Calgary (AB), Canada – Canada’s ski cross stars will take an extra suitcase full of national pride with them on their road to Sochi after students at a Calgary school presented racers with good luck posters on Monday ahead of this week’s season-opening back-to-back World Cup races at nearby Nakiska Ski Area.
More than 400 students aged six to 14 from Our Lady of the Assumption Elementary School cheered on the Canadian squad at a special “Go Canada” pep rally held at the school, and gave each athlete hand-drawn messages of support that will adorn the team’s meeting room at the Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup races in Nakiska this weekend, and accompany them to every subsequent World Cup stop as well as the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games.
The school project coincides with the launch of an Alpine Canada “Mail for Medals” contest in which fans have the chance to connect with and inspire alpine, para-alpine and ski cross athletes as they compete for the chance to represent their country at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“It’s sweet to start the season racing so close to home and as someone who grew up in Calgary it was really special to be able visit Our Lady of the Assumption School,” said ski cross athlete Brady Leman, who spent much of his youth skiing at Canada Olympic Park, just a few miles from the school he visited on Monday. “The students made us some really cool posters. I’ll definitely be taking them to Nakiska and using them as extra motivation to start the season strong. I’m stoked to race.”
Ten members of the Canadian national ski cross team, all of whom are due to compete at back-to-back World Cup races scheduled for Friday and Saturday, took part in Monday’s event. They form the nucleus of a dominant Canadian squad that has won the Nations’ Cup on the World Cup circuit for four of the past five years.
With some of the sport’s biggest stars – including Leman, Chris Del Bosco, Kelsey Serwa, Marielle Thompson and Georgia Simmerling – on a stacked roster, hopes are high that Canada will make the most of home snow advantage and push for the podium in the races at Nakiska Ski Area, a 45-minute drive west of Calgary.
“I’m probably in better shape than I’ve ever been in going into a season. I will be going all out, for sure,” said Del Bosco, the 2011 world champion and X Games gold medalist who has racked up an incredible total of 18 career ski cross World Cup podiums. While he originally hails from Vail, Colo., is currently living in Montreal, Quebec. “I’m going for podiums. That’s usually the focus so nothing really changes, even though we’re all trying to qualify for the team for Sochi. But I’m feeling really good. I had a great summer in the gym – my body’s healthy and I’m skiing well.”
More than 120 of the world’s top ski cross athletes will go head-to-head in Nakiska as they compete for more than C$80,000 in prize money, as well as the chance to qualify for nomination to their respective Olympic teams.
Following Nakiska’s successful inaugural World Cup ski cross in 2012, this year’s event features a wider track, made possible thanks to a C$15,000 project to upgrade the Mighty Peace run at Nakiska. The run, which was part of the original men’s downhill at the 1988 Games, was extended an average of 15 meters in width and star course builder Jeff Ihaksi was brought in to design a bigger, bolder course that seems to play to the strengths of a Canadian team that loves the X Games-style courses with bigger features and jumps.
The staging of a second annual event – and a double dose of home snow advantage – was made possible thanks to support from the Government of Alberta, Sport Canada and other sponsors including Hermes and Audi.
“The Government of Alberta is proud to keep our Olympic legacy alive by sponsoring this year’s World Cup events,” said Dr. Richard Starke, Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation. “Hosting world class sporting events such as the Nakiska World Cup is great for our athletes and coaches as they head off to Sochi. Excellence in sport inspires our youth and the athletes in all of us.”
This year’s races will also place a strong emphasis on ensuring that the racers’ skills are tested, but in a safe environment. The Canadian team will once again wear denim-style pants in honor of their much-loved teammate Nik Zoricic, who tragically passed away in 2012 following a crash at a race in Grindelwald, Switzerland.
The Canadian men’s team also features Leman, ranked No. 2 in the world in 2012 and a consistent podium threat with his strength and power, as well as veteran Dave Duncan, of London, Ontario, who is healthy again and always a threat to advance through the heats. Young gun Tristan Tafel, of Canmore, Alberta – one of the most naturally gifted skiers on the World Cup circuit – is struggling with post-concussion symptoms and isn’t sure if he will race. Rounding out the men’s team are Louis-Pierre Hélie, of Berthierville, Quebec, a former alpine downhiller, and Mathieu Leduc, of Comox, on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island.
Canada’s women’s team features 2011 world champion and X Games gold medalist Kelsey Serwa, of Kelowna, British Columbia, who is arguably the racer to beat on the ladies’ side.
“It’s cool that we are starting the World Cup season here. It’s a good opportunity for us to show the rest of the world how a World Cup should be done – set the bar high hopefully, get a good track down. There will be some good action for sure,” said Serwa, who is returning to action following surgery – the second straight year she’s been on the comeback trail due to an injury to the same knee. “I feel good. My knee’s feeling really good and I’m strong and confident. At this point I’m not sure if I’m racing. I’ve got a good plan and I’ll just take it day by day. If training is going well then I’ll qualify and if I qualify well I’ll race. So long as I’m feeling good and my body is good and I’m confident, that’s what’s most important.”
One of Serwa’s biggest competitors this year is expected to be her teammate Marielle Thompson, of Whistler, British Columbia, who in 2012 became the first Canadian to win an individual Crystal Globe as the overall World Cup champion. She’s also the 2013 world championship silver medalist and the junior world championship title holder. Also flying the flag for Canada are Georgia Simmerling, of West Vancouver, British Columbia, who made the switch from alpine and now has a couple of podiums under her belt – and Calgary’s Danielle Sundquist, one of the team’s veterans.
The criteria for qualification for nomination to Canada’s Olympic team is complicated because ski cross athletes must compete against their counterparts in other freestyle disciplines such as aerials and moguls to punch their ticket to Sochi. Thompson is the only Canadian to have pre-qualified through “Method A” criteria, meaning she needs just one top-12 result to be all but guaranteed a spot on the plane to Russia. Her teammates, meanwhile, figure two podiums this season will also earn them a ticket to the greatest show on earth.
“I’ve got an easier road to Sochi because I did my work last year,” said Thompson. “I’m feeling very excited. We’ve got a great (track) builder so it should be really, really fun this year.”
The Mail for Medals campaign, which is being launched through social media, calls on Canadians to inspire their favorite skiers or teams with handwritten well-wishes; write it, draw it, photograph it, cartoon it – be creative.
“Send your homemade creations to Alpine Canada and we’ll take the best of them to Russia to help pump up Canadian athletes on their quest for medals,” said Kelsey Verboom, Alpine Canada’s manager of web content and social media. “Be part of the team and let our athletes know that Canadian fans are with them all the way.”
Entries must be received by Jan. 20, 2014. More details are available at www.alpinecanada.org/