Seasons
News and Announcements
e-News March 10 | Peter Krasula | NorAms | Whistler Cup | Race Recap
Mt. Seymour Program Director, Peter Krasula Dies at 42
It’s with absolute heavy hearts that we share the news of the tragic and unexpected passing of Peter Krasula. Peter was the program director at the Mt. Seymour Ski Club for many years and in his time, became a wonderful coach and mentor to many kids, coaches and families within our ski racing community. Peter was known for his kindness, incredible energy, wonderful sense of humour and unconditional love for the outdoors.
On March 8, 2023, Peter was out skiing with a friend on Blackcomb when his heart stopped suddenly beating. Peter leaves behind his two young kids and wife. If you would like to support Peter’s family, there is a Go Fund Me set up to help through these tough times.
Please click below to donate and the date of the celebration of life will be announced soon.
Whistler NorAm Finals – March 21 – 28th – See the best of the best
Come out for a front row seat the watch some of North America’s best alpine ski racers, including Whistler Mountain Ski Club’s alumni now on the BC and Canadian ski teams.
We are still in need of volunteers most days and especially Monday, March 27th and Tuesday, March 28th (hand timers, assistant starters, bib collectors, slip crew, course crew). If off-hill opportunities are your thing, we have lots of space in race office and still looking for volunteers for the daily “weasel den” social. There will be plenty of social time (daily!), a little bit of swag, daily bag lunch and volunteer tickets for those that need.
Event Schedule:
• Tuesday March 21 – Downhill Training
• Wednesday March 22 – Downhill Training
• Thursday March 23 – DH Race
• Friday March 24 – DH Race
• Saturday March 25 -SG Race
• Sunday March 26 – SG Race
• Monday March 27 – GS Race
• Tuesday March 28 – SL Race
Please email whistlernorams@wmsc.info today to get involved and let’s give these athletes the best race series possible!
B-Net Set up Call out – Saturday, March 11 @ 9:30am
Our Training Center needs help to re-set some B-nets and prep the track for the upcoming NorAm finals event.
To join in the activities, please meet Dale tomorrow, 9:30am at the Garbo Hut.
Whistler Cup – Volunteer info session recap
Last Wednesday, we hosted a virtual information and inspiration session to get us geared up for the 30th Whistler Cup, happening April 12th to 16th. For those who couldn’t attend, please see the first video link below to get caught up on what you missed and how to get involved. For inspiration, please see the second link with a 2018 message from Mikaela Shiffrin about the event.
• Whistler Cup Zoom session
• Shiffrin video
Race Recap Report
With all of our teams traveling across the province, country and beyond, we’d like to take a moment to highlight some major events.
• FIS Parsons Race Series – Our home FIS series, the 43rd annual Parsons speed event was a big success thanks in large part to an outstanding core group of volunteers who braved the frigid temperatures. The cold weather made for a hard surface and some exciting action with a handful of our athletes taking podium positions and the Parsons overall title. A big big thank you to all the volunteers and coaches who helped make this event a success. Next up for the FIS team is the Senior National Championships in Kimberley, BC.
• U16 Canada Games & Westerns – The Whistler Mountain Ski Club had four U16 athletes travel to the Atlantic provinces to compete in the 2023 Canada Games. With some amazing top 10 and top 15 performances by all, it was sure an impactful trip in their young ski racing careers. Those not at Canada Games competed in the U16 Western championships in Red Mountain and they found some speed, reaching all steps of the podium and some big courageous results, attacking from the back of the pack.
• U14 Provincial & BC Games – The U14 team is gearing up for the fun and exciting part of their season with nine kids heading to Vernon for the year delayed BC Games and right after the whole team will be in Revelstoke competing in the Provincial Championships.
• U12 Nancy Greene Festival – Always an enjoyable time of the year, the U12s will be off to Sun Peaks for the annual festival where they’ll get to put their skills to the test in a fun and actioned packed few days of skiing and healthy competition.
