FREE STYLE SKIING NEWS

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Silver Star Sunday Freestyle Report - Dual Moguls

By Gabriel Delaney

Competitors were greeted with chilly - 14.5C temperatures but blue skies and 6 CM'sof new snow took made it pleasant. Course conditions were rated excellent. Dual Moguls is an exciting version of single moguls where two competitors challenge the same course but in separate lanes. They are judged 50% turns, 25% speed and 25% air in a knock out style competition where the winner advances to the next elimination round until a winner is eventually declared. 

FINAL RESULTS - DUAL MOGULS 

Women Youth:

Bronze Medal,  Madison Parker (Apex)

Silver Medal, Mackenzie Wilson (Whistler)

Gold Medal, Sofi-anne Gagnon (Whistler)

Women Juvenile:

Bronze Medal, Andrea Byrne (Fernie) 

Silver Medal, Emma Benischek (Mt. Washington)

Gold Medal, Natasha Pegg (Mt. Washington)

"It was great to have us both on the podium today representing  Mt. Washington Freestyle We're both really excited," shouted both Emma and Natasha. 

 Men Youth:

Bronze Medal, Todd Heard ( Mt. Washington)

Silver Medal, Kyle Parker (Apex)

Gold Medal, Noah Spence (Apex)

"It was great pulling out the win today. The course was in great shape. I really enjoyed skiing it!", said Noah Spence of Apex Freestyle. 

"I was proud to ride for  Mt. Washington. The run went well today and  I had lot's of fun all weekend," explained Todd Heard of Mt. Washington Freestyle.

Men Juvenile:

Bronze Medal - Rylie Heard (Mt. Washington)

Silver Medal - Teal Harle (Mt. Washington)

Gold Medal - Jordan Kober (Apex)

 "It was a tough competition today but the bumps were really nice and soft. It's been dumping here all week and it really helped the course out," said Jordan Kober, Apex  

 "My run today was okay, but I'm super stoked on winning the Bronze Medal. I'm also really excited to see my brother Todd on the podium as well," shared Rylie Heard, Mt. Washington

"It was a great run today but I'm pretty disappointed in crossing the center line after my second jump. I'm still very proud of my Silver Medal", added Teal Harle, Mt. Washington

Medals for Combined were also awarded today.  Athletes who competed in all three disciplines, Big Air, Single & Dual Moguls received a total combined score. 

Combined Youth Women:

Bronze Medal,  Madison Parker (Apex)

Silver Medal, Mackenzie Wilson (Whistler)

Gold Medal, Sophie-Anne Gagnon (Whistler)

Combined Juvenile Women:

Gold Medal, Andrea Byrne (Fernie)

 
Combined Youth Men: 

Bronze Medal, Todd Heard (Mt. Washington)

Silver Medal, Luke Smart (Blackcomb)

Gold Medal, Noah Spence (Apex)

Combined Juvenile Men:

Bronze Medal,  Teal Harle ( Mt. Washington.)

SilverMedal,  Jake Ondrik (Silverstar) 

Gold Medal, Jordan Kober (Apex)

Judging by the smiles on the competitors' faces during the medal ceremonies today, the BC Winter Games Freestyle events were a major success. The tough competition together with the challenging well prepared event sites contributed to the growth of these athletes. The tireless coaches and event volunteers deserved lot's of credit this weekend. Safe travels home.

Silver Star Freestyle Report for Saturday

By Mark Delaney

Conditions were excellent at Silver Star today for the Alpine Cross and Freestyle Big Air and Moguls events. The ski area got eight centimeters of new snow overnight, the fog had lifted and there was good light for the athletes.

The Big Air and Mogul sites were in top shape thanks to the many volunteers led by chair of the freestyle events Chris Reeves. “Both events went off like clockwork today. Considering we were able to run all events at the Big Air site, then switch over to the Moguls venue to finish up the Juvenile Girls left over from yesterday’s fog delay, then run two runs for Juvenile Men’s is great. Everyone had a fun and safe day. Tomorrow’s Dual Moguls should be just as challenging for our competitors,” explains Chris.

RESULTS:

Freestyle Big Air Juvenile Female:

Andrea Byrne from zone 1 (Fernie Freestyle) was the gold medal winner..

