We've all heard the jokes, Saskatchewan is too flat and there is nothing to do.
Don't tell the 36 members of the Flatland Freestyle Ski Club, their coaches and their parents that.
The Flatland Freestyle Ski Club operates and trains at Table Mountain. The club is in its first year of existence and is the lone freestyle club in the province for the time being.
Previously, there were clubs at Table Mountain and Blackstrap. They ran side-by-side for four seasons after Blackstrap closed. This year, the clubs were dissolved and a new club was created. It draws skiers from the Saskatoon and Lloydminster areas as well as local skiers.
"Everyone is so friendly and helpful and it is really fun," said Kasey Schmidt of Neilburg.
Kasey is a 15-year-old skier in her first year of freestyle skiing. She joined the club after a three-day moguls camp in Jasper with Jennifer Hiel and decided to join the club.
"Each run you try to go out and do better and push yourself."
Along with the new club name and some new members, there is a new freestyle training run at Table Mountain. Those who have experienced the Table Mountain site and have had the chance to compare it to others across the province can attest it is something to take pride in.
"It is amazing what we have," said Nathan Bundschuh, one of the freestyle coaches at Table Mountain. "It is comparable to older more well-known ski hills around."
Along with praise from the skiers and coaches in the area, Table Mountain's freestyle site has grabbed the attention and praise of Dom Gauthier. He was the most successful coach freestyle coach at the Vancouver Olympics with a medal-converting ration of 100 per cent. Gauthier visited the site on a weekend in February.
Gauthier, who is a World Cup and Olympic freestyle coach of athletes such as Alex Bilodeau and Jennifer Heil, made himself available to help train the athletes an assist the coaches. Gauthier commented that the Saskatchewan freestyle site rivals any great training facility in Canada.It's the first of its kind inSaskatchewan, and likely on the prairies.He also expressed considerable surprise a site this good could be found in an unlikely placesuch as this flat province. The facility has every resource needed to produce Olympic athletes, he said.
The club members and parents have put in many hours making this an accomplished season for the skiers from paying for trips to grooming the site and being there to help in any capacity.
"A lot of this comes from the bank of mom and dad," said Bundschuh.
Bundschuh also spends time making the club and training site work. He usually spends three days a week at Table Mountain along with the other coach Brian Gurney. The coaches often spend two days training with the 36 youth-skiers on the weekend and another day doing maintenance and grooming on the aerial run, which has three separate jumps and a landing pad. Two mogul runs are positioned side-by-side at Table Mountain.
The club features some new and experienced freestyle skiers, but with the coaching, facility and support from their parents and fellow skiers there is no doubt an abundance of medals will be coming their way in the future.
The Flatland Freestyle Ski Club has had a triumphant year already, as 10 athletes attended a club competition in Jasper Jan. 20 to 22. There, the athletes competed against freestyle clubs from Alberta including Winsport in Calgary, Edmonton, Castle Mountain and Jasper. The Saskatchewan representatives returned home to the "flat" province with nine medals - four gold, four silver and one bronze. The following weekend the team earned 30 medals including 11 gold. Table Mountain also hosted its second annual Interprovincial Club Competition and first event at the new freestyle training site in January.
"It was an absolutely amazing weekend," said club executive member and skier parent Michaela Keet.
Those results and the experience helped eight skiers qualify for the Alberta Provincial Competition in Red Deer Feb. 18 and 19. Fifteen-year-old Mitch Schuler won the club its first provincial medal with a bronze in Red Deer.
While some of the skiers explain they got into the sport because they wanted to find something other than hockey to do in the winner, 10-year freestyle skier Liam Bundschuh says he does it for the adrenaline rush.
No matter the reason or the results, there is no doubt freestyle skiing is growing in Saskatchewan once again. Gurney says at one point the previous clubs had nearly 50 members. The new site, the success, the exposure of freestyle in Saskatchewan and the enthusiasm of all those involved will help grow the Flatland Freestyle Ski Club and the sport in Saskatchewan.
