Morgan Rogers of Campbell River soared to a runner-up finish in the overall men’s results Sunday as more than 50 freestyle snowboard athletes from across the province visited Mount Washington Alpine Resort to compete in two BC Snowboard Provincial Series Slopestyle competitions.
Race events were held both Saturday and Sunday in the Rockstar Terrain park. The course consisted of a series of jumps, rails and boxes. In early January the competition had been put on stand-by, due to lack of snow, however mid-month snow accumulations allowed the event to go ahead as planned.
“Snow conditions were not ideal,” said Cathy Astofooroff, Executive Director of BC Snowboard, “but Mount Washington Park Crew built an amazing setup, very fun!”
Several Vancouver Island athletes made the podium. On Saturday, Jacqueline Monette-Warren, of Parksville, won the U19 women’s event, while Lukas Bergvinson of Courtenay, placed second in the men’s U13 category and Markus Bergvinson of Courtenay placed third at U15.
On Sunday, Rogers paced the Island contingent in the men’s category. Lukas Bergvinson moved up to first in U13 and Markus Bergvinson reprised his third-place showing in U15.
The First Nations Snowboard Team’s Island & High Performance Division produced podium results both days. On Saturday, Zoe Kostuchuck of Saskatoon placed second (U19) and Aiva Noringseth of Courtenay, placed third (U19) in the women’s event while Ryan Johnston of North Vancouver, placed third (19+) in the men’s event.
On Sunday, Knowlton Griffiths of Comox placed third (U13), Ryan Johnston, of North Vancouver placed second (19+) in men’s and Kostuchuck won the women’s U19 division.
Two more BC Snowboard Provincial Series Slopestyle competitions are scheduled to take place this season; the next will be at Mt. Seymour on Feb. 14-15 (currently on stand-by), followed by Big White on March 6-7. From February 22-28 Vancouver Island’s Jacqueline Monette-Warren will represent BC women in the Canada Winter Games at Tabor Mountain. Jacquie is currently a member of the BC Development Team – Vancouver but she used to train at Mount Washington with the VI Riders Snowboard Club. Kim Leming from the First Nations Snowboard Team – Vancouver Island, will also be heading to the Canada Winter Games as an apprentice coach.
Ski Tak Hut and Alternative Groove sponsored last weekend’s event, and High Performance Coach Jon Spanos and First Nations Snowboard Team local mountain sponsor Mount Washington and ViaSport continued their support of the past nine seasons.
For more information on the VI Riders Snowboard Club check out www.viriders.ca, for the BC Snowboard Association visit www.bcsnowboard.com, and for the First Nations Snowboard Team visit www.fnriders.com or www.canadasnowboard.ca/en/programs/aboriginal.
