By Adam Page
Warm temperatures, calm wind, and clear skies made for perfect conditions this weekend at the Western Regionals in Helena, Montana. Conditions at the lake were only exceeded by the hospitality of our hosts, Brian and Linda Heeney.
Our chief driver, Tim Bailey, gave everyone excellent pulls through the day. At the starting dock, cheers could be heard before and after every run as skiers cheered on their fellow competitors.
Cora Ackerman skied her first tournament winning Girls B scoring 55 points in trick.
Easton Olsen took Boys B throwing down a 5.8 in Slalom and 1280 in Tricks.
In Men C, Adam Page took first in slalom with 7.6 and trick score of 1060. Brian Ackerman took second in slalom with 5.3 and third in tricks with 470 points. Dave Landon’s trick run of 470 points earned him second in tricks and third in slalom with 3.2.
Women B saw Andrea Formella taking first in slalom and trick with scores of 5.1 and 1010 points. Vicki Klein took second in both events scoring .3 and 400 points.
Mens B saw Eric Coryer in from the Southern Region score 11.4 in slalom and 2210 tricks in the medal round. Eric went on to set a PB in the pick & choose of 2570!
Andrew Martin took first place in Men A with 12.2 slalom, 2330 in tricks and jumping 8.2 meters. In the pick and choose Andrew also went on to set a PB of 14 in Slalom!
Master Men division had Ted Klein who skied 10.5 in slalom and 1470 points in trick.
Jerry Kanawyer took first in Open Men slalom and trick, skiing 14.7 and 4200 respectively, taking third overall. Brian Heeney skied all three events scoring 13.6 slalom, 3050 trick, and jumping 10 meters. Doug Jordan took overall for the division, with a slalom of 13.7, trick of 1900, and flying 14 meters for jump.
The international division saw Fred Groen from New Zealand. Fred skied 14.5 in slalom and had the furthest jump of the tournament of 17.5 meters!
After skiing was done for the day, we had the awards ceremony and enjoyed an excellent pasta dinner that would make your local Olive Garden jealous.
Sunday after the tournament we ran a pick and choose round of skiing for scores and practice. Fred helped Brian with his backwards slalom form and in turn Brian helped Fred with his forward slalom form. Fred also provided me with some jump coaching on the boom.
As we left the lake Sunday afternoon, we saw the same glass conditions we skied all weekend. Although we skied plenty, it is hard sometimes to leave a lake while the water conditions are perfect.
Check out all of the results HERE.
American Barefoot Club 