• Masters National Championships & Over The Hill downhill – In February, a few of our Master’s athletes competed in the iconic Silver Star downhill event and then we had one represent the Club at the National Championships in Kimberley. It’s inspiring to see the athletes embody the ultimate goal, Skiers for life!
To all our competitors, let’s cheer them on and again, a major thank you to our coaches and volunteers who bring these events to life and provide the opportunity to race.
Last Week.
Congratulations to Hannah, Maika, Nick and Marek for representing WMSC and BC well at Canada Winter Games. Looking forward to hearing all about it.
Western Canadians was also happening last week at Red Mountain. We had several personal bests, Marlow(1st), Thea T (2nd 2x), Dreas (3rd), Lots of top 10 results for Kingsley, Dominic, Nicole, Kekai. We had some well run races; in some challenging conditions. And we had some epic powder in the afternoons.
Prior to this we had some awesome SG training, first with he FIS team, then with our U16 zone camp. We didn’t get our race in, but we did get an awesome powder day on the Sunday, and some really good GS training on Blackcomb as well.
This week.
Maika, Owen, Anais and Kekai will be representing WMSC at the SX in Big White this weekend. Please be sure to connect with Dave, I have added you all to a Big White SX WhatsApp group to stay connected.
Dominic, Dreas, Kingsley, Dash, Josh, Marlowe, Nicole, Thea L, Brooke, Rebecca, Ruby are all with me in Japan representing WMSC and Canada at Japan Cup. We have our first ski day today, and the first of 4 races will be tomorrow.
For those staying home this weekend, we will have a mix of TFS, SL and GS training. Jose will be leading some freeskiing Thursday. Bob and Jose will be taking care of SL training on Friday, and they will be joined by Marie Saturday and Sunday for GS and SL respectfully. Keep an Eye on the Whatsapp as Jose will be posting daily update here.
Coming Up
We are starting a 3 week training block at home, which will be a welcome chance to reset. Focus and fundamentals and good skiing, and start to build some competitive intensity leading up to Teck Finals and Whistler Cup in April.
Action Cards
Please take some time this week to fill in your action cards, they were sent out the week before last. I will be assigning groups to coaches for review March 18.
e-News March 2 | Whistler Cup | WB Foundation Gala | NorAms
Whistler Cup Virtual Inspo & Info Night | March 8, 7:30 pm
Come one, come all and join online for our virtual Whistler Cup inspiration and information session. In 30 minutes, you’ll learn about the history of the event, the impact it’s had and how you can get involved at this year’s Whistler Cup!
On Wednesday, March 8 at 7:30pm, click the link below to hear from members of the Organizing Committee, athletes and our Volunteer Coordinators to find out how you can be one of the 400+ volunteers that help make this a magical event!
The Whistler Cup has a long track record of showcasing future stars and many of Canada’s biggest World Cup and Olympic alpine and ski-cross stars have also graced the event over the years, experiencing international competition for the first time on their journey toward success in life and sport!
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84738174242?pwd=UXZHYkV4UjdmMlNQQUF5Z0o4KzBUdz09
Meeting ID: 847 3817 4242
Passcode: 850852
BC Alpine Après with the Champs | March 23rd
BC has a successful history of developing champions! Come Après With the Champs in Whistler during the Nor-Am finals in a unique collaboration between Whistler Mountain Ski Club, BC Alpine and Alpine Canada Alpine. All proceeds from the casual and fun party will support BC ski racers.
Après With the Champs – Purchase Tickets here
Cost: $100 per ticket
Where: Whistler – Après Après Nightclub
When: March 23, 6pm onward
Entertainment: The Hairfarmers
WB Foundation Whistler Classic Gala | March 4th
If you haven’t already, here’s your chance to get your ticket for tomorrow night’s big event!
