SMITH Whitewater Jr Freeski Open - 2018: What a weekend!

For one weekend in January, Whitewater looked like it was repeating its star role in the acclaimed ski film Valhalla. Except this time, the stars weren’t pro skiers, but up and coming juniors from the local region.

The 7th Annual SMITH Jr Freeski Open was held on January 26-28, attracting over 100 young athletes to Whitewater’s snowy slopes. The event saw them hucking jumps, ripping up turns, and flashing their best moves on black and double black terrain to impress the judges.

Participants were rewarded for putting their creativity to the test, and scored based on line choice, fluidity, style, control and aggressiveness. Other than a designated start and finish line, and right and left boundaries, skiers had a blank canvas to ski from. 

Participants from age 7-18 competed in six categories. Although Nelson was well represented (both in total number of participants and in the standings), the event drew skiers from as far as Calgary and Kelowna.

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Alanna Meadus of Invermere took home first place in the Girls 7-11 category, while Kaden White of Ymir was first in the large Boys 7-11 field. Rossland’s Erin Flood was first in Girls 12-14, matched by Adam Kuch of Nelson in the Boys 12-14. Kaleigh Meadus finished atop the podium for the Girls 15-18, and Kalob Jensen, another Nelsonite, won the Boys 15-18 division.

Whitewater’s positive vibes, fantastic conditions, and huge sponsor support made the weekend a huge success. If you missed it, or were lucky enough to be there and just want to relive the magic, good news. Local production house Stacked Films put together a 5 minute ski-flick worthy recap for your viewing pleasure. Check it out here – it’s a beaut!