Ski racing season came and went in the blink of an eye

It seems like just yesterday we were hanging nets on the OSV. It was, in fact, November 10. Now, after 65 days training, 10 competitions, highlights, lowlights, tons of hours pulling and re-setting nets, the season’s over!

The Sun Peaks Alpine Club hosted some awesome events and the whole community came together nicely to showcase what a wonderful place Sun Peaks is. We have to thank Sun Peaks Resort for providing the best racing venue in B.C.

Seven of our Sun Peaks Racers just competed in the 20th annual Whistler Cup. The Whistler Cup’s an international juvenile ski competition with participation from over 20 different countries—360 of the world’s top kids under 14 years old showed up to strut their stuff in three days of competition. Claire Madill, Zanna Farrell, Kenzie Duff, Sara Kate Smith, Jackson Phillips, Evan Monroe, and Brian Buffel all represented Sun Peaks, British Columbia and Canada at this year’s event. Evan and Zanna both had top 20 results and everyone else had solid runs and a great time skiing against the best in the world in their age groups.

Sun Peaks Racer Danielle Cowburn returned to competition last week in Panorama, B.C. Dani, who was ranked second in the country in downhill, blew out her knee last March at the National Championships Downhill at Nakiska. She underwent surgery in May and has been rehabilitating ever since. We had to start slowly with her return to snow in November and gradually build up her amount of time and intensity on snow over the season.

We decided to start Dani racing again in April at the Miele Cup FIS Spring Series in the slalom. Let me tell you, standing in the start after more than a year off after a major injury, months of crutches, pain, doctors’ appointments, rehab, training, and not really knowing if you still have what it takes to race, is mind blowing. On top of that, everyone’s watching to see if you’ll perform again. That’s what Dani was facing.

Of course, Dani crashed in warm-up, slamming her shoulder. Yet, in typical Dani fashion, she shrugged it off and got down to business, handling it like a true champion.

We had a game plan to go in, race as hard as she felt comfortable doing and then push a little harder than that. It’s wasn’t about results so I told her not to even look at the timing board. She was to challenge herself and focus on the process, skiing well. I had more butterflies then she did as she came out of the start gate. She skied great and we had a very successful weekend. Now she’s off to train with the HPP (High Performance Program—B.C.’s best 16 and 17 year olds) all summer long. If you don’t know Dani yet, you soon will. She’s a great ambassador for the mountain and the sport.

The Alpine Club, doesn’t shut down for the summer, in fact we’re starting the new season right now. We’re organizing equipment, going to summer camps, fundraising and training for another great ski season. Thanks to all of you who support this great team, we really appreciate it! Ski Hard, Ski Fast.