The Whistler Blackcomb Foundation are big supporters of the WMSC along with so many other non for profit organizations, charities, health care facilities and much more in the Sea to Sky corridor. If you’re ready for the best event of the season and feel inspired to support, get your ticket for tomorrow night’s event.
Mackenzie Top Peak Contest | Up to $100,000 grant
We are on the top 11 – Let’s go team!! help us get to the top 10 by March 8th
“Mackenzie Investments is searching for Canada’s Top Peak – the one ski club that is a little bit more invested in the people, the place and the sport you love.”
Ways to help get to the top 10
Vote vote vote
You can vote/nominate once every 24 hours
You just need name and email, you don’t need to be 18 years or older
https://mackenzietoppeak.ca/teams/whistlerblackcomb
Challenge and earn us even more points (100 points)
Complete challenges and post videos on Instagram. Challenges postings must include the following in the caption:
Identify the challenge ( i.e. Ski limbo, or ski jumping jacks, or ski conga line)
peaks hashtag #TopPeakwhistlerblackcomb
Sponsor hashtag #Mackenzie TopPeak
Instagram account must be set to PUBLIC
e-News February 26 | Whistler Cup | Mackenzie | NorAms
Whistler Cup Virtual Social | March 8, 7:30 pm
With a little over 40 days until the kick-off of the 30th Annual O2e Brands Whistler Cup, the Race Organizing Committee has been hard at work planning for this internationally recognized event. There are over 400 U14 and U16 athletes expected from over 20 countries and we intend to make the event as spectacular as ever.
To ensure that we can support both on hill and off hill activities, we need over 400 volunteers for the entire week to support the various activities and races. We are inviting you to join us for a virtual social on Wednesday, March 8 at 7:30pm to hear from members of the Organizing Committee, athletes and our Volunteer Coordinators to learn more about this important event and how you can support it. Our goal is to keep the evening to 30 minutes, so consider it a little like speed networking.
The Whistler Cup has a long track record of showcasing future stars and many of Canada’s biggest World Cup and Olympic alpine and ski-cross stars have also graced the event over the years, experiencing international competition for the first time on their journey toward success in life and sport!
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84738174242?pwd=UXZHYkV4UjdmMlNQQUF5Z0o4KzBUdz09
Meeting ID: 847 3817 4242
Passcode: 850852
Mackenzie Top Peak Contest | Up to $100,000 grant | deadline March 8th
We are on the top 11 – Let’s go team!! help us get to the top 10 by March 8th
“Mackenzie Investments is searching for Canada’s Top Peak – the one ski club that is a little bit more invested in the people, the place and the sport you love.”
Even if Olivier entered us into the contest for a t-bar, we would invest the prize in Alpine Equipment and gear for our on-hill training.
This is also an opportunity for us to highlight our amazing and inspiring WMSC program.
Ways to help get to the top 10
Vote vote vote
• You can vote/nominate once every 24 hours
• You just need name and email, you don’t need to be 18 years or older
• https://mackenzietoppeak.ca/teams/whistlerblackcomb
Challenge and earn us even more points (100 points)
• Complete challenges and post videos on Instagram. Challenges postings must include the following in the caption:
• Identify the challenge ( i.e. Ski limbo, or ski jumping jacks, or ski conga line)
• peaks hashtag #TopPeakwhistlerblackcomb
• Sponsor hashtag #Mackenzie TopPeak
• Instagram account must be set to PUBLIC
WMSC hosting NorAm Finals – Calling all WMSC parents! Course Prep March 16-19, Race Series March 21-28
The WMSC will be hosting the NorAm Finals in just a few short weeks! We need all hands on deck to provide the best race series possible! We will be hosting the top racers from North America, and some will be racing for World Cup spots for next season. Let’s provide these racers with the best race on the circuit. Let’s show them how the WMSC puts on a show!
Thank you for those of you that have already signed up – you may have already heard from Abbie at NorAms@wmsc.info. If you haven’t heard anything yet – give her a little nudge with your availability. There have been some momentary technical glitches! Computers!
