Big White Freestyler wins bronze at International Children's Games

Big White was represented by four athletes at the games, which were held from January 12-16, 2016: Owen Brunt, Blaise D'Alberthanson, Ainsley Mcdonald and Gabriella Heiss. They were accompanied by Big White coach Steve Lewandowksi.

Ainsley Mcdonald rocked the Slopestyle competition at Muttereralm Park in Austria to take home the bronze medal.  Ainsley stomped her 360 grab and came out switch of the bottom rail, coming in third after some German girls who also had great runs.

Ainsley is part of the Big White Freestyle Team, which is open to expert-level athletes age 7-17. The freestyle team train in slopestyle, halfpipe, moguls and all mountain while getting coaching from highly certified freestyle coaches on weekends throughout the season. 

The International Children’s Games is the largest multi-sport youth games in the world and is recognized by the International Olympic Committee. The Games are open to children aged between 12 - 15 years old.

According to Heather Schneider, President of the ICG Committee in Kelowna, Kelowna is one of few cities to have won medals at both Summer and Winter International Children’s Games - with the addition of these two medals, the Kelowna medal count is now sixteen medals (four Gold, six Silver and six Bronze) since first participating in the 2011 Winter Games which Kelowna hosted.