The past two seasons have been nothing short of immense for Dreadnaught Ski Racing at Kimberley Alpine Resort. While this coming season may not be their busiest ever, the organization will still be hosting numerous events and doing their part to keep downhill ski racing alive and well in Canada.
This season will see the return of some events held in years past as well as new prestigious events, according to Dreadnaught's Donna Briggs.
The 2022-23 season was monumental, but Dreadnaught stepped it up even further making last year their busiest ever. They held seven racing events ranging from regional to international levels, on top of six training camps.
"Approximately 6,500 delegate days were produced as a result of these events and at an average of $250 per day this would have generated around $1.6 million into the local economy in new dollars," Briggs said.
"These events would not have been possible without our dedicated volunteer team that gave in excess of 2,000 collective hours to make these events successful. A big shout out to everyone for their contributions. We could not have done it without a team effort."
Briggs also gave special recognition to well-known local and long-term volunteer Bruce Bermel, who this past fall was honoured as Volunteer of the Year for B.C. by BC Alpine.
Dreadnaught is not just the name of the organization, it is also the name of one of the runs on Northstar Mountain at Kimberley Alpine Resort — and Briggs said it is one of the only downhill racetracks in Canada.
One of the new events for this season that the legendary track will host is a Noram Speed Series from Feb. 3 to 9.
"This event will feature the only downhill race for the 2024-25 season in North America," Briggs said. "Kimberley has never been able to host a downhill race of this level because the vertical distance for men does not meet the requirements of the Noram level criteria.
"For the first time, FIS has approved a two-run, combined-time downhill race format to provide our venue the opportunity to host this new Noram event this year and potentially a standing events in years to come as possible downhill venues are at a premium."
Because Noram results are the basis for athletes to advance to the World Cup Circuit with U.S. and Canadian Ski teams hosting the event, Briggs added it will be a very exciting opportunity to see some of the future alpine ski racing stars in action.
Another event this year will be the annual FIS Downhill and Super G, along with another highly anticipated event every year for the athletes, the "Goldie Night Slalom," which is set for Jan. 22 to 31.
"This event annually provides a stepping stone for athletes to move up to the Noram level, so it is an important part athlete development framework in Canada," Briggs explained.
Returning this year is the Saskatchewan provincials, back for the second year in a row due to how much they enjoyed their experience in Kimberley, Briggs added, saying they may have found a new home for their annual event. Last year saw the athletes from Saskatchewan, alongside some invited from local and regional clubs, compete with two Giant Slaloms on the Dreadnaught Race Track.
Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts with the Para Alpine World Championships, for the first time in many seasons, Dreadnaught will not be hosting a Para Alpine event in 2024-25.
"Despite this our fingers are crossed that we may have an opportunity to host a World Cup in 2025-26 as a qualifier for the 2026 Paralympics," Briggs said. "Just in discussion stages now but in 2018 this event was a huge success."
There will again this year be numerous training camps for clubs from Alberta and B.C., taking place throughout the winter. Briggs says this helps with the financial viability of maintaining an athlete training venue for speed discipline alpine racing.
Briggs extended her gratitude to all the many volunteers whose hard work makes this all possible. If you are interested in volunteering, you can contact dreadnaughtvolunteer@gmail.com.