South Okanagan is surprising home to largest freestyle club

Apex Freestyle Club plans

Photo: Kata Stohler of MK Capture Photography

Performance Snowboard program athlete Nathan Hamm practises a jump in Apex Mountain Resort's advanced level Claim Jumper park. The Apex Freestyle Club has 27 kids in snowboard programs this season.

(This is another in a series of columns about what is new and different at the 12 downhill ski resorts and cross-country ski areas in the Southern Interior.)

Apex Mountain Resort near Penticton has a secret, one even its youthful athletes weren't aware of.

"Despite being based within a smaller mountain community than most of its Thompson-Okanagan counterparts, Apex Freestyle Club recently discovered it is (and is proud to be) the largest freestyle club in the region," said Alexa Chick, head coach and program director.

The club’s membership has exploded by 13 per cent to 110 kids in full-season ski programs and 27 kids in snowboard programs compared to last season, she noted.

AFC is also a B.C. freestyle leader in gender equity, offering female-focused programs in both ski and snowboard as well as boasting more than 40 per cent female coaches.

AFC facilities at the South Okanagan mountain also serve as an international training site for moguls in early winter, welcoming teams from across Canada, U.S., Australia, Korea, Japan and other countries, said Chick.

Teams will arrive ahead of a Canadian selections event, the Canada Cup Series FIS Apex Classic Dec. 18-21 when they will compete for placement in the 2025-26 Canada Cup rankings, and the opportunity to represent their nations on the NorAm and World Cup tours.

One of those events is the 2026 FIS Freestyle Skiing Nor-Am Cup Jan. 29-Feb. 1 at Apex, with single moguls on Jan. 31 and dual moguls on Feb. 1.

Photo: Kata Stohler of MK Capture Photography

In March 2025, athletes in the Apex Freestyle Club posed for a very large group photo in the Apex Freestyle Terrain Area, a section of Apex Mountain Resort managed by the club "with very much appreciated help from the mountain."

"Our club's commitment to the sport of freestyle skiing is evidenced by the facilities we have meticulously built over the years. We have moguls and put out the BagJump Airbag within the club’s designated training facilities each season, and we attempt to build a Big Air site if we have the snow. We also have a water ramp facility at Covert Farms. We consider ourselves incredibly privileged to be able to train at home while most clubs have to travel to access these kinds of facilities," said Chick.

"We have Apex Mountain Resort to thank for their unwavering support to the club over the years, and their continued dedication to providing our club members with the best terrain in the Thompson-Okanagan. We owe them so much gratitude for all they've done for the club as well as all of freestyle in Canada. Nationally and globally, we are renowned for our unparalleled facilities, commitment to excellence and spirit of volunteerism."

The club is dedicated to providing comprehensive programs to instil in children the confidence and competence to ski comfortably on any run, on any mountain, in a safe manner, she said.

Each child's journey begins with “FUNstylerz,” formerly called “Fundamentalz” (Jumps & Bumps), for participants as young as six years, then guiding their development into true athletes culminating in readiness for the competitive team between the ages of 13 and 18.

AFC is piloting several new programs this season, including Freestyle Big Mountain, an all-ages snowboard program called She Shreds Saturdays and Pro-D day camps for both ski and snowboard.

The response to the club's repeat menu and new ski offerings was phenomenal—48 registered in FUNstylerz, 23 in Freestylerz, 16 in Girlstylerz, four in junior performance and seven in Freestyle Big Mountain.

The club also has three full-time athletes on its performance team, and 16 part-time or guest athletes from across B.C., Quebec, Australia and China training and competing with the team.

In snowboard programs, 11 are registered in snowboard fundamentals, nine in Freeriderz and seven in performance. To accommodate everyone, the club has 17 ski coaches and six snowboard coaches with two more volunteer snowboard coaches.

As for results, "to be perfectly honest, I couldn’t tell you how many medals our club has earned as we had several athletes attend several competitions across the province and beyond in both ski and snowboard. However, our athletes earned medals at regional, provincial and junior nationals competitions last season," said Chick. "This season, we will have three female athletes representing the Thompson-Okanagan zone at the B.C. Winter Games out of only 16 athletes total from our region competing."

As well, AFC will host a grassroots regional event on Feb. 14-15 called Okanagan Shred Session. In collaboration with other Thompson-Okanagan clubs, the objective of this entry-level competition is providing fun, meaningful opportunities for young club members as well as growing their sense of a freestyle community. This season is also special as the club's 35th anniversary, first established by David Boehm in December 1990.

One year ago, Chick became head coach and program director after growing up in Ontario and competing at the NorAm level with the Ontario mogul team for three years. In 2018, she retired from competition, and transitioned to coaching both recreational and competitive programs in Ontario and Alberta.

"I’m incredibly proud to have been entrusted with this club and its community, which carries a legacy of both grassroots prowess and high performance moguls excellence, and to find myself in the footsteps of many trailblazing coaches in the sport, including my predecessor and local legend Rob Kober who led the Canadian national team for 20 years," she said.

Photo: Kata Stohler of MK Capture Photography

FUNstylerz skier Luca Fitzpatrick practises his jumps at Apex Mountain Resort where the Apex Freestyle Club has 110 kids in full-season ski programs this season.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.