Who runs the U21 Worlds? NCWSA Skiers.

Featured Video by Ali Garcia (USA)

The Shalom Park Waterski Site hosted the Under 21 World Championships in Alberta, Canada on July 4, 5, 6, and 7^th. Out of 82 skiers, 36 were part of the NCWSA family. During the fall, these athletes ski at collegiate tournaments to represent their universities, but the rest of the year, they train for big summer championships, where they represent their countries and themselves. Outstanding performances were realized at Shalom Park by our former, current, or future NCWSA athletes.

Jaimee Bull out of Lafayette set the tone the first day when she set the new U21 World Record of 5@39. Jaimee ended up winning the slalom event and was honored to sing the Canadian anthem on her home soil. She was followed by ex-MOCS Paige Rini with 1@10.75. After two days of preliminaries, finals started on Saturday with the ladies. Anna Gay, out of Alabama, stood up a massive run and scored 10,530 points, besting Neilly Ross, who executed the same runs as Anna both in hands and toes, as the Canadian took the silver medal with a score of 10,350 points, missing the time on the final trick. Valentina Gonzalez, from FSC, placed herself 5^th with a score of 5,500 points. On the guys’ side, Danylo Filchenko won the gold medal with a new U21 World Record of 11,520 points on two stand-up runs. Future Warhawk Joel Poland achieved a personal best of 11,030 points, placing silver medal in the event. 

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It was only 3pm when tricks final finished, enough time to let the athletes take advantage of a little headwind for jump finals. I (Emma, ULM) launched a jump of 149ft and took the fifth spot, tying with Marie-Lou Moulanier from Lafayette, who got up after a crash and realized her personal best. We needed 60 centimeters more to get on the podium, where the scores were tightly bunched. Rea Jörger, out of FSC, landed at a distance of 151ft (46.0m), whereas Warhawk Dominique Allard out-jumped her by ten centimeters (3.9” for those on the imperial system). Valentina Gonzalez, from FSC, was last of the dock and soared her second jump 156ft, allowing her to become the 2019 U21 World Champion. Saturday closed with men jump finals. Joel Poland landed a massive jump of 216ft followed by his soon-to-be teammate Danylo Filchenko with 203ft, and Benjamin Leutz from Alabama with 201ft. Ragin Cajun Carlo Basic took the 4^th place with 199ft, and Quinn Haines (Alabama) arrived 5^th with 198ft. The tournament ended on Sunday with the slalom finals. Joel Poland won the slalom too with a score of 1@41 and current NCWSA member Arron Davies from Lafayette took the 5^th spot with 1.5@39. 

In the overall event, Anna Gay won the gold followed by Hansen Kennedy and Sade Ferguson, still U17 competitors, but we hope to be competing with them collegiately soon. Joel Poland stole the show at this tournament, after winning in slalom in jump, he won in overall by almost 300 points. Danylo Filchenko took the silver medal in front of his country teammate Alex Samoilov. 

The team classifications counted several NCWSA members on the podium. Sanchia Outram and Joel Poland, future Warhawks, alongside Arron Davies were part of team Great Britain who won the team overall race. Team Canada with Jaimee Bull, Jaimee Calhoun (FSC), and Dominique Allard, representing the NCWSA community, got second, in front of team Ukraine with Danylo Filchenko. 

The U21 World Championships were a blast, with athletes coming from around the world representing their respective countries. Thirty-five personal bests and 12 national records and world records were realized at Shalom Park, many made by NCWSA members, who, besides during the school term, represent the color of their universities during the off-season at big tournaments. They made the community proud and we cannot wait to see what the following of the summer has to offer. 

U21 World Record Holder Jamiee Bull gets to sing the Canadian National Anthem in her home country after an epic run.

3rd place winners from Ukraine, including U21 World Record Holder Danylo Filchenko, are greeted at the airport after their bronze placement.