spirit and camaraderie of the Nancy Greene program is alive and well in the Kootenay Zone and the event truly displayed a passionate next generation. 

Kimberley Alpine Team would like to thank Kimberley Alpine Resort for the grooming, bbq support, and PA equipment for the awards ceremony. Also a special thanks to Dreadnaught Racing for the use of their timing shack to support our bbq lunch.  A special shout out to Save-On-Foods and Shoppers Drug Mart (Kimberley)for their lunch  and award donations.  To our corporate sponsor Sporting Life, thank you for recognizing the value and importance of development ski programs in British Columbia.   

Finally, to all the volunteers (timing, bbq, course workers), coaches, and parents – thank you for going above and beyond in supporting this event – you set the bar high! Until next year….ski fast!

– Submitted by Darin Welch

SPORTING LIFE NGSL: Reece Howden wows youngsters at  Sasquatch Cup

SPORTING LIFE NGSL: Reece Howden wows youngsters at Sasquatch Cup

When the Sasquatch Mountain Ski Club hosted the 2023 Sasquatch Cup last weekend, a special guest joined in on the fun, signing autographs and mingling with the young skiers.

Two 1-run kombi races per gender were on Saturday’s U12 schedule at Sasquatch Mountain Resort, and on Sunday it was time for the Nancy Greene Ski League (U6, U8 and U10) dual glalom, speed trap and other skills events.

The young racers were excited to be on the mountain with friends and putting their skills to the test, but the biggest thrill of the weekend was a visit from ski cross super-star, Olympian and Crystal Globe winner Reece Howden. Howden grew up in Cultus Lake, not far from Sasquatch Mountain, and stopped by the event to meet the skiers, sign autographs and hand out awards.

The U12 Sasquatch Cup was won by the Whistler Mountain Ski Club.

There were participation ribbons and fun random prize draws at the end of the event, (including a few Sasquatch stuffies the kids went crazy over!).

Story submitted by Caryn Eliason, Sasquatch Mountain Ski club