It was an elite event that two-time Olympic freestyle skier and Whistler Blackcomb freestyle development coach Tami Bradley called “top notch.”
She was referring to the Timber Tour and the Super Youth Timber Tour, held early February on home turf at Whistler Blackcomb (WB).
“The weekend was a hit,” she said. “Squamish athletes rose to the occasion…and they nailed it.”
One such athlete was Ava Dunham (15) who had her first win in the U16 mogul category with a spectacular run that included a 360 and a huge backflip.
It was an incredibly tough category, said Bradley, with fierce competition, but Dunham skied amazingly well and laid down a personal best.
Dunham dedicated her skiing that day to her father who passed away two years ago, following a complication during surgery for a broken clavicle.
While skiing down Seventh Heaven, she explained, her father stepped in to take the impact of an out-of-control snowboarder to avoid a small child being hit.
“It was just a routine surgery, we thought it would be fine. But he never made it out,” said Dunham.
“Kevin Dunham was our program’s biggest fan and a huge help to our WB staff,” said Bradley. “He was our team photographer and had so much passion for the sport and for Ava being a freestyle athlete.”
Dunham credits Bradley, her neighbour at the time, with introducing her to freestyle skiing.
“I was nine years old when Tami took me up for the day in her freestylers group… Honestly, that first day was awful! It was harder than what I was used it and I wasn’t having any of it. But she brought me back up again and I just kept going. Now it’s my favourite thing!”
The Coastal Mountain Academy (CMA) student first competed at age 10 and hopes one day she might end up at the Olympics, though school comes first she explained. “We’ll have to see what the world has in store for me.”
Other local athletes who triumphed include Chase Capicik who claimed two bronze medals in Slopestyle and Big Air, capped off with a near perfect scoring of 720 and her first Timber Tour win on the final day.
Standing next to her on the podium was best friend Malica Malherbe, explained Bradley, who took bronze in the Timber Tour Big Air with her first 540.
Both girls go to Squamish Elementary.
In the U10, Luca Boots competed for the first time and took second in slopes and third in moguls in one of the hardest categories, Bradley said.
“This was our biggest achievement as part of the develop program,” said Bradley. “As a first-time athlete in our program he did incredibly well.”
Owen Scarth, who competed in the Super Youth U14 category, also took away two medals – first in Big Air and second in Moguls, with a 360 at the top and 720 at the bottom.
“Everyone competed well,” said Bradley. “The kids were having fun, skiing well and progressing. No one was disappointed in the weekend and that’s what we want.”
It’s not just the athletes, though, that should be celebrated. The volunteers who battled epic snowfall to get the course and features ready too deserve a shout out, Bradley explained, especially Sandra Haziza, chief of competition, who ran the event for the first time.
“She really ran the best event we’ve ever had. It was amazing.”
