Jasper鈥檚 Freeride Ski Team dominated the podium during a provincial mogul competition held at Sunshine Village Ski Resort last weekend.
According to head coach Nicolas Bazin, the best seven athletes from Jasper competed in a two-day competition, which included a big air event and a mogul competition.
Theron Boyer kicked things off on Saturday with a massive backflip off a 45-foot jump for the big air competition, earning him third place for his age category.
鈥淚t was his first big air or slopestyle competition at the provincial level,鈥� said Bazin. 鈥淚t was a great way to start the weekend.鈥�
On Sunday, 13-year-old Erza Jenkins dominated the mogul competition, placing first not only for his age category, but also overall in the male category, beating 17- and 18-year-old athletes.
鈥淚t was amazing to see him pull a really strong, technical run, with great jumps and seamless transitions between the landing of the jumps and the return in the moguls. It was really impressive,鈥� said Bazin, adding Theron Boyer placed second behind Jenkins in the under-14 age category.
In the female category, Alison Brown cleaned up, winning first in her age category and first overall, while Cora Laidlaw placed fourth in her age category.聽
Hunter Boyer finished fifth in the under-16 age category, while Pierce Decore lost a ski, leaving him out of podium contention.
鈥淭he training was really difficult because over Friday and Saturday there were whiteouts and lots of wind so it was really difficult to see anything,鈥� said Bazin, adding he was really happy with how his athletes performed.
Fortunately on the day of the event, the weather improved providing some blue sky for the competition.
鈥淚t was pretty epic for the competitors to be able to ski and be surrounded by mountains in the alpine,鈥� said Bazin, explaining that the course compared to building a mogul course at the top of Marmot Basin鈥檚 Knob Chair.
The next provincial moguls and big air competition will be held at Castle Mountain March 4-6, followed by the Alberta Championships at Marmot Basin from March 31 to April 3.
If the athletes collect enough points over the three competitions, they can earn a spot at the Junior Nationals, which will be held in Beaver Valley, Ont. in mid-March.
Paul Clarke [email protected]
