The Chatelech ski and snowboard team is burning up the slopes in the hopes of a second straight provincial championship berth.
The 14 racers in grades 11 and 12 have been competing in the Fraser Valley League in preparation for the North Shore zone championships set for Feb. 12 at Blackcomb.
Dryland training started in November at the weight facility at the school with the first race of the season on Dec. 19. Races were also held on Jan. 11, Jan. 24 and a final race tomorrow (Saturday).
According to coach Jamie Mani, conditions last weekend were fast and icy for the slalom ski competition and giant slalom for snowboarding. The team continued to race well with six top-five placings.
In snowboard boys, Brian Bowles was second, Jared Hlagi third and Aaron Lomax fifth, while in the ski competition, Kris Remmem was first, Luke McQuaid fourth and Jason Gordon fifth.
The successful results last weekend can only solidify the Eagles' success and standing in the Fraser Valley League as the boys were ranked number one in ski racing, number three in snowboard boys and number three in snowboard girls.
"This is an experienced team and some of them have been with me since grades 8 and 9. It's great to see the kids get this success because they've been working so hard year after year," Mani said. "The experience is showing in the results too. We don't have a local mountain to train on, so for us to be up there among all the top schools in the Fraser Valley League is something to be proud of."
Mani said Chat chose to race in the Fraser Valley League to get lots of mountain time and to be prepared to compete at a high level when the North Shore League zones come around in a couple of weeks.
"The North Shore teams don't compete on a regular basis because they have access to the mountain any time," Mani said. "If we don't do this [race in the Fraser Valley League] there would be no way we could compete at the zones."
Mani said he feels Chatelech had a good shot at qualifying for the provincials, whether an individual competitor or the whole team.
Any racers who qualify one through three at the zones earn an automatic bid to the provincials. A team can qualify based on points accumulated through results of the individual racers.
"The provincials are in Whistler this year, so that ups the ante a bit," Mani said. "We'd like to get back to the provincials any way we can, and certainly the goal is to qualify as many racers as possible. We have one more race this weekend. Hopefully we can keep our momentum going, finish strong and have a lot of confidence going into the zone finals."
