Maja Nymann- Mt.Washington Alpine Champions

K1 Provincial Champioships at Mt.Washington

2011-05-06T11:55:00.000-07:00

Mt.Washington played host to 150 K1 competitors for the Provincial Championships on March 18-20.
It was a huge undertaking for the Mt.Washington Ski Club as we ran two simultaneous courses on two separate runs on the Friday and Saturday of competition. Setting up and running one course is a big job on its own, this required twice the manpower. The event was giant success with praise coming from the visiting clubs. Thanks to all the volunteers from visiting clubs that helped make it all come together.
This race was the main qualifier for the upcoming Whistler Cup so even though our coaches were trying to keep our racers focused on the event and not stressing out about placing high enough to qualify, it was still on everyones mind.
Maja has been focused on top ten at every event this year and has been pushing hard and taking risks. This has resulted in major improvements in her skiing but also means she is always on the edge and even the smallest error in this sport, where fractions of a second are critical, can drop you way down in the results.

Friday saw the girls skiing Giant Slalom(GS) and the boys on the Slalom course(SL).
There were 84 girls from around the province competing for Provincial standings. Top 30 is a great result.
GS&SL were both two single run events, meaning two runs with separate results.
Maja almost fell and winded herself on her first GS run but managed to stay on her feet and still finish 13th, only 00.7 of a second out of tenth place. Her team mate Keegan McCooey skiid well into 29th.
On her second run Maja placed 16th and Keegan 28th.
The boys as usual were at the top of their game on the Slalom course with Kole Harle winning the first run and coming 6th in the second run. Liam Gilchrist placed 7th and 9th, Logan Frame 10th and 11th, and Robbie Yelland 30th and 24th. There were 73 boys competing.Wow!
Day two had the girls on SL and the boys on GS.
Maja missed a gate and had to hike on her first run, placing 69th. You only have a few seconds to hike back to a missed gate before the judges call you off course for the next skier coming behind. You have to hustle and in the end you're only guaranteed a finish way down the list so it takes some will power to not just give in and not finish the run. Either way it's a disappointment for the racer and upsetting. So much work goes into training and it all comes down to one attempt, maybe a minute of your time to be perfect.
Keegan put in a great run and came 12th.
Maja's second run was much better at 12th place, Keegan also placed well at 23rd, only a second behind Maja and still enough to drop 11 positions!
The boys again cleaned up on the GS course with Harle 5th in the first run and 1st!! in the second. Gilchrist placed 3rd and 5th, Frame9th and 11th and Yelland 32nd and 36th.
Day three had the boys and girls both on the Kombi course for a single run only.
Maja gave it her all and came away with 6th place, less than a third of a second out of third place.
Keegan also skied very well, placing 14th.
The boys again all placed well with Gilchrist 6th, Harle 7th, Frame 10th and Yelland 32nd.
It was a great event that ended with bright sunshine on the Sunday.
We would have to wait until the slightly complicated Whistler Cup qualifications were calculated to see which of our racers would qualify.

There are two videos available, they are both identical but in different formats

that we are testing out to see which provides the best quality

for file size and consistent functionality.Both are linked from You Tube.

Both can selected for HD and full screen viewing. Enjoy.

Western Candian Championships-Silverstar Resort,Vernon,B.C.

2011-03-26T22:18:00.000-07:00

The Western Canadian Championships were held at Silverstar Resort February 18-20. This is an event which requires qualification to attend and all six of our local K1 athletes qualified to compete. Competition was fierce, there are no weak skiers at the Westerns and any placement in the top half of the field is a respectable result, simply qualifying to attend is an achievement. Each province and zone has a selection criteria to fill their quota of competitors for the event. There are four zones in B.C. and the quota of 40 male and 40 female skiers is shared among the four zones. The Western Championships includes clubs from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Alberta and B.C., each with their own zones and quotas.
Maja had an overall strong event with her results improving with each event.
Day one saw her place 39th and 41st in her two GS runs, teamate Keegan McCooey 54th & 57th.
Day two Maja had excellent results of 26th & 25th in her slalom runs, Keegan 41st and a DSQ in her second run.
On the final day Maja put in a very impressive 15th place in the Kombi event, Keegan placed 25th! These are both awesome results. These are the best skiers in Western Canada!
The Mt.Washington boys also put in amazing results for such a high caliber event.
Kole Harle- GS 12&29, Slalom 11&53, Kombi DNF
Liam Gilchrist- GS 24&14, Slalom DNF&DNF, Kombi DNF
Logan Frame- GS 25&29, Slalom 14&DNF, Kombi DNF
Robbie Yelland- GS 41&60, Slalom 39&38, Kombi 34
Way to go Mt.Washington, way to go Maja. A 15th place finish at the Western Canadian Championships!
Next up, the B.C. Provincial Championships hosted right here at home at Mt.Washington!

