The air above Marmot Basin was filled with young skiers all weekend, as more than 160 youth athletes flew off jump after jump as they competed in moguls and slopestyle competitions hosted by the Jasper Freeride Freestyle Ski Club.

“At the beginning we were expecting 50 or 60 athletes and then we ended up with 160,” said Nic Bazin, head coach of the Jasper club.

At the Atom level, hockey in Edson benefits from amazing parent participation, making not only for well organized tournaments, but also fun league games. There are four coaches on the bench, three parents in the time-keepers box and parents playing music during breaks in the action on the ice. Whoever this was on Saturday when the Jasper Atom Bears rolled into town for an afternoon league game, they had their finger on the pulse of the Billboard Hot 100, and the kids loved it. At times there was more movement on the ice before the puck dropped than afterwards. 

Being a hockey parent is a bit like delivering the mail: you have to carry your charges through sleet and ice and dread of night.

This weekend was no different as the parents of the Jasper Atom Bears braved the skating rink, also known as Highway 43, to take on the Fox Creek Bulldogs and the Mayerthorpe Vipers in a two-game road swing.