Seven Cochrane snowboarders will help unveil snowboarding at the Alberta Winter Games Feb. 4-7 in the Lakeland region.

The young athletes qualified for the Zone 2 Winter Games team during an evaluation session at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary Dec. 19.  They will join roughly 70 fellow snowboarders from around Alberta for snowboarding’s debut at the biennial event.

On the boys side, Liam King, Wyatt McLeod and Landis King will compete in the U-14 age category, while Austin Kirk and Joel Godri will take part in the 15-17 group. In the girls competition, Isis Horne will compete in the U-14 group and Clarissa Hlidek with take part in 15-17 category.

Morgan Buchner and Alison Courtney of Redwood Meadows will join the Cochrane contingent to round out the Zone 2 representation.

Cochranite Celina Hlidek with the Alberta Snowboard Association made the initial appeal to include snowboarding in the Games and has now been tasked with coordinating both the slopestyle and snowboard cross events.

Cochrane's Clarissa Hlidek races down the hill at Canada Olympic Park during evaluations for the Alberta Winter Games Zone 2 snowboarding team. Hlidek would make the team and will now compete Feb. 4-7 in Alberta's Lakeland region. Photo by Jeremy Nolais

“I just see this as a benefit for all young competitors,” Celina Hlidek said. “Inclusion of snowboarding will hopefully bring in more riders and this will develop a more well-balanced competitive sporting group. All of this is really for the kids.”

Celina Hlidek’s daughter Clarissa, 17, took part in the Zone 2 evaluations and was named to the team likely because of her freestyle abilities.

“I definitely like freestyle, my racing is kind of weak,” Clarissa Hlidek said.

Clarissa originally picked up a snowboard about six years ago when her brother Matthew, an elite skier currently competing on the Nor-Am circuit, received a board for Christmas but ultimately decided the sport wasn’t for him.
“I am the only one in my family who snowboards, the rest all ski,” Clarissa said.

Now, the young Cochranite has her sights set on climbing to the very top of the snowboarding world.

Cochrane's Austin Kirk races down the slope at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary during evaluations for the Alberta Winter Games Zone 2 snowboarding team. Hlidek would make the team and will now compete Feb. 4-7 in Alberta's Lakeland region. Photo by Jeremy Nolais

“I kind of want to make it to the Russia Olympics (in 2014),” Clarissa said. “This is the Alberta Games and then I am trying to make the Canada Games and go from there.”

Cochrane’s Grayson Javorsky also participated in the evaluations and although he failed to make the team, the 13-year-old was still quite proud of himself for even trying out.

“I just have never been in a competition before and wanted to give it a shot. It’s gone pretty good,” said Javorsky, noting that he hopes to hit the slopes more often in the future.

Cassandra Smith, one of the Zone 2 coaches, said many of the athletes who tried out surprised even themselves with their abilities.

Cochrane's Joel Godri may have bailed on this trick but he would go on to qualify for the Zone 2 snowboarding team Dec. 19 at Canada Olympic Park and will travel to Alberta's Lakeland region Feb. 4-7 for the Alberta Winter Games. Photo by Jeremy Nolais

“The biggest thing we are looking for is an all-around package,” Smith said.

So when we get them out to Winter Games they are going to be able to race, they are going to be able to compete in slopestyle and they have all the building blocks that are going to set them up for the next level as athletes.”

Beyond their abilities on a board, Smith said the young athletes were also re quired to demonstrate a high level of maturity.

“How they interact with the other snowboarders and us is important,” she said. “They are sort of the face for this zone and that’s important.”

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