New Do

2011-03-06T21:49:00.000-08:00

Maja decided it was time to shorten those long locks and go for a fresh, tidy, less snow clumping look, before the Westerns. We think it looks great, and definitely attracts less snow.

Little Sister and Niece from Norway show off their skills

2011-03-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

We had family visiting from Norway Feb 10-24. Maja's uncle Paal and her six year old niece Embla came to visit and enjoy the local ski hill. Embla had only been on alpine skis for half a day before coming to Mt. Washington. She has an incredible amount of determination and after only one day on our bunny hill she wanted to take part in Mt.Washingtons Nancy Greene Toy Race. The Toy Race was a fun event for local club members and a warm up for the following weekends Experience the Podium Nancy Greene event which saw visitng clubs from Grouse, Seymour, Cypress and Whislter. Everyone had a great time at the Toy race and the weather and snow were epic. There is a video segment from this event with runs from Embla and Sylvi.
The Experience the Podium race was also a huge success with lots of local kids and visiting clubs. Sylvi competed in the 9 year old female category. She placed first in the dual Glalom on day one and first in the Kombi on day two. Her times were awesome. She not only won her division but on day one her time was the fastest overall, inlcuding the 10 and 11 year old girls and the boys! On day two she had the second fastest time, second only to one of the older boys from her club, Jared Perras by less than a second. Nice skiing Sylvi. There is a video segment from this event as well.

Grouse K1 Slalom February 5&6

2011-03-05T00:14:00.000-08:00

The Mt. Washington K1 Alpine Team travelled to Grouse Mountain leaving on February 3rd for a 2 day slalom event. This is the last race to qualify for the Western Canadian Championships. Only the top 18 skiers from each zone qualify for the Westerns, based on their points for the season so far. The Mt. Washington team had excellent results at this race.
In her first run Maja disqualified when she unknowingly missed a gate at the end of a flush. Had she skied the run clean her time would have put her in 3rd place only a fraction of a second behind her team mate Keegan McCooey who put in a phenomenal run for 2nd place. In their second run Maja placed 6th and and Keegan did not finish her run.
The boys also placed extremely well. 1st run Kole Harle 5th, Liam Gilchrist 6th, Logan Frame 10th and Robbie Yelland 12th. 2nd run Harle 1st!, Frame 6th, Yelland 9th and Gilchrist 14th.
On Day two the two run times were combined for a single result. Maja placed 12th and her team mate Keegan 16th. The boys had some trouble finishing this course , except Logan Frame who came in with an awesome 3rd place finish. There were 42 girls and 45 boys competing.
After this event and all the consistent top 20 finishes at previous events, every single one of our K1's have qualified for the Western Canadian Championships. Awesome! The team's results are all so consistently good for the whole team, that Mt. Washingtons K1's have the best team standing in B.C. !!! Well done.

Good luck at the Westerns, competition will be fierce with only the top 18 ranked skiers from each zone from B.C. to Saskatchewan. There are 4 zones in B.C.

K2 Coast Zone Giant Slalom Race at Mt. Washington

2011-03-04T19:57:00.000-08:00

Our club hosted a Coast Zone K2 Giant Slalom race on January 22-23. Maja and the other K1 team members as well as the Snow Leopard from Ghana were chosen to fore-run the race. Fore-runners race the course before the competitors to ensure the gates and timing are all properly placed, safe and functional. One of our local volunteer Ski Patrollers, Don "Moose" McCauley put together an awesome video clip of the event which I've included in the post, as well as clips of Maja and the Snow Leopard.

Hemlock Race

2011-03-04T19:10:00.000-08:00

The K1's travelled to Hemlock Resort, northwest of Harrison Hot Springs, for competition on January 14,15 &16. Unfortunately this event did not run smoothly and the competitors were left with 2 gs runs for the girls and one for the boys on the Saturday with all other runs cancelled due to weather and ski lift malfunctions. This was supposed to be six events over three days. The Friday races were cancelled due to rain and from the sounds of it a lack of organization. Saturday saw two runs for the girls and one for the boys due to issues with the chair lift and weather. Sunday events were cancelled due to weather and failure of the chairlift. This was a very disappointing trip for the team as a lot of effort and expense goes into training and travelling for these events. Maja placed well in her first run at 10th and 12th in her second run. Her team mate Keegan McCooey placed 28th in her first run and an impressive 4th in her second. The boys also skied well in their one Giant Slalom run. Liam Gilchrist 4th, Logan Frame 10th, Robbie Yelland 11th and Kole Harle missed a gate on his run. Maja's ever faithful grandpa travelled with the team to Hemlock but due to the foul weather and the heavy work load for the few volunteers he didn't manage any photos or videos for this event.

