Three Yukon snowboarders secured top 10 finishes in the Halfpipe competition at the Alberta Provincials at Calgary Olympic Park (COP) last weekend.

This without there being a halfpipe in the Yukon since Whitehorse hosted the 2007 Canada Winter Games.

Top 10 finishers were Max Melvin-McNutt in the FIS/Open event, Adam Waddington in the 15 and under category and Kayla Hallonquist in the 16 and over category.

Both Melvin-McNutt and Hallonquist are heading to Halifax, N.S., for week two of the 2011 Canada Winter Games, where they'll be joined by fellow riders Thomas Mills, Alexander Chisholme and Lara Bellon.

Waddington, who also won gold in the Junior Jam (U15) in Calgary, is an alternate for the Canada Games.

Melvin-McNutt took silver in the FIS/Open slopestyle (16 and up) event last weekend.

The Yukon riders will compete in Male and Female Halfpipe competitions, as well as the Male and Female Snowboardcross, when they reach Nova Scotia.

Snowboard Yukon head coach Mary Binsted said the recent results are promising considering the Yukoners have only ridden halfpipes in Whistler, B.C., for a few days in December and again in Calgary before provincials.

"They've had about four days training in the halfpipe this season,” she said.

She added that the level of competition may be slightly higher at the Canada Winter Games, but not significantly higher.

"Their goal is to make finals,” she said, adding that reaching the finals may mean being in the top 12 for the boys and top eight for the girls.

Melvin-McNutt stomped a couple 540s to get into the top 10 in Alberta.

The provincials took place on an Olympic-sized halfpipe, he noted. The halfpipe at the Canada Games will be roughly 18 feet, two to four feet smaller.

"I'll be riding the smaller pipe, which is what I'm used to, which is what I have ridden in the past,” Melvin-McNutt said, adding that he hopes to finish in the top five at the Games.

"I can ride just as well as most of those guys considering we don't have a half pipe.

I'm just happy, with the little amount of training I've done, that I can still step up to those guys.”