South Zone NGSL Sunshine Invitational
A tradition for over 30 years, the Sunshine Ski Club was host to the annual south zone Nancy Greene Ski League Sunshine Invitational and Scurfield Cup this past weekend. Bringing together young athletes and families for a fun, welcoming introduction to alpine racing, the event emphasized participation, skill development, and enjoyment, reinforcing the core values of the NGSL program.
164 athletes Saturday and 175 Sunday participated in a variety of events and the cooler temperatures late last week meant the famous all-natural Sunshine snowpack stayed firm through all the race runs.
“We had great conditions this weekend,” said Chief of Race, David Anderson, “and I feel we kind of dodged a bullet with the forecast, because the expected cold temps and snowfall didn’t really materialize which was perfect. That, on top of a lot of volunteer effort, resulted in the whole event going extremely well.”
One of the most popular events, the speed trap, had some athletes posting over 60 km per hour, and RCMP Corporal Anita Swanson was on hand to identify the local speedsters.
In the end, it was the Westside Alpine Ski Team from Winsport that defended their overall title and won the Scurfield Cup. Anderson and the Speedsters were quick to congratulate the champions but added, “we want that Cup back!” A fun challenge to look forward to next year!
Club Spotlight: The Sunshine Speedsters are a small but mighty part of the Sunshine Ski Club and offer programming from U6 through U12. Club philosophy on Nancy Greene ski racing is based on the principles of Alpine Canada’s Snow Stars program with the addition of Sunshine’s own special sauce. Young athletes develop comprehensive skiing and racing skills through technical and structured free skiing, gate training, individual challenges, and the occasional snowball fight.
The club firmly believes that skiing on Sunshine’s challenging and varied terrain is a real asset as the athletes learn the rules of the mountain with a strong emphasis on having fun. As the Speedsters gradually master their newfound abilities, there is an increased focus on smart decision-making skills.
There are few sports that can teach the cognitive autonomy that skiing and ski-racing can. The NGSL programs foster important life skills under the positive mentorship of club coaches. Find out more about the Speedsters here >>