Columbia Valley Pioneer staff

Will Ferguson would have been mighty proud of Logan Altmann.

The local youth recently won an award (named after Ferguson) for his respectable actions towards his teammates, coaches and volunteers at Freestyle Panorama Ski Club.

“Your leadership and attitude in the freestyle community has earned you this award. Like you, Will demonstrated behaviours that uplifted and supported his fellow teammates and improved the experience of the community for everyone involved,” said the Club. 

“Everyone at Freestyle Panorama is excited to see you continue to live out the values of humility, kindness and sportsmanship, and are proud of the young man you have become.”

Will Ferguson was a valued member of the Freestyle Panorama community. In his career as both an athlete and a coach, Ferguson made an enduring impact on fellow athletes, coaches, and parents in this mountain community and beyond.

Ferguson lost his battle with mental health in September of 2021.

The award (fund) will help Altmann with up to $1,000 in expenses for his competition in the junior nationals (moguls event) in Quebec on March 22. He qualified for one of 10 spots available to boys in B.C.

“We are stoked to see you take this step in your career and proud of all you have accomplished. This is the first of many big competitions for you,” said the Club.

Logan, 13, told the Pioneer that the award helped him gain more confidence in skiing and pushed him towards achieving success.  “I want to help other athletes also achieve their goal. It is fun when everyone starts learning and mastering tricks,” he said.

When Logan was very young, his parents put him in hockey, but he wouldn’t stay on the ice. “I spent most of my time making snow angels rather than skating,” he laughed

His mom then signed him up for nordic skiing lessons, which went well. He began building jumps beside the nordic track and discovered that getting “air” was super fun. 

Logan was subsequently enrolled in the freestyle club and immediately fell in love with it. “Over the past two years I have been getting on the podium more and more and getting better at the sport I love the most,” he said.

Logan recently participated in the Kootenay Freestyle Classic hosted by Panorama. He won first in moguls andfirst in slopestyle, and won the KFC cup for top points in the competition 

Logan was super excited to receive the letter inviting him to the junior nationals in Quebec City. 

“That’s when I realized that skiing will always be my main sport. I hope I can keep getting more high level invites to competitions.”

Logan Altmann (middle) won the Will Ferguson Award presented by Freestyle Panorama Ski Club.
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PHOTO MAT LOYOLA