An early-season lack of snow has forced members of the Whistler Valley Snowboard Club (WVSC) and their peers across British Columbia to be patient, but winter has finally gotten going and so too have the athletes.
Four Whistlerites took command of men’s slopestyle at the Jan. 17 Nor-Am Cup event in Sun Peaks. Tosh Krauskopf grinded and soared his way to gold, followed closely by silver medallist Lane Weaver and Finn Finestone, who earned bronze. Neko Reimer nipped at their heels all day, but ended up fourth.
Onetime WVSC member Amalia Pelchat locked down a silver of her own that same day in women’s slopestyle.
Local BC Provincial Slopestyle Series riders have likewise been taking home hardware. Six reached the podium on home soil back on Jan. 5 and 6—a contest that had organizers labouring to make things happen despite unfavourable weather conditions.
10 WVSC contenders left Big White with medals around their necks the following weekend, braving temperatures in the minus-30s to strut their stuff.
“The guys are riding really well. They're having fun and it’s showing in the results,” said WVSC founder and director Rob Picard. “It's quite exciting. I'm pretty stoked and proud of [all the club members]. The biggest part of what we try to do is encourage progression and having fun.”
Bigger and bigger
Since its beginnings in 1997 (with only six or seven people in the fold at that time), the WVSC has been an obvious choice for young Sea to Sky snowboarders looking to upgrade their skills and spend time on fresh powder. At the turn of the century, Picard figures the club had about 80 members before experiencing the occasional downturn in enrolment in subsequent years.
It’s safe to say that there’s no cause for concern, however. An unprecedented 130 kids now train with the WVSC under 20-odd coaches and support staff. Heading the program is Joe McAdoo, a veteran coach who mainly works with high-performance athletes.
“These are the biggest numbers we've ever dealt with,” Picard said. “At the end of the day, we don't have a great marketing budget to really sustain that, but through word of mouth and our success in general…it's getting bigger and bigger every year. I'm already anticipating our numbers to grow next year, so I’ve got to plan for that by making sure I have enough staff and the right staff to do it.”
WVSC offers opportunities for all skill levels. Most youngsters cut their teeth at grassroots events held by local resorts like Whistler Blackcomb before ideally graduating to the BC Provincial Series or other, similar tours. High-end riders will in turn use those experiences as a stepping stone to the Nor-Am circuit that takes them south of the border.
“We make sure that the right work gets put in and everyone's prepared to do it—and that we’re doing it in a safe and productive manner,” said Picard. “You have to go [compete] for the right reasons, and most of our crew make sure that the athletes are ready so they’re not going to risk injury.”
The WVSC crew have helped develop a number of Canadian national teamers over the years, including Finestone, Truth Smith, Jacob Legault, Amalia’s older sister Juliette Pelchat and 2022 Beijing Olympian Darcy Sharpe.
‘Our community is our family’
Picard knows a thing or two about competing for the right reasons.
He grew up in Saint John, N.B. alongside Mark Fawcett, who represented Canada at the 1998 and 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Though Picard never made it to the highest level, he had his time as a sponsored pro snowboarder who—like many others—came to Whistler to experience true mountain life. In 1996, the former Blackcomb Ski Club recruited Picard to be a coach, and he describes it as a “most amazing year.”
An idea that would eventually become the WVSC began to take shape.
“Maybe this is an opportunity to get involved in something and have a career as a snowboarder,” Picard remembers telling himself. “It’s great to get paid to do it, but then you’ve got to try to figure out how to pay yourself to do it.
“I saw an opportunity to nurture the sport that I love, take care of people and bring people to Whistler from outside of the province to have the same experience that I did—being part of the community of winter sport.”
These days, Picard’s responsibility as a director prevents him from coaching nearly as much as before, but he’s content working with his coaches and ensuring they have the necessary tools to foster up-and-coming athletes. Together, they’ve earned the trust of many a Whistlerite.
"The Whistler Valley Snowboard Club is more than just a skills development program—it's a whole little community of coaches, parents, and athletes who ride, travel, and compete together, making a ton of memories along the way,” said Jeremy Postal, whose son Silas won U18 provincial series bronze on Jan. 6 in Whistler.
“The coaches create a really fun learning environment and they do a ton of mentoring with the kids,” Jeremy continued. “I often hear them talk about ‘creating good humans’, and as a parent we put a lot of value on that."
Picard, in turn, praises his staff and the community at large, knowing he could do very little without them.
“Our community is our family, and it shows with the support we get from them,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and…I always get the same feedback from most of the kids I've ever worked with. [They say] it was the best time of their lives: being part of our program, the friendships and everything they got to experience with us. For me, that’s a really special part of what I do.”
Learn more about the WVSC at https://www.whistlervalleysnowboardclub.ca/
