On April 2nd and 3rd, the final weekend of the Mount Washington Ski Resort’s scheduled 2021/2022 season, 195 athletes from teams across the Coast Zone, including Whistler, the 4 Lower Mainland ski teams (Cypress, Grouse, Seymour, Sasquatch) joined 30 Mount Washington Ski Club athletes to compete in the Teck Coast Zone Finals. The two-day event was scheduled to have 3 different age groups being timed for top place in slalom on the Saturday and head-to-head racing in the Dual Slalom on the Sunday. (See awesome action shots in Don Tait’s Flickr Albums)
The conditions were excellent on Saturday for a great race. The snow was hard, the weather was clear and the race committee and equipment operated flawlessly. The U12 age group raced two individually timed slalom races while the U14s & U16s combined the two times of their runs for a total overall ranking. (FIND FULL RESULTS HERE)
Top three included:
U12 girls Run 1: Cecily Gibbons (Whistler), Anya McColm (Whistler), Danica Williams (Mt Washington)
U12 Boys Run 1: Joe Orde (Grouse), Eric Krastev (Grouse), Aaron Na (Cypress)
U12 Girls Run 2: Nikita Ciesla (Grouse), Charlotte Severin (Grouse), Danica Williams (Mt Washington)
U12 Boys Run 2: Aaron Na (Cypress), Joe Orde (Grouse), Bodie Morgan (Whistler)
U16 Girls: Maeve Pretty (Grouse), Alice Cameron-Boyes (Cypress), Rachel Na (Cypress)
U16 Boys: Nick Kokot (Whistler), Malcolm Elvidge (Grouse), Archie Clark (Whistler)
Danica Williams, MWSC – PHOTO CREDIT: Don Tait
Unfortunately, the Sunday races were cancelled as too much snow fell over a short period of time to be able to safely run the race.
“Its too bad we could not safely run the race. The Dual Slalom is a fun event to watch as athletes go head-to-head with the winners moving on to the next round until a winner is determined. We tried our best but we could not keep up with the falling snow. Ironically, 30 minutes after we officially cancelled the race, the sun came out, the powder skiing was amazing and Mount Washington had great weather for the ‘Slush Cup’”
Ryan Williams, Chief of Race for the Teck Zone Finals
The Mt Washington Ski Club celebrated its 40th year this year. Athletes can be as young as 5 years old in the Nancy Greene Ski League and as old as 18 years old and racing on the interprovincial FIS race circuit. Thank you to the following sponsors for 2021/2022: Race Series Sponsor – Teck; Platinum (Mount Washington) – Rick Gibson of Royal LePage, Colonial Countertops, Gold (Mount Washington) – Ryan Williams of REMAX, Accent Inns Vancouver Island, Arrowsmith Bikes, Ski Tak Hut, Frame & Co Injury Law, Grant Signs.
With the buzz of local and national races rattling Canada, the coast zone shone a light on U16 athletes last week by bridging the present and future with two special guests as forerunners. On March 30th, the Grouse Tyee Ski Club welcomed 54 racers, consisting of 34 female and 20 male racers, to a two-run slalom race. Courtney Hoffos, a member of the Canadian Ski Cross Team, and Brodie Seger, a member of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team, were inspiring guests and forerunners for the U16 race. (Above photo:U16 Top 10 Girls with Courtney and Brodie – Photo Credit: George Liu)
The racers were welcomed to Grouse with warm temperatures and blue-bird skies. Although they faced soft and slushy snow at the top of Grouse, the race hill was well salted and held up for an exciting spring race. Both courses were set wide and ran fast and smooth, allowing the race to run ahead of schedule. As one athlete said, “my second run went a lot better than my first [as] I was able to take impressions from the first run into [the similarities of] my second-course inspection.” However, despite the perfect weather, quick-paced schedule, and good set, athletes were most excited to end their school day off with a race alongside Team Canada athletes.
Brodie Seger and Courtney Hoffos (Photo Credit: George Liu)
“Meeting and talking to [Courtney and Brodie] was inspirational because I realized that they are regular people who have put in a lot of work to reach their dreams and goals. This was a moment of encouragement for me as an athlete going into FIS [because] if I discipline myself and put effort into reaching my goals, I can do it”
Maeve Pretty, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club athlete
As we heard from Maeve and other athletes, having Brodie and Courtney at the event was a rewarding opportunity, as it drew attention to the future for them. Furthermore, to share the same course with a World Cup athlete made the race inspiring, not to mention nerve-racking!
The Grouse Tyee Ski Club would like to thank the 54 racers for their effort, the volunteers, parents and coaches for their support, and Teck alongside Grouse Mountain Resort for their sponsorship, support and assistance!
