Eight skiers from across Canada who train in Penticton and Whistler recently took centre stage at a freestyle moguls event in Europe.
KR Academy 鈥� founded by Summerland Olympian Kristi Richards 鈥� sent a team of athletes to the FIS Freestyle Moguls in Hintertux, Austria, on Nov. 9 and 10.
The event marked the first of its kind this season for the locally-trained skiers, who represented eight out of 70 high-performance athletes on the slopes.
"They were incredible," said Richards, a 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympian and World Champion freestyle skier. "With it being the first of the season, it was really their prep event to get those jitters out ahead of the winter."
Richards says KR Academy trains mostly out of the Apex, located about 45 minutes west of Penticton, as well as Whistler. Skiers from the U.K. and Japan are also part of Richards' group and competed in Europe last weekend.
Providing a bridge for high-performance freestyle skiing athletes between club and national team levels, the academy launched in 2022.
Richards, the academy's head coach, says skiers in Austria ranged in ages from 13 to 18.
"We've had a really long training season, and they really exceeded my expectations on the full course," she added. "Everyone had solid performances."
Full results:
Women's freestyle
鈥� Ontario's Quinn Ridgeway - Sixth place in both single and dual moguls
鈥� Alberta's Kate Leeds - 11th and 13th place in single and dual moguls, respectively
鈥� Saskatchewan鈥檚 Talance Kalmakoff - 16th place in single moguls
鈥� Ontario鈥檚 Lia Matsuda - 18th and 20th place in dual and single moguls, respectively
Men's freestyle
鈥� Japan's Kai Aoki - 18th in single moguls and 26th in dual moguls, respectively
鈥� Great Britain's Milo Dodds - 18th in single moguls and 26th in dual moguls, respectively
鈥� Alberta鈥檚 Maxx Ederle - 29th in dual moguls
鈥� Alberta's Hayden Matthews - 36th in single moguls
"These performances were a remarkable debut for the young athletes, showcasing their potential on the international stage," Richards said.
The locally-trained skiers' next event is set for Dec. 14 and 15, when the FIS Canada Cup Series returns to the Apex Mountain Resort. It will take place on "Kristi's Run," a World Cup-standard mogul course first built during Richards鈥� competitive career.
