Petrick ready to rock the Games this weekend

PHOTO SUBMITTED - Redcliff's Ryder Petrick is looking forward to representing Redcliff at the Winter Games.

By Tim Kalinowski
With the Alberta Winter Games just a few days away, fourteen year-old snowboarder Ryder Petrick of Redcliff is looking forward to representing south east Alberta (Zone 1).
“I am hoping to do good in it so I can represent our zone well,” says Petrick. “I think I will have a little bit of an advantage going in this year because I know the Elkwater hill very well. Other than that, it’s pretty much running clean and going fast.”
Petrick credits his dad for inspiring him to get into snowboarding ten years ago. He has done pretty well in chosen sport so far. Petrick placed second at a provincial competition at Sunshine last year in the bordercross event. At the Winter Games this weekend he will compete in both bordercross and slope-style. Petrick says he enjoys both events because they demand different things of him as a snowboarder.
“In bordercross you’ve got to race down this hill with bumps and curves and jumps,” explains Petrick. “You are racing against three other guys. You just have to get top two every time. In slope-style is all about rails, jumps and tricks. You have technical tricks which are worth more points and there are judges who score you on your whole run. I like doing them both.”
Petrick is happy to be getting lots of support from his classmates at Parkside School. He does hope to do well in the competition, but, in the end, for him it’s all about having fun.
“I just like being out there and having fun. And being with friends and trying new things. Keep getting better,” says Petrick.
Petrick hopes to see many come out to Hidden Valley Ski Resort this weekend to cheer on all the local snowboarders taking part in the Alberta Winter Games.
“People should come out to Hidden Valley in Elkwater and cheer all the people in our zone on,” says Petrick. “That would be pretty cool, I think.”