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The Bob Parsons Memorial race is named in memory of the late Bob Parsons. Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, he began skiing in the late 1940s with his older brother Stan. They both raced on Hollyburn and Seymour Mountains, competing in jumping, nordic and downhill skiing.

The Parsons family became members of the Whistler Mtn Ski Club in the late 60s. As the Parsons children became involved in ski racing, Bob traveled from race to race helping in course preparation and setup. He formed and led the infamous Weasel Workers who were named after the Weasel section of the downhill. In those days, there were no winch cats and this section had to be boot packed, shoveled and raked by hand. Bob was Chief of Course for all for all of the major downhill races at Whistler until his death in 1979.

He also worked on all of the Back Bowl downhills and in 1980, the first Bob Parsons Memorial Downhill was held on that track. Bob Parsons was committed to junior ski racing and saw the need for junior skiers to have the opportunity to race downhill. This race has been held on the Whistler Back Bowl, Dave Murray Downhill, Green Acres, Blackcomb Panorama/Cloud Nine and the Dave Murray National Training centre which is on Raven/Ptarmigan.

Bob was one of the original organizers of the Vancouver Ski Team, which was formed in 1969 and later evolved into what is now the BC Ski Team. A memorial trust fund has been set up in his name and bursaries are presented to up and coming ski racers.

Jim Parsons (current WMSC U16 coach) was the winner of the first memorial DH in 1980 followed closely by Rob Lahti (current Hemlock coach), and Chris Leighton (Parsons) was the administrator at WMSC from 1999-2019.


The Bob Parsons Memorial Fund

Applications for the fund are accepted thru BC Alpine.

Criteria
Awarded to two individuals based on:

  • Leadership and dedication to the sport of ski racing
  • Financial need
  • Recommendation to BC Alpine by coach or other club representative
  • Priority is given to U19 level athletes

Award

  • $1,000.00 per athlete
  • Application/Nomination
  • Submit via BC Alpine Website. http://bcalpine.com/awards/