Sun Peaks is taking advantage of the 2010 Olympics in B.C. by hosting the most powerful ski team in the world every November for the next five years.
The Austrian national ski team will start training on Sun Peaks’ new Nancy Greene International Race Centre next week, in preparation for the World Cup races at Lake Louise at the end of the month.
"We are ecstatic about hosting one of the true superpowers of international skiing," said Darcy Alexander, Vice President and General Manager of Sun Peaks Resort Corporation. "The status the team brings will further the reputation and awareness of Sun Peaks. The ability to host a team such as this also attests to the high quality of Sun Peaks’ facilities, reliable snow, and the extensive commitment the resort has made to our guests through summer grooming and snowmaking."
The Austrian team will train at Sun Peaks from early to mid-November each year leading up to the 2009-2010 Olympic year, and just prior to the Games in February 2010.
This summer Sun Peaks invested more than $1 million in the first phase of a three-phase project to create on-snow training facilities for ski and snowboard teams in B.C. The Kamloops-area resort anticipates there will be a heavy demand for these facilities leading up to the 2010 Olympics.
Phase 1 saw the upgrade of the Coquihalla ski run to create the Nancy Greene International Race Centre, including state of the art snowmaking, safety netting, wiring for electronic timing and new race huts. Eventually the race centre will comprise three courses and a new dedicated quad chairlift.
The race centre, designed by Whistler-based Ecosign Mountain Planners, is one of very few Canadian venues that can offer suitable terrain above 1,600 metres. "Elevation means snow," explained Jamie Tattersfield, mountain operations manager for Sun Peaks Resort Corporation. "The combination of the centre’s elevation, summer grooming, and expanded snowmaking makes it one of the premier race centres in the country."
