It was an exciting day on the slopes for athletes, coaches, and volunteers Sunday at Mount Sima. They were up on the hill for the Snowboard Yukon Toyota Grom Series Boardercross competition.

The Grom Series is a Canada-wide series of events for young snowboarders that combines the basics of the sport with fun competition. The events help athletes build confidence by putting their developing skills into practice.

Snowboard Yukon had reason to be proud Sunday, they were the first club/jurisdiction in Canada to host an event in this Canada Snowboard series.

Sarah Marsh, with Snowboard Yukon, said events like the Grom Series offer supports for young athletes and makes the Yukon organization feel connected with the rest of the country.

To be able to be the first jurisdiction in Canada to hold an event, Marsh said, COVID-19 pandemic guidelines were followed.

"Our club and Mount Sima both have strict protocols that enabled us to host the event," said Marsh.

Marsh said it was nice to see everyone out at the hill and to see the new athletes to the club compete in their first simulated competition.

"Everyone was really happy with how the kids performed," said Marsh. "The kids really impressed themselves also.

"It was the first time for some of the athletes on the course but there were no big wipe-outs. It was exciting to see."

In a typical boardercross event, four snowboarders will be on the course at a time. On Sunday, Marsh said Snowboard Yukon used a new format.

"Having four kids in a row can be intimidating even though it is not necessarily traditional boardercross," said Marsh.

Moving to one athlete on the course also aided in keeping appropriate physical distancing.

The snowboarders did two practice laps before taking two turns through the boardercross course. The athletes' best time was used as their final score.

"For the older kids who had been through the course before, they saw improvement," said Marsh. "We don't keep an official list of what their best times are but they certainly know what it is."

According to the Snowboard Yukon website, the next Grom Series event will be held on Valentine's Day.

The Yukon Championships will be held March 6-7. Marsh said at the championships, they might switch back to traditional boardercross, with four athletes on course, but that is still to be determined.