Whistler riders and members of the Whistler Valley Snowboard Club came home to Whistler with eight medals from the B.C. Snowboard Championships at Big White last weekend.
In Friday’s slopestyle event, Max Ripper and Brin Alexander finished first and second in the men’s 12 and Under category. "Little Stevie" Kopyt had a good crash in the morning training and took it easier in the finals to finish sixth.
In the men’s 13 to 14 category, the WVSC’s Tamo Campos finished just 0.6 points behind Tanner Davidson of Calgary. Alex Murovec of Kelowna was third.
Other WVSC riders in the category include Tylor MacMillan in sixth, Bryan Bowles in ninth and Jeremy Wallace in 10 th .
Vinny Ligeti finished first in the men’s 15 to 16 category, 2.5 points ahead of Mike Patychuk of Calgary. Another Calgarian, Tucker Braund, was third.
Hajime Takeumura from the WVSC was sixth overall out of 16 competitors.
In the 17 to 18 category, Whistler’s Francois Ligeti was fourth overall, missing the podium by one-tenth of a point.
In the Men’s 19 and Over competition, WVSC newcomer Matt Poynter finished third overall behind Quincy Gavin of Vernon and Jason Currie of Australia.
In the women’s slopestyle WVSC veteran Sarah Kopinya was the top 19 and Over competitor.
The warm weather that softened up the slopestyle course gave way to winter again on Saturday, creating hard and icy halfpipe conditions for the halfpipe on Saturday.
In the women’s halfpipe, Helen Schettini from the B.C. Team, a newcomer to the Whistler area, was third overall.
Max Ripper won his second gold medal in the 12 and Under category, while Brin Alexander was third. Steve Kopyt had another crash in the halfpipe on his first run, and finished fourth.
Tamo Campos earned his second silver medial in the 13 to 14 group, this time behind Kael Hill of Cochrane, Alberta. Peter White of Canmore was third. Jeremy Wallace, another WVSC competitor, was sixth.
Hajime Takeumra was the only WVSC rider in the 15-16 group, finishing 13 th .
Francois Ligeti was fifth in the 17 to 18 category.
Pemberton’s Jamie Parker, looking to earn a spot in the snowboard nationals next week, pulled out all the stops to win the 19 and Over category by six points over Jesse Blackstaffe of Big White and Tulsa Yoshikawa of Vernon.
"The team seemed pretty excited by their results and everybody was riding well," said club founder and manager Rob Picard. "It’s good for us to get away and compete against other kids in B.C., see what they’re up to, and Big White has done a great job with its park, we had a lot of fun playing there."
Some WVSC members will be taking part in a Westbeach-sponsored rail jam this weekend.
The club is also hosting a free "bring a friend" weekend on Saturday and Sunday where club members can bring a friend along to train for free with WVSC coaches. To participate contact Picard at 604-935-2804.
The Honda Element Canadian Snowboard Championships get underway with the snowboard cross on March 21, and run until March 27 at Big White. Some Whistler riders will be heading to the resort, including national team members Crispin Lipscomb, Justin Lamoureux and Mercedes Nicoll, and Sarah Kopinya from the WVSC.