Maja Turns 13

2011-01-21T22:32:00.000-08:00

Maja turned 13 on the 7th of January. Maja's homework requires more and more computer time these days it seems. She's routinely bumping the adults off the computer both at home and at her Grandparents home to do schoolwork. She's also keeping up with schoolwork when she's on the road skiing so we thought it made sense for her to have her own. Both sets of Grandparents and Mama and Pappa chipped in to get her a little notebook to fill all these needs. We knew she would be excited but we didn't expect any tears. Here's a slightly long video clip of Maja opening up her supercool gift.

Report cards and Training Days

2011-01-20T23:06:00.000-08:00

The Mt.Washington Alpine team trains every weekend, some Fridays and the odd Monday. Maja's been feeling the workload of her first year at junior high and the French Immersion program. She impressed everyone with all A's on her last report card. We're all very proud of her. Of course her little sister Sylvi is every bit as amazing and is also up on the hill training every weekend with the K-Star pre-competitive program and sometimes with Maja's group as well.

Giant Slalom Training

Sylvi gets some GS Turn Tips from Maja

Whistler! First Race of the Season

2011-01-20T21:37:00.000-08:00

The Mt. Washington team was in Whistler Dec 18-19 for the first race of the season. Unfortunately due to the number of competitors it was decided the skiers would only get one run for each event, slalom and giant slalom. Normally there would be two runs for each event. Maja had two good results even though she was not satisfied with anything less than a podium. Pappa had promised he would take care of all her ski tuning for the season if she finished in the top ten and now Pappa spends his evenings tuning Maja's race skis.

In the GS Maja placed 11th at 43.79 sec and her team mate Keegan McCooey came in 12th at 44.63 sec.

In the slalom Maja placed 9th at 50.74, edged out by Keegan by 3/10 of a second at 50.47 for 8th place.

The boys also had excellent results.

Kole Harle placed 3rd in GS and 5th in slalom.

Logan Frame placed 4th in GS and skied out in his slalom run.

Liam Gilchrist placed 8th in GS and 4th in slalom.

Robbie Yelland placed 11th in GS and 14th in slalom.

There were 42 boys and 39 girls competing at the K1 level.

Awards!

Apex Training week Nov 25-Dec 1

2011-01-19T21:10:00.000-08:00

The entire Mt. Washington Alpine Ski Team was at Apex Resort for training the week of Nov 25th to Dec 1st. The resort is essentially closed except for one run and a T-bar which is open only to teams for race training. This provides early season training in an environment that allows for focused training without the distractions of a resort with public on the hill. Maja was lucky enough to have her Grandpa along with her again this year. Enjoy the video clip with the ultimate training soundtrack of course.

Dryland Training

2011-01-12T23:38:00.000-08:00

The team has been taking part in dryland training on a weekly basis since early September. Dryland training consists of cardio, core and some strength training. Here's a small video clip of one of their more specific ski focused excercises.

Maja Interviewed by News Reporter Bill Payment

2010-10-24T23:44:00.000-07:00

2010-2011 Season!

2010-10-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

Maja's second season of competitive skiing is already underway. This will be Maja's second season at the K1 Level. The entire competitive level group has been taking part in dryland training and fitness testing starting in early September with weekend and midweek sessions. On-snow training will start with a week of training at Apex Resort as soon as the mountain opens for team training. Apex is located close to Penticton and is one of the first mountains to open in B.C. It is a very popular training location with many alpine ski teams. The first official event of the seaon will be at Whistler in December.
As many of you know we have also been fundraising and again we are overwhelmed by the positive response from the generous businesses and people of Campbell River, especially in todays tough economy. Thank you to everyone for your support. We will keep you up to date throughout the season with the blog and e-mails. Think Snow!

Mudbowl

2010-05-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

Maja's Junior Development Soccer team took part in the

annual Mudbowl tournament in Port Mcneill on May 1-2.

It rained most of the weekend as expected but it was a

good time and a fun tournament. The Campbell River

team took home the title for the U-12 division, winning

all of their games.

