Ski cross incorporates terrain features traditionally found in freestyle skiing with jumps and high-banked turns on a snowy track. (Submitted photo/Jenn McCaffrey/Photo-Jenn-ic)

By Martin Martinson

New event and growing

Table Mountain Ski Cross Challenge offers unique draw to local slopes

Mar 8, 2024 | 8:00 AM

More than 65 athletes from across Saskatchewan and as far as Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta, recently converged on the Battlefords to take part in the inaugural 2024 Table Mountain Ski Cross Challenge.

Tied in with both the Western Ski Cross Circuit and the Saskatchewan Alpine Circuit, the event allowed those competing from within the province to accrue points for their Sask Cup totals for the season, while FIS (International Ski and Snowboard Federation) athletes from outside Sask. were also able to pick up points on their Western Ski Cross Circuit.

Competing separately but on the same track, the event featured athletes taking part in various age categories from U12, U14, and U16, to U19, making for a busy weekend of ski cross action. Each were given three qualifying runs through the course, followed by the finals which meant as many as five runs for the top competitors.

Chief of Competition and event organizer, Shaun Jamieson said the idea for a ski cross event on the local slopes first began back in 2018 when Table Mountain held the skiing competition during the Winter Games in North Battleford.

The success of that event, along with Table Mountain’s unique dimensions and terrain – not to mention its accompanying facilities – made it a natural fit for an annual event like the Ski Cross Challenge, something not found elsewhere in the province.

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“We’re very fortunate we have the hill and the facilities to do it, and what kind of makes us stand out too is unlike the mountains where they have a higher cost of lift tickets and things, we’re kind of a hidden gem out here because our cost of operations is quite a bit less. That makes it a bit more feasible for these races to happen out here and for the athletes to come out.”

Jamieson said as they look ahead to the future, the goal is now to continue to build on the foundation set at this year’s event and expand to make the whole thing bigger and more advanced, to accommodate more athletes from across Canada and even internationally moving forward.

“We want to continue to run this event for many years to come; there’s a good group of parents and volunteers and coaches behind it and the Table Mountain Ski Club Board is really pushing to see where we can take it to the next level, so we’re really excited about it,” Jamieson said.

“Like anything, there’s some cost to running these events, so we’re looking for some sponsorships so we can continue some better track building and look at bringing in some outside coaches to help some of these kids move up to that next level, but that’s already put us in the planning stages for next year of what we can do and how we can grow this sport and continue to build this international field right here at home.”

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @MartyMartyPxP1