The famous Whistler Weasel Workers are coming out in force and want to take this opportunity to mentor Whistler Mountain Ski Club parents. We are looking to all of you to come out for course prep days (March 16-19) and race days (March 21-28).
Race Schedule
• Thursday March 16 – Sunday March 19 – Course Prep
• Tuesday March 21 – DH train
• Wednesday March 22 – DH train
• Thursday March 23 – DH Race
• Friday March 24 – DH Race
• Saturday March 25 – SG Race
• Sunday March 26 – SG Race
• Monday March 27 – GS Race
• Tuesday March 28 – SL Race
Note: Course prep Thursday March 16 – Sunday March 19.
Similar to all races we can always use more support. Let’s get everyone out to lend a hand. In addition, there will be plenty of social time plus a bit of swag.
The WMSC will host a “Weasel Den” every day at the club from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Beer and snacks for all!
There will also be two bigger vollie socials:
o Saturday March 18th for the set-up crew
o Sunday March 26th between the Speed and Tech events.
We are also looking for volunteers to help with the “Weasel Den”, race office and other off-hill activities. We will find something for everyone. And you get a chance to watch some of North Americas best FIS racers.
Sign-Up Today: NorAMs@wmsc.info today or go to https://alpinepoints.ca/volunteer/4375/
e-News February 18 | Go Get It Bursary| Mackenzie Top Peak contest | Whistler Cup Volunteers
Go Get It Grant | applications deadline Monday, Feb 20th
Just a couple of days left, apply now at bursaries@wmsc.info
A new bursary, the “Go Get it Grant” has been created in partnership with an anonymous sponsor member of the WMSC for all ages of our WMSC junior ski racers. The grant will contribute towards travel expenses, race expenses, extra coaching days, wmsc uniforms and funds will be awarded this season.
To qualify, athletes must be an active member of WMSC in any of our programs: U12, U14, U16, FIS. Athletes will apply directly to the Bursary Committee in writing – letter format – by the February 20, 2023. Awards will be announced individually middle of March and applied to racers accounts immediately.
Award criteria includes financial need, program costs, athletes’ embodiment of WMSC Teamship values and passion for ski racing.
Mackenzie Top Peak Contest | Up to $100,000 grant | deadline March 8th
“Mackenzie Investments is searching for Canada’s Top Peak – the one ski club that is a little bit more invested in the people, the place and the sport you love.”
WMSC U12 athlete, Olivier Courcelles, has entered WMSC for this contest to win a grant prize of $100,000 to be invested back into our ski community. This is an opportunity for us to highlight our amazing and inspiring WMSC program. Creating awareness and participation through social media, as well as joining our Top Peak Team, Whistler Mountain Ski Club will earn us points, inching us towards the Mackenzie Investments reward.
We encourage athletes, coaches, parents and volunteers to use the hashtag (#TopPeakwhistlerblackcomb) and Mackenzie Top Peak Contest (#MackenzieTopPeakContest) when posting on social media. This will help us earn points.
NOMINATE NOMINATE NOMINATE
Help us get to the top 10 by March 8
Visit this link https://mackenzietoppeak.ca/teams/whistlerblackcomb
Nominate/ vote. It is easy. You just need your name and you remail
Anyone can vote, you do not have to be 18 years or older
You can vote once a day
Enter challenges to earn points for our Club https://mackenzietoppeak.ca/challenges
currently we are in the top 14. Lets go team!!
Whistler Cup Volunteer Sign Up today!
As hosts of the Whistler Cup event, WMSC needs more than 400 volunteers to make the event a memorable success for all!
The Whistler Cup has a long track record of showcasing future stars and many of Canada’s biggest World Cup and Olympic alpine and ski-cross stars have also graced the event over the years, experiencing international competition for the first time on their journey toward success in life and sport!
