A rendering shows the landing airbag planned for Silver Star Freestyle’s dryland training facility at SilverStar Mountain Resort. The project includes a 60-metre dry-slope in-run for freestyle ski and snowboard training.
Credit: Silver Star Freestyle Club
Silver Star Freestyle is developing an off-season ski and snowboard training facility at SilverStar Mountain Resort, aimed at giving athletes in the North Okanagan access to specialized aerial training without travelling to facilities elsewhere in Canada or the United States.
The project is being developed in partnership with SilverStar Mountain Resort and in collaboration with Freestyle BC. Its centrepiece is a landing airbag with a 60-metre dry-slope in-run designed for intermediate through expert athletes practising increasingly difficult aerial manoeuvres.
Pacific Economic Development Canada contributed $250,000 to the project through the federal Tourism Growth Program. When the funding was announced in October 2024, the federal agency said the facility would include specialized equipment such as the landing airbag and terrain features for athletes at different skill levels.
Federal grant records show the contribution agreement with the Silver Star Freestyle Ski Club runs from Sept. 27, 2024 to Nov. 30, 2026.
The landing system is designed to give athletes a surface that more closely approximates landing on snow while allowing them to practise aerial skills during the off-season. Silver Star Freestyle has said athletes seeking access to comparable landing-bag facilities have previously travelled to Oregon and Quebec.
The project builds on training infrastructure already available through the club, including a flat airbag with a dry-slope in-run, terrain park access and other freestyle features. Silver Star Freestyle’s Xcelerate program is also offering spring, summer and fall training in 2026, including trampoline, dry-slope rail and airbag sessions.
Those training facilities are intended for supervised athlete development rather than general public use. Xcelerate requires participants to hold an active licence through Freestyle Canada or the Canadian Snowboard Federation and to train with a certified ski or snowboard coach.
PacifiCan has described the project as both a sport-development and tourism investment, saying it is expected to provide provincial, national and international training opportunities while supporting year-round activity at SilverStar and attracting additional visitors to the region.
Silver Star Freestyle was established in 1996 and has developed athletes who have gone on to national and international competition. Destination Silver Star reported earlier this year that the club had about 175 skiers and snowboarders, while Freestyle Canada lists Silver Star Freestyle as the home club of Elena Gaskell, who represented Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The new training project is intended to expand that development pipeline by giving freestyle skiers and snowboarders more opportunities to practise advanced skills in the North Okanagan during the months when snow-based training is unavailable.
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