Prince Albert Ski League coach Andrea Ornawka along with the four athletes who competed at the Canyon Club Comp near Red Deer, Alta. last weekend. (Prince Albert Ski League/Facebook)

By Logan Lehmann

Shredding the Slopes

Prince Albert Ski League soars at Alberta competition

Feb 7, 2025 | 4:00 PM

The Prince Albert Ski League (PASL) was reaching new heights last weekend while competing at their first-ever Alberta competition.

A handful of members, including four athletes and coach Andrea Ornawka, made their way to Canyon Ski Resort near Red Deer for the competition that welcomed 58 athletes altogether from across the Western part of the country.

P.A. Ski League president Amanda Hounjet said the event was a smashing success despite entering the competition at a disadvantage.

“We were really proud of our athletes. They’re competing against kids that are coming from Jasper and the Central Alberta Freestyle Ski Club, they train in the mountains. [Our athletes] did really well considering that, you know, we don’t train in the mountains.”

PASL sent two athletes in the Male U10 and Male U12 categories, where either competitor finished in the middle of the pack or higher.

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The first event held was the moguls on Saturday, Feb. 1. Out of 15 athletes in the U10 event, Max placed seventh while Marek finished one behind in eighth. There was stiffer competition in the U12 category though as out of 30 competitors, Theodore finished in 14th and Sam ended a few spots back in 18th.

The following day, Feb. 2, saw higher placements from all four P.A. athletes in the slopestyle event, with either age group having the same number of competitors as the day prior. In U10, Max and Marek both cracked the top 10 with Max placing fourth and Marek finishing in sixth while in U12, Sam placed 13th and Theodore managed 14th.

The competition hills at Canyon Ski Resort near Red Deer, Alta. The hill on the left is used for Provincial competitions while the one on the right is used for Club competitions, like the one PASL competed in last weekend. (Prince Albert Ski League/Facebook)

Hounjet said that the Club is planning on heading back to the event next year and added that the competition circuit is starting to ramp up.

PASL will have four straight weekends of competition, travelling around the prairies with the first event being the Asessippi Club Competition, set for Feb. 21 to 23 at the Asessippi Ski Area & Resort in Manitoba.

PASL will then head back to Alberta the following weekend from Feb. 28 to Mar. 2, this time to Edmonton for another competition before returning home to Little Red River Park for the Prairie Peaks Fun Comp on Mar. 8 and 9. That event will be split between two cities, though, with Mar. 8 events happening in Prince Albert while Mar. 9 events will take place in Saskatoon. The final weekend of the busy schedule is for the Flatland Competition, slated to happen in North Battleford from Mar. 14 to 16.

“The word competition sometimes is a little bit daunting, but these are all just really fun club comps,” Hounjet explained. “They’re a really good introduction to the sport and how you can compete and not just going out and skiing.”

The Prince Albert Ski League will wrap up their season on Mar. 29 with their annual wind up at Little Red River Park.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

On Bluesky: @loganlehmann.bsky.social