By Linda Schulze
The province belongs to Jane Andison of Red Mountain Racers after she was crowned overall champion of the B.C. U14 girls division in giant slalom alpine ski racing on the weekend in Whistler.
After finishing second and third in two separate giant slalom races at Silver Star resort in Vernon at the end of March, Andison's first and fourth place finishes in the slalom races were enough to clinch the B.C. U14 overall champion title.
The fourteen-year-old continued her winning ways at the Whistler Cup with a fourth place in the Kinder Kombi this past weekend, where she was racing against skiers from all over the world.
“It doesn’t feel different than other races,” said Andison. “I wasn’t really nervous. The difference is that, here (at Whistler), there are 120 girls when there are usually not that many. I just do what I’m supposed to do and hope for the best.”
Andison’s mom, Christine, went further.
“What I think is cool about this event is that Jane could come to me and say, ‘Mom, I made some new skiing friends’ and these friends happen to be from Japan,'” she said. “It really creates a sense of community and common understanding for these young kids.”
Other Red Mountain Racers (RMR) of note from Whistler Cup were Daniel Larriau from Spain. Larriau is with RMR through Red Mountain Academy and finished fifth in Saturday’s U14 slalom, after finishing sixth in the B.C. provincials the weekend earlier.
Soleil Patterson also shone at Whistler. While she didn’t crack the top 10, she showed very strong promise and was skiing with confidence given that she had just moved up an age category and was racing girls who are as much as two years older than she is. Patterson’s top result at Whistler Cup was 17th in the slalom.
Top finishes for Red Mountain Racers:
Isaac Lunn – 36th (slalom)
Gavin Patterson – 25th (slalom)
Vasily Koltsov – 38th (Kinder Kombi)
Arina Rora – did not finish
Liene Groeger – 21st (giant slalom)
Kaysa Panke – 34th (kinder kombi)
Sophia Rodyakin – 49th (slalom)
Full results are available at BCAlpine.com for both the U14 provincial championships (Silver Star) and Whistler Cup.