The Vancouver Island Mountain Sports Society (VIMSS) has awarded six Vancouver Island athletes with $500 grants for the 2016/17 winter season.
These grants help young athletes to offset the costs associated with travelling off-island for advanced training and competition. In this way, VIMSS seeks to nurture local emerging athletes and help prepare them for provincial, national and international competition.
This year’s Vancouver Island recipients include:
Chris Raduy who will be training in the U16 Ski Alpine Racing Program and says, “There are significant costs involved as the team must travel off the Island often to train and compete.” Chris was awarded with Most Improved Racer, U14 Mount Washington Ski Club in 2014-2015.
Desmond Debelle competes in snowboard cross and requires support for competing and attending camps as there are no snowboard cross training events or competitions on the Island. Past achievements include first place 2015 Like Me Slopestyle and fifth place 2014 SBX Nationals.
Dillan Glennie is part of the BC Park and Pipe Team for the second year and has scored well in a number of events which allows her to be a part of the team. The BC Park and Pipe Team will be travelling to the Yukon to train for six days, followed by the first Canadian Open Tour. She will be participating in both the slopestyle and halfpipe events.
Matthew Salmon is a cross-country skier and plans to compete at the Coast Cup in the Callaghan Valley, in Vernon at the NorAm Race, Salmon Arm at the BC Cup, Kamloops for the BC Championships and in Canmore for the Nationals. He achieved top five in BC Cup last season.
Ross Lamon is also a cross-country skier and he will be travelling to the 2017 Haywood Ski Nationals in Canmore. His past achievements include sixth place Haywood Ski Nationals Skate Sprint and third place Classic Sprint Western Canadian Championships.
Tallon Noble competes in cross-country skiing and will be going to the world junior championship trials in January in Utah. Previous achievements include second, 10km skate Western Canadian championships 2016 and thirrd, 10km classic Western Canadian championships 2016.
VIMSS gratefully acknowledges the fundraising initiative of Spencer Hay who helped make these grants possible. Spencer’s event in March 2016, “ Chairlift to Success”, was a new event hosted at Mount Washington and the VIMSS board of directors are planning year two as a legacy to Hay’s inaugural event.
“These grants are important as recognition that our Island athletes can compete at a higher level. We hope that they all get to fulfill their dreams on the competitive circuit,” said VIMSS vice-chair Don Sharpe. Vancouver Island alpine athletes can apply for a grant from VIMSS each year through the online applications form found at vimountaincentre.com.
There are many alpine sports that qualify for VIMSS grants including alpine ski/snowboard racing, freestyle skiing/boarding, biathlon, cross-country skiing and downhill mountain biking.
VIMSS operates the non-profit Vancouver Island Mountain Centre (VIMC) which offers a community venue for meetings, programming, team building, along with accommodations for up to 40 people, full kitchen and dining facilities, amazing views of Mt. Albert Edward, plus a fitness centre.
The Mountain Centre is open year round and is located at Mount Washington at the end of Nordic Road across from Raven Lodge and Strathcona Park’s Paradise Meadows. Visit vimountaincentre.com for additional information.