January 16th, 2026

Please take a min to read some of the happenings in the club!

So far, we are off to a great start with our programs - coaches are seeing some real progression already and the mob of kids wearing those black bibs is great to see! 

      Bibs

  • We have received some larger bibs that will be on the hill tomorrow morning before programs start - if your athlete would like to swap out for a larger bib, please let your coach know and we can make it happen.  

      Air Bag 

  • A blast of spring has delayed the opening of the airbag :( We will have to delay the roll out until we have enough snow to anchor it into.    Big thanks to team at Penticton Honda Center for donating some equipment to help maintain it once the snow starts falling again!

    Frost Fest Rail Jam Jan 24th

       Competitions 

  • I’d still love to see some more athletes sign up for some upcoming competitions, We have TimberTour/Shred Series events (silverstar registration is opening soon!) If you’re interested, but have some hesitations, please reach out so we can chat about it.  These comps are good for most ages and abilities!

  • Our Snowboard club has been cleaning up at their competitions - recently bringing the hardware home from Whitewater in a freeride event.    There are Grom events, slope events, and others throughout the season we’d love to see you at!   https://www.bcsnowboard.com/events/

  • We are hosting one of the Okanagan Shred Session Comps again this year!    Such a fun event where competitors throughout the Okanagan can try competing for the first time our put their skills to the test against everyone else!     Since we are hosting, we would like EVERYONE to sign up - It will happen on the weekend of Feb 14th (Family Day Long weekend) and will feature moguls, slope and a freeride event for both ski and snowboard.   Other shred series events are happening as well - check out the site and SIGN UP!

      VOLUNTEERS

  • We are in desperate need for volunteers to sign up to help with the NORAM event in Feb - This is a FIS event that brings a lot of $$ into our club which helps keep the fees down - Sign up now to get your volunteer hours in and get a front row seat to some Olympic level skiing.   SIGN UP HERE !

35th ANNIVERSARY SPAGHETTI DINNER! - FEB 21 ST

  • Mark your calendar for a party/social/spaghetti dinner 35th anniversary party at the Gunbarrel!   Open to all club athletes, parents and coaches!   Details to come, but we need some volunteer athletes to help cook and serve the dinner.   Please let us know if your kiddo wants to help!

NEW POLICY FOR MOGUL HUT/AIRHUT

  • The mogul hut and air hut are for coach and athlete use only.   During events, the buildings are to be used by coaches, officials and invited volunteers only.  Thank you for your understanding of this rule.

Thanks for reading - see you all on the hill this weekend!

JR

January 2nd, 2026

Happy New Year to all our freestyle families!  We wish you the best in 2026. 

With all club groups and activities about to start, here is in update with some important freestyle happenings! 

Programs 

  • Please check your email/spam folder for all information regarding programs including start times, meeting spots and all other info!   All this info will be on the website - freestyleapex.com. 

Air Bag 

  • Our tentative date for setting up the airbag is JAN 17th!    This is a great chance to volunteer and work towards getting that refund!   Please stay tuned and join the whatsapp volunteer group where we will share all info. https://chat.whatsapp.com/E9fqxvCg95hLv219k8g2jI

  • This season will have a more organized Air Bag schedule based on coach availability (only coaches with Air3 certs can supervise the bag) - We will share the schedule so you know when your athletes group will be at the airsite! 

  • The bag needs constant maintenance (snow removal) throughout the season - this year the beauties at Penticton Honda Center will be donating some snow removal equipment making the job easier - we will have a training day for some of this equipment once the bag is open. 

    Frost Fest Rail Jam Jan 24th

  • If you haven't heard of frostfest, you should check it out!    It is a showcase of advanced Snowboarders and Skiers , hitting a rail built on a platform in downtown Penticton.   If your athlete is a more advanced skier or rider, and would like to join the Jam and compete, visit https://www.penticton.ca/our-community/events/major-events/frost-fest-winter-carnival

  • Our club alongside Freestyle BC want to help this event and the work that goes into it - if you sign up to volunteer at this event , that will count towards getting your refund! 

Club meetings

  • Alexa and I want to hear from you and your children!    We will be scheduling a 'hot chocolate info session' - a 20min meeting with myself, Alexa, and your kid's group - where we can talk about how things are going, any individual goals and maybe convince some athletes to consider competing!   Parents are encouraged to join.

