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Skicross added to 2010 schedule

Will draw athletes, VANOC says

By Andrew Mitchell

With over a decade of history behind it, a full slate of pro events around the world, and a now well-entrenched World Cup circuit, skicross is no longer a new sport. With the very successful addition of snowboardcross to the Olympics in 2006, many athletes expected that it would only be a matter of time before skicross was also added to the Winter Games schedule.

This week the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games at last confirmed that skicross would be making its Olympic debut at Cypress Mountain.

Peter Judge, the president and CEO of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association (CFSA), says the association had advance notice of VANOC’s decision, and has already put a lot of time, energy and planning into what comes next — namely creating a complete national program with athletes and coaches in time to make an impact in 2010.

“We’ve looked at it from every angle, and created a partnership with Alpine Canada and the Canadian Snow Sports Association in recognition that, in the short term, we really need to get this thing up and going,” he said. “We need to draw the athletes there, and use resources that we may not have historically in our system already.”

One of the first undertakings of the partners was to identify a group of athletes to bring to the world championships at Madonna de Campiglio, Italy last week. Own the Podium 2010, a program developed to ensure Canada finishes among the top nations during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, contributed some funding, Alpine Canada contributed a ski technician, and the CFSA provided things like physiotherapists and team trainers.

Currently skicross falls under the freestyle banner at the International Ski Federation, and Judge confirmed that efforts are underway to recruit a national team, start a development team, hire coaches, and create a grass roots development program to identify and train athletes.

While many believe that skicross should fall under the alpine banner, given the fact that the sport has more in common with ski racing than freestyle, and that most coaches and athletes have a ski racing background, Judge says freestyle can bring one important element to the sport — recent experience.

“With freestyle being a new sport and not an Olympic sport prior to 1988, we know we’ll be jumping through a lot of hoops,” said Judge. “It also takes a long time for the funding machine to warm up, but I think we’re starting with great support from Own the Podium, who gave us the seed money to get this going, and I’m confident we’ll see some corporate sponsorship come through from a company that wants to help a new sport and have an impact at the Games. Canada has always done well in new sports.”

Judge had suspected that skicross would be added to the Winter Games schedule since the bid process, when they made it clear to IOC officials that they would be open to hosting skicross and halfpipe events in 2010.

The International Olympic Committee decided this past November to award the sport Olympic status, but since the sport was not part of Vancouver’s original bid it was up to VANOC to decide whether or not to include the sport in 2010. VANOC had to weigh the additional cost and demands of housing up to 200 more athletes and officials against the spectator appeal of the sport and Canada’s own medal chances.

According to Judge, FIS has yet to decide how many quota spots will be allowed in 2010, but Canada is already in a good position when it comes to athletes. Whistler’s Brian Bennett placed 12th in the world championships despite breaking his collarbone just four weeks earlier, while Davey Barr placed 22 nd out of over 90 qualifiers. As well, second place finisher Stanley Hayer, who raced for the Czech Republic in the worlds, grew up in Canada and may decide to race for Canada in 2010.

On the women’s side, Whistler’s Ashleigh McIvor was injured in training at the world championships but has a gold medal at the U.S. Open and strong results at the X Games to her credit, as well as a silver medal from the last World Cup she competed in. Anik Demers, another solid performer, had a bad day at the worlds when the airline lost her skis and she was forced to race on borrowed equipment. She still had fast times in the qualifier, until she went off course at the very bottom.

For Judge, it’s the athletes that will benefit most from the addition of skicross.

“They’re all pretty ecstatic,” he said. “These are all guys who have taken on a new sport, something they’re passionate about, and have taken the risk by going off on unconventional paths, and I view this as a tremendous victory for them,” he said. “They’re being vindicated in a sense that their passion has paid off by giving them a chance to compete in the Games.”

According to Ashleigh McIvor, the announcement was a welcome one — if not exactly a surprise.

“There is definitely going to be a more formalized national team for next season, and yes, it will be a much bigger commitment than in the past,” she said. “I’m ready. Sign me up.”

McIvor says it will be exciting to train for the Olympics, with a team behind her to support her for a change. “This will include coaches, much needed physiotherapists, strength trainers, ski techs, and other support systems crucial in backing an Olympic athlete. We are relying heavily on corporate sponsorship to make this all come together.

“We also need Canadians supporting us.”

McIvor says she has not been a member of an organized team since her days as a ski racer, and that it will be nice to have a team to travel with.

“It was really fun heading over to Europe with Davey (Barr) and Bri (Bennett). Those two are both amazing skiers and there is no doubt in my mind that they are both fully capable of winning Olympic medals. Anik is the other Canadian girl, and the two of us have been beating the top girls in the world for years. We are both right in there.”

As for getting injured at the worlds, McIvor is a little bitter.

“The course was a bit gnarly as far as overshooting trannys (transitions) and numerous hard landings. Most people were throwing in speed checks, or just going around certain features. (The Canadians) hit the course at speed every time and went into it with full confidence. The double (jump) that I got hurt on ended up proving itself as stupidly dangerous, and organizers completely took it out for race day.”

For Brian Bennett, who has known that skicross was headed for the Olympics for several months, it’s only the beginning.

“I know that myself, Davey, Ashleigh and Anik are pretty excited to go after it for the next few years, and hopefully accumulate lots of medals along the way. It’s a great opportunity to be showcased and to showcase our sport, and hopefully do big things at the Olympics,” he said.

Having the support of a national team will also help, making it easier to focus on his sport. As a top-12 finisher at the world championships he has also qualified for Sport Canada’s Athlete Assistance Program.

“The last few years I’ve done everything myself. You have to do everything on your own, hire your own travel agent, your own physical trainer, your own ski tech… on the hill you don’t have a set of eyes looking for the faster lines and to see what the other guys are doing. It will be amazing to have that kind of support behind us and to really be able to excel.”

Bennett was a national calibre ski racer when he was younger, but took a step back to focus on school. He found he also preferred big mountain skiing and the terrain park, which he says turned him on to skicross.

Seeing his Olympic dream come back to life has been gratifying.

“It’s really like a dream come true,” he said. “Every athlete wants to be part of the Olympic Games, and in the sport I chose I didn’t have that chance until a few months ago. It’s really put new life and a new drive to the sport.”

Other athletes will be identified at a national team selection camp being held April 2-6 at Cypress Mountain. Interested athletes are asked to contact Dave Pym, managing director of the CSA, at dpym@isrm.com by March 15.