When Mount Washington Alpine Resort and the Mount Washington Ski Club welcomed 120 athletes from Coast Zone clubs – including Whistler Mountain Ski Club, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club, Cypress Ski Club, Mt. Seymour Ski Club and Sasquatch Ski Club – they did so under incredible conditions and a well-run TECK race series.
The Teck Coast Zone TECK U14 GS & SL (January 21-22, 2023) showcased the best U14 skiers in the Coast Zone.
After excellent preparation by the grooming staff and the race volunteers, the snow was almost perfect for racing. On Saturday, they raced two runs of GS, with the girls competing first, followed by the boys. Second run start order for each gender was reversed to provide equal opportunity for all athletes. With light snow and cloudy conditions, the race went smoothly and finished close to the scheduled time. Results were determined by the combined 1st and 2nd run times.
Top three GS finishers
U14 girls: Elena Deda (Whistler), Valerie Chan (Grouse), Maggie Cormack (Whistler) U14 boys: Luka Buchheister (Whistler), Alex Velikov (Grouse), Nathaniel Hung (Grouse
Sunday proved to be another great day for racing. With cooler temperatures, a beautiful a sunrise and hard snow, the 120 athletes hit the slopes with solid slalom skiing. There were two courses set; one for the girls and one for the boys in the morning. For the afternoon races they switched courses and reversed their start order. Just like the previous day’s GS, the slalom results were based on two-run combined times.
“It was a fantastic weekend of racing” stated Ryan Williams, Race Chairman. “A big thank you to the Mount Washington Ski Resort for working with our requirements for a safe venue. An even bigger thank you to all the volunteers that were needed before, during and after the race. And the biggest thank you to the athletes for the smiles, the quality racing and positive attitudes. In the end, the Mount Washington Ski Club is very proud of the quality of the event they hosted.”
The Windermere Valley Ski Club & Panorama Mountain Resort welcomed over 130 athletes from 8 clubs to Panorama Mountain last weekend for the first race of the season for the Kootenay Zone U14/U16 SL and GS race series. The ROC managed to deliver 5 races in 3 days, an exceptional experience for all attending clubs.
“The traditional 2-run races are easier to run but don’t allow racers spend a lot of time on their skis,” said Dusan Grasic, Program Director of the Windermere Ski Club. “Racers at this age should spend more time on skis and less time sitting in the lodge and waiting for their run so we decided to host a 3-day event, and attempt to hold 2 SL and 3 GS races over 3 days.”
“We are extremely fortunate to have an experienced ROC that organizes two to three FIS series’ a year,” he continued. “Organizing U16/U14 event gave us an opportunity to bring in new young volunteers to shadow our ROC and run the series in a new race format.”
The first day (Friday) the veteran ski club kicked off with 2 SL races with the start of the first course at the top of the run with two SL runs set. The second/lower course started across from the finish of the upper course and finished at the same spot as GS races would finish Saturday and Sunday.
All the athletes had one inspection of both the upper and lower course in the morning, and again both courses in the afternoon. The ladies started on the lower course and the men started on the upper course…at the same time! With two ROCs running two races simultaneously, the ladies did the loop to the top and the boys just moved over to lower course. Courses on the bottom and on the top counted for one race each. The races ran without a hitch, and with an 8:30am lift load, the crew was done by 2:30pm.
Three GS runs were scheduled for Saturday but Mother Nature had other ideas. Heavy fog resulted in only two runs for the girls and one run for the boys. “The teams were absolute troopers, despite long delays spirits remained high,” Grasic said.
The visibility was better on Sunday and the race organizers were able to complete the second run for the boys from Saturday, as well as two more runs for each gender.
“This proved we can successfully run 3 GS races in two days if the weather cooperates,” Grasic continued. “We believe this format is something we should try again in the future. It kept the racers engaged and moving. It is of course, dependent on weather and snow conditions, but fortunately we have great early season snow making in Panorama, and fog is rare.”
One wildcard factor for hosting an agreessive race schedule such as this is have the adequate timing crews for the SL races, as the format requires two ROCs.
“We would like to express huge thanks to the timing crews, especially from Red Mountain and Fernie,” said Katie Comb, of the WVSC. “We lost internet several times and they just kept going! Also big thanks to Panorama Mountain for their amazing cooperation, the hard-working volunteers from clubs around the zone, the forerunners who were here on vacation from the Northern Ski Team in New Zealand, as well as the coaches and racers who stayed positive and patient while we battled weather delays. All the racers showed great team spirit and sportsmanship!”
TECK OKANAGAN ZONE SL – Hosted by Apex Ski Club and Apex Mountain Resort
On January 14th and 15th, the Apex Ski Club hosted the Teck Okanagan Zone Race for U12-U16. This year’s race weekend will certainly be one to remember! Despite significant technical and environmental factors working against the hosts, a successful race weekend was accomplished. Over the course of the two days, the race organizers had to contend with power and cellular outages, foggy conditions, and falling trees. With safety at the absolute forefront, precautions were taken, and the event proceeded thanks to the efforts of the many parents, volunteers, and coaches.
