Vancouver’s Natasza Zurek is certifiably on a roll, winning her second halfpipe in the past two weeks, then taking the quarterpipe at Park City, Utah.
She won the last World Cup halfpipe of the season on March 2, leading the contest from the qualifier straight through the finals.
"I was glad that I made it to the finals because that was my goal here," said Zurek. "I was worried that I wouldn’t make a quota for the Olympics for Canada, but once I made it to the finals I knew I already did what I wanted today."
She was followed by Noway’s Stine Brun Kjeldaas, and U.S. rider Shannon Dunn.
Canada’s Dominique Vallee posted her best finish of the season ending the day in fifth. Whistler’s Maëlle Ricker was ninth, and Manon Roy was 24 th .
Two days later Zurek was back on the top of podium after landing three McTwists in a quarterpipe contest. Kelly Clark and Rita Comi were second and third.
In the men’s competition, Quebec’s Guillaume Morisset put an end to a frustrating year with a second place finish, just 0.5 points back of Heikki Sorsa of Finland.
"I think this is a great venue to have the Olympics and I’m sure we are going to have fun with this pipe," said Morisset.
Stefan Karlsson of Sweden finished the day in third.
Canada’s Mike Michalchuk narrowly missed a spot in the finals and had to settle for 11th.
The men’s quarterpipe contest went to Stefan Karlsson, Markus Jonsson, and Ricky Bower. Canadian halfpipe coach Dennis Bannock got a special mention for the biggest air of the evening.
In the parallel giant slalom on March 3, the Canadian racers didn’t have much luck. Mark Fawcett was the top male in 25 th , Francois Boivin was 26 th , and Jasey Jay Anderson, one of the top rider in the world, had to settle for 38 th . On the women’s side, Helene Cloutier was 27 th , and Alexa Loo 40 th .
National team coach Steve Legge said there was some consensus among coaches that the race course will need some work before the Olympics.
"It tilts to one side, and then tilts to the other," said Legge. "It needs a few modifications."
Four members of the national team have already met the basic Olympic qualification with the equivalent of two top-16 finishes: Jasey Jay Anderson, Darren Chalmers, Ryan Wedding, and Mark Fawcett.
The women haven’t had as much success, but Legge says the race isn’t over. There are still Continental Cup races this summer, a World Cup in South America, and a few World Cups early next season to qualify. But he conceded, "It’s going to take some work."
