BC Alpine is pleased to announce the 2018 BC Ski Team Summer Training Group. The 6-person squad consists of 5 returning BCST members and new invitee Marcus Athans from the Apex Ski Club. After recently completing 18 successful days skiing on the Whistler T-Bars, the group now moves into a 5-week centralized dryland training block in Whistler, followed by another 10-day dryland block at the end of August and then three weeks on snow in Chile in September.
“It was great to get another opportunity to ski in Whistler this spring," said Head Coach Nick Cooper. "We took full advantage, rain or shine, and got some excellent work done building back the fundamentals. With a group of mostly returning athletes I think we will be able to push to new limits this summer, with the goal of creating even more well-rounded athletes. I know I speak for our entire staff when I say we are excited for this prep period.”
Returning BCST Members
- Kyle Alexander, Whistler Mountain Ski Club – 1999
- Myles Kowalczyk, Whistler Mountain Ski Club – 2000
- Francis MacDonald, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club – 1999
- Nicole Mah, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club – 1999
- Ella Renzoni, Whistler Mountain Ski Club – 2000
Invitee
- Marcus Athans, Apex Ski Club/Okanagan Ski Team – 2000
After a successful 2017-18 Campaign we are excited to congratulate two former BC Ski Team athletes who are moving onto the Canadian Alpine Ski Team, and four who will be joining NCAA programs:
- Cameron Alexander (WMSC) – Canadian Alpine Ski Team
- Asher Jordan (WMSC) – National Development Team
- Max Kirshenblatt (WMSC) – Montana State University
- Antonia Wearmouth (Grouse Mountain Tyee) – University of New Mexico
- Kristina Natalenko (Grouse Mountain Tyee) – University of Alaska
- Soleil Patterson (Red Mountain) – University of Alaska
- Alexander Valentin (WMSC) – University
“I am really excited about this small group of athletes and a new coaching structure that allows the three coaches to work together, eliminating the need for gender leads," said BC Alpine Vice President Johnny Crichton. "I believe this smaller group of mostly returning athletes gives us the opportunity to really focus on the individuals' needs and group's overall development."
Coaching Staff
- Nick Cooper – Head Coach
- Ryan Jazic – Assistant Coach
- Morgan Pridy – Assistant Coach
"We are proud to continue supporting the best alpine ski racers in BC by providing a high quality program designed to develop and prepare athletes for the national and university ski teams," said Anders Hestdalen, BC Alpine General Manager. "Since 2001 BC Alpine has been represented by a total of 89 BC Ski Team athletes (44 women and 45 men) from across the province. 32% of the athletes currently on the national alpine and ski cross teams got their start in BC Alpine programs. This is a number we are proud of and the BC Ski Team staff work hard to keep fulfilling their mission to develop ski racers that can perform on the world stage."
The BC Ski Team program benefits from a professional Integrated Support Team (IST) that includes a team physician, physiotherapy, sport vision testing, nutrition/chef training and high performance fitness coaching. The 2018/19 BC Ski Team will be named officially in mid-November.
