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K1 and K2 racers reach top 10 in recent racing action

Revelstoke's K1 and K2 alpine skiing team competed at Silver Star and Apex respectively.
69897revelstokeJenna-Colm-Aleks
From left: Jenna Knight

By Todd Hicks, Revelstoke Ski Club

Revelstoke Ski Club's K1 racers attended a speed camp at Silver Star with coach Tim Harder from Feb. 3-5. Harder recently switched from the Silver Star club to Revelstoke and knows the run and event well.

“The girls skied confident and fast,” said Harder. “It’s not everyday you get to as fast as a car on skis.”

After Friday and Saturday morning training, the team consisting of 5 girls aged 11 and 12 year olds, participated in time trials Saturday afternoon and Sunday. Speeds up to 86 km/h were clocked by team members, with Erin Behncke, Linea Allain and Giselle Atkinson all achieving one or more top 10 times in the trials. First year members Alexis Welch and Claudia Cinelli showed great promise as first year racers.

“It was lots of fun to just let the skis run and launch yourself down the track,” said Erin.

Said Claudia: "It was a lot of fun ... Although I was scared at first, I soon found out it was nothing to worry about. We all had a good time."

The first of two provincial series races for K2 racers (13/14-year-olds) were held at Apex Mountain Resort Feb. 9-12. Thursday and Friday saw giant slalom (GS) events consisting of two runs, combined time.

First year K2 racer Callum Hicks skied consistently, with fifth place finishes both days. Mitchell Smith placed fourth on Thursday but after an 11th best time on his first run Friday did not finish his second run. Max Scharf placed eighth on Friday after a DNF on Thursday. Bryce Molder skied to 40th and 38th place finishes respectfully.

After a respectable 12th place finish on Thursday, Sonia Schwenck stepped it up on Friday finishing eighth. Caroline Bouwmeester, who travels from Kamloops to ski with the RSC, placed 42nd on Thursday.

Saturday and Sunday saw the athletes hit the slalom gates. The girls had first runs in both the morning and afternoon with Sonia placing 24th and Caroline 31st.

Max took a fall on his first run but was able to finish the run in 43rd spot. Callum was sitting in 10th and Mitch behind him by .01 second in 11th. However, Bryce Molder was the only male of the Revelstoke team to complete the second course of the day, finishing in 43rd, leaving the other Revelstoke boys with DNF’s on the scoreboard.

Sunday saw the entire team stay on their skis in both runs, with Sonia finishing 28th and Caroline 38th on the girl's side.

"Overall it was a great weekend, and I’m very happy with my placings in GS," said Sonia.

On the boys side Mitchell Smith finished in fourth with a combined time of 1:23.63, Callum sixth with a time of 1:24.67 and Max 13th. Bryce finished in 47th, being the only male team member to complete all four events.

"I had a good time trying my best," said Molder.

The K2 team will racing next in Panorama from Mar. 2-4. The K1 team races next at the provincials in Big White from Mar. 17-19. The FIS team's next race is at Red Mountain from Feb. 25-28.