The Australian Junior Team member was competing in the Alberta Cup in Canmore, the home of the 1988 Olympics and the 2008 and 2010 World Cups. Jones, a Snowy Mountains Grammar School year nine student, is on a five month athlete exchange, living in Golden, BC, in the Canadian Rockies and training with the Golden Nordic Ski Club’s Senior Race team.

After qualifying in a solid 7th place from a field of 28 in the Juvenile Girls Classic Sprint, Jones went on to win her quarterfinal. Jones advanced to the semi final where she came 3rd giving her the last position in the 6 skier final where she overcame the odds and finished in 3rd place, the highest placed BC Skier.

The Alberta Cup, which is an Alberta Team selection race, had skiers from Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, New Zealand and Australia. Chris Darlington, another Jindabyne local and Senior National Team Member competed in the Senior Men’s division in the Distance races.

The distance races set for Sunday were cancelled for younger skiers and boycotted by most teams due to the -26c wind-chill at the Canmore Nordic Centre.