This video clip can also be found on YouTube

in slightly better quality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8fhepVA0XI

Entrepreneur Fair

2010-05-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

Maja has been working hard on her project for an

Entrepreneur Fair at her school. The students

had to come up with an idea for a product, then

produce the product and sell it at the fair,

trying to make profit after expenses. Maja's

product line was based around stones she collected

of varying sizes which were polished, lacquered and

drilled as needed to make necklaces, earrings,pocket

rocks and garden rocks. The fair was held

on April 23rd. She made $81 after expenses.

The profits will offset the cost of a field trip

to Strathcona Park in June towards which each

student needs to raise $175.

Speed Camp

2010-05-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

At the end of the season the race program members get the

mountain for themselves for three days for a speed camp.

This is so they can set a Super Giant Slalom course they can train

on safely without other skiers on the hill. They start at 7am

and ski until noon to take advantage of the early morning icy snow.

Once the snow softens they can't make use of the snow due to ruts

forming and it simply gets too slow to be worthwhile.

They use a radar gun on the kids to check their speeds.

Maja's fastest speed was 86 kph coming into the first of two jumps.

She was skiing on Super G skis borrowed from her coach.

They were 175cm! Her longest skis, for Giant slalom are 155cm.

The fastest speed was put in by Gabe Pare at 98 kph.

Gabe is 15, in his 2nd year of K2.

Maja had to miss the last day of the camp due to her

entrepreneur fair for school being held that day.

Maja and her 175's

Maja cruising through the air at 86 kph

Rearview of Gabe at 98 kph

Ski Club Year End Awards and Banquet

2010-05-10T22:57:00.000-07:00

The Mt. Washington Ski Club held their year end awards
presentation and banquet on April 3rd. It was a fun evening
and the food was excellent. There were numerous awards,
speeches and presentations throughout the evening.
Maja was presented with the K1 Fastest Female Award.
Kole Harle received Fastest K1 male.
Probably the biggest award of the night went to Lindsay Frame.
She received the Ben Bellamy award which is given to an athlete
based on sportsmanship, mentoring , teamwork and a supportive,
positive attitude toward everyone around them.
Ben Bellamy was a member of the race program who died tragically
and is remembered for his positive attitude towards sports, his
team mates and coaches.
The award was presented by his brother Lucien Bellamy.

Free Skiing with Pappa

2010-05-10T22:48:00.000-07:00

With the last race of the season done and the season almost

over the girls took a Monday morning to ski with their dad.

It's pretty cool to see these young girls skiing gnarly terrain.

Not too sure if anyone but pappa likes this steep terrain though.

Coast Zone Finals

2010-05-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

The Coast Zone Finals were held on Mt.Washington from April 2-4.

The club worked tirelessly to pull off this event but the weather just

wasn't going to cooperate. Friday April 2nd saw volunteers arriving

on the hill as early as 6:30 am with racers from around the province

waiting to compete. The snow had been pouring in all night and it

wouldn't let up all day with winds as high as 95 mph, that's right

mph, recorded at the summit. The entire mountain was without

power most of the day with no skiing operations and obviously no

racing. This spelled the end for the Super Giant Slalom which the

K1's would have been skiing for the first and only time this season.

Saturday brought a break in the weather but with all the new snow

the course was very soft and difficult to maintain. It was a lot of

work to clear all that new snow and set and maintain a slalom

course but a successful day of slalom racing was accomplished.

Sunday morning there was 15-20 cm of new snow with snow still

coming down to the point the race coaches decided the Giant Slalom

could not safely go on. It is impossible to hold an Alpine ski race in

fresh powder. At least the visiting skiers got to sample some of

Washington's fresh snow which we've been fortunate to have an

abundance of this season.

The Mt. Washington skiers did post some excellent results for the

slalom event and it was nice to see the race season end on such a

strong performance at home.

Maja finished 10th overall for the K1's and 3rd of the first year

racers, just a second behind her team mate Keegan McCooey who

placed 6th overall and 2nd of first years. Awesome!

The boys were also impressive with Liam Gilchrist placing 3rd,

Logan Frame 5th, Cole Anderson 6th and Robbie Yelland 9th.

Kole Harle raced hard but did not finish his race.

Maja's little sister Sylvi was selected to compete in an add-on race

for the K-Star group. She is actually 6 weeks too young for this

group but was invited to compete with racers one to two years

older. She finished in second place! Way to go Sylvi.

We didn't get too many photos of this event as we were all very

busy sweeping the course and working to keep the course in shape

for the racers. It was a very busy weekend for only getting in

one day of racing.

Maja out of the start gate!

Sylvi on course.

Maja and Sylvi with Robbie Yelland.

Report Cards!

2010-03-31T22:36:00.000-07:00

As we discussed with Maja at the beginning of the season
she has to keep up on her schoolwork if she wants
any chance of ski racing again next year. She has
done an excellent job.
Maja received her report card for the spring last week.
As of March 1st she had missed 26.5 days of school,
almost entirely to skiing. What a bum. A ski bum that is.
Maja managed to bring home five "A's and three "B's after
missing all that school during her first year in late French
Immersion. Way to go Maja, keep up the good work.
Not to be outdone, her little sister came home just one
"A" shy of all "A"'s after jumping up a grade this year.
Yes, we are proud and can't resist bragging a little.

Coast Zone Finals

2010-03-31T20:54:00.000-07:00

Maja's next event will be the last race of the season and it will
be held at Mt. Washington! We will host the Coast Zone Finals
from April 2-4. The racers will compete in Super Giant Slalom
for the first and only time this season, first time ever for Maja.
Super G is a full on speed event, one step down from the always
risky and exciting Downhill event.
Maja's little sister, Sylvi, will also be competing. She was one of
5 skiers from Mt. Washington chosen to compete at the
K-Star level, which includes ages 9-11. Sylvi turned 9 in February.
This was unexpected and will be Sylvi's first race of this level and
first time skiing Giant Slalom.
We would love to see you all on the hill cheering them on. It will
be an exciting event and with over 600cm of snow on the hill
you'll get some great skiing in too!

Paranationals at Mt. Washington

2010-03-31T20:42:00.000-07:00

Mt. Washington Hosted the Paranational Nor-Am Finals March 25-27.

This was a huge event put on by the Ski Club and Mt. Washington.

There were competitors from all over North America.

Maja was chosen to forerun one of the events. Forerunners race

the course right before the competitors to ensure it's ready, safe and

all systems such as timing are functioning.

The local skiers got a chance to meet with some very high caliber,

world class athletes, such as Canada's Lauren Woolstencroft, who

took home FIVE Gold medals at the Paralympics in Vancouver.

Maja and Sylvi chased her down for a photo.

Provincials at Red Mountain

2010-03-31T18:34:00.000-07:00

The K1 team competed in the Provincial Championships at
Red Mountain March 19-21. There were six events in total,
2 slalom, 2 giant slalom and 2 kombi. Maja had a very solid
weekend, this time posting her best result in Slalom.
There were a lot of excellent racers from all over the
province at this event. There were 95 k1 females , 45 of them
first year racers like Maja. Maja's best result was her first
slalom on day one.
She finished 31st overall and 12th out of the first year racers.
Nice skiing Maja, 31st of 95 and 12th of 45 for all of B.C.
Her team mate Keegan McCooey finished 44th overall,
also a great result.
Maja's other results were well placed in the middle of the field.
I'll list her overall placing, then a backslash followed by her
placing amongst the first years, and Keegan's overall results as well.
Day one Salom#2 48/19, Keegan 46.
Day two GS#1 60/19, Keegan 64.
Day two GS#2 61/18, Keegan 72.
Day three Kombi#1 53/19, Keegan 48
Day three Kombi#2 47/16, Keegan 68.

The boys had a phenomenal weekend. Kole Harle placed
15th overall in the GS, 4th among the first year racers and
earned himself a qualification to compete at the Whistler Cup.
Awesome.
Liam Gilchrist also placed 15th in the Kombi,
also 4th among the first years.
Logan Frame placed 21st overall in the Kombi and had four
placings in the top 30 of his six events.
Robbie Yelland placed 37th overall in the Slalom,
10th out of the first year racers.
Cole Anserson placed 19th in the Slalom.
There were 101 male K1's, 42 of them first year racers.

The Mt. Washington Team Van.

Maja's 1st GS Run

Maja's 2nd GS Run

Little Sister Peaks at Sun Peaks

2010-03-31T18:09:00.000-07:00

Sylvi Travelled to Sun Peaks March 13 & 14 for the

Nancy Greene Festival. There were team events and

some individual events for slalom, kombi, moguls

and jumping. The kids all got to meet Nancy and Sylvi's

team took home the Gold Medal for Team Slalom.

They didn't award individual times for slalom

which is unfortunate as this was Sylvi's best event.

She posted the second best result for Snow Star

level 2, for both the boys and girls!

Number one for the girls!

She tied 4th in jump, 6th in Kombi, 13th in moguls

and tied 4th for speed. There were 37 girls in her

age group (8 years old as of Dec 31, 09).

The Gold Medal Team!

Sylvi, Emily Johnston, Sam Purcell and Kieran Nilsen.

Missing are Kieran Harley, Shea McCooey

and Justin Watt

Hanging Out with Senator Greene

Sylvi Skiing Slalom

Photos and Video from B.C. Winter Games

2010-03-31T17:52:00.000-07:00

Check out the photos and video provided by Maja's Grandpa Craig
from the Winter Games in Terrace.

See the earlier post for results from this race.

The Mt. Washington K1's

The Mt. Washington K1 Girls

Course Inspection

The Giant Slalom on Slow Snow and Ruts!

B.C. Winter Games Results

2010-03-15T22:43:00.000-07:00

Maja returned from Terrace absolutely exhausted. Sleeping arrangements consisted of 30 kids on the floor to a classroom and they were up at 5:30 the first two days and about 4am the last day. Bedtime after activities was around 10 pm so these kids were pooched. Conditions at Shames were not very good as there was so little snow that training was cut to a couple of runs on training day as the kids were skiing right through the snow into the dirt after a couple of runs. Shames usually rivals all other resorts in North America for snow pack. Maja trained again this weekend and will leave for the next race at Red Mountain on Wednesday.
It's been a busy week so we will post some results for now and add photos later.
Maja skied very well and is consistently placing in the middle of the pack for the K1 group for both first and second year skiers. She definitely prefers the speed of the giant slalom and is getting better results in this event so far this year.
The first day of racing was the GS event with two runs and a combined time. Maja placed 26th of 46 overall and 5th of 17 for first year K1's. A very good result against some great competition from all over B.C. Nicely done Maja. Her team mate Keegan McCooey finished well at 31st overall.
Day two was slalom, also with two runs and a combined time. Maja almost fell but recovered and finished her first run, then managed to put in a good time for her second run to still finish 33rd of 46 overall and 10th of 17 for first years. Keegan put in two great runs coming in at 29th overall. One first year from Vernon finished in the top ten.
Day three was a single slalom run. Maja matched her GS spot at 26th of 46 overall and 8th of 17 for the first year racers. Keegan finished right behind Maja at 9th or 30th overall. The same first year girl from Vernon again made it into the top ten. For the most part the top 15 spots were held by second year K1's for all the events.
This was a tiring trip for all the kids and for a bunch of 12 and 13 year old kids they did very well we think to make it through the event without an exhausted meltdown.

Off to the B.C. Winter games

2010-03-05T17:18:00.000-08:00

Maja left for the B.C. Winter Games in Terrace

on Wednesday afternoon. They left on a bus for Comox

at 4pm, fly out of Comox at 7pm, arrive in Terrace at 8:30.

Their breakfast is at 6am, then dryland warmup.

They will compete in Giant Slalom on Friday and Slalom

on both Saturday and Sunday. It looks as though they may only

get a single run each day as there is almost no snow on

Shames mountain, which usually has one of the biggest

snow packs in North America.

Opening ceremonies are on Thursday evening and closing

ceremonies on Sunday at 1:30. There will be all kinds

of fun events for the athletes such as swimming,

a video dance party and a hypnotist. The kids all sleep in

classrooms in groups of 20 to 30 kids. There are over 1100

competitors in everything from Badminton to Biathlon

Maja will likely be exhausted coming home. They fly out of

Terrace at 11:50 pm Sunday, arrive in Comox at 1:25 am Monday

and into Campbell River by bus at 2:15 am Monday morning!

Only her Grandpa Craig could be more tired after this trip.

He left on Tuesday morning and is driving up and back,

all by himself just to cheer the kids on.

Now that's dedication.

We will post more information after they return.

Little Sister Steals the Spotlight

2010-03-04T17:01:00.000-08:00

Mt. Washington Ski Club held their annual Nancy Greene Toy Race

on February 27 & 28. This event had age groups from 4 years old

to 10 years old. Every competitor gets a toy and a medal.

There were events for speed, long jump, parallel slalom

and Kombi. Sylvi competed in the 8 year old girls category

as it represents your age as of Dec 31, 09.

Sylvi had an excellent weekend, finishing 3rd in jump,

2nd in speed ,1st in Parallel Slalom and 1st in the Kombi.

Sylvi had the fastest Kombi time in her age

group and had the 11th fastest time of all the age groups for

boys and girls. There were about 8 to 12 competitors in each

age group for the boys and girls, so for the 8 year old group

and up there would be about 30 competitors her age and older.

Nice skiing Sylvi.

Lorena Joy Doyle- February 14, 2010

2010-02-23T22:02:00.000-08:00

The family was all shocked with the sudden passing of Nana on Valentines Day. Joy had been ill for the last few weeks but no one suspected we would lose her so suddenly. Joy was Maja and Sylvi's Great Grandmother, Mother to Jenny's dad, Craig and his sister Kerry. She was a wonderful, sweet Nana and will be missed deeply by the whole family. A service and a celebration of life for Joy was held on February 23. So many family events and gatherings will never be the same without Joy.

The race season has been on hold mostly due to the Olympics with training three days a week ongoing but no events. Maja leaves for the B.C. Winter Games in Terrace on March 3 ,returning on March 7. It will be an exciting trip for her and the K1 team. They will be flying from Vancouver and her steadfast groupie, Grandpa Craig will be driving up to cheer her on.

Grouse Race Cancelled

2010-01-31T21:59:00.000-08:00

The team was supposed to be racing at Grouse Mountain

for the weekend of January 30-31, but the event was

cancelled at the last minute due to lack of snow.

Unfortunately they waited too long to announce the

cancellation so there was not enough time to transport all

the equipment that travels around the Coast Zone to

set up these races. It was offered to hold this event at

Mt. washington if there had been enough notice.

Mt. Washington will host the Coast Zone Finals

in the spring as they usually do.

The Grouse race may be made up at a later date

at Norquay Resort. Due to the Olympics there is an

unusually long break during February without events, largely

due to so many of the trained and experienced race directors

and course workers from the province being employed and

utilized at the Olympic Winter games.

The team trained on hill instead.

Maja trained Friday, Saturday and Sunday

morning then travelled to play soccer

in Campbell River against Port Alberni

with her Junior Development team at 12:30.

The team won 2-0.

Hemlock Race

2010-01-31T20:47:00.000-08:00

The second race of the season was at Hemlock B.C.

This was a Slalom & Giant Slalom event for the K1 racers.

This was another Coast Zone event with Whislter, Cypress

Grouse and others among the attending teams.

Only Maja's Grandpa was with her on this trip and we haven't

viewed actual times or results other than we were

told Maja placed in the top half of the field for all

her runs. As always this includes 1st and 2nd year K1's

so she has also placed very well at this event. We have not seen

a breakdown for her age group only for this event.

The goal at this stage in her competitive career is to place well

and reduce her points to improve her start position at these races.

Having start positions towards the bottom of the pack is the

biggest hurdle to get over for first year competitors.

It is a huge disadvantage as the course gets severly

rutted out as the field of skiers runs through.

The star first year K1 at this event was Kole Harle

of Campbell River. He placed third , which is an outstanding

achievement at this level. All of the Mt. Washington

competitors placed well in this event and were

able to reduce their points, which means they

raised their standings.

Waiting for course inspection.

Dinner time.

Couldn't leave this one out as we're

sure Mr. Logan Frame would be

very upset if it was.

King or Queen of Fashion Sense?

One of Maja's Giant Slalom Runs.

Group Photos

2010-01-31T20:34:00.000-08:00

The Ski Club took group photos with

the Olympic Torch and an actual Gold medal

from the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Local Andrew Crosby was a member of the

coxed eight rowing team which won the medal.

This is the Competitive Race Level

K1 & K2 team for the 2009-2010 season.

Somehow Maja has placed herself front and center!

Hmmm, how'd that happen?

Courier Islander Article

2010-01-31T20:22:00.001-08:00

There was a small article in the sports section of the

Campbell River Courier Islander Friday January 29th edition.

The article summarizes the results of the Campbell River

members of the ski team. There is a photo in the actual

newspaper that doesn't appear online. The photo caption reads

as Clinton Wood but the actual racer in the photo is

Mt. Washington FIS racer Mathieu Leduc.

The following is a link to the article on the Courier's website.

http://www2.canada.com/courierislander/news/sports/story.html?id=fd174f0c-7827-4be0-8f02-42d8a1cd846e

Maja Turns 12

2010-01-31T20:00:00.001-08:00

Maja turned 12 on January 7th, the day the team

left for their next race at Hemlock. Team mate Keegan

McCooey spent the night to leave the next morning and

the girls made cupcakes for the whole team. This is the rule,

the birthday person must supply cake for the whole team!

Maja decided last year she was done with winter birthday

parties and postponed her party till the summer, which she

decided was a good program for this year as well. We did of

course have the family get together as soon as she returned

from Hemlock.

Ahhh , the sweet life of Maja!

Surprise!

I believe Maja was surprised to get an Ipod

mostly due to her Draconian Father's attitude that

cellphones and mp3 players are evil in the hands

of youth and she will be the last of her friends to

have either. Mission accomplished.

She has waited patiently and now doesn't need

to be the outsider in the team van trying to

sit close enough to hear her friends music.

The Birthday Song and Candle Scene.

Those are big hoops on those little ears.

Whistler race Photos and Video

2010-01-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

Olympic Rings above finish corral on Dave Murray Downhill.

Start Gate on Dave Murray Downhill. Gear Everywhere.

Pre-race Preparation. Focus and Visualize.

Be the Tuck, feel the burn.

Giant Slalom

Maja-through the safety barrier netting.

Maja going through the finish line.

Maja's 2nd GS run.

The Speed Suit. Looks fast.

Lunch Time and a well deserved break.

Whistler-First race of the season.

2010-01-08T20:48:00.000-08:00

Maja was pretty nervous about this one, understandably so. The week of training at Apex helped but she was feeling the pressure and she handled it very well. This race was for K1 and K2, meaning kids from age 11 to 14/15. They raced two Giant Slalom events on Saturday and the two Slalom events on Sunday were reduced to one run due to the horrible weather and snow conditions.
There was 81 female competitiors with 79 actually posting runs. Maja's times put her in 47th, 47th and 39th overall for the three events. This includes all the female racers in all age groups and categories. She placed 17th,16th and 19th in the K1 group out of 48. This includes second year K1's who are a year older and have a year of racing experience under their belts. She placed 3rd,3rd and 7th out of 18 if we compare her times only to the other first year K1's. She had a great weekend and came out feeling much relieved and certainly more confident. On her very first competitive run(ever), she was in tears at the bottom because somenone had taken her skis at the start area. Her coach finally told her to get into the first pair of skis that would fit her boots. She ended up skiing on skis that were 5cm longer than hers. In the end it turned out one of the K2 girls from her own club had jumped into her skis by accident so it all worked out in the end even if it was a little extra stress for Maja. This event had a fairly high pool of talent and the Whistler racers dominated most of the events on the podium. The Coast Zone is considered the toughest to compete in for B.C. skiers mostly because of the strength of the Whistler team. Our club did have three boys place in the top ten in Slalom, and Kole Harle placed third overall in the boys K1 slalom, awesome.
Hope to post some photos and videos soon.

Apex Training Week

2010-01-04T23:22:00.000-08:00

The Mt.Washington group spent a week of training at Apex Resort.

They were joined by several other Alpine Ski Teams from around

the province as well as the B.C. Masters. There were also several

International Aerials Teams there training at the same time.

Jenny and Craig(mom & grandpa) chaperoned for this event

and they thought the aerials teams were absolutely incredible

to watch. They had to prepare meals for 20 athletes every day.

The athletes were outside at 7 am each morning for

warm up/dryland training then breakfast and out onto the hill.

They also had afternoon dryland training and homework sessions.

All these athletes including the first year K1's are responsible

for tuning their own equipment daily.

Welcome to Apex!

Deluxe
Living!

Soccer at 7am?

What a way to start the day!

Pj's for early morning warmup

at minus 15degC!

A little Coaching to get things started.

Finally a little action!

...and a little attitude.

Dinner.....

homework,

...and tune the skis to

do it all again tomorrow.

Friends.

...and of course the Star

of the show.

Olympic Torch Relay in Campbell River

2010-01-04T22:30:00.000-08:00

Mt Washington Ski Club taking part in the Campbell River Torch Relay Parade.

Maja and sister, Sylvi, with the Olympic Torch, Pretty Cool!

Cross Country Run in October

2010-01-04T22:21:00.000-08:00

School District Cross Country Run in October

Maja's ski season schedule...so far.

2010-01-04T22:11:00.000-08:00

Maja's ski season started in September with weekend dryland training and fitness testing. They have been training as a group most weekends since. Dryland training is a varied crosstraining program covering strength, cardio, balance, coordination and agility training.
Her on snow training started when Mt. Washington opened early in late November and kicked into high gear with a week of training at Apex Resort. The group consisted of 20 racers ranging from 11 to 15 years old , as well as coaches and chaperones. Maja was lucky to have her mom and grandpa with her as chaperones on this trip.
Maja's first race was at Whistler on December 18th and 19th......