In what might be among the more bizarre provincial banner presentations, Oak Bay High ski and snowboard athletes learned they were the best in B.C. during a dusty roadside stop on the bus ride home.
After days of competition on the slopes at Mount Washington, the team needed to meet a busing schedule, so headed out before the awards presentation Feb. 26, leaving behind a small delegation to pick up their medal haul.
The roadside presentation is among the highlights for Grade 12 student Calum Parker as he finishes his fourth year on the team.
Parker’s dad was among those who stayed behind on the mountain. They managed to catch up ahead of landing back in Greater Victoria. First, they got out of the car and showcased a handful of medals.
Yoyo Deng won the boys skiing silver in both giant slalom and terrain events.
“We trained a lot and did a lot of hard work,” said Deng, specifically mentioning their commitment to dryland training each Friday before school.
Dallas Batty – the only girl to qualify for and attend provincials in each of her four years on the team – won the silver in the girls snowboard giant slalom.
The boys ski team finished third with the girls ski team in fourth. The girls snowboard team won second, boys snowboard third and the combined boys and girls snowboard team finished in second place.
Then they pulled out the provincial banner for girls and boys ski – which the athletes didn’t know they’d won.
“We’re all so proud to be the first team to bring this provincial banner home to Oak Bay, it’s a great way to end,” said Cagleigh LeBlanc, noting the abundance of graduating students on the team – about half.
For Kate Boyd, meeting new people she might not have otherwise in a school of hundreds stands out in her final season with the Oak Bay High team of athletes from grades 9 through 12.
“What I liked about this season so far is the whole group came together in the end. It was people I would not talk to normally on the team,” the Grade 12 student said.
That building of relationships, between athletes, coaches and even chaperons, is a theme among the team captains.
“Those have been arguably some of my favourite experiences of high school,” LeBlanc said.
The leadership team also credited coach Tina Horwood who has “devoted hours and years of her life into this team.”
“This whole team couldn’t have been done without Tina,” Julian Longe said, noting chaperones, coaches and parents are all key contributors to the team.
“Without her dedication, organization and passion, our athletes would not have this incredible opportunity,” the captains said in a post on social media.
The kids were pretty easy to spot on the slopes, and maybe even those long road trips to the mountain, with a Kia sponsorship.
The team received gift cards and use of a car wrapped in their team colours as well as sponsored bibs that dotted Mount Washington with the green and white Oak Bay High colours.
It was just the icing on the bright and early road trips and training, alongside countless hours spent on the slopes, that taught Grade 12 student Longe “the true meaning of what a team is.”
“When I think of a team, I think of my experience on the ski team.”
