Members of the Flatland Freestyle Ski Club had a chance to give a rousing sendoff to members of the Saskatchewan Freestyle Ski Team heading to Prince George for the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
Team members Andrea Ornawka, Lauren Ryan, Mia Schwinghammer, Cody Botham, Sean Lockerbie and Davis Dow, are heading to the Games. Coaches Keegan Jackson, Andrea Locke and Brian Gurney are also going.
The ages of the team members are between 15-17 though Schwinghammer is age 13. She was training elsewhere Sunday, but the rest of the team was able to make it to Table Mountain for the pep rally.
They joined a number of “Flatland Freestylerz” on the ski hills, trying out the slopes and practising some of their moves that afternoon.
Not surprisingly, it resulted in occasional wipeouts, although one skier surprised everyone else by finding a way to get right back up on the skis and continue on downhill as if nothing had happened.
The Saskatchewan team members are due to fly out from Regina Feb. 12 and be at the games from the Feb. 13 to 21. Tabor Mountain in Prince George will be the venue.
They start out Feb. 14, with slopestyle, which consists of jumps and rails, a sport introduced a couple of years ago. The next day, they do “big air” which involves going straight down a slope and then doing a trick in the air.
They will then do a moguls course, which will include jumps. On their final day of competition, they will do dual-moguls, where they are paired up and race against other people.
The day at Table Mountain was a good way for the Saskatchewan team members to get in some practice before the Games, and also allow the other Flatland Freestylerz, who range in age from five to 17, to participate and have fun as well.
The idea, said Cathie Ornawka of the Sask. Freestyle Skiing Board, was to “try and get all the kids in the club enthusiastic about the sport, we don’t want to make it seem too unattainable for the little guys.”
Having the Saskatchewan team there is bound to help promote the sport, she said.
“We found after the Olympic games in 2010, we had kids seeking us out because they saw it on TV and wanted to participate in this club,” said Ornawka.
Those interested in more information about freestyle skiing and about Saskatchewan’s team at the Winter Games can visit the website saskfreestyle.ca and also their Facebook page called Sask Freestyle Ski.
