Skiers and boarders square off in terrain park
Skiers and boarders put the Terrain Park through its paces last weekend for the first Atomic Style Slopestyle event of the season, part of the Nike Snowboard Series.
The course consisted of two jumps on the upper course, a couple of raile, jib boxes and a picnic table.
Eleven-year-old skier Kye Petersen set the bar high right from the beginning by launching a couple of huge jumps over the tabletops on Saturday.
With only one in four competitors making it to day two of the competition, skiers and boarders held nothing back. As usual, a strong core of locals held their own against athletes from around the province and even south of the border.
Petersen won the Male Skier 12 and Under category uncontested, but his total score of 29.7 would have placed him third in the 18 and Over competition.
Whistler’s Adrienne Staley also skied uncontested in the Female Skier 13 to 17 category, but didn’t let her shoe-in status stop her from going big.
In the Male Skiers 13 to 17 group, Jamie Rose of Kamloops was near-perfect, posting the second highest score of the skiers’ contest – a 31.8. David Olin of Wenatche, Washington finished second by more than nine points. Alex Neuschaefer of Evergreen, Colorado was third.
In the Male Skiers 18 and Over competition, local Chris Turpin scored a slopestyle high of 34.6, five points ahead of Jason Johnston, and six points over Nathan Loder.
In the snowboard ranks, Vinny Legeti made it a series hattrick with his third win in as many contests as a 12 and Under. He was followed by Matt Cathers, Jamie MacFarlane and Max King. All four riders are members of the Whistler Valley Snowboard Club.
In the Female Snowboarders 13 to 17 competition, WVSC rider Sarah Kopinya won hands down. Lauren Broadway finished second.
In the Male Snowboarders 13 to 17, Tyler Massey, Johnny Lyall, Francois Ligeti and Graeme Barker – all WVSC riders – owned the top four spots.
Emily Thomas of Australia won the Female Snowboarders 18 and Over category by a good margin over local Genevieve Halle. Sara Wickham of Vancouver and Crystal Jennings tied for third place.
Andy Cantelon edged out Jesse Kumlea and Corey Boux to win the Male 18 and Over competition.
Next up in the Nike Snowboard series is three weeks of Snowboard Cross, running on Feb. 10, 17 and 24. The next combined ski and snowboard event is the Atomiccross on Feb. 22, which is for competitors who are 19 and older. Helmets are mandatory at all events and mouthguards are strongly recommended.
