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Silver for slope style snowboarder Quinten Fast

Agassiz snowboarder takes second place in Canada-wide competition for slope style at Canada Winter Games
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Agassiz resident Quinten Fast at the Canada Winter Games

Quinten Fast rode his way to a silver medal finish in the men’s snowboard slope style competition at the Canada Winter Games last Friday, Feb. 27.

Fast, Agassiz' sole competitor at the games, was in third position going into the finals at Tabor Mountain and after two mediocre attempts at the slope style course the 14-year-old put it all on the line, attempting a new trick that ultimately landed him on the podium.

“I had a few rough landings on my first two runs,” said Fast. “I fell a few times because I just wasn’t focused and was having a hard time keeping my speed up for some of the features so all of the pressure was on my final run.”

After a fresh wax job on his board, Fast refocused and tried to relax.

“Right before my last run I was just trying to breathe deeply and not let negative thoughts get into my head,” he said. “I felt great and landed a really hard trick that I’ve been working on but hadn’t been able to get until today. I did some good spins on the rail and had to go pretty fast to catch them.”

At the bottom of his final run, Fast knew he had done well but was surprised his score came back as high as it did.

“When I saw my score I was so excited, I couldn’t stop smiling. The Canada Winter Games is probably the biggest contest I have done in my life. The course was so good, the jumps were super floaty, I just loved them.”

Fast was one of 348 athletes, coaches and managers representing B.C. at the 2015 Canada Winter Games held in Prince George, February 13 to March 1. Team BC finished with 88 medals. Team BC was third in the overall medal count behind Quebec with 141 medals and Ontario with 111 medals. From B.C., 249 athletes showcased their commitment to sport through 88 podium performances including 21 gold, 34 silver, and 33 bronze medals. The Canada Games also calculate flag points to track the overall team performance not just medal counts.  Team BC had 270 points also placing the team third behind Quebec and Ontario.
“We are incredibly proud of our athletes who each contributed to achieving the performance goal of a top three finish,” said Rob Needham, Team BC Chef de Mission.  “Our entire team were tremendous ambassadors both on and off the field of play representing Team BC and the province at these home Games.”

The Canada Games are a national multi-sport competition with participation from every province and territory in Canada.  The Games are held every two years, alternating between winter and summer and are a key step in the development of Canada’s amateur athletes.  The 2015 Canada Winter Games, held in Prince George, brought together approximately 3,300 athletes, coaches, and managers from every province and territory to compete in 19 sports.

Team BC was chosen, for the second consecutive Games, as the recipient of the Claude Hardy Award which is bestowed upon the Provincial or Territorial Mission Team that best exhibits leadership, cooperation, integrity and esprit de corps.  For the first time ever, the award was shared between two provinces with Team Saskatchewan as the other recipient.
“It means so much to our mission team to be recognized for our dedication and commitment to our athletes here at home,” said Needham.  “The host society in Prince George did such an incredible job organizing the Games.  We felt part of the team and were proud to be part of their overall success.”

The next Canada Winter Games will be held in Red Deer in 2019.