A Cranbrook ski racer is off to participate in some high level competition in Europe.
Jamie Casselman, a 15 year old student in Grade 10 at Mount Baker Secondary School, will be attending events in Italy and Switzerland in March.
Casselman is a former Kimberley Alpine Team ski racer who now trains with Team Panorama.
"I'm looking forward to the competition," said Casselman. "Racing in Europe is going to be an awesome experience as I will get to race the best athletes in the world in my age group. I'm looking forward to seeing how I measure up against others my age."
The first race will take place on March 4-5, in Folgaria, Italy, for the Trofeo Topolino SCI event that will pit him against fellow U16 slalom and giant slalom ski racers from around the world. Casselman qualified for the event in January after notching the fastest time at U16 male in Western Canada at the Topolino time trials. Casselman will be part of a six-member Canadian male and female team.
Topolino is the biggest and most competitive of all international FIS junior ski racing competitions in the world. In the past, there have been over 40 nations represented at the event.
In addition to the race in Italy, Casselman has also been chosen by Alpine Canada and sponsored by Longines as the male representative at the third annual Longines U16 Future Champions ski race in St. Moritz, Switzerland on March 15. He will be competing in a two-run giant slalom race on the bottom section of the world cup race slope on the day before the Audi FIS Ski World Cup finals at the same ski resort. Each of the countries participating selects one junior male racer for this event.
It's been a long road for Casselman in the competitive ski racing world. He has been skiing since he was two years old and racing since he was six. Over the course of his burgeoning racing career, Casselman's biggest accomplishments have included being the BC U14 provincial champion in 2014 and finishing second overall at the 2015 U16 Can-Ams. Casselman has also been a member for Team Canada for the 2015 Whistler Cup, where he achieved top-10 finishes in each of the three disciplines of Super G, giant slalom and slalom.
Casselman would like to thank Fischer, Uvex and Swix for their sponsorship.