The Mount Washington Ski Club racers travelled to Apex Mountain near Penticton this past weekend to take part in the Enquist Cup Slalom Races.
These races are normally hosted at Mount Seymour but were re-located due to the lack of coastal snow. This meant the level of competition was elevated with the addition of racers from the strong Okanagan region.
The team from Mount Washington was composed of Campbell River athletes Cole Anderson and Maja Nymann, Kole Harle and Calvin Cotton from Mount Washington, and Liam Gilchrist of Nanaimo.
Maja, who won a gold medal in Whistler a few weeks ago, continued her podium visits. On the first day she accepted a silver medal and on the second day she wore the gold. The combined results from the two days meant that Maja also won the coveted Enquist Presidents Cup. This is the 78th year of this trophy being awarded and a fixture on the under 16 annual race calendar.
“These are pretty remarkable results from this Grade 10 Podium of Life student,” a spokesperson said. “She has been in the top two positions in almost all of the races this year. Coincidentally, Maja is the first Island athlete to win this trophy since 2007 when it was won by Krystal Francisty of Duncan who has been one of Maja’s coaches over the past four or five years.”
On the boys’ side, Cole Anderson stood on the podium to collect his gold medal the first day in the under 18 category and was also third fastest male skier of the day. Unfortunately, Anderson did not finish the course the second day which is a common event is slalom races where the athletes have to play the fine line between taking risks and controlling speed in the tight and turn-y courses.
Kole Harle also was unable to finish the first day after breaking a ski pole but rallied on day two to come home with a silver medal behind Ryan Moffat of Big White.
Calvin Cotton, a first year racer in the under 16 category, had consistent finishes placing 19th and 21st. Liam Gilchrist of Nanaimo finished up 17th on the second day of competition after not finishing the day before.
The team will stay and train at Apex for a few days in the frigid temperatures before returning to Mount Washington where four out of five of the skiers attend Podium of Life Ski Academy. Although the mountain is not open for skiing, they will spend their time training at the Vancouver Island Mountain Centre and the Nordic Centre.
“To win two gold and two silver medals is very impressive for the team at this very competitive event,” the Podium of Life spokesperson said. The skiers are next off to Prince George to compete in the Provincial Championship races.
– Podium of Life Snow Sports Academy