“I was a double medal winner today. I won the gold in Big Air with a 360 Safety Grab. In single Moguls I had a clean run with a Double Twister at the top followed by a Spread on the bottom jump.”

In the Big Air event, competitors launch over a massive ski jump and do a specific trick with a safe clean landing for technical merit marks from 5 judges.

Freestyle Big Air Youth Female:

The gold medal winner was Sofianne Gagnon from Whistler with a score of 10.

“I was able to land a clean 360 today. I am so happy.”

Silver went to Mackenzie Wilson, while Robyn Anderson took the bronze.

Freestyle Big Air Youth Men:

The winner was Jake Ondrik from Vernon with a score of 42.8 after two jumps at the Attridge jump site at Silver Star.

“I threw down a Cork Nine Off-Axis with 2 1/2 Rotations Landing Switch. Thankfully it was enough today to win.”

Ty Schulte was silver medal winner at 38.6 and Jordan Kober was the bronze medalist.

Freestyle Big Air Juvenile Men:

Todd Heard took the gold with a score of 38.5.

Patrick Dew was second and Noah Spence from Apex was third.

Freestyle Moguls Juvenille Women:

Natasha Pegg was the gold medalist, Emma Benischek won silver and Andrea Byrne took bronze

This race was a conclusion of Friday’s fog delayed competition.

Freestyle Juvenille Mens Moguls (Best of two runs)

Stewart Walker (Mt. Washington) skied to the gold, Jordon Kober took silver and Riley Heard grabbed the bronze.

“Best run I’ve ever had in competition today. I finally figured out all the tricks. I nailed the Free Cross on the top jump followed by a Back Cross on the bottom one. I skied fast and aggressively the whole run. It feels great,” said Stewart. Susan Walker, Stewart' Mom adds, "I just saw his eyes light up. This morning the kids and coaches were calling him a machine. We knew it was going to going to be his day today."

Update from the Silver Star Mountain

Weather Keeps Many Skiers Off Moguls Course

By Mark Delaney

The BC Winter Games mogul events were held under foggy conditions at Silver Star Resort. 12 year old Sofiane Gagnon of Whistler captured the girls gold medal with a score of 15.79. MacKenzie Wilson of Whistler was second (13.35) while Kassidy Todd of Keremeos was third (11.39). 14 year old Noah Spence of Penticton won the male event with a score of 19.28, ahead of Whistler’s Luke Smart (17.05) and Kyle Parker of Port Moody (15.55). Twenty competitors didn’t get to compete Friday due to the conditions and they will try to get in their run on Saturday.

Chris Reeves, the chief of competition and freestyle chair said “Today we had many challenges, all weather related. The fog was a major disappointment, not very typical for Silver Star. For our many volunteers worked their hearts out to get the course in great condition and especially the talented athletes who travelled far, it’s very disappointing, but there’s always tomorrow. If the weather cooperates, we plan to get two jumps in at the Big Air site, hurry over to the moguls course to get the 2nd run of single moguls in the afternoon. We’ll keep our fingers crossed and try to get in the dual moguls competition on Sunday morning.

Gayle Finlayson, the chief of scoring said their judging capabilities were hampered, especially at the top of course. “ This course is challenging but all courses are difficult today. It’s a real testament to the quality of freestyle skiers in BC today. “

Brian Spence, technical director for moguls and the president of  Apex Freestyle  said the course is in great shape,  and is a serious challenge for all the athletes. “Too bad about the fog though.  So many good mogul skiers here today including Luke Smart, Kyle Parker and don’t forget my son, Noah Spence.” A former member of Canada’s World Cup Freestyle Team, John Smart is here coaching the Blackcomb Freestyle Club. “We brought 3 girls and 3 guys plus our wildcards from Blackcomb but we are also responsible for Zones 3, 4, 5 for a total of 14 athletes.  My job here is to provide the athletes feedback after each run while keeping them focused. This course is very challenging. It’s deep with lots of new snow.  You’ve got to adjust.  As a result it’s hard to pick any favourites. With Freestyle Moguls it’s never a sure thing anyhow. That’s what makes it exciting.  Judges award 50% of total points for turns; they look for a quiet upper body with a good carving action with the lower body, 25% for good clean jumps and 25% for a controlled speedy run. “