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in si d e h a lto n .c o m O a kv ill e B ea ve r | Th ur sd ay , J an ua ry 2 5, 2 01 8 | f e OLYMPICS McEachran soars after realizing Olympic dream Freestyle Canada/Photo Oakville's Evan McEachran, left, and Canadian teammate Teal Harle swept Sunday's slopestyle competitions. Harle won the morning World Cup event while McEachran took bronze. In the afternoon, it was McEachran claiming the gold in the Association of Freeskiing Professionals slopestyle competition. Slopestyle skier celebrates with golden performance HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@burlingtonpost.com Evan McEachran stood at the top of the hill Sunday morning. In less than 24 hours, Freestyle Canada would name the athletes who would be representing their country at the Olym­ pics. The 20-year-old had built a strong case for him­ self with a silver medal at a slopestyle World Cup in November and a bronze last weekend at an Associa­ tion of Freeskiing Profes­ sionals (AFP) event. But the standards set by Canadian skiers are high. In the 14-month Olympic qualifying period, skiers in the four disciplines mak­ ing up the team had won 67 medals. And even though there were 22 spots avail­ able, there were 12 return­ ing Olympians, including six medallists vying for a place on the team. "It still wasn't for sure at that point," McEachran said. McEachran's first run would earn him a score of 91.4 and put him in second place. After a strong start to his second run, he lost a ski, but only one skier, his friend and Canadian team­ mate Teal Harle, would bet­ ter his score. Harle would take the gold, bumping McEachran down to bronze. After receiving their medals, both skiers were told that they would be go­ ing to the Olympics. "That was pretty awe­ some," McEachran said. He was skiing in Whis­ tler in 2011 when he heard that slopestyle would be added to the Olympics in 2014. "From that day forward, that's what I wanted to do," he said, "but it seemed so far away." Slopestyle's debut in the Olympics would barely beat McEachern's arrival on the world stage, though. A month before the So­ chi Olympics, he won his first developmental series event. Two months after the Olympics, McEachran, then 17, won the AFP world championships beating a field of Olympic and X Games medallists. Stand­ ing on the podium beside him was Bobby Brown, the skier he listed as his role model on his Canada Games profile three years earlier. With his Olympic spot secure, McEachran still had one more competition Sunday afternoon, the AFP Toyota U.S. Grand Prix. American Gus Kenwor­ thy set the bar high, scor­ ing a 94.8 on his first run. On McEachran's second of three runs, he turned in a strong rail section then closed it in style with a switch left, double cork 1440 (backward takeoff, with four full rotations, two off-axis rotations, landing backwards). If that wasn't dizzying enough he threw in two different grabs. McEachran scored a ca­ reer-best 96.40 that no one would match. "It was a pretty crazy 24 hours," he said. "It was ex­ citing to step off the podi­ um in third, know you're going to the Olympics and then go out and win that one, I was really pumped. To see my work paying off, it's definitely given me tons of confidence." FALL/W INTER/SPRING 2 0 1 7 -1 8 30-mlnute classes! Session 2 timeslots: SAT: 9am, 9:30am, 11 weeks $247.50 +tax 10am, 10:45am, Nov 25 - Feb 10 11:15am, 11:45am SUN: 9am, 9:30am, 11 weeks $247.50 +tax 10am, 10:30am Nov 19 - Feb 11 „ „ „ . 9 weeks $180.00 +tax MON: 1pm, 1:30pm Nov 2 7 . Feb 5 WED: 6pm, 6:30pm 11 weeks $275.00 +tax Nov 29 - Feb 14 tomi s T io f l^ NOV - JAN TIMESLOTS: * First-step quickness * Reaction skills * Puck control * Power & acceleration ■k Explosiveness * Puckwork implemented throughout the program ■k An excellent student- to-instructor ratio A G E & LEVELS DAYS TIMES PRICE ■k 8-12 HL Fri 5:30pm $ 2 8 8 +tax -k 8-12 Rep Fri 6:30pm $ 2 8 8 +tax ★ 10-12 HL & Rep Sat 9:00am $ 2 8 8 +tax ★ 13-15 Rep Sat 10:00am $ 2 8 8 +tax ★ 10-13 Rep Sun 9:30am $ 2 8 8 +tax WWW.WAVEHOCKEY.CA Register: 905-336-3434 x10 or programs@wavehockey.net LACROSSE: CANADAS NATIONAL SUMMER SPORT The Oakville Minor Lacrosse Association offers both Representative and House League lacrosse programs for boys and girls, ages 3-16. Rep programs start with tryouts in late Winter and continue until August, while the House League programs run until the end of June - perfect for families that want to be involved in the game, but still want to enjoy time at the cottage! Registration is now open! • Box House League • Boys Rep, Box & Field • Girls Field House League • Girls Field Rep mailto:hgarbutt@burlingtonpost.com http://WWW.WAVEHOCKEY.CA mailto:programs@wavehockey.net OLYMPICS Registration is now open!