The Kinosoo Blizzards describe themselves as the “little team that could,” and during the Jasper Junior Olympics they proved they not only could, but they would.
The local ski team took 20 of their best to the Marmot Basin on March 3 and 4 to take part in the annual Jasper Junior Olympics, where they came out on top.
Racers aged four to 11 showed that it doesn’t matter where you come from; it’s all about the heart.
“We’re from a small ski club and a small ski hill. We have volunteer coaches, as opposed to paid coaches, which makes us different than a lot of the other teams. We have a lot of spirit. We refer to ourselves as the Blizzard family,” said Andrea Woods, media liaison for Kinosoo Blizzards Alpine Ski Racing Team.
The Blizzards finished the weekend with four top 10 finishes, along with an outstanding placement in the team event.
“We were so proud of our first place finish in the team event, and we were also really pleased to have four of our littlest racers join us on the Dream Team at this Junior Olympics,” Woods expressed.
Reighynn and Everett Pawlowski were two of the four racers competing against other North Zone teams in the Alberta Alpine sanctioned event.
The brother sister duo showed well in not only the team race, but individually, with Everett placing ninth in the 10-year-old male category, and his younger sister placing seventh in the eight-year-old female category.
Both attributed lots of practice to their overall success.
“We practiced every week,” noted Reighynn.
For Everett, this was a moment he had been dreaming of. For the past six years, he has set his sights on reaching the top 10, and described achieving his goal as “exciting.”
“I have been doing this for a while, and I have been trying to hit the podium in the top 10. I have been working my way up. This year I tried really hard,” he emphasized. “I reached my goal. Next year, I’m going to reach the podium.”
Reighynn shared the same enthusiasm when it came to her success.
“There were over 200 kids there and I got seventh. My mind was blown,” she said.
The Blizzard family was proud of their overall success at the Junior Olympics.
Woods believes the skiers faced adversity when it came to the sheer size and scope of the mountain itself.
She said, “I think everyone was really excited and hyped-up to be in the mountains because that’s not where we get to train.”
However, they did prepare by spending their first day in Jasper on the slopes.
“On Friday, our team hosted a training day. In the morning, the coaches got together with their kids and explored the mountains, and then in the afternoon, all of the racers skied with their families, so they were all-over the mountain… They just had a really broad skiing experience,” described Woods. “We will say it’s our second favourite race of the year, after our own.”
Candace Pawlowski, Everett and Reighynn’s mom, was proud of her skiers for their hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm for the sport.
“It’s very exciting. They have worked really hard. It’s nice to see that they can succeed, and it’s nice that they know if they work hard they can have results.”
