Province's first all-girl snowboard team musters at Martock

Snowboarding in the province has reached yet another milestone; and it took place at Martock this month.

Saturday, Jan. 12 marked the beginning of what many see as a great thing for female snowboarders in Nova Scotia. In recent years, the province has been known to be the birthplace of some of Canada's top female snowboarders.

Dartmouth resident Sarah Conrad was the top Canadian female halfpipe competitor at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. Kingsburg native Alexandra Duckworth was the 2007 Canada Games and 2007 National Slope Style gold medallist. Sackville rider Emily Ernst had two top 10 finishes in national level events last season.

This season, the Nova Scotia Snowboard Association in partnership with Pro Girl Snowboard Shop and Martock Ski Hill will be working to ensure the legacy of amazing female snowboard athletes will continue. They have created the “Pro Girls” Snowboard Team -- a hand-picked team of 10 girls between 10 and 15 years of age who have the potential to be the next 'Sarah Conrad' or 'Alex Duckworth.'

The program kicked off during the morning of Jan. 12, with the girls receiving their distinctive red team hoodies and then getting to meet and have an autograph session with local hero Alexandra Duckworth.

The girls then spent the morning with coaches Natasha Burgess and Emily Ernst and even had the opportunity to ride the park with Alexandra. Some of the

team continued in the afternoon and entered the 'Kinky Rail Jam,” the first all girls snowboard contest to come to Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia snowboarders and fans should keep an eye on these up and comers as they work to progress to the top of snowboarding in Canada.

For more information on the team, please contact the NSSA at 902-425-5450 ext. 370 or nburgess@sportnovascotia.ca.

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