For the last four years, Revelstoke has been treated to a showcase by some of the best freeskiers on the planet. Last week, it was a chance to see just what we might be able to look forward to in years to come as Revelstoke Mountain Resort played host to the Junior North American Championships.
For five days – three qualifier days and two days of finals – RMR hosted 184 junior skiers from the International Freeskiers and Snowboarders Association Junior Events Tour of the Americas.
And it was quite the show as the kids showed no hesitation going big despite the challenging conditions presented by the lack of snow prior to the competition. Fortunately, just before the finals started, a storm dumped more than 20 centimetres on the resort.
In the finals, held in North Bowl, youngsters who were barely teenagers threw down 360s and showed little hesitation hitting some big airs. The older kids hit technical double drops and big straight lines.
On the snowboarding side, Blake Moller was the top 12-14-year-old and Brooks Connelly the top 15-18-year-old.
For girls skiing, Alex Beswick from Fernie finished first amongst 12-14-year-olds.; and Jess Sterrett of the Altabird Freeride team won the 15-18-year-old competition.
For boys skiing, Costain Parkin from Whitefish, Montana, won the 12-14-year-old competition and Isaac Freeland topped a very competitive 15-18-year-old field thanks to a huge second run – the only run to score more than 40 points throughout the event.