Three Whistler coaches with team in 2003-04
Last week the Canadian Snowboard Federation announced that it would be rehiring all four high performance coaches for next season, three of whom live and coach out of Whistler.
The goal was to provide some consistency to the national program and ensure that athletes had access to year round coaching.
Tom Hutchinson of Val David, Quebec, will return as head freestyle coach for the national team with a four-year contract through to 2007.
Whistlers Joe McAdoo will return as head freestyle coach for the national development team and the National Snowboard Training Centre. McAdoo started with the development team last year, and helped several young boarders land top results in junior and World Cup competitions.
In alpine, Whistlers Christian Hrab returns for a fourth year as the head alpine coach for the national team. He has helped a number of young athletes to contend in alpine races and snowboardcross over the years, and results have improved with each season.
Whistlers Greg Salmon, a former national team racer, is back as the head coach for the national development team and National Snowboard Training Centre.
Hutchinson and Hrab will also focus on a dedicated snowboardcross program for this season, following the IOCs announcement that the discipline will be included in the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy.