‘It was kind of surprising, but I knew what I wanted in general coming into the season,’ Sharpe said.
Sharpe spent a lot of time on the road last season, finishing second and winning best trick at the Seymour Canadian Shield and placing well at the Canadian Open in Calgary. He finished sixth at the LG FIS World Cup in Stoneham, Que., and also participated in the World Cup Big Air site built on a jump between highways near Old Quebec City. Nearly 10,000 people were on hand to watch that event.
At the Canadian championships in March he placed Second in Slopestyle. His best event of the year, however, was the World Juniors in Sierra Nevada, Spain, where Sharpe finished Second. Another Mount Washington alumni and fellow Canadian Junior Slopestyle team member, David Kinskofer, also made it to the semi-finals at the same event.
Sharpe, 16, has been snowboarding since he was five years old, learning to ride at Mount Washington Alpine Resort. He was a member of the VI Riders Snowboard Club for a few years, and has received funding in the past from the Vancouver Island Mountain Sports Society to assist with his travel costs. Sharpe is now based out of Whistler, riding with the Whistler Academy Snowboard Club under coach Joe McAdoo.
Sharpe wrapped up his winter season with a win at the 5Star TTR Shred Show Big Hip Event in Whistler, beating Antoine Truchon for the $15,000 top spot.
Having such a solid season has opened doors for Sharpe to compete at more national events like world cups, he said. He’s partial to the TTR World Snowboard Tour (he’s ranked 84th), though, because snowboarders run it. ‘They know what we want; they supply what we want and what we need,’ he said.
Someday, says Sharpe, he would like to arrange similar events. But for now, he is content to keep active in the sport as he trains for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
Sharpe will be back on the board in July, attending the Camp of Champions in Whistler and then heading to New Zealand in August.