Words by Virginie Tisseau


Photos by Kristen Hanna & Virginie Tisseau

The first stop on the Canadian Jib Academy tour went off last Saturday at Blue Mountain, Ontario. It was great to be hosting a stop in Ontario again this year!

Salomon athletes Iannick Brouillette, Jamieson Irvine, JD Zicat, Jen Crichton and Antoine Bourassa made the trip to coach and judge the 60 participants. The weather wasn't on our side for this stop, with 60+km/h winds and snowfall, but it didn’t stop the participants from competing for a trip to sunny Mammoth Mountain, California in May for Salomon Jib Academy Finals.

Jamieson Irvine

After some early laps through the park, we could already tell the talent was on hand. Every lap counted in the morning because only 18 skiers out of 60 would find themselves in the finals to battle for the grand prize.

Alex Benson

Charlie Pint

Jack Irvine

Ryan Malone

After lunch, it was time for a rail jam session. Coaches would ask for tricks on the mic and the first competitor to execute them smoothly and with style won extra swag! Once it was all said and done, 18 finalists emerged to battle it out for the top prize…

Finalists

Emil Pasini

Jack Irvine

David Taylor

Charlie Pint

Tony Peters

Alex Benson

Ryan Bessette

Ryan Malone

Dylan Bessette

Lucas Vianna

Max Moffatt

Guiseppe Esposito

Christian Stormgaard

Gibson Bell

Rachael Anderson

Gillian Golosky

Rachael Karker

Carly Lavieille

Carly Lavieille

Finals were a two-run format with two rails and two jumps for the guys and a rail jam for the girls. The guys were killing it, and although it was a tight battle for first place, Max Moffaat ended up emerging victorious with the smoothest and cleanest run of the day that consisted of a steezy flatspin 360, to front 270 out, switch rodeo 5 and cork 9.

Max Moffatt

Men's Results

1) Max Moffatt

2) Charlie Pint

3) Jack Irvine

4) Lucas Vianna

Max Moffatt wins a week-long trip to Mammoth with the Salomon pro team for Jib Academy Finals!

Women's Results

1) Rachael Anderson

2) Gillian Golosky

3) Rachael Karker & Carly Lavieille (tie)

Rachael Anderson

 

All in all it was an awesome day that showed just how much fun Salomon Jib Academy can be despite bad weather. A huge thank you goes out to all of the sponsors: Skullcandy, SBC Skier, Newschoolers, Momentum Ski Camps and everyone at Blue Mountain! With one Jib Academy stop down in Canada and two more to go, we’ll see you at the next stops in Saint Bruno, Quebec on March 10th and Silver Star, BC on March 18th!