Calgary (AB), Canada – This past weekend, Canada~Snowboard named its roster for the freestyle disciplines of the 2011 FIS World Snowboard Championships to be held in La Molina, Spain, Jan. 14-22. Over 370 athletes from 44 countries are expected to partake in this most important snowboarding event outside of the Olympic Games.nCanada will be represented by seven riders in the Olympic discipline of halfpipe (HP), eight riders in slopestyle (SBS) and four in the big air (BA) competition.
The 2011 World championships will be a historical event as it will showcase the discipline of slopestyle for the first time. The discipline is currently under evaluation for Olympic inclusion by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The halfpipe crew of seven includes five riders who competed at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as two riders with previous World Championships medals.
The team will be guided by head coach Leo Addington of Vancouver, British Columbia, and technical coach Abram [Abe] Teter of South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
“We’ve had a good season so far, aligned with the objectives that we gave ourselves. The riders have had good training camps recently, and will be competitive at the Worlds in La Molina,” said Addington.
Brad Martin of Ancaster, Ontario, Justin Lamoureux of Squamish, British Columbia, and Derek Livingston of Aurora, Ontario, will be riding the men’s halfpipe contest. Martin, 23, is the defending Canadian champion in halfpipe and has five World Cup podiums under his belt. Lamoureux, 34, who posted the best Canadian result at the 2010 Games with a seventh place, is the 2009 World Cup champion, winning the Crystal Globe in men’s halfpipe last season.
Sarah Conrad of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Alexandra Duckworth of Kingsburg, Nova Scotia, Mercedes Nicoll of Whistler, British Columbia, and Palmer Taylor of Collingwood, Ontario, will be competing in the women’s contest.
Nicoll, 26, will be looking for a solid performance after her strong finish of the 2010 season in which she placed fifth at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, tying the best ever finish by a Canadian halfpipe rider in the women’s contest, and went on to podium in the last two FIS World Cup events.
Conrad, a veteran of six years on the Canadian snowboard team, started the 2011 season on a good note by finishing eighth in halfpipe at the US Grand Prix in Copper Mountain, Colo., this past December. Taylor, 18, is the defending Canadian champion in women’s halfpipe.
Canadians won medals in halfpipe at the last three World Championships – all three medals in the Men’s contests. Both Martin and Lamoureux have won medals at World Championships – a silver medal won in 2005 at Whistler, BC for Lamoureux and a bronze medal at the 2007 World Championships in Arosa, Switzerland for Martin. Jeff Batchelor of Oakville, Ontario, won silver at the 2009 World championships in Gangwon, Korea. Batchelor will not compete at these championships as he is focusing of completing his education.
Japan’s Ryoh Aono and China’s Jiayu Liu are the defending World Champions in the men’s and women’s halfpipe, while Markku Koski of Finland is the current World Champion in big air.
The Canadian alpine snowboarding (PGS, PSL) and snowboard cross (SBX) World Championships teams will be announced at a later date.
CANADIAN SNOWBOARD TEAM – HALFPIPE – WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
WOMEN
CONRAD, Sarah (Halifax, NS)
DUCKWORTH, Alexandra (Kingsburg, NS)
NICOLL, Mercedes (Whistler, BC)
TAYLOR, Palmer (Collingwood, ON)
MEN
LAMOUREUX, Justin (Squamish, BC)
LIVINGSTON, Derek (Aurora, ON)
MARTIN, Brad (Ancaster, ON)
CANADIAN SNOWBOARD TEAM – BIG AIR – WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
MEN
BEAULIEU, Julien (Lac Beauport, QC)
LEBLANC, Alexandre (Beaupré, QC)
GRAY, Harrison (Newmarket, ON)
STONE, Zachary (Thornbury, ON)
CANADIAN SNOWBOARD TEAM – SLOPESTYLE – WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
WOMEN
DENENA, Samm (Orillia, ON)
DUCKWORTH, Alexandra (Kingsburg, NS)
RACINE, Marie-Andrée (Brackendale, BC)
RUDGE, Diane (Thornbury, ON)
MEN
BALHARRY, Robby (Canmore, AB)
BEAULIEU, Julien (Lac Beauport, QC)
CATTON, Elliot (Collingwood, ON)
STONE, Zachary (Thornbury, ON)