ALPINE CANADA NOMINATES FIS ALPINE JUNIOR WORLD SKI CHAMPIONSHIPS ATHLETES
Calgary, AB – Alpine Canada is proud to announce the 12 skiers nominated to Team Canada for the upcoming FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships (the “World Juniors”) in Panorama, B.C., March 1-9, 2022.
This world class event brings together the best junior ski racers (born between 2001 and 2005), providing experience and international exposure to athletes identified as high-performance development level athletes.
The 2022 Canadian FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships women’s roster includes:
Arianne Forget (18) – Belle Neige S1 Racing, QC
Britt Richardson (18) – Calgary Alpine Racing Club, AB / Burke Mountain Academy
Cassidy Gray (21) – Team Panorama Ski Club, B.C.
Justine Lamontagne (19) – Mont-Ste-Anne, QC
Kiara “Kiki” Alexander (20) – Sunshine Village, AB
Sarah Bennett (20) – Club de Ski Stoneham, QC
This group includes recent World Cup newcomers such as Gray, Richardson, Bennett and Alexander. Gray and Bennett will also be leading the women’s contingent competing in their second World Juniors.
Gray, who hails from Invermere, B.C., leads the team after launching herself into Canadian ski racing’s elite in 2020-21 when she made her World Cup debut in Kranjska Gora (SLO) as a 19-year-old. In just her second World Cup race season, Gray is a strong contender for the podium at the World Juniors.
“Having a major event like World Juniors in Panorama is a dream for every local kid, so I am especially excited because regardless of the racing, it’s going to be my favorite World Juniors so far.,” said local skier, Gray, who will be competing on home snow after competing at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
“We have a strong group of athletes, and the coaching staff is amazing,” adds Gray. “We’ve set ourselves up to have a great race series and I am excited to see what everyone can do,” adds the promising skier who claimed her first World Cup points with an impressive 26th place finish in her second-ever World Cup giant slalom last season. “To have my family there and know so many people involved in the event will be the cherry on the icing,” she concludes.
The 2022 Canadian FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships men’s roster includes:
Tait Jordan (19) – Whistler Mountain Ski Club, B.C.
Lessard will be leading the group as the only Canadian competing in his third World Juniors, with all other male athletes making their first-time appearances at this event.
With his nomination to the Canadian team, Van Soest is following in his big sister Katrina’s footsteps. Katrina made her World Cup debut in Lake Louise at the end of 2021.
Similarly, Jordan joins his big brother Asher who has been representing Canada on the international stage since 2018 as a member of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team. Jordan has raced at Panorama in the past, setting a career-high 6th place super-G finish in the Nor-Am Cup race in December 2021.
“Representing Canada on home soil is very exciting,” said Jordan. “I feel like I have the speed to really compete”.
Jeff Thompson, Vice-President, Domestic Sport Programs and Events for Alpine Canada is eager to get this team racing at Panorama, comfortable and confident with the environment and positioned to achieve their best results of the season.
“We are very excited about this group of young, up and coming athletes,” said Thompson. “They represent a very talented group of U21 athletes that the country, provinces and clubs have cultivated, and we believe will be very competitive against this world-class international field,” he added.
The first time Canada hosted World Juniors was in 2000 at Mont-Ste-Anne, QC. Since then, Mont-Ste-Anne and Le Massif, QC have held the event again in 2006 and 2013. This year marks the first time Canada hosts the world’s best U21 racers in the West.
The last Canadian athlete to medal at World Juniors is Sam Mulligan in the men’s downhill in 2018 at Davos, Switzerland.
Canada’s 12 skiers will be on the hunt for medals in downhill, super-G, slalom, and giant slalom, as well as the team parallel events. Races start on March 3 with the men’s downhill and continue through March 9. The full event schedule can be found on Panorama 2022 website.
And led by Olympians Rob Boyd and Mike Janyk, February 3 to 6, 2022
What an amazing opportunity it was for the Coast Zone ski club racers to experience world class coaching and course setting from the duo of Rob and Mike! Conditions for speed improved from Thursday through to Sunday, making for a perfect super-G day, with fast, grippy snow and excellent viability. Everyone, coaches and athletes alike, gave it a huge thumbs up and are already talking about the next speed camp!
“This speed camp went really well, it’s was a fantastic opportunity to provide a safe environment for the racers to get more comfortable with speed, and the progression we saw this week has been great.”
Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club Coach
“On Thursday they were moving a bit slower, but fast forward to Sunday under beautiful, blue skies and they are really able to move much more quickly, get that wind in their faces and get a feel for what it’s like to ski a super-G track!”
Whistler Mountain Ski Club Coach
“Speed camp is the best, it is like you can just really go for it! Course setting was great!”
Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club Athlete
“I feel like it went really well because at the start of the speed camp I was really uncomfortable with how fast I was going, but because I got to learn so much and had many tips I am now really comfortable skiing super-G and I realize how much fun it is to ski really fast!”
And excitement is in the air as young racers meet Olympians & Paralympians
Clear blue skies coupled with unseasonably warm weather greeted an energetic group of more than 100 young ski racers on Sunday, February 13th in Whistler. Wearing colourful suits and their new Sporting Life race bibs, they ascended Whistler Mountain to compete in Whistler Mountain Ski Club’s signature annual U12 Janyk Cup Zone Race on a section of the Dave Murray National Training Centre (Ptarmigan run). The competition consisted of a two-run combined-time giant slalom, one per gender.
“It was a spectacular weekend with lots of sunshine and smiles. It was really great for me personally to see all the young racers from throughout the ski-to-sky corridor up in Whistler competing and having fun again.”
– Andrew Kirker, Race Chairperson
“Fantastic weekend with plenty of smiles, skiing and sportsmanship. What made it all worthwhile was seeing the kids cheering on kids from different clubs and the appreciation from other clubs, coaches and families for hosting a well run event.”
– Josh Douglas, Chief of Course
Thank you Sporting Life!
Photo #1 – Jack Crawford, Broderick Thomson and Brodie Seger with Cecily Gibbons (Whistler) and Eric Krastev (Grouse); Photo #2 – Mac Marcoux and Tristan Rodgers with Grayson Kirker (Whistler) and Jonathan Yeung (Whistler)
This year’s race was particularly significant as it marked the return to racing after a two year hiatus due to COVID restrictions. For most of these 10 and 11 year old skiers, this race presented their first opportunity to compete against other clubs after two years of training at their respective clubs.
WMSC alumni and recent Olympians Jack Crawford (Bronze medalist in Combined in Beijing 2022), Brodie Seger and Broderick Thomson, were present to award the winners. Paralympic legend Mac Marcoux – Canada’s most decorated Alpine Paralympic Gold Medalist – also stopped by to support this weekend’s events on his way to compete in Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games. Their presence provided powerful inspiration for these young ski racers – Canada’s next generation of Olympians and champions!
Jack Crawford, Boderick Thomson and Brodie Seger with (on podium) Cecily Gibbons (Whistler), Thea Han (Whistler), Inaya Salari (Cypress)
“Huge thanks to WMSC for running a successful event for little racers. The kids had an opportunity to test their skills in various events, and how cool is it to get a speed ticket from the RCMP in Speed Trap event! What a surprise treat to be visited by the Beijing 2022 Alpine Ski Olympians Jack Crawford, Brodie Seger, and Broderick Thompson, with Paralympic Gold medalist Mac Marcoux and Tristan Rodgers. A great way to wrap up a successful event! Kudos to all the parents, volunteers, coaches, clubs and athletes. Special thanks to an amazing photographer Albert for taking every single racers’ fantastic photos! Greatly appreciated.”
~ Insun Kim, parent of Grouse athlete Eames Kim
RCMP Speed Trap
Podium / Awards (listed below in order of first, second, third):
Two of the largest events in Alpine Ski Racing in Canada are coming West!
The 2023 Senior Alpine National Championships and the Nor-Am Cup Finals will be hosted in BC or Alberta next year. The process to bid on the opportunity to host one of these prestigious race events is now available.
The North Okanagan Zone and the Revelstoke Ski Club returned to Nancy Greene Ski League racing on Sunday January 30th, hosting the “Gnome Cup” paneled slalom at Revelstoke Mountain Resort. As is tradition at the Revelstoke Ski Club, we woke up to 10cm of fresh snow on race day, and it just kept falling. Thanks to the hard work of our outstanding volunteer team, the race went off smoothly and on schedule! (And the visiting teams got treated to some great pow skiing!) Revelstoke U12 Head Coach Céline Rytz set a fun and challenging course that got a bit like a bobsled track, but which maintained a good surface throughout the day. (Photo above: Revelstoke Gnome Cup – Aden Skringer in the start gate, PHOTO CREDIT: Giles Shearing)
James Rorstad in the start gate PHOTO CREDIT: Katie Findlay
Hugo Beruschi in action PHOTO CREDIT: Katie Findlay
Team awards were calculated for skiers U10 and younger, by totaling the fastest run times for each skier from a given club, then dividing by the number of skiers, to find the average fastest run time for the entire team. The rankings and team times were as follows:
1st: Vernon Ski Club, 52.45 2nd: Sun Peaks, 55.34 3rd: Summit Lake, 56.47 4th: Revelstoke, 57.51 5th: Harper Mountain, 66.43
The home team was well represented in the U12 field: Boys: 1st: Egan Kelly, Revelstoke 2nd: Nick MacPherson, Revelstoke 3rd: Elijah Nasipaykok, Vernon Girls: 1st: Aela Johnson, Revelstoke 2nd: Anna Brown, Revelstoke 3rd: Julia Mulcock, Vernon
U12 girls podium: 1st Aela Johnson, Revelstoke; 2nd Anna Brown, Revelstoke; 3rd Julia Mulcock, Vernon – PHOTO CREDIT: Katie Findlay
