Q: What time and where do we meet?
A: Athletes are dropped at 9:00 am at the tba. Athletes are picked up at 3:00 pm. Athletes need to arrive ski ready. Athletes will drop packs/lunch bags in a designated spot.
Q: What time is lunch?
A: Groups will stagger lunch breaks. Please pack a lunch and water for your athlete. All lunch garbage must be packed home at end of day.
Q: What do athletes need in their day pack?
A: Please pack extra mittens/gloves, face covering, healthy lunch and water bottle.
Q: What equipment is needed for Freestyle?
A: Skiers MUST have their own MW alpine pass, twin tip skis, poles, boots, helmet, goggles, gloves and be dressed for the changing weather conditions. Back protectors and mouth guards are encouraged.
Q: Is there any funding available to help with registration costs?
A: Families are encouraged to apply for grants through KidSport BC, Canadian Tire Jump Start and/or Kids Should Play
KidSport British Columbia provides grants for up to $400 per eligible kid, per year (January 1st – December 31st) towards sport registration fees. If a child needs equipment, KidSport will make a referral to a partner agency. Grants are intended to be used for sport registration fees; travel and competitions are not eligible for funding.
Jumpstart funds a variety of different sports and activities all with the goal of giving all kids the chance to discover their passion. Jumpstart can help with the registration and equipment costs associated with a sport or physical activity.
Kids Should Play is an initiative helping kids become more active by connecting them with equipment needed to participate in sports and other outdoor activities.
Q: How does my child start flipping on snow?
A: Freestyle Canada has a very strict system to allow athletes to flip. This is to keep the athlete safe.
If an athlete wishes to learn an inverted maneuver, we will use a backflip as an example, they first must learn to do it proficiently on a trampoline with a coach. Following this athletes must do 50 successful backflips on water ramps or airbag with proper technique. Finally, once the 50 jumps are complete and the coach and athlete feel ready they will do a Qualification test. This test is 5 jumps only for that day. The coach will score each jump out of 100 and they must score a minimum of 80% to pass the Qualification. If they fail they are able to take it another day. The idea for the Qualification test is to put pressure on them as this will be the similar feeling they will get doing it on snow for the first time. Once they pass the qualification then athletes are permitted to attempt the maneuver on snow ONLY with a coach.
Q: What is the Timber Tour Series?
A: It is the provincial event series in Moguls, Dual Moguls, Slopestyle, Big Air, and Halfpipe. Disciplines vary from competition to competition based on the host mountain’s available terrain. These are typically 4 day events running from Thursday through Sunday. Average costs for a Timber Tour event can be found at this link.
Q: What is the Canada Cup Series?
A: It is a national event series in Moguls, Slopestyle, and Halfpipe put on by Freestyle Canada. This event is best suited for athletes 15 years old and up. These are typically 4 day events running from Thursday through Sunday. Please contact the Head Coach, Peter Stubbs for more information if this would be something you would like to target. Athletes and their families are responsible for costs to attend these competitions.
Q: What is Junior Nationals and how do you qualify?
A: The Junior National Championship is held annually. In 2016, the event was split into 2 events. One being Moguls, Dual Moguls, and Aerials are held at the same venue and Slopestyle, Halfpipe and Big Air is held at another. Each year they switch geographically from West to East. The mogul/aerials event location tba. Selection Criteria is located here. Athletes and their families are responsible for costs to attend these competitions.