Freeriders hope to repeat success at home

Local Freeskier Emmet Stange recently won in the 7 to 11 boys age category at the Rossignol Junior Freeskiing event in Kimberley.

Panorama Freeride Club member Emmet Stange performs a trick called a mute grab.

Panorama Freeride Club member Emmet Stange performs a trick called a mute grab.

Local Freeskier Emmet Stange recently won in the 7 to 11  boys age category at the Rossignol Junior Freeskiing event in Kimberley.

Stange, who takes part in the Panorama Mountain Freeride Club’s Freestyle and Freeskiing programs, showed superb technical skiing with a fluent rhythm and strong energy during his run. He also completed some jumps on the way with great tricks and success. Stange took the top spot on both the qualification and the final run.

Along with the win the Panorama Mountain Freeride Club boys’ athletes secured the following spots: Thomas Burnyeat came in fourth, Daniel Rusnac sixth, Ross Ferguson eighth, Cohen Sheppard 11th,Brian Burnyeat 19th.

In boys 12 to 14 Skylar Mountford placed 13th, Daniel Coles 16th and Christoff Coles 24th. In boys 15 to 18 Andrew Rusnac came 10th.

On the girls side local freeskier and athlete of the Panorama Mountain Freeride Club Kaleigh Meadus took the silver medal in both the qualification and the final run in the 7 to 11 age category. Other great finishes were secured by the club’s girl athletes, with Olivia Gibson coming sixth and Rayna Schnerch taking seventh.

Local Freestyle skier and club athlete Tomas O’Sullivan took part at the BC Freestyle Series Event at Silver Star and finished in 10th place at his first Big Air competition and 13th at the slopestyle competition.

All the club athletes are having a great season and are getting ready for their home mountain event, the Kootenay Freestyle weekend at Panorama. The event will be hosted on March 10 and 11 and includes a slopestyle competition on March 10 and moguls competition on March 11. For info about the event please contact the Panorama Mountain Freeride Club at panoramamountainfreerideclub.ca  or program director Andrea Meadus at 250-342-9082.

Invermere Valley Echo