There’s something in the snow at Silver Star.
For nearly three decades, the Silver Star Freestyle Club has been quietly producing world-class athletes from a mountain village in the North Okanagan. What started on December 27, 1996, has grown into a community of 175 skiers and snowboarders who compete around the province, the country, and the world — and a culture that runs deeper than any podium finish.
“Silver Star has a real legacy in freestyle,” says Head Snowboard Coach Crispin Lipscomb, himself an Olympian and World Cup competitor. “The terrain offers such variety and opportunity that have supported skiers and boarders the same for years.”
Built on Community, Run on Heart
The Silver Star Freestyle Club is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run organization that operates by permission on the resort’s tenure. It stands on its own legs — powered by dedicated coaches, families, and athletes who show up season after season because they believe in what’s being built here.
And what’s being built here matters. The club offers freestyle skiing, snowboarding, trampoline, water ramp, airbag, and dryland programs to athletes of all ages and abilities, whether they’re chasing a spot on the national team or just chasing their friends through the park.
“The culture is all about just enjoying skiing,” says Freestyle Ski Coach Laine Koroll. “Even if they don’t want to compete, even if they’re just doing it for fun or to ski with friends — everyone is just happy to be out here doing what they love.”
A Legacy Written in Gold (and a Whole Lot of Air Time)
Over the years, Silver Star has become known for producing athletes who go on to compete at the highest levels of the sport — the Olympics, Paralympics, X Games, World Cup, and beyond. It’s a remarkable track record for a volunteer-run club on a mountain in the North Okanagan, and it speaks to the quality of coaching, culture, and terrain that have defined this program from the start.
And the pipeline shows no signs of slowing down. Elena Gaskell and Lucas Ball both represented the club at the 2026 Winter Olympics, while Tate Garrod — now a coach — built a competitive career across the Nor-Am Cup, Australia New Zealand Cup, and World Cup circuits before turning his focus to developing the next wave of athletes.
“This place just has a magic way of producing incredible athletes,” says Lipscomb.
Freedom Is the Point
Ask anyone in the club what makes freestyle different, and the answer always comes back to the same idea: freedom.
“It’s in the name — free,” says Tate Garrod, a club alumni turned coach. “That kind of implies creativity. Self-expression is a big part of freestyle. No one skis the same. It’s kind of carving your own path.”
That philosophy shapes everything the club does. It’s not about fitting athletes into a mould — it’s about giving them the tools, the terrain, and the confidence to find their own style. And for coaches like Tate, who came up through the program as an athlete, the reward is watching that cycle continue.
“I get the same kind of joy of progression from seeing the kids progress,” he says.
The Next Chapter: A World-Class Training Facility
The Silver Star Freestyle Club is building something big — literally. A new summer training centre featuring a state-of-the-art landing bag is in development, adding a massive piece of modern training infrastructure to what the club already offers.
“It’s a big, soft piece of landing gear that allows us to train all spring, summer, and fall, and get thousands of efforts in over that summertime and then transition right over to snow,” Lipscomb explains.
Head Ski Coach Wade Garrod sees the facility as a game-changer, not just for the club but for the sport in Canada.
“We’re super excited about having it because it will push the sport more in Canada and even the world,” Garrod says. “We anticipate skiers from all over coming to use this facility because it is a state-of-the-art freestyle training facility.”
For Tate Garrod, having it right in the club’s backyard changes the trajectory for young athletes in the region. “I think having a training facility like this at Silver Star is really going to raise the progression levels in the Okanagan.”
The Future Is Bright
From a small group of kids on a mountain in 1996 to a 175-member club producing world-class athletes — the Silver Star Freestyle Club has proven that extraordinary talent doesn’t need a big city. It just needs the right mountain, the right community, and the freedom to fly.
The future is bright here at Silver Star. It always has been.
Want more? Watch the proud members of the Silver Star Freestyle Club:
