Mt. Washington Ski Club competitors turned in strong performances when they hosted the Teck B.C. Provincials at Mount Washington on the weekend.
The three-day event had a total of 160 athletes from around the province competing in 10 races, two Giant Slaloms, two Slaloms and one Kombi for each sex. "It was a huge event that could not have been pulled off without the help of hundreds of selfless local volunteers, including the local favourite, the Mt. Washington 'Marmot Workers', who also worked the Olympics," an event spokesperson said.
Kole Harle (Campbell River) started things off right, day one in his first race, with a gold medal in the Slalom. Teammates Liam Gilchrist (Nanaimo) and Logan Frame (Campbell River) raced to a seventh and 10th respectively, with Robbie Yelland (Victoria) 24th. On the girls' side, Maja Nymann (Campbell River) was 13th and Keegan McCooey (Cumberland) finished 16th in the GS.
Harle continued on day two with a gold medal in the second GS. Gilchrist鈥檚 best finish was a bronze medal, Frame was ninth and Yelland 32nd. Both Nymann鈥檚 and McCooey鈥檚 best finishes were 12th, in different races.
Day three had Gilchrist earning a sixth in the Kombi, Harle a seventh, Frame a 10th and Yelland a 32nd. Nymann had her best finish with a sixth and McCooey a 14th.
"The event was a huge success, with most families from other ski clubs stunned by the volume of snow at our mountain," the spokesperson said. "The event ended on Sunday under beautiful blue skies and unlimited visibility."
These races were a qualifier for the Whistler Cup, April 8-10, North America鈥檚 only FIS sanctioned international race for juvenile ski racers, age 11-14. The athletes will find out at the end of the week who qualified to go, based on these and their Western Canadian results. Complete results are available at bcalpine.com
The race would not have been possible without the assistance of these generous sponsors: Teck, Vancouver Sun, Ricky鈥檚 All Day Grill Nanaimo, Gordon Ross Photography, Best Western Westerly, Colonial Countertops, BC Alpine, Ski Tak Hut, Mount Washington Alpine Resort, Rick Gibson Realtor, Graham and Frame, Tier One Travel and Ryan Williams of Re/Max.
鈥� Mt. Washington Ski Club
