HHS Alpine ski team off to a speedy start

The Huntsville High School (HHS) Alpine 2016-17 ski season began with a bang.

Bob Sutcliffe (right) from Algonquin Outfitters gives a Tech and Tuning Talk to the HHS Alpine team

After some dry-land training plus a Tech and Tuning Talk from Bob Sutcliffe of Algonquin Outfitters on December 3, the team attended their first race of the season – a Giant Slalom (GS) – on Thursday, Dec 22 at Mount St. Louis Moonstone for the Bradford Invitational 2016. HHS fielded both male and female individual entries who garnered points toward a team score.

There are different levels of competition for high school students: Level 1 which is comprised of team racers that are high-school trained athletes, and Level 2 competitors that are comprised of racers that have a ski league affiliation and race training.

The day presented perfect race conditions as the weather brought cold and snow.

Level 1 Individual female race results had Kaitlyn Belfry placing fif^th, Zoe Kruusmagi placing nin^th, and Samantha Goldring placing 17^th, out of 31 racers. Together overall, as the Level 1 female team, they earned enough points to place second out of seven other high-school teams. Well done, girls!

Level 1 female racers (from left) Zoe Kruusmagi, Samantha Goldring, and Kaitlyn Belfry witj Coach Nico Byl (Photo: Tara Schmidtke)

Level 1 Individual male race results had Theo Pinckard placing seco^nd, Chris Miller placing four^th, Sean Sanderson placing 12^th, Andrew Sutcliffe placing 14^th, Ethan Wilkes placing 16^th, Cameron Heinz placing 23^rd, Zack Belfry placing 30^th, and Ethan Murdy placing 67^th. Together overall, as the Level 1 male teams – HHS (B) with Theo, Zack and Andrew placed third, HHS (C) with Cameron and Sean placed sixth, and HHS (A) with Ethan M, Chris and Ethan W placed eighth out of nine competitive teams. Congratulations, boys!

Level 1 male racers Zack Belfry and Theo Pinckard with Coach Nico Byl (Photo: Tara Schmidtke)

Level 2 Individual female race results had Sydney Stevens placing nin^th, Emma Magee placing 10^th, and Emily Jason placing 11^th out of 19 racers. Tight race, girls! Together overall, as the Level 2 female team, they placed third.

Level 2 female racers (from left) Emma Magee, Emily Jason, and Sydney Stevens with Coach Nico Byl (Photo: Tara Schmidtke)

Level 2 Individual male race results had Matthew Stevens placing fif^th, Gage Magee placing 12^th, Cole Stevens 19^th, and Jakob Heinz 36^th. Together overall, as the Level 2 male team, they placed second out of four other teams. Great effort, boys!

Coach Nico Byl (centre) with Level 2 male racers (from left) Jakob Heinz, Matt Stevens, Gage Magee, and Cole Stevens. (Photo: Tara Schmidtke)

The team’s next race will be at Hidden Valley Highlands Ski Area on January 13 for the HHS Invitational. Good luck racers!

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