In December 2018, 16 pupils left for Jasper to take part in the 10th anniversary of the Canada Cup ski races. Five days of training set the team up for the three race days: the team parallel slalom, the individual slalom and giant slalom.

For the parallel, teams were randomly selected from competitors from all schools. The highly anticipated knockout competition got the racing underway in good spirit. Many Wellington teams were knocked out in the early stage; however, the teams in the final featured Cameron Maclaine and Lachie Clunie against Jack Cochran, with Cameron and Lachie coming out on top.

Sunday saw the giant slalom, where two fast courses meant a strong performance from everyone. Despite the stronger competition this year, Jack Cochran on his debut race finished in 3rd place in the U14 category and Margaux Gathy placed 3rd in the girls’ competition. Mollie Johnson, Tom Beardmore and Josh Gilbertson all finished in the top 30. The excellent individual results left the U14 boys and the girls’ teams finishing second and the U18 team finishing third.

With race day experience now secured, the following day saw the racers take to a rather difficult slalom course. The reversed bib order made it challenging for some with sheet ice and huge ruts forming around the final few gates. Margaux again finished 3rd in the girls’ race and Will Beardmore finished 5th in the U18 boys. Josh and Sven Bruening also put in fast times and made the top 30. The U14 boys and the girls’ team finished second, with the U16 and U18 teams in 3rd, proving a fantastic race for all.

There was more fun in the evenings with swimming in the local pool and, of course, curling, which everyone picked up quickly. There were some fiercely contested games, the highlight being the Upper Sixth triumphing over the teachers and no one breaking the ice this year.

The trip was a great success with all students making huge improvements in race technique and acting as a credit to Wellington, on and off the slopes. The training and race experience provided all with a great start to the season and the races later in this campaign promise to be just as exciting.