  • Keep an eye out for the schedule! 

Competitions 

  • We have a few comps coming up - the Timber tour / super youth events are once/month throughout the season - We recommend our athletes to join these and give it a try!   Super Youth is a great intro to try competing - Timber Tour is great to earn points and work their way towards a bigger goal (BC Games, BC Team, Team Canada, Olympics etc)   We would love to hear from you if you think you might be interested.    More info can be found at freestylebc.com

  • We are hosting one of the Okanagan Shred Session Comps again this year!    Such a fun event where competitors throughout the Okanagan can try competing for the first time our put their skills to the test against everyone else!     Since we are hosting, we would like EVERYONE to sign up - It will happen on the weekend of Feb 14th (Family Day Long weekend) 

  • As a parent of kids who have competed , it is a great experience and an awesome way to see new mountains and meet other parents and athletes from around the province.    The more Apex reps we have, the cheaper the costs too! 

As always, we need volunteers for this event as well as the upcoming NORAM - both events help bring in much needed revenue for the club so we can keep our program costs down! 

December 2nd, 2026

Message from the President:

Hey parents and athletes!

I just wanted to quickly introduce myself if we haven’t met yet.

My name’s Jesse Ritchie — I own the Gunbarrel Saloon, and for the past few years I’ve been on the Apex Freestyle board as a Member-at-Large. I’ve been lucky enough to work alongside a genuinely positive, fun, and dedicated group of people, led by our former president Theresa Sengl. Theresa has decided to step down from the president role, but she’ll thankfully be staying on the board to help with our big events and supporting us as Past President.

So for this season — and until someone else feels inspired to take it on — I’ll be stepping into the President role. I wanted to give everyone a quick rundown of what our main focuses are going into winter.

Programs

We run the largest ski and snowboard freestyle program in the Thompson-Okanagan, which is something we’re all incredibly proud of.
This year, one of my big priorities is improving communication, individual goal-setting, and overall organization for our weekend programs.
To make all this happen, we really do need parent volunteers to jump in and help with a few tasks on program days. A little help goes a long way!

Fundraising

Our board works hard to keep freestyle skiing as affordable as possible. We do have a grant writer who submits for everything we can, but grants aren’t guaranteed — and our gaming grant was recently denied. While we work through the appeal, we need to lean more into events, fundraisers, donut drives, and anything else we can get creative with.

We’ve now formed a fundraising committee, and there is no limit on how many people can join. Seriously — the more the better.

Join our WhatsApp group, say hi, and let’s get things rolling as the season kicks off.

A lot of our “meetings” can easily happen over après beers at the Gunbarrel anyway

WhatsApp Fundraising Group:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/GbbrVD0aTdU5tVrhProCI5?mode=hqrc

Volunteers

Everyone paid a $200 volunteer levy during registration — I know it surprised a few people, but we simply can’t operate the club at its current size without parent support. This model is used by most freestyle clubs in BC.

You get your $200 back once your volunteer hours are completed.

There are tons of easy ways to get your hours in:

Apex Classic event (LOTS of roles)

Airbag setup and takedown

Fundraising shifts

Event support throughout the season

If you want to help or have questions about what roles fit you best, just reach out.

Please join the volunteer WhatsApp group to keep up to date!

https://chat.whatsapp.com/E9fqxvCg95hLv219k8g2jI

Building a Positive Culture

One of the biggest goals for me is continuing to build a positive, supportive environment for our athletes and coaches.

We want this to be a place where:

kids feel encouraged,

coaches feel supported,

and families feel connected.

Apex Mountain Resort has been incredibly accommodating, and we’ll keep working closely with them all season.

Freestyle Facilities

Last year we had some great conversations with Apex regarding our freestyle zones and terrain parks.

Weather permitting, they’re committed to working with us to improve and expand our facilities — and our long-term goal is to host some big events in the coming years.

A Quick Thank-You

Huge thanks to our head coach, Alexa Chick, who works tirelessly for this club and deserves all the support we can give her.

And to the board members I’ve worked with over the past few years — I’m genuinely grateful for everything you do. I’m excited to keep building this club together.

We’re always looking for help, ideas, and fresh energy — so if you want to get more involved with Apex Freestyle, I’d absolutely love to hear from you.  In the meantime please visit our UP TO DATE website! www.freestyleapex.com

Looking forward to seeing everyone on the hill… and in the bar!