Winning 24 medals during the B.C. Freestyle championship was the perfect ending for the Apex Freestyle Club.
AFC brought 18 of its 40 athletes to the championship at Mt. Washington March 29 to April 1. The team captured 10 gold medals, eight silver and six bronze.
Winning medals for the AFC was Anna Spence in F5 girls Super Youth single moguls, silver in Super Youth dual moguls and dual moguls. Madison Parker took silver in the Super Youth single moguls and slopestyle. She also won gold in Super Youth dual moguls and dual moguls. Maxwell Todd earned bronze in the Super Youth single moguls. In single moguls, Mackenzie Swinghammer placed fourth, while Noah Spence won gold and Kyle Parker earned bronze. AFC alumni Connor Spence won gold, while Jordan Kober earned bronze. Andi Naude, another AFC alumni, won gold, while Jake Little and Josh Kober, also AFC alumni won gold and silver respectively. In slopestyle, Swinghammer earned a bronze medal, as did Noah. He also won gold in dual moguls, while Parker earned a bronze medal. Naude won gold, while Kober and Connor won gold and silver respectively.
Connor said he performed to his potential and improved a lot.
“There were quite a few guys in my category that were good skiers,” he said.
Brayden Kuroda, the coach’s son, placed second in the M5 boys Super Youth single moguls and again in the slopestyle event.
“It felt good,” said Brayden of his performance. “It was tough but I did good. I just do my best and try to get on the podium.”
Brayden said the conditions in the dual moguls were a little deep, but despite that he didn’t find the championship a challenge. He felt he improved. He enjoyed the experience of the championship that was highlighted by eating a beaver tail pastry.
The AFC coach Kenni Kuroda said the skiers performances were “fantastic.”
“The results show that we have a strong team,” said Kenni.
Prior to the start of the championship, 600 centimetres of snow fell on the moguls course forcing organizers to rebuild it. Kenni credited the organizers and its volunteers for the job they did getting the course ready.
With the championship being the final event of the season, Kenni said it was important that they finished with the results they did. They can carry the confidence into summer with a lot of hope to next season.
“With water ramp, they can train through summer then hit the snow when it comes back,” said Kenni. “I’m pressed with everybody. They put their heart and soul into this competition.”
Kenni said his first season as coach went fantastic as he said there was so much for him to learn going in. While he was familiar with the skiers, it was a matter of working closely with them and bringing out the best was satisfying for him.
“I think we have set the bar pretty high,” said Kenni, praising the volunteers, who he said they couldn’t have done it without them. “Hopefully we can maintain it and set it higher. They are talented kids.”
