Kananaskis Valley (AB), Canada – Nakiska Ski Resort in Alberta has been selected to host the first top-level international ski cross races staged in Western Canada since the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Men’s and women’s Audi FIS (International Ski Federation) World Cup races will be held Dec. 6-8, 2012 as part of a partnership between Alpine Canada, the national governing body for alpine, para-alpine and ski cross racing, and Resorts of the Canadian Rockies (RCR), which operates Nakiska.
Nakiska, located about 45 minutes west of Calgary, was home to alpine skiing events during the 1988 Winter Olympic Games. It will become the second Canadian event on the ski cross World Cup circuit alongside Blue Mountain, Ontario, which has hosted men’s and women’s races since 2010. Cypress Mountain, in British Columbia, also hosted a ski cross World Cup event in 2009 and the Olympic races in 2010, when Canada’s Ashleigh McIvor made history by becoming the sport’s first female Olympic gold medalist.
“We’re very pleased to be bringing World Cup races for this exciting sport back to Western Canada,” said Max Gartner, president of Alpine Canada. “Canada has the number one ski cross team in the world and we’re looking forward to watching our athletes go for gold on home snow.”
The Nakiska ski cross races are due to take place shortly after the Lake Louise Winterstart World Cup, the traditional curtain-raiser for the alpine World Cup speed events. Nakiska is scheduled to be the second event on the ski cross World Cup calendar for 2012-13 after a stop in Ushuaia, Argentina, at the end of August 2012. Blue Mountain will host men’s and women’s races Feb. 1-2, 2013.
Canada, the 2011 Nations’ Cup champion, has a talented and experienced ski cross team that includes reigning world champions Chris Del Bosco, of Montreal, Quebec, and Kelsey Serwa, of Kelowna, British Columbia, as well as McIvor, of Whistler, British Columbia.
“Another race on Canadian soil will be great,” said Del Bosco, who won gold at the Ontario race in 2011. “I thrived off the home crowd in Blue Mountain. It gives you a little extra.”
Nakiska will also host the Sport Chek Ski Cross Canadian Championships from April 5-8, 2012, which will act as a test event ahead of the World Cup races. As a designated Alpine Canada National Training Centre, Nakiska is used as a training base for Canada’s top alpine, para-alpine and ski cross racers.
“We are very proud to support Alpine Canada and ski cross,” said Matt Mosteller, RCR’s senior director of business development. “It is vital for Canada as a winter nation to have opportunities for youth to get active and healthy in winter. Canada’s ski cross team is the best in the world – these hard-working and dedicated athletes serve now as mentors for future Canadians to follow in their footsteps.
“Nakiska, with its close proximity to a major Canadian city, Calgary, its diverse terrain, Western Canada’s largest snowmaking system and new Gold Express lift, provides the best opportunity in Canada to showcase the sport’s stars and create a festival where all of Canada can get engaged and share in the excitement of this exciting sport.”