What a Snowboard Season!

What a great finish to the 2023 snowboard season. We had a very productive training day on Monday and all 10 of our racers were healthy and ready to compete in the Provincial Championship at Ski Martock.

The format was the same as it was in the previous regional races – two timed runs and the best one counts. Forty-three racers from the Western and Capital region were competing for the team banners in the different age categories and for medals in the individual categories. Unfortunately, there were no competitors from the Highland and Northumberland region.

We were blessed with great conditions, the snow was grippy and it got faster with every run. Temperatures were between -2°C and 0°C and very little wind. We were very fortunate this year that we did not need to push to another day for any of our races. But as we now know, storm days and snow days only happen on Fridays. 😉

First place – Lillian Blois ‘27 (43.11 seconds)

Fourth place – Emma Walchhuetter ‘27 (55.5 seconds)

 

Emma had a fantastic first season on the snowboard varsity team. She learned how to ride switch, and she improved her edge transitions. She missed a podium finish by 0.25 seconds. We hope that she will join us again next year.

Lillian is an overall superstar. She participates in snowboarding as a part-time sport (once a week) next to swimming. This was her third season with us but her first actual competitions. She came in first in all three races this season. She is now a regional and provincial champion in snowboarding. Congrats, Lilli! She is a true student-athlete-artist as she did a phenomenal job portraying Grandpa Joe in the Junior School Musical Willy Wonka Jr.

Tenth place – Ashton Houghton ‘26 (48.14 seconds)

Ashton displayed a lot of improvement throughout his first season on the varsity snowboard team, becoming a more confident rider. Especially, his progression on the GS course is worth a mention. The timing of his turns improved and his overall body position on the board is much more stable. He shouldn’t be worried about his 10^th place finish as many of his competitors are in Grade 10 or have much more race experience. This season was a great trial run for him, and I hope that he is keen to race with us again next year.

Fourth place – Madison Fleming ‘24 (42.05 seconds)

Seventh place – Doreen Xing ‘23 (43.61 seconds)

Eighth place – Emma Powell ’24 (44.26 seconds)

 

First place – KES (129.92 seconds)

Emma had a great second season with lots of respectable finishes. After a few practice days on the GS course, she got the hang of it, and she got better with each race day. She was always looking for feedback, and she worked hard to improve with every practice. This work ethic will help her a lot in the next season. Congrats, Champ.

This is Doreen’s last season for the varsity snowboard team, and she had a wonderful finish. She learned how to snowboard in Grade 8 and joined the varsity team a year later in Grade 9, and she finished third in her first provincial championship in 2020. This year she came in third and second in the two regional races. To crown her season, she raised the provincial championship banner in the senior girls team category. We wish her all the best for her future athletic endeavours.

Maddy was the fastest KES senior girl missing out on a podium finish by less than a second. She had a great season displaying the most improvement towards the end, and she showed her best performance at the final race. We are excited that Maddy will be racing with us again next year. Congrats, Champ.

First place – Fox Sullivan ‘24 (33.64 seconds)

Third place – Greyson Corbett-Lumb ‘23 (35.54 seconds)

Fourth place – Alex Graham ‘25 (35.7 seconds)

Sixth place – Noah Burch-Pottie ‘23 (40.25 seconds)

First place – KES (104.88 seconds)

Noah’s spirits on the hill were always high, and he was a great help during dryland season leading a few workouts. Noah worked hard throughout the season to scratch off every millisecond, and his last race was definitely his best performance riding a great line and looking solid from start to finish. Right after he was raising the provincial banner with his team, he switched to spring sports, and he went to rugby practice an hour later. It was a pleasure to coach Noah in soccer and snowboarding, and I wish him all the best for his future.

Alex had another great season. Instead of becoming a provincial champion in the individual intermediate age category (he would have won by three seconds), we moved him up so that he can contribute to secure the senior boys banner. Mission accomplished! The boys beat Modsaïque by 10 seconds. It is exciting that Alex has two more years with us. Well done, Alex.

Greyson came in clutch during provincials securing a podium finish and winning the bronze medal as an individual racer. Greyson was going back and forth between his all mountain and alpine board, and I am glad that he stuck with the alpine board in the end. His aggressive and controlled style is a pleasure to watch. He won the intermediate team banner at provincials in 2020, and now he can add the senior banner to his collection. It was a pleasure to coach Greyson for the last four years, and I wish him all the best for his future.

What a season for Fox. He came in second place in the first regional race behind Tristan Weigelin from Modsaïque who missed the second regional race as he was away for Canada Games. Fox won the second regional race. We were all delighted when we were informed that provincials were moved from Monday to Tuesday, March 7. All Canada Games athletes now had the chance to compete in provincials as well. Many of us were waiting for the snowdown (pun intended) between Fox and Tristan. It was a nail biter until the end as Fox started off with an incredible 33.64s; however, he fell right after start on his second run on an icy patch. Tristan was the last racer to go down the course with the chance to beat Fox, but he could not do it, and Fox was crowned individual provincial champion in the senior category and in the senior team category. I am looking forward to his next and last season with our varsity snowboard team.

Last but not least, I’d like to say thank you to everyone who made this an amazing season:

Have a great March Break everyone,