Para snowboarders start search for gold in Yukon

MOUNT SIMA, Yukon – Tyler Turner, Canada’s first Paralympic champion in Para snowboard, sits all rosy-cheeked in front of his computer for a Zoom interview.

At the Mount Sima resort, a 15-minute drive south from Whitehorse, the large windows behind Turner display an outdoor winter wonderland with locals frolicking on the hills on their skis and boards, and ski lifts greeting eager passengers.

‘’I’ve just been operating a Snowcat to groom our hills,’’ said Turner, a certified operator of the winter machines. ‘’It’s beautiful here. We’ve been coming to Mount Sima for a couple of years now. They’ve got tons of snow and the resort is really good to us here.’’

Turner and his teammates on the national team are in the midst of preparations for the 2024-25 Para snowboard season. It is the year before the Paralympic Games and it is a season that also includes the world championships scheduled for March 4-10 at Big White, B.C.

At the 2022 Paralympics in Beijing, Turner made history as Canada’s first gold medallist in the sport. He took top spot in the snowboard cross and added a bronze in the banked slalom.

Last season, his success continued as he won the Crystal Globe as the World Cup champion in the LL1 (lower limb) snowboard cross and successfully defended his world snowboard cross title.

‘’There are a lot of challenges for this upcoming season,’’ said Turner, who spent most of last winter adjusting to new prosthetic legs. He was injured in a sky diving accident in 2017, an activity he continues to enjoy and teach.

‘’I’m still working through the prosthetics, but everything is lining up nicely right now. I would love to win a couple of more World Cups. Who knows, maybe the Crystal Globe is in the picture for me again. I’m not sure if I’m attending all the events, so that makes it tricky.’’

The recently married 36-year-old from Campbell River, B.C. said he will be at the starter’s gate for the tradition season opening World Cup event at the indoor venue in Landgraaf, Netherlands this Thursday and Friday. Two banked slalom races for men and women are scheduled.

‘’We call it the refrigerator,’’ said Turner about the venue. ‘’It’s always a weird one being indoors but I need to get out there and compete and keep my points up and make sure everything’s good. There’ll be a lot of new athletes showing up there so it’s also a chance to see who is up and coming.’’

There are six stops on the World Cup circuit this season, all in Europe and all before the worlds at Big White.

Joining Turner on the national team are two-time Paralympians Sandrine Hamel of St-Sauveur, Que. and Alex Massie of Barrie, Ont.

CPC caught up with Hamel at the recent ParaTough Cup in Montreal. Hamel, who boxed as part of her training, has now incorporated the trampoline to help her skills on the hills.

‘’I recently moved to Montreal to train at the High Performance Centre (l’Institut national du sport),’’ said the 27-year-old. ‘’There are a lot of jumps in our sport, so the trampoline really helps with balance and being able to gauge where you are in the air.

‘’I’m excited to see how all that is going to work on the snow.’’

Also in 2024-25, watch for NextGen riders Philippe Nadreau of Blainville, Que. and Chase Nicklin of Port Alberni, B.C.

Greg Picard is the head coach of the national Para snowboard team.