Volunteers and coaches with Brodie and Courtney (Photo Credit: George Liu)
Race Day Results (Top 3): Wednesday, March 30, 2022 (FULL RESULTS HERE)
The Revelstoke Ski Club was excited to welcome back the Teck Okanagan Zone Finals after four years, on April 2nd and 3rd. There was a great showing from visiting clubs, with 143 athletes from Alpine Yukon, Apex, Big White, Revelstoke, Sun Peaks, and Vernon. For this spring race, the athletes saw it all on the course this weekend: sun, snow, and wind, and even a whiteout where you couldn’t see two gates in front of you. The snow held off though for the hard-working course workers, with only a few new centimeters on Saturday and Sunday. For anyone who stayed over until Monday, they would be treated with 19 cms of snow on the hill! (Photo above courtesy of Jessica Amelia Photography
On Friday, clubs started to arrive for training and free skiing, and then the event kicked off on Saturday with a two-run combined GS for the U14 – U19s, and two one-run GS races for the U12s. A highlight was our celebrity forerunner, Olympic Ski Cross racer Reece Howden! He’s an alum from the Okanagan zone and Apex Ski Club, and has come a long way since his last zone finals races! It ended up being a very long day for everyone, with one last athlete having to have the lift turned back on for him so he could make it to his re-run.
Forerunner in green bib is Olympian Reece Howden! Photo by Jessica Amelia Photography
Photo by Jessica Amelia Photography
The plan changed up for Sunday aiming for a shorter day, and we succeeded! On Sunday we held the U14 – U19 first run, then the U12 paneled slalom and stubby slalom back-to-back, finishing with the second run for the U14-U19s. Everyone worked together for a super-smooth tear-down effort!
It was nice with restrictions lifted to be able to hold awards at the end of the day Sunday, with all the clubs together to celebrate some fast skiing and a great season!
Ava Dye from Sun Peaks and Egan Kelly from Revelstoke were both four for four, winning each of their U12 races. Kael Oberlander from Big White won both races in the female U16 category, as did Morgan Ring from Sun Peaks and Braden Blankley from Vernon in U14. Douglas Hunter from Sun Peaks won the GS for U16 males and Sacha Jirasek from Big White won the slalom. The full results are available on the BC Alpine Calendar.
Photo by Jessica Amelia Photography
Photo by Jessica Amelia Photography
We want to say a big thank you to Revelstoke Mountain Resort for hosting the event, all the visiting teams, coaches and parents, and to all the hard-working volunteers who made it all possible!
BC Alpine’s high-performance GFF training camp, which aims to inspire BC’s next wave of female skiers, is back with an all-star coach and athlete-coach crew, April 19 to 21, 2022 at Sun Peaks Resort.
Guest coaches may include Olympian and World Junior PGS Champion Cassidy Gray, an Invermere skier who is making waves on the alpine World Cup tour, and 6-time Paralympic medalist Mollie Jepsen, as well as Canadian men’s speed team racer Sam Mulligan.
The focus of the camp is to provide a FUN, high-performance training environment where athletes can connect with other female-identifying coaches and athletes throughout the province. Athletes can take advantage of the spring training and kick-start their 2022-2023 season with foundational work.
“Having a strong, supportive community within sport is so important for young, female athletes. This GFF camp will inspire upcomingskiers to continue their pursuit of ski racing and high-level sport.”.
Anders Hestdalen, BC Alpine CEO
Eligible: Any female-identifying racer born 2008 or older that is registered with a BC Alpine club (2nd year U14s, U16s & FIS-aged female athletes)
When: April 19th to 21st, 2022 (arrive between 4pm and 6pm of April 18, and depart 2pm to 3pm of April 21, 2022)
Where: Sun Peaks Resort, BC
Hotel: Nancy Greene’s Cahilty Hotel & Suites
Confirmed Coaching Crew :
Montana Molyneux – BCST Coach
Samantha Fournier – OST FIS Coach
Katie Findlay – Revelstoke Program Director
Leslie Firstbrook – Smithers Program Director
VIP Athlete Coaches:
Cassidy Gray – Olympian
Mollie Jepsen – Paralympian
Sam Mulligan – World Cup Ski Racer
Included:
3 nights accommodation, April 18, 19 and 20 (checking out on the 21st)
Meals (dinner on the 18th, breakfast, lunch & dinner on the 19th & 20th, breakfast & lunch on the 21st)
3 days on-snow & off-snow technical work
All-Star athlete panel & female athlete nutrition and health talk
3 days of inspiration!
