IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH OF 2010, WHISTLER HOSTED the biggest celebration of the town’s history when it welcomed the world for the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games. The entire village was packed with tens of thousands of athletes and spectators witnessi

Whistler’s Olympic history dates back far before 2010. Over 50 years ago, the original developers of Whistler Mountain chose the area for its potential to one day host the Games. But the legacy goes far deeper than being a venue for attracting the world’s best athletes. In fact, some of the world’s best athletes grew up in Whistler, train in Whistler, and continue to call Whistler home. Whistler athletes are present in a variety of winter sports, but no discipline has been as stocked with local talent as Snowboarding. The huge terrain, deep snow, and excellent park/ pipe crews here help incubate some seriously talented individuals. The first snowboarding gold medal ever handed out was to Whistler local Ross Rebagliati in 1998, and since then Canadians have always been in the running for top spot.

2 0 In February 2014 several athletes and coaches who call Whistler home will likely be heading to Sochi, Russia to represent Canada in the 22nd Winter Olympics. We had a chance to interview a few of them to find out more about Whistler’s ability to groom some of the world’s best competitive snowboarders. Maelle Ricker, 2010 Snowboard cross gold medalist, didn’t have much of a choice for riding in Whistler. Her father, Karl Ricker, a retired geologist, was one of the first people to actively explore the area’s immense peaks. His passion for skiing rubbed off on Maelle, who has been sliding on snow almost her entire life. Her competitive career started early as a little kid in the Nancy Greene Ski League, and as she switched to snowboarding so too did her ability to win competitions. She has competed on the National team for over 15 years, and was one of the first X- games gold medalists in Snowboard cross. But the

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