Agassiz teenager Quinten Fast is on his way to the Canada Winter Games.
Fast, a 14-year old local, will be representing B.C. in snowboarding's slope style competition at the upcoming games, held February 13 to March 1 in Prince George, B.C. His competition takes place Friday, Feb. 27, with qualifications and finals on the same day.
Fast started riding when he was eight years old. He quickly learned how to ride so he could try and keep up with his two older brothers. His first taste of the mountains was a tiny manmade hill in Manitoba. Since moving to Agassiz in 2010, Fast upgraded to real mountains. He calls Mt. Seymour his home hill now and often rides at Whistler too.
“I like being on the mountains,” says Fast. “The challenge is to learn new tricks, and I love to go fast.”
Fast is competing in slope style, a category based on style not speed. He must impress the judges with rails, jumps and overall impressions; “tricks with risks and make it look styling,” as Fast explains. “They want to see some clean landings and some big air with big spins.”
While he doesn’t have a routine planned for the event, he will get a week at Tabor Mountain Ski Resort in Prince George to practice, see the terrain and plan what he wants to do for the big day. He figures he will feel "pretty comfortable" with the course by race day.
Fast is one of only two male competitors from across B.C. to represent our province in the slope style competition. While this is the big competition of the season, it’s certainly not Fast’s only one. Most weekends he can be found on some hill or another, from Mt. Washington to Big White to Whistler, competing in points-ordered events or fun, prize-filled competitions. He is currently ranked 16th across Canada for slope style. Not 16th in his age category: 16th overall. With that in mind, it's no surprise that Fast is not nervous about the upcoming Canada Winter Games.
“I’m just excited, looking forward to what’s going to happen," he says.
The 2015 Canada Winter Games market he 25th edition of the Canada Games. What began in 1967 as a Centennial Celebration and a national unity project has turned into a biannual event (alternating summer and winter). More than 2,400 young Canadians, from 12 to 35 years old, will gather to compete in 19 official sports.