Local boarder Ian Lockey to compete at Red this weekend
By Contributor
Snowboarder Ian Lockey travels the world competing in his sport but February 6 & 7 he will perform at his local hill, Red Mountain.
“I have mixed feelings about competing at home,” Ian commented. “While I like not having to travel, competing in front of friends and family puts the pressure on.”
Ian adapted well to the pressure this past weekend on the Canadian Adaptive Snowboard Tour at Big White, winning gold on both days of competition.
Ian has been snowboarding for eighteen years. After he suffered an injury in 1998 he was no longer able to participate in the sport he loved. In 2001 he discovered Adaptive Snowboarding, a modified version of the sport, with changes in equipment, rules, and technical specifications that enable persons with physical disabilities to participate in both recreational and competitive activities.
Ian has participated competitively in all the areas of Adaptive Snowboarding including slopestyle, half-pipe and the competition that will take place on the weekend, snowboardcross. He keeps a busy schedule, training over 80 days a year on the mountain, spending 3 days a week in the gym and mountain biking every day he can in the summer.
Along with his snowboard career Ian and his wife Natasha are very much a part of the Rossland community. The couple runs a women’s progressive action sports community called Bettygohard that gives women the opportunity to get involved in sport.
Ian plans to stay involved in adaptive snowboarding for a long time.
“Once I finish my competitive career I’d like to start to coach and help with administrative work,” said Ian.
He also has big dreams for the sport.
“I hope that the sport becomes more mainstream and is included in the Paralympics.”
The weekend’s events at Red Mountain will be run by the BC Snowboard Association (BCSA) and held in conjunction with the able-bodied events. BCSA is the first provincial association to incorporate the adaptive and able-bodied competitions, bringing more awareness and exposure to the sport.
This past weekend at Big White was the first time that adaptive and
able-bodied Nor-Am events have been held in conjunction. The event was a
huge success and hopefully will pave the way for the events to run together
in the future.
“The event at Red Mountain will showcase a range of rider levels including entry level, FIS, and adaptive,” commented Cathy Astofooroff, Executive Director of BCSA.
Thursday, February 4th and Friday, February 5th Red Mountain will host a two day training camp for athletes and coaches run by the Canadian Adaptive Snowboard Program and event competition starts on Saturday.
Event Schedule:
Friday, February 5
- 12:00-4:00pm Registration in The Mountain Project
- 1:00-3:30pm Course Inspection and Training on Rico Racer
Saturday, February 6
- 10am – 2pm BCSA Provincial Series Snowboardcross #1 competition
- 11:00am Adaptive Snowboard Event (Time Trials x3)
- 4:00 pm Awards – Day Lodge
Sunday, February 7
- 10am – 2pm BCSA Provincial Series Snowboardcross #2 competition
- 11:00am Adaptive Snowboard Event (Time Trials x3)
- 4:00pm Awards – Day Lodge
