Kyle Mattice wrapped up freestyle season with 5th, 9th at Junior Nationals in Whistler

Young freestyle skier Kyle Mattice, 13, has been following his dreams and working hard to reach his goals. While training, competing, and balancing his school and social life, he was able to achieve one of his goals this season: qualifying for the 2017 Canadian Junior Freestyle Skiing Championships. Kyle, along with his family, travelled to Whistler, British Columbia, for the week-long competition and festivities from April 4-9, 2017.

Kyle and his agenda freeski teammates joined the best junior freestyle skiers, aged 12-17, in Canada to compete for national titles in Halfpipe, Slopestyle and Big Air.

Kyle entered the U14 category and came away with a fifth in Halfpipe and a ninth in Slopestyle. He crashed in both of his Big Air runs but skied away unharmed!

Kyle’s favourite part of the competition was “all of it.” He thought it was cool how all of the athletes from the other provinces met up at the Olympic rings each holding their province’s flag to have their photos taken, followed by a parade of the athletes marching through the Whistler village.

The weather didn’t dampen the spirits of these young athletes.(submitted collage)

Kyle shared his most amazing and most challenging experiences about the competition. “I loved the Slopestyle course. The size of the jumps were awesome. The challenging part was trying to get my run down in the crazy weather before competition time. One moment it was fog, then a snow storm and then really bad flat light. So it was tricky. Hard at times to see the landing off the jumps. My rail work was not as strong and was also challenging. So I was a little disappointed with myself knowing that my rail work could have been a lot better. I still had a lot of fun though.”

Even though the ski season is over, Kyle will start dryland training in May and continue to develop his skills. This will involve trampolining, use of the axis indoor freestyle park and then once summer starts, the water ramps.

When asked what he feels he would like to focus on during his training for next season, he replied, “Next year I need to focus on putting down trickier or more difficult rail work into my runs. Rails are just as important as the jumps so I really need to focus on everything when on course.”

Mattice appreciated everyone’s support from start to finish. “I would like to thank my sponsors HEAD SKIS, Algonquin Outfitters, POC Helmets, my home town ski hill Hidden Valley Highlands/Muskoka Ski Club and all of my friends and family for all of their support. It means a lot to me! Also, I’d like to give a big shout out to my awesome coaches Geoff Lovelace, Sian Angharad and Nic Patano from Team Agenda, for helping me reach my goals and believing in me.”

Congratulations on a tremendous season, Kyle. Good luck with your training!

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