The Kimberley Academy has a big weekend coming up. Not only will they be hosting their third Girls Hockey Showcase on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, they will also be hosting their first Freestyle Ski Camp, as the Academy moves into offering a ski school as well.
Shane Murray and Brad Park of the Kimberley Academy are excited about both events, and the opportunities they provide local athletes, as well as those from further afield.
The hockey showcase is a combine, which will be attended by five coaches from U.S. schools, who are looking for scholarship players.
“Some kids will be offered scholarships,” Park said, adding that at least four of the Academy’s senior players will be moving on to colleges next year, with scholarships.
Murray says that in the last few years, Canadian universities are beginning to offer sports scholarships as well, and girls hockey was the test sport. That’s partially in response, he says, to the number of kids leaving for the U.S. because of scholarships there.
In any event, the showcase this weekend is a good opportunity for talented girl hockey players to be seen and assessed. There are girls coming from Alberta, all over BC and from the U.S.
Also this weekend, the Kimberley Academy will be running a moguls showcase at Kimberley Alpine Resort as they expand the school to include freestyle skiing.
“We are looking forward to working with Ben Cohen and the Kimberley Freestyle team,” Park said. “We will be looking for local and international students at the school. The benefits to local kids is that revenue from international students enhances coaching and training for local kids.”
“We have a head coach, Adrian Taggert, who competed and coached at the national level,” Murray said. “This weekend, we are hosting a mogul camp.”
The mogul course has been set right at the t-bar on the slope going up to the North Star condos. The atmosphere should be electric, Murray says, with Spring Splash also occurring at the same time.
“There will be a lot of people there and it will be awesome for the kids to ski in front of so many people.”
Park and Murray have been working on putting together the freestyle academy for several months and cannot say enough about how helpful staff at Kimberley Alpine Resort have been.
“We’d especially like to thank Rob Duncan and Ted Funston,” Park said. “They’ve been key in helping us get this together.”
Though a date was only set about two weeks ago, there are over 30 kids signed up for the mogul camp.
“There are going to be some really good skiers taking part in the camp,” Murray said. “And we have some national skiers coming in to coach the kids as well.”
Scheduled to attend are Luke Ulsifer and Matt Joosten. Ulsifer is from Calgary and skies with the National Freestyle team in moguls. Joosten was named to the national team in 2014.
At the camp, the young skiers will also be introduced to the Kimberley Academy concept.
Academy student from out of town stay in a dorm. The Academy has been utilizing Trickle Creek Lodge for a dorm, but Park says as the school expands they are looking for a larger facility to house students. Local kids can attend the Academy and still live at home, which keeps costs down.
The students attend Selkirk Secondary, and Murray says academics are primary and they are lucky to have a good relationship with the staff and principal at Selkirk.
“It is crucial to have a good relationship with the school. Sports will take the kids out of school at times. Our girls will be out an average of 25 days throughout the year, but they are also very dedicated. They know their grades have to be maintained. The teachers are very supportive.”