Five athletes from the Yukon Freestyle’s development team went to the freestyle ski nationals held in Calgary from March 24 to 27.
Skiers at the national event competed in halfpipe, slopestyle and big air. Although the freestyle development team only trains in two of those disciplines locally at Mount Sima, the skiers felt up to the challenge and competed in all three in Calgary.
On the halfpipe, Yukoner Jason McKay placed eighth in U18 competition. Among the U16s Jacob Robertson placed 23rd followed by Isaac Maddocks in 24th, Charlie Fidler in 27th and Alex Wilson was 29th.
In the U18 slopestyle competition McKay placed second. On the U16 slopestyle course Wilson placed 20th, followed by Maddocks in 22nd, Robertson in 23rd and Fidler in 27th.
“That was amazing and unexpected. I tried my hardest and believed in myself. I don’t think I could have come this far without the support of my teammates and my coaches,” McKay said after making the podium.
McKay would go on to place 12th in U18 big air. Wilson placed 19th in U16 big air followed by Maddocks in 23rd and Fidler in 29th.
Freestyle team coaches Lyndsey Boorse and Chris Arsenault accompanied the team to Jr. Nationals.
“This was an excellent experience for the team to be able to travel and compete against athletes from other provinces. They all showed what they can do, especially to themselves,” Boorse said.
The ski season is not over as the athletes returned from Calgary look forward to competing on their home hill in this weekend’s Yukon Champs, on April 2 and 3 at Mount Sima.
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