Whistler’s Dale and Jason Begg-Smith, aged 16 and 20, have been tearing it up on the Nor-Am mogul circuit, narrowly missing the podium in the last two contests.
In the first contest, at Sunday River, Maine, on Feb. 3, Dale was the only Canadian Development Team member to make it into the finals, and although he posted the second-fastest time of the day, he wound up in fourth position overall.
Jason ended up 21 st that day with a small mistake off the bottom air. He made up for it in the dual moguls on Feb. 4, when he was the only development team skier to make the finals. In the semi-finals he battled Garth Hager of the U.S. (who went on to win the event) and lost by less than three one-hundredths of a point. He finished fourth overall. Dale finished 16 th in the duals.
The following weekend, Dale narrowly missed the podium at Le Relais, Quebec, finishing fifth overall in single moguls.
Kristi Richards of Summerland, B.C., had a career-day by making her first Nor-Am final ever, then battling her way to the gold medal against a strong U.S. side.
The dual moguls competition, as well as a Nor-Am aerials event at Le Relais, were cancelled due to high winds and freezing rain.
