Three members of the Lightning Creek Ski Club, which is based at Troll Resort, have qualified to compete in the B.C. Winter Games on Feb. 22-25 in Kamloops.
Freya Jarrett, 14, Noah Woollends, 13, and Caleb Woollends, 13, competed at Troll Mountain in January against other alpine skiers age 12 to 17 in the region.
Twins Noah and Caleb qualified with their fast times in the boys’ races.
“In my mind, I wasn’t going to make it; I was coming fifth,” says Noah.
“But then they said my name. I beat the guy behind me by 1/100 of a second.”
Caleb came second in the races at Troll.
“I beat one guy who beat me last year by four seconds. So I was pretty happy.”
The pair have been skiing since they were two. Caleb began racing seven years ago, and Noah six.
“We’ve raced at Sun Peaks a lot, and in Smithers, Prince George, and Big White,” says Noah.
Freya, who has been skiing since she was three, says she had a good chance of qualifying going into the races in January.
“I had to beat at least one girl to be in the top four. But I was also surprised when I qualified,” she says.
Snow pressure
Noah says he’s looking forward to doing his best, but is not sure if he’ll medal at the B.C. Winter Games.
“People who live at Sun Peaks get to ski every day,” he explains.
The three Quesnel Junior School students ski every weekend and take Fridays off school to give them an extra day to train. They catch up on their school work during the rest of the week.
But Noah says for him, its about the quality of his time on the hill, not quantity.
“I don’t think it matters whether we train super hard and go every day. I think we just need to train hard the days we are there.”
Caleb agrees, and says the Winter Games will be a good experience.
“We’ll get to meet people from all over B.C. who we might meet later on in life,” he says.
“I’m excited, but I think it’s going to be very busy, with lots of races,” comments Freya.
It’s Freya’s first time at B.C. Winter Games, but Noah and Caleb have some idea of what’s in store for them in Kamloops, after competing at the B.C. Summer Games for wakeboarding.
The three young skiers seem focused and ready, and no matter how they place, they will be doing what they love: slicing through powder at top speed.
“I just love the freedom of skiing,” says Freya.
READ MORE: Quesnel’s Bryson Watson getting set to compete at B.C. Winter Games
This is the second in the Observer’s profiles of Quesnel athletes who have qualified for B.C. Winter Games. Keep an eye out in future editions and online. Quesnel is sending athletes for archery, alpine skiing, gymnastics, ringette and Special Olympics basketball.