SilverStar Freestyle Ski Club athletes left their mark during the opening Timber Tour competition of the season.
Timber Tour is a competition that brings freestyle athletes together from across B.C. over a four-day period. In mid-January, 24 SilverStar club members competed in slopestyle, moguls and big air at Big White Ski Resort (Kelowna) and Apex Mountain Resort (Penticton).
The competition started off at Big White where the higher level Timber Tour athletes competed in slopestyle. In the U14 category, Logan Stuart placed 10th with a huge 720 over the last table, and Caleb Johnson placed 13th with an epic flat 540 spin.
In the U16 category, Tate Garrod placed eighth, resulting from consistent runs with smooth rail sections and spins in both directions. Kyle Coubrough’s huge cork 900s landed him a 10th-place result, while Mason Land’s seemingly effortless cork 720s earned him 13th place. For the remainder of the weekend, the Competitive Team faced tough competition in both single and dual moguls.
The club’s Super Youth athletes were excited to show off their skills at Apex Mountain in the three key disciplines.
Day 1 for this group had them skiing the park for the slopestyle competition. SilverStar females shined with a gold for Sierra Dorward in the U12 division. U14 Ella Garrod snagged a silver and Makenna Christensen’s 540 to switch 360 put her at the top of the podium.
In the male U10 category, Roxton Dorward nabbed a first-place position, while Ryan Sewell’s 360 to stylish 180 grab earned him a bronze. The SilverStar U14 boys dominated the podium with a gold for William Erickson, silver for Alex Sewell and bronze for Mason Swanson.
On Day 2, the athletes demonstrated their mogul skills on a course that challenged them as it got icier as the day progressed.
U10 Chloe Bicknell’s excellent mogul skiing and a huge spread eagle won her a third place, while Kristin Hoivik’s consistency in the bumps landed her a U12 third place. Makenna Christensen was back in the first place position on the podium, while Melody Fagerlund secured a bronze with some clean top-to-bottom skiing for the U14 girls.
After a big crash during his first run, Nixon Swanson persevered with his second run, putting him on the podium with a third place for the M10s. Mason Swanson and Alex Sewell returned to the podium, respectively taking home a gold and a silver for the M14 category.
The final day of the competition had the skiers doing their biggest tricks off of a single jump and the SilverStar athletes came prepared.
F12 Kristin Hoivik stepped it up and stomped two big 360s on the large jump to take the win, while Sierra Dorward’s 360 got her a third place on the podium. In the female U14 category, Ella Garrod threw down a massive 540 to land her a gold while Makenna Christensen grabbed the bronze, her third medal of the weekend.
Roxton Dorward, no stranger to the podium, took the silver medal for his huge 540 in the M10 category. Drew Christensen showed up ready to podium and stomped a huge 720 to put him into third place. U14s Mason Swanson, William Erickson and Alex Sewell earned their second SilverStar sweep of the weekend with Swanson floating a massive 720 for gold, Erickson jumping a big 540 safety grab for silver, and Sewell landing a couple of awesome 720s for bronze.
Silverstar Freestyle Ski Club Program Director Wade Garrod was very proud of all the athletes that competed last week. “The teams have worked very hard to learn new skills, starting with water ramps training in Whistler and Oliver throughout the summer to fall trampoline training before they hit the snow at the beginning of December,” said a beaming Garrod.
RELATED: Skis to adorn Vernon coffee shop walls
“Their passion, dedication and hard work has paid off, with all of the athletes achieving personal bests during the event. I’m excited to see more great results during upcoming events at SilverSar Mountain and across B.C.”
This past weekend, the team competed in the Smith JR Freeski Open at Whitewater Ski Resort in Nelson and will be participating in the second Timber Tour event being held at Mount Washington from February 7 to 10.
For more information on the Silverstar Freestyle Ski Club and its programs, visit www.ssfreestyle.com.
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
