Being rookie racers didn’t stop the Kamloops division of the First Nations Snowboard Team from reaching the podium at the Like Me Snowboard Cross Provincial Finals, presented by BC Snowboard, in Big White on March 6.
Five local competitors placed in the top three in their categories with another four finishing in the top eight. Only three racers had faced competition before with the remainder riding on a boarder cross course for the first time.
Head coach Desiree Janzen said she was impressed to see the team’s results, especially in a field of more experienced racers.
“All the kids they raced against had probably been to two or more races prior. There’s B.C. team riders there and B.C. development riders so they really held their own, that’s for sure,” she said.
“It was amazing. They continue to surpass my expectations. The experience for them was great and for us as coaches, we were proud. I was very proud.”
James Hamming placed first in the Men’s U19 with teammate Darrell Jules joining him on the podium in third place. Richard Celestra took fifth and Lyle Juarez maintained sixth place despite sustaining an ankle injury which required surgery.
“James winning first was amazing,” Janzen said. “He blew me away from when we started training to the end. He was just really determined.”
“They all did so well. Lyle being the oldest, it was great to see his leadership and his improvement each run. His injury was unfortunate… that probably gutted me the most. As a coach you never want to see anyone get hurt.”
It was amazing. They continue to surpass my expectations. The experience for them was great and for us as coaches, we were proud. I was very proud.
In the Women’s U19 Cassie Thomas claimed second place and Rayne Porter claimed third. Sadie Lawrence narrowly missed the podium coming in fourth place.
“We tried to get Sadie competing last year but she struggled and didn’t continue with it. So this year, to see her get down the course and race and be completely ecstatic with herself was probably the highlight of the trip,” said Janzen. “I know she didn’t get the results she wanted but I think she deserves definite praise for what she accomplished.”
Gabby Boucher was third in the Women’s U15. Bill Brewer slipped out on a berm and came in eighth in the Men’s U15. In February, Brewer finished fifth and sixth in a Like Me snowboard cross series event in Big White.
The team has now finished competing for the year.
“We had a lot of help from John Spanos, the Whistler high performance coach for the First Nations (team) so thank you to him,” said Janzen. “And Anne Keith put it all together. Without her, we wouldn’t have went.”
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