BANFF – A ski race for youth in Banff is embracing middle age.
The Nancy Greene Sunshine Invitational Ski Race blew out 40 candles for its annual event at Sunshine Village in Banff National Park last Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 3-4).
Approximately 200 skiers aged from five to nine competed in slalom and giant slalom (GS) events on Tincan Alley off Wawa Chair at the local ski hill that’s seen future World Cup athletes
“It’s just got a huge legacy and it’s been a very memorable event and it's always well-attended and really enjoyed by the athletes and the families that come from all across Alberta,” said Scott Wallace, program director of the Sunshine Ski Clubs.
Wallace’s children grew up doing the races, including Liam Wallace who’s a World Cup technical skier. The same can be said for Kiki Alexander, another World Cup skier, who was the forerunner of this year’s U10 race and handed out medals to winners.
After watching the young athletes, Alexander said the future is bright for Canadian ski racing.
“This race is a special race for me because Sunshine is my home hill and seeing all these kids having fun at the place I’ve made so many memories is amazing,” said Alexander. “This event was very well run, with all the help of the amazing volunteers, Sunshine Club and Sunshine Village. It was so amazing to see the amount of young and talented athletes we have here in Alberta. Seeing how supportive these young athletes are to each other and the love and passion they all share for the sport takes me back to why I even started racing in the first place.”
Over two days, local club medal winners included Hema Kumar, Zoe Osborne, Samuel Inglis, Adelynn Fawcett, Addilyn Smith, and Huxley Shannon of Lake Louise Grizzlies Ski Club; Sunshine Club's West MacKenzie, Alexander McDonald, Naveed Sharif, Alina Ren, August Sailer, and Romeo Dimasso; and Bow Valley Quikies Jack Henning.
The event is named after alpine ski champion and Canadian Nancy Greene, whose career highlights include gold and silver in GS and slalom, respectively, at the 1968 Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, France.
In 1999, Greene was named Canada’s female athlete of the century of the 20th century by Canadian Press.
