With eight World Cup medals
already this season, all of them in speed events, it might seem to an outsider
that Canadian speed programs emphasize speed over technical skills. In fact,
the opposite is true in Canada as speed events are usually introduced to FIS
level skiers, aged 15 or over —— anywhere from five to eight years later than
programs in Europe.
The one exception is the
Parsons Memorial Downhill, hosted since 1980 by the Whistler Mountain Ski Club.
The race is the only speed event in the regional series and in western Canada
for K2 racers aged 13-14. J1 racers, aged 15, also took part. For many
athletes, including current World Cup team members Manuel Osborne-Paradis,
Britt Janyk, and Robbie Dixon, the Parsons Memorial was their first opportunity
to race a speed event.
The event used to be a full
downhill, but in recent years has been changed to a super G race. This year’s
course was set up on Lower Cruiser with a finish line at Base II, giving riders
several opportunities to get into a tuck and let their skis go. There were also
a couple of jumps on the course, which would also be included on a World Cup
level course.
“Speed racing has everything
to do with confidence,” said WMSC program director Nigel Cooper. “When you
trust that you are in a safe, secure environment then you can let it all hang
out on the line in training and racing. With full netting in place the kids
will trust themselves to push the limits of their technical and tactical skills
and hammer hard for the best training effect and results in super G and
downhill.”
Although clubs from the Lower
Mainland and Vancouver Island took part, skiers with the WMSC won all 24 medals
handed out over two days of racing.
On Saturday, organizers got
off four races.
On the women’s side, the
podium for both races was the same — Mackenzie Patterson in first, Elyse
Timoshenko in second, and Marielle Thompson in third. Kailee Darlington was
credited as the most improved skier, starting in 27
th
position and
placing fourth in both runs.
On the men’s side it was a
three-way battle between Ford Swette, Willy Konantz and Spencer Morris. Swette
led the way in both races to earn two gold medals, while Morris and Konantz
each won a silver and bronze.
On the second day of
competition organizers managed to get off another four races despite the 13 cm
snowfall on Saturday afternoon and evening.
Mackenzie Patterson was on
track to win the first race, but went wide off the last jump to miss the final
gate. Elyse Timoshenko picked up the gold medal, following Marielle Thompson
and Kailee Darlington.
In the second race, Patterson
went off course again the same way as earlier, and Darlington picked up the
gold instead, followed by Timoshenko and Thompson.
For the boys, Willy Konantz
won gold in the first race, followed by Ford Swette and Spencer Morris. In the
second race, Swette found the top of the podium for the third time that
weekend, with Morris placing second and Josh Robertson in third.
It was a huge production
hosting a juvenile speed event, with the first safety set-up of nets on Jan.
19-20, and a four-day speed camp for athletes from Jan. 24-27. Chief of race
Irene Whitney thanked all the volunteers for their efforts.
FIS racers on the podium at Apex
While the K2 and J1 teams
were learning how to go fast in Whistler, the WMSC FIS team was putting what
they learned into practice in a speed series at Apex Mountain Resort. The
competition consisted of two downhill races and two super G races, and
attracted racers from the U.S. and Alberta.
It was the first time that
many athletes have competed in an official downhill, with speeds over 115 km/h.
From Whistler, Calindy
Ramsden placed third in one of the downhills and was the top B.C. racer that
day. She placed sixth in the second downhill, and earned a fifth place finish
in the super G.
Alecia Willis also came
close, placing sixth and seventh in the downhill. Samatha Kennedy received the
Most Improved award for downhill, and Catriona Blair picked up two Most
Improved awards in downhill and super G.
Brynne Benbow — racing the
first time since she injured her knee on the same course last season — placed
10
th
in the super G.
Jennifer Meyer, in her first
year in FIS, also cracked the top-15 twice, once in downhill and once in super
G.
On the men’s side, Sven
Winter earned an eighth in downhill, and placed 12
th
and 13
th
in the downhill. Ben McLean finished 12
th
and 13
th
in the
super G. Morgan Pridy, Conrad Pridy and Stan Rey — WMSC skiers now racing with
the B.C. ski team — also had a solid weekend. Rey was ninth in the downhill and
seventh in the first day of super G racing. Morgan was seventh and eighth in
downhill, then won two gold medals in the super G.
“I am pretty amped up right
now,” said Pridy. “The course was almost the same as yesterday’s, so it felt
like a second run and gave me a chance to fix up a few mistakes I made
yesterday.”
The B.C. Team is taking a
short break to train for the upcoming Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships in
Whistler from Feb. 6-13.
— results and quotes
submitted by Cheryl Green, WMSC