By Mary Clayton & Carter Berton/Revelstoke Ski Club
Revelstoke’s FIS team was in Kimberley this week for a Keurig Cup Super G race. This was the first Super G race of the season for the team, and the training on Devil’s Club at RMR has certainly paid off. Emily Unterberger was third among the U18s, fourth overall, and Jamie Park came in fifth.
“All of the athletes did a really good job of skiing tactically,” reported head FIS coach Gregor Druzina.
“It was interesting for me to see where we are in relation to other clubs. Both Emily and Jamie skied very solidly and got some good results.” Unfortunately in the men’s race, Mitch Smith got off balance in one of the turns and injured his right ankle. We all hope he will be back on skis soon.
The next race for Emily and Jamie will be in Nakiska for the Nor AM finals, where they will compete in Super G, slalom and GS. “The NorAm is the highest level of ski racing in North America,” explains Coach Druzina. “This will be the first race at this level for both of them, and we are approaching this completion with the aim to learn a lot, ski well, and get ready for Senior Nationals in Whistler at the end of the month.”
The ski club’s younger athletes performed spectacularly at the Nancy Greene zone finals race at Silver Star Mountain Resort on March 1. With 13 skiers, Team Revelstoke came away with four podium finishes, three top-five finishes, and three top-ten finishes. Over 150 athletes competed at the finals event hosted by Vernon Ski Club. They hosted a great event despite tough race conditions including very cold temperatures and over 10 centimetres of fresh snow.
Saturday’s competition was a dual giant slalom race for the U8 age category. All three Revelstoke racers in this division skied to top ten finishes. Alena Hamilton placed eighth, Felix Freathy placed seventh, and Dana Mahoney placed fourth — solid performances from the club’s youngest racers.
Sunday was a dual slalom race for the U10 and U12 racers. A tight course with new snow accumulating made the conditions tricky for the skiers. Nonetheless, the conditions did not deter team Revelstoke from putting their best efforts forward.
Revelstoke owned the podium in the 2005 age category with wins by Reed Kelly in the boys class and Nora Sidjak in the girls. Both skiers have enjoyed successful results all season and they demonstrated their continued dominance at the finals. Liam Freathy also skied well to earn a sixth-place finish in the 2005 class, one of his best of the season. Kale Jay too skied strongly in this competitive age group improving on his second run and finishing in the top 15.
In the 2004 category, Revelstoke’s Erica Peasgood skied to a first place finish. She put down two technically clean, solid runs in a turny course and it paid off with a one second lead over her competition. Sydney Musseau and Brynn Harrison also represented Revelstoke well in this class improving their times on their second runs and finishing just outside the top ten.
Alex Jay, Revelstoke’s only 2003 boy in the competition, skied to a fourth place finish with two respectable runs. In the oldest age category, the 2002 class, Revelstoke skiers John Sidjak and Sophia Humphries put down two fast runs each to both earn top results. Sophia Humphries skied well to a fourth place finish among a competitive group of female skiers that included a rare podium tie and the first place female earning the fastest time in the entire race. John Sidjak chased winner Jamie Trow with two fast runs earning him a second place podium finish.
Revelstoke coach Carter Berton said she was very proud of all the Revelstoke athletes. “Everyone stepped it up for these finals and demonstrated some of their best skiing in difficult conditions,” she said. “Their hard work in training all season paid off this weekend.”
The U14s will head to Sun Peaks for the provincial championships March 14–16. And on March 29–30, Revelstoke will host the Okanagan Zone Finals for U12, U14 and U16. Come on up to RMR to catch some great ski racing action!