A Jaffray woman dominated the slopes Saturday to claim first place in the female division of the 2019 Monster Energy Boarderstyle.
Wearing a pink tutu after losing a bet, Katie Anderson was easy to spot as she raced down the course at Fernie Alpine Resort.
The 23-year-old impressed the judges with her speed and tricks to win the women’s category.
“It was a little bit more firm this morning and then kinda slushy in the afternoon, so it was lots of fun,” said Anderson of the course conditions.
“There were some ducks on the course after the pond a couple of times (which was) an added challenge.”
Anderson has been competing on the Freeride World Qualifiers circuit this year and is currently ranked first in the Americas with 6400 points.
“I used to race boardercross and I’m taking a step back from that, so these events are a lot more relaxed and just fun to get out with local girls and get a chance to ride a jump in Fernie,” she said.
Other place-getters were Alex Duckworth in second, Audrey Hebert in third and Nicole Kelly in fourth.
The men’s category was also hotly contested, completely selling out prior to the event.
It was Squamish-based rider Felix Dallaire who secured the top prize of $3000, followed by Mark Tremblay in second, Mark Sollors in third and Scott Brown in fourth.
“You’ve got to play it safe if you’re fast enough,” said Dallaire. “I threw some frontside 360s and backside 360s, and made it fast enough to win.”
Each year, FAR’s terrain park crew builds a unique course for Boarderstyle. The 2019 course included standard features such as a pond skim and tabletop jump, as well as a spine and berms.
“The course was great… for a place with no jumps they were decent jumps and the course was a little longer this year, and it just made it gnarlier,” said Dallaire.
“It’s good to see all the ladies made it too and had the commitment to ride it as well.
“Thanks Fernie and Jeni, and all the crew at Monster. It’s been really, really fun.”
The two-day competition attracted 90 entries, the majority of whom were from Fernie and surrounding areas.
FAR Events Manager Jeni Pearson said numbers were similar to previous years, however, there was more out of town interest, with some riders travelling from Whistler, Golden, Banff and the U.S.
“With the series gaining attention, many riders are coming from all over to hit Fernie plus the other stops (Silver Star, Mount Washington and Whistler),” she said.
