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A chance to go fast

Whistler skiers make most of Parsons Memorial super G races with all 24 medals
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More Cowbell A racer poles out of the gates in the annual Parsons Memorial super G on Blackcomb this past weekend. Whistler Mountain Ski Club athletes won all 24 medals. Photo by Ian Robertson, www.coastphoto.com.

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