Big turnouts at Canada-Snowboard Riders events in the communities last season have encouraged Snowboard Yukon to add Haines Junction to the list this winter.
Snowboard Yukon plans to host a Riders event - a competition for young, novice boarders - next month in the Junction.
“The first time we went to Watson Lake was three years ago and we’ve gone ever since,” said Riders organizer David Pharand. “Last year we added Dawson City to the bill and it was a huge success, so we’ll definitely be going back there this March - the March 2 weekend.
“And we’re adding Haines Junction to the bill, so we’ll head out there to do a clinic and a camp and a competition for the youth of Haines Junction.”
Since Haines Junction does not have a ski/snowboard park, the event will be held on a toboggan hill or something similar at a location that has yet to be determined.
“We’re looking at the weekend of February 15 and 16,” said Pharand.
The Haines Junction event is one of six Riders competitions being held this winter in Yukon.
One will be held in Dawson City at Moose Mountain Ski Hill on March 1-2 and another in Watson Lake at Mount Maichen on January 24-26. (The Watson Lake dates have not been confirmed.)
The Dawson and Watson Lake Riders events will include clinics and will be held alongside Snowboard Yukon women’s camps.
Snowboard Yukon hosted its first of three Riders events at Whitehorse’s Mount Sima on Saturday. Turnout was a far cry from the 20-plus that attended Riders races last year in Watson Lake and Dawson, with only three boarders out.
Asher Brault had the fastest time in the banked slalom race in Sima’s halfpipe to finish first in boys 12-and-over at 20.43 seconds. Simon Kishchuk took second with a time of 21.43 seconds.
Noah Gilbert was first in boys 10-and-under in 27.87 seconds.
“We will incorporate a different discipline in each event,” said Pharand. “We’ll step it up with the second one, which will be more of a slopestyle one, so negotiating tricks and features down a course, picking up points on style and difficulty.
“The final one will be a boardercross event. So again with the gates, but no stopwatch, just riders racing against each other.”
Visit www.snowboardyukon.com for more information.
“They are designed to be fun,” said Pharand. “Every rider is a winner in the event and every rider gets a prize.”
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com