On Saturday and Sunday, over 140 racers from Apex, Silver Star, Big White, Revelstoke, Sun Peaks and the Yukon participated in slalom races on the Okanagan Run for their first competition of the season. Although the fog was not ideal, athletes managed to turn in some great performances, and the atmosphere and energy among competitors was terrific.
Apex Ski Club would like to thank Apex Mountain Resort and the sponsors for their support, and the athletes for their patience while course workers successfully maintained a fair play event. Most importantly, the club would like to express their gratitude the volunteers who worked tirelessly to pull off a great race weekend under the challenging circumstances. Excellent job everyone!
Lightning Creek Ski Club held the first race of the 2022/2023 North Zone Season at Troll Resort on January 14 and 15. These dates were a bit earlier than we usually endeavour to hold a race, but with a tight season calendar we knew we had to make it work. And we did!
With great snow early in the season, and Troll Resort opening in mid-December, our athletes were able to hit the snow with great conditions for the weeks leading up to our race. However, Mother Nature has an evil side and we lost a lot of snow in the days leading up to the race. But, the show must go on. We were able to hold one 2-run GS race on Saturday and 2 x 2 run SL races on Sunday.
The kids were all smiles as they rekindled friendships with their competitors from other North Zone Clubs, and mild temperatures helped keep the mood very light and happy. We are all counting down to the next North Zone race in Smithers in February!
U16 TECK COAST ZONE GS & SL – hosted by Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Photo of coaches above courtesy of Adrienne Bouris
Whistler Mountain Ski Club was happy to welcome back athletes for Teck’s first U16 Coast Zone race of the season. After a soggy week the weather greatly improved with durable, hard-packed conditions on Ptarmigan. The terrain was carefully prepared by the Dave Murray National Training Centre and Vail Resorts and the course itself was tended by course crew volunteers from all clubs.
The format was a two-run combined time GS on Saturday and a two-run combined time slalom on Sunday. The athletes from Cypress, Grouse, Mount Washington, Sasquatch and Seymour enjoyed a crisp winter day with sunny conditions on Saturday, and a partly cloudy day on Sunday with the snow holding off until the awards ceremony at the Garbo Hut.
Exciting racing for all, with the most improved award won for GS and SL by Alexandra Menard for the women and shared by three athletes – Corey Kwan, Jaden Chow and Martin Winnett for men’s SL, Jaden Chow also won for GS.
Race Report courtesy of Kristi Blom (WMSC); photos by Al Han and Adrienne Bouris
(above) First Place in GS and SL – Hanna Jensen, Whistler Mountain Ski Club – Photo Credit: Al Han
Men’s Giant Slalom – January 14th First Place: Nick Kokot, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Second Place: Marek Novak, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Third Place: Dreas Gibbons, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Fourth Place: Dominic Reid, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Fifth Place: Kingsley Parkhill, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Sixth Place: Indigo Liu, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club Seventh Place: Corey Kwan, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Eighth Place: Jaden Chow, Cypress Ski Club Nineth Place: Koen Lefevre, Mount Washington Ski Club Tenth Place: Kekai Chalmers, Whistler Mountain Ski Club
Women’s Slalom – January 15th First Place: Hannah Jensen, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Second Place: Maika Lennox-King, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Third Place: Nicole Webb, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Fourth Place: Lilia Rose, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club Fifth Place: Brooke Bessie, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Sixth Place: Thea Torn, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Seventh Place: Thea Lutz, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Eighth Place: Rebecca Whelan, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Nineth Place: Alexandra Menard, Cypress Ski Club Tenth Place: Sidney Wallin, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club
(above) Women’s Slalom – January 15th – Photo Credit: Al Han
Men’s Slalom – January 15th First Place: Nick Kokot, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Second Place: Marek Novak, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Third Place: Jaden Chow, Cypress Ski Club Fourth Place: Zack Firkins, Cypress Ski Club Fifth Place: Aiden Thornhill, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Sixth Place: George Sarkis, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Seventh Place: Indigo Liu, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club Eighth Place: Kingsley Parkhill, Whistler Mountain Ski Club Nineth Place: Oscar Wong, Mount Washington Ski Club Tenth Place: Martin Winnett, Mount Washington Ski Club
(above) Men’s Slalom – January 15th – Photo Credit Al HanU14/U16 Race series sponsor Teck, represented by Catherine Adair (Manager, Community Development) with Anders Hestdalen (BC Alpine CEO)
The Alpine Women in Sport is about to kick off another 3-part Webinar Series. We are very excited to start our Series with Johnny Crichton, Vice President, BC Alpine.
“A Little Bit of Everything, Coaching-Wise” Monday January 16th @ 5pm These Webinars are all eligible for Education Credits
Please see the post in the link below for the Google Meets link, and be sure to share with all your coaches, both male and female, especially your young coaches. Many know the name Johnny Crichton, yet have never heard him present or been able to ask him a question.
