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Central Alberta ski club trying to win $50K in online contest

A central Alberta ski club has entered a contest where it can win $50,000 to support its athletes.
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The Central Alberta Freestyle Ski Club is hoping to win $50,000 through the Mackenzie Investments Top Peak contest. (Contributed photo)

A central Alberta ski club has entered a contest where it can win $50,000 to support its athletes.

The Central Alberta Freestyle Ski Club is competing in the Mackenzie Investments Top Peak contest – a national competition that will award money to one ski community.

“For Central Alberta Freestyle, $50,000 would be huge,” said Lyndsey Duffy, club president.

“The last two years, especially coming off the (2019) Canada Winter Games, our club has really been growing. Also the facilities at Canyon have really been growing – Freestyle Alberta has put a lot of effort into the big mogul course they used during the Winter Games … so we’re really starting to become a central training hub for the freestyle sport.”

The club also operates and runs the water ramps down at Three Mile Bend, Duffy added.

“Even though we’re a winter sport, our athletes actually do get to train during the spring and summer on those water ramps,” she said.

For the contest, ski communities had to create an online account, where they answer various questions: What would the $50,000 be used for? What makes your Peak unique? Why does your Peak deserve the investment?

Then people can vote for the profile online – the central Alberta club’s profile is named Canyon Ski Area. Clubs also receive points for completing “peak challenges,” said Duffy.

“One of the challenges was a dance we had our athletes do,” she said.

Any time someone uses #TopPeakCanyon on Twitter and Instagram, the Central Alberta Freestyle Ski Club will receive points as well.

On March 15, the top 10 list will be announced – teams outside of the 10 will be eliminated. The top 5 is announced March 22 and then Mackenzie Investments will determine the winner.

“From what I’ve read, it’s not all about how many votes you get. It’s about the profile you’ve created and what you plan on doing with the investment is a big factor. But you have to get those votes to make the top 10 and top 5,” said Duffy.

Currntly, the club sits just outside the top 10.

Diedra Dionne, a retired freestyle skier who won a bronze medal at the 2002 Olympics, is one of the many on social media trying to give the Central Alberta Freestyle Ski Club a lift.

“Red Deer and the Central Alberta Freestyle Ski Club help me build an Olympic dream into an Olympic reality. My nieces are now learning to ski at #toppeakcanyon as generations of Red Deerians have. Hope they win the top ski community,” Dionne tweeted Friday.

To vote for the Central Alberta Freestyle Ski Club’s Canyon Ski Area profile, visit www.mackenzietoppeak.ca.



sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com

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Sean McIntosh

About the Author: Sean McIntosh

Sean joined the Red Deer Advocate team in the summer of 2017. Originally from Ontario, he worked in a small town of 2,000 in Saskatchewan for seven months before coming to Central Alberta.
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