Eight freestyle skiers from Jasper鈥檚 Freeride Ski Team earned a spot in next month鈥檚 Alberta Winter Games in Medicine Hat.
The athletes qualified for the games during a two-day competition held at Marmot Basin last weekend.
The event included a mogul competition as well as a slopestyle competition.
鈥淛asper鈥檚 athletes did amazing, well above expectations,鈥� said Nicolas Bazin, head coach for the team.
鈥淚n the moguls the Jasper team was all over the podium and in the slopestyle we didn鈥檛 have as many podium finishes, but we still had some, which was really, really good for us.鈥�
Six male athletes and two females athletes earned a spot to compete in next month鈥檚 competition, which takes place from Feb. 13 to 16. The athletes attending the games are Cora Laidlaw, Demitra Sparrow, Theron Boyer, Pierce Decore, Thomas Hladun and Benoit Ederle. Eli Erb-Beauchamp and Hunter Boyer qualified, but may not be able to attend due to other commitments.
鈥淧retty much anyone who was of age to qualify made it,鈥� said Bazin, explaining the qualifier was open to athletes between 11 and 15 years of age.
鈥淗opefully they are going to be able to stay focused and achieve what they can, because obviously they鈥檝e got the skills, it鈥檚 just a matter of dealing with the stress. It鈥檚 a different game when it鈥檚 a big event.鈥�
The Alberta Winter Games is a fun competition designed to expose younger athletes to stiffer competition on a larger scale. It includes 20 different sports from freestyle skiing to synchronized swimming and includes an opening ceremony.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 like a mini Olympics,鈥� said Bazin.
In addition to Jasper鈥檚 strong performance, Bazin said the two-day competition itself went smoothly.
鈥淭he event went really well, in fact it鈥檚 probably one of the best events I鈥檝e been to in the last five years in Alberta,鈥� said Bazin, adding there was a lot of volunteers not only from Jasper, but also from other teams.
鈥淭he number of volunteers and the organizing committee did an amazing job. Both days the events finished on time, which for that many athletes isn鈥檛 easy.鈥�
Paul Clarke [email protected]
