The Shames Mountain Ski and Snowboard Club (SMSSC) hosted a fun race weekend January 18 and 19, open to skiers and snowboarders 10 and under.
And 54 skiers came up to Shames Mountain to participate over the two days of racing, competing on a mini dual-slalom course.
The purpose was to race down in random order around gates without missing a turn with the fastest time possible.
Most of the competitors had never participated in this type of event, so it was a fun way for athletes and volunteers to learn what it takes to compete in and run a miniature version of this type of competition.
The fastest of two runs was officially counted, however, kids continued to race until the end of the day, trying to improve their times or to have races against friends, siblings, and cousins.
There were some hard-core competitors on the slopes, including the two youngest competitors, two four-year-old girls who couldn’t wait for another run, and instead of riding the chairlift, hiked up the course several times to get another go at it.
There was a slightly different course from Saturday to Sunday, with the sunny day and firmer snow on Sunday resulting in much faster times for all competitors.
The fastest score in the whole competition was on Sunday by nine-year-old Lucas Schibli with a time of 14.75 seconds, but the girls in the 7-10 category had the next top five fastest times – and represented the largest number of competitors – making for very stiff competition. Some of the times were only 10ths of a second apart.
Schibli took home the gold both days in his division with Camryn Reiter and Thayna Healey also landing on the podium both days.
Medals were give out at the end of each day, and all competitors received a cookie medal for participating.
Although no snowboarders came out to race, the club hopes to see some next month when they hold another fun race weekend on February 15 and 16 for young skiers and snowboarders.
The club would also like to note that on Saturday the winner of the annual club raffle was drawn – the winner of the $500 prize was Bill Thornton from Kitimat.
Mini Rippers Fun Race Results:
Saturday
Girls 6 & Under Ski
1. Neige Kerr
2. Jordan Talstra
3. Thayna Healey
Girls 7-10 Ski
1. Camryn Reiter
2. Alex Talstra
3. Jemilla Defreitas
Boys 6 & Under Ski
1. Emile Leboeuf
Boys 7-10 Ski
1. Lucas Schibli
2. Jacob Suderman
3. Owen Faetz
Sunday
Girls 6 & Under Ski
1. Farah Defreitas
2. Thayna Healey
3. Makayla Forrest
Girls 7-10 Ski
1. Maya Lecuyer
2. Hanna Schibli
3. Camryn Reiter
4. Katie Andrews
Boys 6 & Under Ski
1. Will Hicks
2. Finley Hopper
3. Wade Stewart
Boys 7-10 Ski
1. Lucas Schibli
2. Mark Pietralla
3. Abel Hartman