Canadian halfpipe stars thrilled to compete on home hill
Some of the best ski halfpipe athletes in the world reside in B.C., and the Sea to Sky corridor in particular.
But the “World” didn’t see fit to invite them to Whistler in 2013 and 2014.
That will change this weekend as the 2015 World Ski and Snowboard Festival will include the amplitude-busting, spinners and twisters of the pipe for the first time in three years.
That means a home-hill spotlight on Sunday for the likes of 2015 X Games champion Simon d’Artois of Whistler, world championship silver medallist Cassie Sharpe, a Comox native now living in Whistler, and 2014 Olympic silver medallist Mike Riddle, a Squamish resident.
“I’m pretty excited, I’ve been waiting to ski halfpipe in Whistler for a while now,” said d’Artois, who grew up watching the event when it was part of the schedule.
D’Artois sits sixth in both the halfpipe and overall standings, trailing Americans David Wise in halfpipe and Gus Kenworthy in the overall.
Catching either man and winning a title “is pretty much out of reach,” he says. “But I’d like to get a good result, at least a top five, to set me up for next year and put me on the (national) A team.”
D’Artois said he’s perfected a new trick, a right-side double 1080, that he’s considering throwing into his runs.
“It’s kind of like, do I try something new and hopefully land it? Or do I stick to something I know? We’ll see how training goes and if I’m skiing well.”
Financial challenges and practical concerns kept halfpipe off the schedule the last couple of years. But with the Association of Freeskiing Professionals designating the Whistler event as the World Tour Finals, it meant halfpipe would have to be included, along with slopestyle and Big Air.
“It’s great because we’re able to host the final comp of the year in freeskiing, which means all the biggest athletes are here,” Sue Eckersley of WSSF organizer Watermark Communications told Pique newsmagazine.
With some funding coming from the resort municipality of Whistler’s Festivals, Events and Animation budget, Watermark was able to construct a pipe with the required 22-foot-high walls.
Sharpe, who last month won the World Cup season-ending event in Tignes, France, said she’s delighted that family and friends will get to see her ski on “home turf.”
“Having my family (mom, dad and brother) and a couple of friends from Vancouver Island out to watch the competition means the world to me. It’ll be the first time some of my friends see me compete in real life. It’s awesome to be able to share my passion with them.”
Sharpe and the rest of the halfpipe team are coming off a successful training camp in Calgary.
“The pipe was perfect each day and everyone was stoked to be there,” said Sharpe. “I learned a lot of new tricks and perfected some others. I can’t wait to debut a couple (at Whistler).”
Competition begins today with the men’s slopestyle elimination at 10:15 a.m. The men’s and women’s slopestyle finals go at 2 p.m. The Big Air competition is scheduled for Saturday, with the halfpipe on Sunday. All competitions will be held in the terrain park on Blackcomb Mountain.
The Big Air is usually held in the skier’s plaza at the bottom of Whistler, but a lack of snow forced organizers to move it to Blackcomb.