More than 50 freestyle snowboard athletes from across the province visited Mount Washington Alpine Resort this past weekend to take part in two BC Snowboard Provincial Series slopestyle competitions.
The first event was held on Saturday and the second on Sunday, in the Rockstar Terrain park. The course consisted of a series of jumps, rails and boxes. In early January the competition had been put on stand-by, due to lack of snow, however mid-month snow accumulations allowed the event to go ahead as planned. “Snow conditions were not ideal,” said Cathy Astofooroff, executive director of BC Snowboard, “but the Mount Washington Park Crew built an amazing setup, very fun!”
Several Vancouver Island athletes made the podium. On Saturday, Jacqueline Monette-Warren, of Parksville, won the U19 women’s event while Lukas Bergvinson of Courtenay placed second in the men’s U13 category, Markus Bergvinson of Courtenay placed third (U15) and Lane Weaver of Courtenay placed third (U13). On Sunday, Morgan Rogers of Campbell River placed second in the overall men’s category, Lukas Bergvinson won U13 and Markus Bergvinson placed third (U15).
The First Nations Snowboard Team’s Island & High Performance Division produced podium results both days. On Saturday, Zoe Kostuchuck of Saskatoon placed second (U19) and Aiva Noringseth of Courtenay placed third (U19) in the women’s event and Ryan Johnston of North Vancouver placed third (19+) in the men’s event. On Sunday, Knowlton Griffiths of Comox placed third (U13), Ryan Johnston of North Vancouver placed second (19+) in men’s and Zoe Kostuchuck of Saskatoon won U19 women’s.
Two more BC Snowboard Provincial Series Slopestyle competitions are scheduled to take place this season; the next will be Feb. 14-15 at Mt. Seymour (currently on stand-by), followed by Big White on March 6-7.
From Feb. 22-28 Vancouver Island’s Jacqueline Monette-Warren will represent B.C. women in the Canada Winter Games at Tabor Mountain. Jacquie is currently a member of the BC Development Team-Vancouver but she used to train at Mount Washington with the VI Riders. "We’re all rooting for her!" a VI Riders' spokesperson said. Kim Leming from the First Nations Snowboard Team-Vancouver Island, will also be heading to the Canada Winter Games as an apprentice coach.
"A special thank you to Ski Tak Hut and Alternative Groove for sponsoring this weekend’s event, and to the many volunteers and coaches who helped make it a success. Many thanks also to High Performance coach Jon Spanos and First Nations Snowboard Team local mountain sponsor Mount Washington and ViaSport for their support over the past nine seasons."
For more information on the VI Riders Snowboard Club check out www.viriders.ca, for the BC Snowboard Association visit www.bcsnowboard.com, and for the First Nations Snowboard Team visit www.fnriders.com or www.canadasnowboard.ca/en/programs/aboriginal.
– VI Riders