The Alberta alpine ski team is racing towards the finish line at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games.
Eight skiers will compete in the giant slalom, slalom and super giant slalom at Marmot Basin during the seventh annual national winter festival for athletes with an intellectual disability.
“It’s really starting to hit home for the athletes that they’re going to Jasper to race,” said associate coach Corey Fester. “It’s going to be a great, great week for them. I want them to enjoy it, have a great time.”
Alpine skiing is the only sport staged outside of St. Albert during the Feb. 28 to March 3 Games.
The competition starts March 1 for 39 skiers from six provinces in the three disciplines.
“The first day they go through their divisioning so they’re put in the proper ability category,” Fester said. “The novice skiers are going to be slow and snowplowing through the course. The intermediates go pretty fast. You might see a little bit of a difference between them and a generic racer.”
Alberta’s medal hopefuls hail from Edmonton, Calgary and Crowsnest Pass. They range in age from 15-year-old Matthew Maksymiuk-Kendal to 33-year-old Larry Green.
Avril Juzwishin, a graduate of Bellerose Composite High School, is also on the team.
The most experienced racer is Ambyr Lindon of Edmonton. She represented Canada at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in 2005 in Nagano, Japan, and 2009 in Boise, Idaho.
“Ambyr is the fastest female racer for Special Olympics in Alberta,” Fester said. “I can’t keep up to her. She is a very strong racer.”
The team’s first training camp was in May and the most recent session on the slopes was last month at Rabbit Hill.
In January the four Edmonton skiers started racing twice at week at Snow Valley.
“Everybody has been training hard. They’re seeing improvements in their skiing,” Fester said. “I want them to try their best and feel the success of knowing that they’ve done everything they can to prepare for the moment.”
Fester helped coach the provincial skiers at the 2008 Games in Quebec City.
“It was very emotional and so exciting. The athletes were just so amazed when they got there and saw how large a scale everything was, from the level of competition to even the opening ceremonies. They were all so pumped to go out and try get their medals,” said the Grade 2 teacher at J.J. Nearing Catholic Elementary School.
“I remember one of my athletes fell, but he jumped up and it took him a while to finish. He ended up getting disqualified but he didn’t stop. He persevered until he finished the course.
“It’s just amazing to see that these athletes have that drive and they’re not giving up.”
Fester, 36, joined the Special Olympics movement in 1994 as a softball coach while in university.
“It was just such a neat group of people,” said the part-time ski instructor at Snow Valley. “Once the winter came around I saw they had skiing and that’s something I like. It’s a good way to be outside in the winter and be involved and help out.
“I’ve come back every year since.”
