By Mary Clayton, Revelstoke Ski Club
As the end of the ski racing season draws near, the Revelstoke Ski Club has been busy sending racers and coaches to competitions across BC and Alberta. From Mar. 2-5, the FIS athletes were at a Van Houtte Cup competition at Sun Peaks Resort, near Kamloops, where some excellent results were posted.
Over the four days, two slalom and two giant slalom races were held. Emily Unterberger, Jamie Park and Cole Smith competed for Revelstoke, all three of them in the U18 category. And even though the weather was poor for the first two days, it turned out to be a great race series for the team, with both Emily and Jamie posting top five finishes.
“These were the best results of the girls’ careers,” reported Coach Milan Arsovski. “Lots of emotions and effort were involved and it’s great to see the level of their performance rising to where they should be. This is excellent for team motivation and self-confidence. Now we need to maintain this form until the end of the season and the final race series in April.”
Day 1 Slalom
Emily Unterberger: 8th place/ 11th overall
Jamie Park: 10th place/13th overall
Cole Smith: 16th place/ 25th overall
Day 3 Giant Slalom
Emily: 5th place/8th overall
Cole: 26th place/35th overall
Day 4 Giant Slalom
Jamie: 4th place/8th overall
Emily: 10th place/16th overall
Cole: 19th place/31st overall
“This weekend was a huge breakthrough for me, both mentally and physically,” said Jamie Park. “I’m so happy that after a hard month of training I managed to perform at my best level. I will continue the hard work and together with my coach we will to try to reach my peak till the end of the season.”
“For me, this race had some ups and downs, but I did score my best result so far, for which I’m super happy,” said Emily Unterberger. “My confidence is growing up and I hope to continue the process and focus on the last races of the season.”
Although Cole Smith didn’t have his best race, he is on the right track said coach Arsovski. “He was trying really hard and giving his best effort every day. Hopefully soon he will perform the way he wants to. We saw some really good skiing from our athletes this weekend and these results are a sign that we should continue the hard work with all of them and help them reach their goals.”