Jasper’s Freeride Ski Team wrapped up its season with a strong showing during the Alberta Freestyle Championships at Marmot Basin March 31 to April 3.
While there were many strong performances, Jasper’s boys stole the show, sweeping the podium during the single moguls competition in the M14 category. t
Erza Jenkins led the way with another first place finish, followed by teammate Theron Boyer in second and Pierce Decore in third.
In the women’s category, Caitlin McInnis took care of business with her best performance of the season, finishing third overall in the single-moguls competition on Saturday.
“Caitlin worked really hard in the last month and it paid off,” said Nicholas Bazin, the team’s head coach.
“She pulled a massive backflip at the top air and a really big 360 at the bottom air, which are the biggest tricks she’s pulled anywhere else this season.”
On Sunday, McInnis continued to shine finishing fourth overall in the dual-mogul competition on Sunday.
Boyer also had one of his best performances of the season, finishing first in the dual-mogul competition for his age group.
None of Jasper’s athletes participated in the slopestyle competition on Friday, opting instead to focus their attention on the mogul competitions.
“Everybody was super focused on their moguls, because they really wanted to do well for their last competition of the year,” said Bazin, adding he heard a lot of positive comments from other teams about the slopestyle course.
With the season winding down, the team intends to enjoy one last weekend on the snow before turning its attention to dry-land training over the summer.
“Next weekend we’re mapping the off-season training, so every athlete knows what they need to be working on for the next six months,” said Bazin, adding it will also be a weekend to kick back and have some fun.
“All our top skiers will be matched with younger skiers who are five, six and seven years old to create a big family atmosphere for the last weekend. Obviously the focus will not be on high performance training, the focus will be on enjoying freestyle skiing and sharing the love of the sport.”
In addition to dry-land training, the team also intends to use a water ramp and a trampoline to dial in their tricks for next winter.
Bazin said the team will also head down to Whistler for a 10-day camp to get some days on the glacier this summer.
Paul Clarke
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