5 of 8 races complete, almost there!
In this newsletter:
Next Race - Slalom on ‘Lil Jon
Race Recap
Updated Standings
End Of Year Banquet
Adult Racing
Winterlude
Race # 6 - Slalom on ‘Lil Jon
Yeahhhhh! We’re back on ‘Lil Jon.
Next week’s race is Saturday afternoon at 12:30pm.
Inspection from 11:00am-12:00pm.
Stay tuned to WhatsApp for any updates.
Super G Recap - Sutherland Cup
Sunday saw the GDHL return to National, site of Canada’s World Cup Ski Cross race. Our fifth race of the season was a wild one, with some notable finishes and showings. The team that emerged victorious from Sunday will get to drink out of hoist the prestigious crystal chalice also known as the Sutherland Cup. Stay tuned for that trophy presentation at the awards banquet. (More info on that below).
Furious at the prospect of Mike Welton wrapping up the championship so early in the year, Ben Williams pulled off a smoking run to take top spot, fending off Mike in second as well as podium finisher Gordie Bruce. On the women’s side, Mackenzie Irwin edged out second place Madison Staples and podium newcomer Rowan Darlison. Nice job ladies!
Rowan’s teammate Marcus Gillam continues to impress this year, pulling Team Funnel into second spot with an excellent continuation of his breakthrough season. Fellow teammates Lesley Leech, Eddie the Eagle Barnicke, and Brook Dyson all posted season-best results to join in pulling the team along, much to the delight of team owner Katie Fasken.
Liam Hickey put in a fast time in the Super G, putting that donated bib to good use and sliding into second place overall in the standings, earning high praise from team owner Andrew “Jerry Jones” Ottaway and his associates.
Even with their player/coach on the DL, team Birches has a commanding hold on first place in the standings thanks to some notable finishes by Georgia Levitt, Brett Chalmers, Connor Clarke and Richard Usher-Jones.
GDHL sophomore Curtis Eichenberger put in his best result to date, but found himself one hundredth behind Alex “Garage Mahal” Carter and Paul McCool, while narrowly edging out Graeme Blair and Greg Kilburn.
Peter Brenzel and Ron Statler managed to tie this week, keeping their season standings a mere three places apart.
Iron-woman Carrie Laurencelle (who has missed one regulation race in five seasons) picked up some nice points for team Chute this week, helping them into third place along with season-best showings from teammates Blair McDougall and Kevin Gust.
The fastest family category is being dominated this season by Austin, Dylan and Kevin Gust. GDHL Hall of Famer Bob Callow chose his horse early this season, becoming the owner of Dylan’s currently fourth place Team Bowie…
Great race everyone! See you next week for the sprint slalom.
Check out some photos from the Super G here.
Photos courtesy of Kenneth Peter.
End of Season Party
Save the Date! GDHL end of season party Sat Mar 7th at 6:30pm. Tickets on sale next week.
Adult Racing - a note from Rick G
Hi everyone;
Hope you’re having a good week and looking forward to Saturdays SL race on Little John. In preparation for the race, we will be training SL all 3 days this weekend so please ensure you have the right skis and protective gear.
The coaches and I have been very appreciative of the help we’ve been receiving recently with respect to tear down and side slipping at the end of daily training and thank you for that support. We look forward to your continuing assistance in the coming weeks to ensure a safe environment for those groups following us. We would also appreciate participants not taking runs while we’re resetting or adjusting the course when the start gate is closed signified with the gates being in a X position. Very important for everyone’s safety.
Here’s the weekend plan for our SL training. Please meet your coaches at the top of the course at the start of training for a side slip inspection.
Friday February 6 - Adult Training
Hill - Zipper centre
Times - 9:30-11:30 & 12:30 - 2:30
Coaches - Eugene & Jeremy
Saturday February 7 - Adult Training
Hill - Birches skiers left below the Canyon crossover.
Time 9:30 - 11:30
Coaches -Eugene, Howard & Joey
Sunday February 8 - Adult Training
Hill -Birches skiers left below the Canyon crossover.
Time - 9:30 - 11:30
Coaches - Eugene, Howard & Glenn
Sunday February 8 - Adult Learn to Race
Hill - Birches - start below & beside the Adult Training course.
Time - 9:30 - 11:30
Coach - Allan who will advise his plan for the discipline.
Have a great weekend everyone & best wishes to those of you racing…Rick
Winterlude
Did you sign up for Winterlude? Hopefully you did because adult tickets are SOLD out! Good news is you can still sign your kids up for the under-age version. We'll entertain them on Zipper with skiing supervised by Craigleith coaches and then feed them dinner. As long as your kids are able to load the chair on their own, you're welcome to drink beer and 12% Cutwaters with us in the tent (and then bid big in the silent auction) while your kids hit the dual slalom, terrain park, junior cross track and more. Kids tickets available on the Craigleith events calendar.
Your 2026 GDHL Committee
Brook Dyson
Chris Knight
Michael DeAngelis (DL)
Paul Peterson (DL)
Peter Dyson (DL)
Julie Statler
Ben Williams
Steve Cryer
Bryn Copp
Ciara Gaffney
Rowan Darlison
Rich Lavery
Note that DL indicates an athlete that is currently on the Disabled List.