Malvern Collegiate snowboarder Chace Scoffield wins OFSAA gold medal

Malvern Collegiate’s Chace Scoffield recently won the gold medal at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) Snowboarding Festival.

A Grade 11 student, he took the gold over a field of 125 racers at the festival held last Wednesday, Feb. 25, at the Devil’s Glen Ski Resort near Stayner.

Racers in the snowboarding event at OFSAA were timed on two runs down the hill and the totals were then combined, and the boarder with the fastest total time was awarded the gold medal.

In his first run, Scoffield finished in a time of 30.08 seconds and he was even faster in his second run with a time of 29.37 seconds.

Scoffield told Beach Metro Community News he has been skiing since the age of seven and took up snowboarding for fun when he was nine.

“If you had told me at the start of the Malvern snowboard season that I would win gold at OFSAA, I would have said that’s insane. I never imagined I would achieve something like this, especially in a sport that started out as just something fun for me,” he said.

Scoffield said he bought the carving snowboard he uses to race on in Grade 9 as he thought snowboard racing would be a fun challenge to take on and something new to learn.

“I ended up loving it and started practicing a lot more seriously,” he said.

“Snowboarding has always been something I’ve done for fun, which makes winning OFSAA even more special. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities the Malvern snowboard team has given me.”

Scoffield first began skiing at the Sir Sam’s Ski/Ride hill north of Haliburton. He took to skiing naturally, but not as much to snowboarding at first.

“I decided to learn (snowboarding) when I was nine because I thought it would be fun to try something new at a smaller hill. It wasn’t until I was about 11 that I really felt confident and competent on a snowboard,” he said.

Now he is both a skiing and snowboarding instructor, but he only races with the Malvern Collegiate team.

Scoffield said he is not sure what his skiing/snowboarding future will be but he does not currently have plans to continue racing competitively.

“I would love to spend a year or two instructing out west and continuing to build my skills while sharing my passion for skiing and snowboarding with others.”

Malvern coach Luke Hartley said the entire coaching staff was proud of Scoffield and his OFSAA gold medal.

“His achievement is a testament to the hard work, determination, and team spirit this young man has for the sport,” said Hartley.

“We, the coaches, are incredibly proud of his success and the positive representation he brings to our school and community.”