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WMSC skiers podium at 2013 Whistler Cup

Canada reclaims coveted prize
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pOtential on powder Whistler skier Jack Crawford was just one of many young skiers who competed in the 2013 Whistler Cup. photo courtesy of Alpine Canada

Whistler and Canada's top young skiers headed into the Whistler Cup this year determined to win back the trophy — and they didn't disappoint.

Both Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) team members and their counterparts from clubs across Canada raced hard in challenging conditions and took the Whistler Cup with 267 points across three days of racing. Norway finished second with 178 points, and Japan placed third with 127.

Canada won the Whistler Cup, presented by Rio Tinto Alcan, four out of five years prior to 2012, but lost the title to Switzerland last year, so reclaiming top honours was particularly sweet for a determined team skiing in front of a home crowd.

"I'm really excited," said Nigel Cooper, Alpine Canada's manager of athlete development. "I think the Japanese, the Italians, and the Norwegians represent a good part of some of the best skiing nations in the world. Overall the field through to the top 10 is pretty strong, so I think that our top three girls and boys on Team Canada really strutted their stuff."

Amelia Smart, 15, of Invermere, B.C., was presented with the Nancy Greene Award, which is given to the top overall Canadian girl who accumulated the most points over three days, while the Dave Murray Award for the top Canadian boy went to Jack Crawford, 15, of Toronto, Ont., who trains with the Whistler Mountain Ski Club. In the U14 category, Brianna MacDonald, of the Osler Bluff Ski Club, was presented with the Nancy Greene Award for top overall female, while WMSC's Finn Iles earned the Dave Murray Award. Japan took top overall honours as a nation in the U14 category.

On Friday April 5, Canada swept the U16 men's super-G podium and won silver and bronze in ladies' U16 super-G.

WMSC's Crawford battled damp, foggy race conditions en route to gold in the men's category, while Riley Seger also of WMSC took silver, and Vancouver's Sam Mulligan earned bronze.

In the ladies' super-G — which was delayed intermittently over several hours due to rolling fog — Stephanie Currie of Toronto, Ont., earned silver as the top-placing Canadian (1:05:03). 

Haley McKercher of Calgary, Alta., was third. The Sunshine Ski Club racer, 16, finished in 1:05.24.

Norway's Kajsa Lie Vickhoff was the ladies' super-G winner (1:04.06).

U14 racers also took to the slopes Friday to compete in the Kinder Kombi, which was a race that featured turns and skills from multiple racing disciplines. In the ladies' race, MacDonald took gold (42.07), while Japan's Chelsea Kumono claimed silver (42.57) and Saya Ohkoshi, also of Japan, earned bronze (42.82).

In the men's U14 race, WMSC's Kasper Woolley and Iles were first (41.88) and second (42.39), respectively, and Hunter Watson, who skis with the Camp Fortune Ski Club, was third (43.13).

On Saturday Smart dominated the U16 ladies' giant slalom taking gold, Japan's Mio Arai was second (1:55.23), and Kathryn Parker of Australia was third (1:56.28).

Saturday's men's slalom race saw head-to-head competition between Canada and Norway. Crawford fought his way through the pack from a late start number to take silver with a two-run combined time of 1:31.46, while Norway's Jens Harald Johannessen earned gold (1:30.56). Despite a slip in the second Seger won bronze (1:32.32) after posting the fastest first run of the day.

U14 racers also strapped on their technical skis Saturday to compete in men's slalom and ladies' giant slalom.

Louis-Philippe Noel, racing with Team Quebec, was the top-performing Canadian in the men's slalom with a fourth-place finish (1:44.47). Japan's Tarou Aihara (1:40.20) and Hiroto Hasebe  (1:42.67) were first and second, respectively, and Chile's Francisco Allende was third (1:43.53).

Canada's MacDonald took second in the ladies' giant slalom (1:03.41) and Mollie Jepsen, of the WMSC, was third (1:04.01). Japan's Chelsea Kumono won gold (1:03.15).

On Sunday April 7, Mulligan, on Team Canada and with Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club, led the charge for the Canadian squad, winning gold in men's U16 giant slalom with a two-run combined time of one minute, 41.79 seconds.

"Nothing feels better than to be on top of the podium. I'm very happy," said Mulligan, who was second in last year's Whistler Cup giant slalom race.

Invermere's Keegan Sharp, also part of Team Canada, claimed silver (1:42.68).

Norway's Johannessen — who won gold in Saturday's slalom — took bronze (1:43.05).

Team Norway and Team Canada also battled it out in ladies' U16 slalom on Sunday, with Canadians Ali Nullmeyer (1:31.22) and Smart (1:32.27) winning silver and bronze, respectively, and Kajsa Lie Vickhoff (1:31.13) of Norway claiming gold.

In addition to Mulligan, Sharp, Nullmeyer and Smart, Seger, of North Vancouver, B.C., and Stephanie Currie, of Toronto, Ont., made up the six members of Team Canada that won the Whistler Cup. 

Seger had a successful cup weekend winning bronze in the U16 men's slalom April 6, and silver in the Super-G April 5.

U14 skiers also raced in men's giant slalom and ladies' slalom on Sunday. In the men's race, WMSC's Iles (57.78) and Woolley (59.16), captured gold and sliver, respectively, while Japan's Tarou Aihara (59.21) took bronze.

"I feel like the level of competition is a lot higher because all the times are a lot closer," said Iles adding that he was pleased to have won the Dave Murray cup for the second year in a row.

"...It means a lot. I won it last year as well and it is good to win it again because it means I am skiing very consistently."

On the ladies' side, Gwen Dymond (1:44.53) of the Osler Bluff Ski Club took bronze as the top-placing Canadian. Annabelle Hough (1:41.05) of Australia won gold, and Japan's Chelsea Kumono (1:44.40) earned bronze.

For full results go to www.whistlercup.com.