Words & photos by Red Mountain Resort

RED Mountain Resort has completed the second day of qualifiers in The North Face Canadian Open Freeskiing Championships. Day 1 saw the qualifiers for the 7-11 and 12-14 year old competitors, while Day 2 was for the 15-18 year old competitors in the freeskiing event.

“It was amazing to see the athletes ski within their abilities and it was an impressive display of athleticism. The future of freeskiing is looking really good!” noted an enthused Jeff Holden, the Canadian Open’s Head Judge. “As for the finals, we’ll see 93 athletes compete. It is the largest field of competitors I’ve seen in the 12 years of judging these events. It is a testament to the growth of the sport. The finals will be a great show.”

“We’ve seen a lot more skiers from western North America than we have in the past and we’re pleased how well the event has gone. This is a great stepping stone event for all aspiring freeskiers. It gives them a taste of the freeskiing community and competition.” noted Mika Hakkola, RED Mountain Resort’s Marketing and Communications Manager.

Saturday, January 14th will see all qualified athletes compete in The North Face Canadian Open Freeskiing Championships Finals. There will be 93 athletes with competition starting at 8:30am on Links Line. The competitor’s banquet and awards ceremony will start at 5:00pm in RED’s day lodge.

The senior event, scheduled to start on January 18th, has seen 60 athletes registered so far and with more anticipated. With the weather forecast calling for snow starting early next week, the conditions for the senior event look favorable. As an “Open” event, anyone over the age of 19 can register for competition. The senior event will see a cash purse up for grabs.

Results

Female 15-18

1) Lauren Cameron - 34.93

2) Camilla Loughlin - 33.10

3) Thea Ruzycki - 32.30

4) Sally Steeves - 31.67

5) Chloe Kuch - 27.67

6) Robyn Sansom - 27.30

7) Orea Brown-Dahl - 25.73

8) Taylor Merritt - 25.37

cut-off

9) Anna Suszynski - 24.27

10) Jill Beasley - 23.37

11) Sara Lapointe - 16.97

12) Fiona Dornberger - 13.50

13) Kate Cooper - DNS

Male 15-18

1) Ian Borgeson - 40.17

2) George Rodney - 38.30

3) Bryce Barker - 36.50

4) Jake Teuton - 36.33

5) Jakob Van Houten - 36.13

6) Nash Grimm - 35.87

7) Sam Poarch - 35.77

8) Isaac Freeland - 35.77

9) Charlie Murray - 35.57

10) Dylan Siggers - 34.77

11) Casey Rose - 34.73

12) Drew Petersen - 34.67

13) Trace Cooke - 34.63

14) Ben Homer - 34.57

15) Ben Evely -  34.43

16) Dale Cushway - 34.27

17) Vinzenz Keller - 34.27

18) Graham Gallacher - 34.17

19) Patrick Hughes - 34.10

20) Jamesa Hampton - 34.07

21) Julien Bernard - 34.00

22) Conor MacDonald - 33.93

23) Dylan Cairns - 33.43

24) Jessy Collings - 33.27

25) Kelley Humpherys - 33.20

26) Riley Rose - 33.00

27) Christian Nichols - 33.00

28) Keegan Capel - 32.67

29) Leroy Maarhuis - 32.67

30) Edi Schreyer - 32.60

31) Erik Hilb - 32.60

32) Mike Siggins - 32.47

33) Sean Ennis - 31.90

34) Sean MacDonald - 31.83

35) Curtis Kovacs - 31.73

cut-off

36) Tashi Townley - 31.10

37) Wyatt Riegel - 31.10

38) Drew Hartley - 30.70

39) Sam Ruzycki - 30.43

40) Arlo Stevens - 30.40

41) James Clarke - 30.27

42) Xander Sterpin - 30.20

43) Jimmy Schweter - 29.77

44) Jordy Kidner - 29.67

45) Josh Trosky - 28.93

46) Daniel Weiss - 28.27

47) Jake Sivinski - 28.10

48) Emmett Seely - 26.93

49) Shane Castle - 25.87

50) Ben Le Marquand - 25.83

51) Gage Gordon - 21.10

52) Matthew Shew - 20.43

53) Dylan Gillespie - 20.37

54) Jack Nichols - 18.60

55) Rhys Donaldson - 18.50

56) Michael Thompson - 17.07

57) George Hogarth - 16.67

58) Kyle Poulin - 16.60

59) Jay Maloney - 15.83

60) Riley Elgerd - 14.70

61) Nicholas Westfall - 10.83

62) Eliot Brooks - 9.87

63) Leiam Grubisic - DQ

Stay tuned for the final update on the event, and for more information

on The North Face Canadian Open Freeskiing Championships and Red

Mountain Resort, check out http://www.canadianopenfreeskiing.com and http://www.redresort.com.