RMR STEPS UP TO HOST K2 WESTERN CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Revelstoke Mountain Resort went all out last week to help the Revelstoke Ski Club host 13- and 14-year-old ski racers from across Western Canada. Thursday through Sunday the management and staff of RMR went the extra mile, from opening lifts early and staying open late, to special grooming requests, a great banquet and full-time medical attention from ski patrol. “The Revelstoke Ski Club would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone at RMR,” said club president Mark Schwenck. “They really went beyond the call of duty.” The club would also like to thank all the volunteers and sponsors who made the event possible.

The race organizers battled tough weather conditions – dense fog on Friday cancelled the men’s Giant Slalom race and forced the women to race only one run, and Sunday’s blizzard meant challenging race conditions and extra work for course volunteers in the Slalom. Despite the weather challenges the series was successful and race teams and families left happy to have visited Revelstoke.

Emily Unterberger had a successful week with a bronze medal in the first Giant Slalom race; on the second day she was sitting in second place when the run was cancelled due to fog. She went on to score two fifth places. Hannah Yauck had some DNFs in Slalom but placed 60th in the GS.

Cole Smith had an impressive tenth in GS and 13th in Slalom, while Adrian Bernava and Alex Duchesne both finished 37th, Chris Wadey a 39th, Davis Roy a 63rd and Landon Yauck a 70th.

Three Revelstoke racers have just returned from their National Championships: Peter Behncke and Lachlan Hicks from the K2 Nationals in Collingwood, Ontario, and Erika Park from the senior Nationals at Nakiska, Alberta. Park gained some valuable experience competing against the very best skiers in the country and took away solid results in the 40s and a strong 33rd in Slalom.

Hicks and Behncke had a great time experiencing Ontario ski racing. “It was so different,” said Hicks. “It’s pretty much all racing over there, not much free skiing.” “Even on our old ski hill here it was small,” Behncke noted, “but it was on a real mountain, not just a hill. Being right on [Georgian] Bay was really cool.”

Though Hicks admitted he didn’t ski his best, he was pleased to have finished all his runs – including a 49th place in the Super Combined and a 29th in the GS. Behncke was happy with his results, but joked “a couple more tenths [of a second faster] and it would have been better.”

Peter’s ninth place in Super Combined and seventh in Slalom earned him a spot in the final race of the event – a West-versus-East dual Slalom. “That was so much fun,” Behncke said. “All the teams were around the finish corral so there were about 200 people watching.” Tied after the first round, the West pulled ahead by seven races in the second round to easily defeat the East.

The two young men helped B.C. earn second place among the provinces – Ontario took first and Quebec third, though both Eastern provinces’ teams were nearly twice as big as B.C.’s.

The FIS athletes are currently at the Miele Cup Finals – the men in Panorama and the women at Nakiska – to wind up their competitive season. The K and J team will travel to Big White this weekend for zone finals, while a few athletes gear up for Whistler Cup – an international race – from April 9th to 11th.