A need for speed

Residence assistant Parry-Lai coaches along with math teacher Karissa Fyrrar. The Upper School had an alpine ski team years ago, and student requests led to starting the program anew this winter. Fyrrar and Parry-Lai volunteered to take on the challenge. A generous donation of 10 pairs of racing skis from Fred Eaton ’82 on behalf of The Catherine and Fredrik Eaton Charitable Foundation ensured that anyone could participate, and now two new teams have hit the slopes.

There is currently what the coaches call a high school division team — students new to ski racing — and an open division team for skiers who have raced previously. Each group races in separate CISAA events, either a weekly slalom with gates and tight turns or a giant slalom, with its more leisurely switchbacks. The skiers each take two runs down the designated course with the fastest combined time winning the race. 

The two teams, all students from Years 9 through 12, have competed in five races to date, including the CISAA championships on Valentine’s Day where the open division team won silver overall, and Lachlan MacGregor, Year 10, was a fourth-place open-division winner. He’ll be representing UCC at the upcoming OFSAA.  

The novice racers have all been consistently among the top 15 competitors. Sam Veit-Walsh, a Year 10 student, has been in the top five in each race with a win to his credit, while classmate Will Eaton is attracting attention for his blazing speed. Among the experienced racers, team captain Fredrik Eaton, Year 11, can also claim a victory.

The sport requires real dedication, with practise racing undertaken on students’ own time — although Fyrrar does conduct some dry-land training and cross-training.

“It’s lovely to know that they’ve joined out of a desire to be part of a team,” she says. “When someone finishes a run, they hustle back up to the top of the hill to give feedback about the course. They cheer each other on.”

The Upper School teams broaden skiing programming that started with the Prep School’s alpine team. 

When Victoria Altomare-Varlokostas, the Prep’s athletic director, talked about starting a ski team for interested students in 2022–23, there was an enthusiastic response. Art teacher Nancy Preston, who won an OFSAA skiing medal as a high school student, volunteered to coach the Prep team, and 10 Year 7 boys signed up to participate. They finished their first season with a U14 team silver medal from CISAA, along with an individual silver medal for Philippe Boyer.

This season, the Prep team expanded to include both Year 7 and Year 8 students. Word spread, and there was enough interest to require tryouts. The Prep team now includes seven Year 8 students and eight Year 7 students.

“Our Year 7 students were trailblazers last year and they wanted to continue competing,” says Preston.

The results this year have been just as encouraging as last season. In the three races to date, the Prep team has won two gold medals and a silver, with the CISAA championships slated for Feb. 28. The students are too young to qualify for OFSAA.

“Being on the team provides a good opportunity to get on the ski hill,” says Noah Lo, a Year 7 racer who skis for a club on the weekends,” and the team is also a whole new community. I like to learn and improve along with my classmates.”

Preston loves coaching the Prep team and gives kudos to Altomare-Volokostas for her willingness to create a new team in the sport.

“It’s an invaluable experience for the students,” Preston says. “It’s an individual sport but a team sport, too, and we are glad we encouraged the Upper School to ensure that students could continue racing there.”