The 2005 alpine World Cup season is a big one for Canada with the World Championships at the end of February, and the World Cup results and standings determining the number of berths countries will receive for the 2006 Winter Olympics.
For the most part Alpine Canada Alpin (ACA) is sticking by its team from last season, trusting veterans to get the job done. Thats not to say that the team is getting older last year the average age of members of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team (CAST) was just 22.6 for the men and 21.2 for the women, making it one of the youngest teams on the World Cup circuit.
On Tuesday, May 18, the ACA announced a list of 37 elite racers that will be racing with the national team next fall, after a busy summer of glacier skiing and dryland training.
"This years summer training program will really focus on a lot of dryland training," said Max Gartner, the chief athletics officer for the ACA. "Physical conditioning is playing an increasingly important role in the development of world-class athletes."
Camps are already underway this year, with snow camps at Sunshine Village and Whistler, and a dryland training camp in Calgary to provide athletes with physical conditioning. The goal is to make the athletes stronger and more agile, while reducing the number of injuries that sidelined so many athletes this past season. At one point eight star races with the national team were on the injured list, two of them seriously enough to miss almost the entire season.
The team will be back on snow, glacier training in August and September to prepare for the World Cup season opener in late October.
Three Whistler athletes will be with CAST this year. Britt Janyk, 24, has been with the national program since 1996 and got her first World Cup starts in 2000. Although her season got off to a rocky start with a knee injury in November, she came on strong towards the end with top-15 results in World Cup and national titles in slalom and giant slalom.
Her younger brother Michael, 22, was coming off a knee injury of his own last season and even managed to get a few World Cup starts towards the end of the season. He also claimed the national slalom title, and is entering next season with strong finishes in FIS, Nor Am and Europa Cup under his belt.
Jeff Hume, 24, missed the last part of the World Cup season with a head injury, but returned in time to finish third in the national championship downhill. He has shown a steady improvement in his World Cup races over the past two seasons, often posting split times at the front of the pack.
Another Whistler skier, Whistler Mountain Ski Club alumnus and Vancouver resident Christina Risler, is with the womens development team again this year.
Manuel Osborne-Paradis, another WMSC alumnus, has also been named to the mens senior team after a podium finish at the World Junior Championships in super G.
Senior Men
David Anderson Rossland, B.C.
Francois Bourque New Richmond, QC
Julien Cousineau Lachute, QC
Thomas Grandi Banff, AB
Erik Guay Mont Tremblant, QC
Jan Hudec Banff, AB
Jeff Hume Whistler, B.C.
Michael Janyk Whistler, B.C.
Vincent Lavoie Cap Rouge, QC
Manuel Osborne-Paradis Vancouver, B.C.
Jean-Philippe Roy Ste-Flavie, QC
Ryan Semple St. Faustin Lac Carre, QC
Brad Spence Calgary, AB
Senior Women
Brigitte Acton Mont Tremblant, QC
Emily Brydon Fernie, B.C.
Allison Forsyth Nanaimo, B.C.
Britt Janyk Whistler, B.C.
Gail Kelly Ste-Anges de Beauce, QC
Anne-Marie Lefrancois Charlesbourg, QC
Genevieve Simard Val Morin, QC
Sophie Splawinski Montreal, QC
Melanie Turgeon Quebec City, QC
Kelly VanderBeek Kitchener, ON
Mens Development Group
Patrick Biggs Ottawa, ON
Stefan Guay Mont Tremblant, QC
John Kucera Calgary, AB
Paul Stutz Banff, AB
Trevor White Calgary, AB
Nick Zoricic Toronto, ON
Womens Development Group
Jessica Dakers Calgary, AB
Emilie Desforges Dorval, QC
Jennah Dunham Timmins, ON
Anna Goodman Pointe-Claire, QC
Sherry Lawrence Calgary, AB
Christina Lustenberger Invermere, B.C.
Julie Rabnett Calgary, AB
Christina Risler Vancouver, B.C.