BC Ski Team “eager to put all their hard work to the test”

The top skiers in the province are ready to roll and hungry for ski racing.

After a rigorous and productive pre-season, consisting of physical conditioning and on-snow training on two continents with a training group of 13 skiers, the BC Ski Team coaching staff are optimistic heading into the 2022-23 race season, which kicks off next week at Mt Norquay, Alberta.

Led by three returning skiers named to the BC Ski Team – Dylan Timm, Heming Sola and Tait Jordan – seven newcomers will continue to be part of the BC Training Group for the season. The skiers range from 16 to 20 years-of-age and represent six ski clubs from across the province.

“I’m anticipating this season for the BC Ski Team to be full of excitement,” said Johnny Crichton, BC Alpine VP, while travelling to Colorado with the men’s team. “We have a young and energetic women’s crew who are eager to put all their hard work to the test. Same on the men’s side … they are well prepared, excited and ready to race.”

Crichton mentioned the athletes have extra incentive and opportunity this season with BC hosting both the Canadian Senior National Championships in Kimberley and the Nor-Am Finals at Whistler, in March 2023. “Our teams are really looking forward to capitalizing on those opportunities,” Crichton said.

Women’s squad learning the ropes

According to Montana Molyneux, the BC Women’s Head Coach, the young women’s team have focussed on “developing strong habits positionally and pushing pace with themselves, and with each other.”

“Each athlete contributes so much to this new team, and we are continuing to build together,” she said. “It has been quite exciting to see strong female athletes wearing the BC Alpine patch and we are looking forward to a season of growth on and off the hill!”

The women’s teams had a specific focus on physical conditioning. “We chose to continue our fitness programming through September, which really paid off once we were on snow because it allowed the athletes to push a lot of high quality volume and foundational work,” Molyneux said.

One of the highlights for the women’s team was a trip to Belgium, to an indoor ski facility well suited for hard snow (aka ice) slalom training, followed by a week of training in Saas Fee, Switzerland, for GS training. When the team returned to Canada they had a productive 14-day camp in Panorama. “We were able to have a progressive build on the super-G skis and took advantage of the variety of terrain for a solid slalom block,” Molyneux said.

Both the women’s and men’s team started out the pre-season together in May in Sun Peaks at the BC Alpine MEGA Camp, alongside all ski clubs in the province (the camp is scheduled again for May 2023).

The women’s team is currently at home for a short rest and school block and will be getting ready to race the Norquay series followed by Panorama FIS races in December.

Men’s team ready to race

Morgan Pridy, the returning Men’s Head Coach, said that it has been a productive but challenging pre-season, particularly for the newcomers. “They’ve been working hard and trying to absorb as much as they can,” Pridy said. “ The returning skiers have been progressing well and are really looking like this is a true continuation of last season.”

The men’s team had on-snow camps at El Colorado, Chile, in September, Wittenburg, Germany, in October, in addition to training closer to home at Sun Peaks (in May) and Panorama (November). The team also had physical training testing in Whistler and Kelowna during the prep phase.

“Whether they succeed or fail, they are doing it the right way,” Pridy said when addressing his expectations for the season. “Skiing to your big goals is a long process for both the rookies and the vets. Of course I’m always hoping that things click into place right away but the reality is, we are about to go through the ups and downs of a long competitive season. If they are committed to the details, committed to the work, and find ways to be resilient individually and as a team, then the potential is sky high.”

The men’s team are now at Copper Mountain, Colorado, preparing for the first Nor-Am speed races of the season (two downhill and two super-G), starting this week. For the Training Group skiers it will be their first-ever Nor-Am races. Both teams will reunite in Panorama for the Alberta Cup Christmas series before heading home for the Christmas break.