Skiers and snowboarders from the Fort travelled to Kimberley, B.C. to compete in the B.C. High School 2011 Alpine Championships.
The FSJSS Ski and Snowboard Team members who had won at the zones travelled for two days each way to compete in terrain slalom and giant slalom races at Kimberley Alpine Resort.
The team spent a total of eight days away, and stayed at a condo on the mountain. There were ten girls and only one boy, Dustin Ethier, who made the provincials this year, which was interesting, according to Jason Barr, team coach.
“He’ll never be the only boy on a ski trip again,” joked Barr.
While none of the team made the podium, snowboarder Sara King was fourth overall in the ladies’ giant slalom and fifth in the terrain slalom for the snowboarding women.
While King missed her start time for one race and had to take the last time slot, leaving her with a rougher course to run, she still felt “pretty good” about her performance.
The giant slalom course she said was “fast but sketchy.”
Barr said the weather created really good conditions while they were there, snowing almost the entire time, which kept the course in good shape.
“Probably the best conditions I’ve ever been to in provincials,” said Barr.
The girl snowboard team placed third overall as a team, while the girl skiers were ninth overall.
Montana Moeller was right behind her teammate King with a sixth place finish in the terrain slalom, followed closely by Shelby Legebokoff in eighth place.
“The course was an enjoyable course,” said Barr. “They did pretty good.”
Each year the course will vary depending on the balance the race coordinator strikes between the more competitive athletic teams and the more recreational teams, according to Barr.
This year the course was a little more forgiving, with a high number of racers finishing the course and fast times overall.
While the racers did well, the highlights weren’t necessarily on the race course, and Barr said he had some of the best moments he’s ever had skiing with the kids after the racing was done for the day.
He was impressed with all the kids’ skill levels off the race course, and said skiing down through the trees with them “the girls amazed me at how hard they ripped.”
At one point on the trip, another fun moment will surely be remembered by all of the team for years to come, as a spontaneous snowball fight broke out amongst the 250 kids while they were all waiting for the final results.
“Of course our team is right in the middle of the action,” said Barr.
Next year’s provincials will take place in Whistler, and Barr looks forward to the excellent facilities and services the mountain will offer the team. He says they are a great organization to deal with for those kind of events.