Two Jasper brothers had a strong showing at the Canadian National Alpine Championships at Red Mountain in Rossland, B.C. from March 18 to 21.
Jesse Kertesz-Knight, 20, won the slalom title and was second in the giant slalom.
Jake Kertesz-Knight, 18, was third in the U19 category in the SL race.
“A kid from Jasper won the national championship slalom title, second in the giant slalom and his younger brother is following close behind in his footsteps,” said Mike Kertesz, father of the two athletes.
“They work all summer doing physical training at the gym. They go to training camps on glaciers in Europe and in Scandinavia. They're working extremely hard to get up. It's a very, very competitive world, and they're both really fighting through to get to where they're at.”
There are four disciplines in alpine skiing: slalom, giant slalom, supergiant slalom (Super G) and downhill.
Slalom involves skiing between poles or gates, which are spaced farther apart than giant slalom, and necessitates plenty of sharp turns.
Kertesz attributed his son Jesse’s victory to sheer determination and strong drives.
Skiing since childhood, the brothers are now competing all over North America, and Jesse went to Europe for several weeks.
“So, it's a huge commitment by them, but [Jesse is] at the level that he's at, because of hard work and lots and lots of training,” Kertesz said.
Kertesz thanked sponsors Wild Mountain and Mt. Robson Inn for stepping up to help cover the cost of competing.
“It's an extremely expensive sport, and both parents are working, and we are able to afford to ski race because of support from some sponsors,” he said.
“And these two companies really kicked in and helped these boys to be able to pay for some of the expenses and the challenges of being a ski racer, especially with all the travel that they're doing.”
The Kertesz-Knight brothers have their sights set on making it to the Canadian National Ski Team and eventually skiing for Canada at the Winter Olympics.
Kertesz tempered expectations by saying the boys had a long way to go.
The goal in the next two-to-three years being to race at the World Cup Level, but this will require sponsorships, community support and hard work and commitment from the brothers.
Right now, they are on the right trajectory ranking-wise as both are top 20 world ranking for their age in at least one discipline.
