After months of evaluating athletes through summer dryland and on-snow training, Alpine Canada Alpin announced its official team for the 2005-06 season this week.
The goal is to qualify 22 athletes for the 2006 Winter Games, doubling the mark set the previous year.
Although the team is a little older and more experienced than in the past, there were a number of younger men that were considered strong prospects for this year. As a result the men’s national team outnumbers the women’s team 17-9.
There were also 11 skiers named to the development team, including seven women and four men out of 18 prospects that trained with the team over the summer.
"Over the past years we’ve raised the bar and increased the standards for joining the Canadian Alpine Ski Team," said Ken Read, president of ACA. "Simultaneously, a greater number of athletes are meeting this challenge. Our own organizational test is to find more human, technical and financial resources to design the best and broadest programs in the world."
Whistler and the Whistler Mountain Ski Club are represented by no fewer than six athletes this year.
From Whistler, Michael and Britt Janyk have returned to the men’s and women’s technical teams, while Jeff Hume will again join the speed team.
The WMSC veterans include Manuel Osborne-Paradis of Vancouver, Allison Forsyth of Nanaimo and the development team’s Robbie Dixon of North Vancouver.
The rest of the team includes:
Senior Women’s Team
Brigitte Acton, Mont-Tremblant QC
Emily Brydon, Fernie BC
Allison Forsyth, Nanaimo BC
Gail Kelly, Ste-Anges-de-Beauce QC
Christina Lustenberger, Invermere BC
Genevieve Simard, Val Morin QC
Sophie Splawinski, Montreal QC
Kelly VanderBeek, Chicopee ON
Senior Men’s Team
Patrick Biggs, Orleans ON
Francois Bourque, New Richmond QC
Julien Cousineau, Mont-Tremblant QC
Thomas Grandi, Canmore AB
Erik Guay, St-Jovite QC
Stefan Guay, St-Jovite QC
Jan Hudec, Calgary AB
John Kucera, Calgary AB
Vincent Lavoie, Longueil QC
Jean-Philippe Roy, Ste-Flavie QC
Ryan Semple, St-Faustin-Lac Carre QC
Gareth Sine, Calgary AB
Brad Spence, Calgary AB
Paul Stutz, Banff AB
Women’s Development Group
Anna Goodman, Pointe Claire QC
Sherry Lawrence, Calgary AB
Veronique Leger-Archambault, Montreal QC
Marie-Pier Prefontaine, St-Sauveur QC
Shona Rubens, Canmore AB
Larisa Yurkiw, Owen Sound ON
Emilie Desforges, Montreal QC (injury being assessed)
Men’s Development Group
Jeffrey Frish, St-Jovite, QC
Trevor White, Calgary AB
Louis-Pierre Helie, Berthierville QC
