It was a busy but successful weekend for young snowboarders from Smithers as they headed to a pair of competitions.
First up was the Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom competition in Bellingham, Washington. Known as one of the longest running and most prestigious events of its kind, Smithers snowboarders were well represented in the results.
Toan Krauskopf was third in the Next Gen (under 12) division, Tosh Krauskopf was fourth in Junior Boys, Megan Fraser was fourth in Junior Girls while Katie Peterson was fifth also in the Junior Girls.
Coach Jason Krauskopf said that he was happy with the results since the races very close and it was a very tight competition.
“Smithers is definitely on the map,” he said.
He was pleased with the results as there were over 400 competitors this year.
“It was a super well run event. There were a lot of top notch riders so these kids had to work hard,” he said.
Next up was a two-day contest in the BC Snowboard Slopestyle at Mt. Seymour in North Vancouver. Coach Krauskopf describes it as an event which athletes snowboard down a course which includes including a variety of obstacles such as rails, jumps and other terrain park features. Points are scored for the size, originality and quality of tricks.
Smithers boarders showed their quality as Tosh and Toan Krauskopf took second and third in their division.
The competition took place over two days. Coach Krauskopf described the conditions as very different on each day with Saturday being very cold, wet and foggy which made for a tough event. Sunday was sunny and warmer with cold dry snow.
The athletes top score from the two days went into the final ranking.
Tosh Krauskopf also qualified for the overall open finals which did not have any age category, scoring a top 10 final placing.