Apex Ski Club members had a tough week during the Fidelity under-16 Can Am 2014 ski championship.
The event attracted the top male and female skiers from Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest.
ASC coach Jorgen Anderson said Reece Howden, Ella Pasin and Belle Grant had fun March 20-23, but it was tough.
“The conditions were pretty challenging. Everyone was going for it,” said Anderson.
On the first day, Howden wasn’t able to finish the slalom, while Pasin was 78th in the Super G.
The next day Howden was 19th out of 86 finishers in the Super G, while Pasin was 42nd in her first run of the Slalom. Grand did not finish.
In the Giant Slalom, Howden was 38th finishing his first run in one minute, 15.82 seconds while his second run was 1:05.51.
On Sunday, Howden was 34th in the giant slalom, while Pasin did not finish and Grant completed her first run in 1:11.59.
“There is always a high rate of DNF’s in championship racing,” said Anderson. “Kids are pushing hard. I thought they all skied really hard. I was happy with their efforts. They just crashed and burned on a few there.”
Anderson said he liked Howden’s performance in the Super G.
Sunday didn’t go as well for Howden who struggled a bit, but still maintained his top-10 ranking in the province.
“That’s really good. We’re happy about that,” said Anderson. “He is going to go to Whistler Cup (along with eight others) in two weeks. It’s an international race.”
While Pasin and Grant experienced tough moments during the week, Anderson said they had strong sectional times in the Super G.
Grant was 20th in her first run, then crashed in the second, while Pasin cracked the top 30.
“Despite maybe not having positive numbers, there is always a positive experience,” said Anderson. “You’re skiing to move up the ranks. With that comes a bit of risk.”
Pasin was also invited to Mike and Manny’s Camp by Mike Janyk and Manuel Osborne-Paradis.
Janyk is a former World Cup skier and Osborne-Paradis competed for Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy placing 13th. The camp, April 8-11, brings 10 athletes from B.C. and six from the remaining western provinces for a ski camp.