A Millarville skier has bumped his way into being a national champion.
Davis Clement, 12, won the gold medal in the U-14 dual moguls championship at Marmot Basin in Jasper earlier this month.
Dual moguls are when a pair of nearly side-by-side skiers are going down a ski hill which is covered with bumps — moguls — while trying to get in as much turns, speed and sometimes air as possible.
Davis won all three of his runs in the head-to-head mogul competition. He had to save his best for last to get the gold on the final run.
“There were two jumps on the course and I did a double twister and then a Cork 7,” Clement said.
The two jumps are strategically placed along the course, which means Clement has to ski down a large field of bumps, line himself up for the jump, then get launched in the air while twisting his body like a corkscrew, then land in a field of bumps on a slope of more than 30 degrees.
Oh, yeah, after Clement does that in his first jump, he has to line himself up for the second one.
“After I did my first jump, I’m just focused doing my tricks and getting ready for the next jump,” Clement said. “
The Cork 7 has Clement getting launched in the air and then doing two revolutions while at an angle of about 45 degrees.
When the Millarville skier had finished his run, he had a calm confidence that he had won the competition.
“I beat him by some time and I was hoping that was enough,” Clement said. “It’s like a race, but you also get judged on turns and jumps.”
He was also delighted with his silver medal in the moguls, in which a skier goes down the hill by him or herself. The skier’s best score in one of two runs is used determined the winners.
Clement used a different jump for his mogul run than what he used for the dual competition.
“I did a back flip rather than a twister,” Clement said. “The guy who beat me was from Ontario and he is really good. I skied well.”
It was Clement’s first national competition in moguls.
He also finished sixth in the Big Air competition.
Clement will be back in Jasper this weekend for the provincial championships.
His goal for the future is to be invited to the Alberta Freestyle Ski team next year.
