Apex ski resort hosting Canadian Junior Nationals Aerial and Moguls championships all weekend

Numerous future Olympians will be among the dozens of freestyle skiers who will be competing this weekend at Apex Mountain as the Penticton-based ski facility plays host to the Canadian Junior National Aerial and Moguls championships.

Dozens of young skiers between the ages of 11 and 17 will be competing in the event, which started off with training sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. There are a total of 115 competitors registered, with the majority coming from Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and B.C.

The single moguls competition will take place all day Friday, with aerial competition set all day Saturday and the double moguls competition set to wrap up the event on Sunday, said James Shalman, general manager of Apex Mountain Resort.

The event is being co-sponsored by Apex Mountain Resort and the Apex Freestyle Ski Club.

Apex has hosted the junior nationals in the past and it’s thrilling to see so many talented young skiers gathered in a national competition, said Shalman.

“What some of these kids can do is amazing,” said Shalman. “There will be several future Olympians competing here over the weekend … these are the kids who will be skiing for Canada in future Winter Olympics in moguls and aerials.”

The conditions couldn’t be better as Apex, like so many other British Columbia ski resorts, is experiencing incredible conditions, he said.

“I’ve been up here 17 years and this year is definitely one of the best for conditions, especially this late into March,” he said. “We’re up to a nearly 300-centimetre base, which is simply incredible.”

The majority of competitors will be from Quebec, Alberta and B.C., but there will be competitors from all over Canada at the junior nationals event, he said.

The B.C. provincial junior team is coached by Penticton’s own Josh Kober.

All competition this weekend is open to the public, said Shalman.

Shalman is expecting huge crowds all weekend as mild weather is in the forecast and combined with the near-record amount of snow promises to make for perfect skiing conditions.

“Anyone coming out to ski is free to watch these top juniors all weekend,” he said.

Shalman is proud Apex continues to host world-class ski events.

“We had Canada’s national freestyle team training here for 12 days before heading to the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang,” said Shalman. “They could have chosen almost anywhere in the world to train before the Olympics, but they chose Apex. That’s a pretty nice endorsement of the kind of facility we have here.”