NOTE: transportation to and from Sun Peaks NOT INCLUDED
Total cost payable to BC Alpine is $660.00 – accommodation is based on double occupancy
“Women in Sport is pleased to present, for all Coaches (male and female) a 3 part webinar series starting March 23, 2022. The webinars will focus on coach development, providing educational and conversational opportunities for coaches across the province. We believe that it is essential for our male and female coach community to connect through such educational opportunities as they provide a space for growth, inquiry, and networking. “
The Big White Ski Club, with the generous support of Big White Ski Resort/Flynn Seddon and his amazing Telus park crew, was excited to host 160 athletes (U12- FIS ages) from SK, AB, BC, Yukon and Washington State. The racers faced snowy conditions on Saturday but Sunday the sun came out with blue skies most of the day. (above photo of U16 Girls Sunday Final by Dave Willoughby)
Special Guest Ned Ireland, former member of Canada Ski Cross Team, was on hand for presentation of medals and photos on Sunday. BC Alpine provided the medals and Alpine Canada donated many of the draw prizes given out on Saturday. For many racers it was their first experience with ski cross after a 3 year break (March 2019)
Heat U14 Men Saturday
Our FIS Ladies reversed the top 2 spots Saturday with September Stefani of Red Mountain taking the Gold while in a video finish Maren Vincett of North Alberta Ski Cross (NASx) captured the gold on Sunday. Both days Katie Kimball of NASx was 3rd and Cordelia Hultman of Grouse Tyee was 4th.
FIS Men saw Finley Cashin of Okanagan Ski Team / Big White Ski Club take both Gold and Euan Currie of Sun Peaks capture both Silver. On Saturday Austin Boehm of Alberta Ski Cross got Bronze returning to snow after a knee injury. Sunday saw Aaron Leaman Team Thailand / Okanagan Ski Team take the Bronze.
In U16 Women Marlowe Cook of Whistler was our Gold medalist on Saturday. Liv Willoughby – Silver Saturday and Gold Sunday. Heide Schenk of Whistler just missed the podium on Saturday (4th) but got a Silver on Sunday. Tori Vollmer – Yukon got Bronze Saturday while Tabitha Taylor of Big White took the Bronze on Sunday.
U16/U19 Men had Cameron Currie of Sun Peaks take both Gold while Silver on Saturday went to Big White David Brundula and Sunday Markus Tondl of Revelstoke. Two Sun Peaks Racers took Bronze, Douglas Hunter -Saturday and Brandon Johnson on Sunday.
Starter Todd Cashin, coaches Trevor Haaheim, BWSC and Bill Rublee, Sun Peaks
Sunday FIS Men with Ned Ireland
U14 Women Maika Lennox-King of Whistler earned 2 Gold, Silvers went to Valerie Chan-Saturday and Chloe Anderson -Sunday both of Grouse Tyee. Saturdays Bronze was Morgan Ring Sun Peaks, Sunday Elyann Dinn of Yukon.
U14 Men On Saturday Dominic Reid of Whistler won Gold, AJ Laurell of Golden Kicking Horse Alpine raced to Silver followed by Gold on Sunday. Kingsley Parkhill of Whistler got Bronze both days. Wyatt Tondl of Revelstoke just missed podium Saturday but got Silver Sunday.
U12 Women had Alexandra Walker of Big White claim both Gold and Ava Dye of Sun Peaks both Silver. Saturday’s Bronze went to Anya McColm from Whistler while Maya Robinson from Sun Peaks earned Sunday’s.
U12 Men saw Cadel Jarret of Skykomish as Double Gold Winner. Saturday he was joined on the podium by Alec Brayman of Edmonton Ski Club for Silver and Corvin Lott of Sun Peaks -Bronze. Sunday Silver was Hamish Woodman from Revelstoke and Bronze went to Grayson Kirker of Whistler.
Alisdair Barton in Green Bib
Liv Willoughby U16 Red bib(photo by Dave Willoughby)
Saturday FIS Men
~ Story submitted by Sharon Cashin
Saturday March 19th, 2022
FIS Women
1st – September Stefani (Red Mountain)
2nd – Maren Vincett (Alberta North SX)
3rd – Katie Kimball (Alberta North SX)
4th – Cordelia Hultman (Grouse Tyee)
U16 Women
1st – Marlowe Cook (Whistler)
2nd – Liv Willoughby (Big White)
3rd – Tori Vollmer (Yukon)
4th – Heide Schenk (Whistler)
U14 Women
1st – Maika Lennox-King (Whistler)
2nd – Valerie Chan (Grouse Tyee)
3rd – Morgan Ring (Sun Peaks)
4th – Alexa Ferguson (Whistler)
U12 Women
1st – Alexandra Walker (Big White)
2nd – Ava Dye (Sun Peaks)
3rd – Anya McColm (Whistler)
4th – Maya Robinson (Sun Peaks)
FIS Men
1st – Finley Cashin (Big White / Okanagan Ski Team)
