Pemberton cross-country skier Joe Davies was one of eight young athletes named to Nordiq Canada's junior development squad on May 1.
Davies, who spent last season based in Canmore, Alta., spent the campaign competing on both the NorAm Cup and U.S. Super Tour circuits, earning two top-20 finishes in the former and four in the latter. He was named as an alternate to Team Canada's FIS Junior World Ski Championships team as well.
"It feels really good. It feels like all the hard work is finally paying off," he said. "We're taking things as they come right now with all the social-distancing measures that are in place right now because we can't really have any training camps at the moment.
"We're still training hard and adapting our training currently."
The 19-year-old said from Canmore that he lives close to the local Nordic centre and he was able to continue training there until a lack of grooming made it challenging.
"It's been pretty much business as usual for me," he said. "I'm still able to run and bike and everything else, just not with a group like we normally would."
As part of the team, Davies will receive additional funding and will have more training and coaching opportunities.
"If everything does go to plan, I would like to qualify to go race at World Juniors and hopefully get a World Cup start. That would be ideal," he said.
Nordiq Canada CEO Shane Pearsall was excited about the octet of athletes on the junior development team.
"This is a young group of athletes who we are focused on developing through to the 2026 Olympics," he said in a release.
For more on this story, pick up an upcoming edition of Pique.
