Unterberger & Gartner set to lead promising team: 2015 BCST announced

by BCAadmin | Nov 26, 2014 | Member News

VIEW THE TEAM HERE: http://bcalpine.com/bcst

VANCOUVER, B.C. (Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014) – BC Alpine announced today a group of 11 athletes that will represent B.C. this season on the regional, Nor-Am and international circuits.

“Coming into my second season, it’s been all about maintaining existing and establishing new contacts in order to provide the best opportunities for this team,” said Johnny Crichton, BCST Head Coach. “After a very successful season, we opened up quite a few spots on the roster. Now we’re servicing our returning veterans as well as providing the new members opportunities to excel as fast as they can. We aim to provide the environment and the tools to become the best ski racers they can be. The results, experience and knowledge gained will directly reflect the effort put in and how far they take this sport.”

The team – made of mostly new recruits after last season’s successful campaign where six BCST athletes moved on to either the national ski team or NCAA athletic scholarships – had a rigorous six months of physical training, technical ski camps and sports education.

"We had a blend of veteran and rookie athletes this summer working together and it made for a great training environment,” said Andrew Lambert, Sports Science Director and team trainer. “Our general philosophy during the pre-comp phase is to provide a training program and environment which allows the athlete to become more resilient and to stay healthy. The foundation for the competitive season was laid during the summer months and I know this is, overall, one of the fittest teams I have been involved with."

The men’s and women’s teams work as an integrated staff and group, with men and women training and travelling together.

“The women’s team has a diverse group with a mix of veteran leadership and energy and hunger from the young guns,” said the Women’s Head Coach, Ryan Jazic, the newest member to the coaching staff. “Steffi Gartner and Alix Wells will be pushing for the top spots in Nor-Am races while the three rookies (Stef Fleckenstein, Mikayla Martin, Antonia Wearmouth) will be gaining valuable experience, establishing themselves as future Nor-Am contenders and leading the way at the national level. They are all competing very hard within the team propelling themselves to a higher level every day.”

Men’s Head Coach, Nick Cooper, said his group has their eyes set on both Nor-Am medals and Nor-Am points, two goals that reflect the diversity of the small group.

"Although we welcomed four new members to the men’s team, we look poised to carry last season's momentum into 2015,” said Cooper. “The newcomers had a great prep period and have made huge gains both on and off the hill. Our veterans had a solid off season. Dominic's (Unterberger) maturity and experience are paying off, and prior to Patrick’s injury (Patrick Carry fractured his leg in a training accident in Stelvio, Italy, in early October) they both looked ready to achieve their goals. Pat will be returning to snow soon."

BCST Women:
Stephanie Gartner, Fernie Alpine Ski Team (Fernie)
Alix Wells, Prince George Ski Club (Prince George)
Antonia Wearmouth, Vancouver Ski Team (North Vancouver)
Stephanie Fleckenstein, Whistler Mtn Ski Club (West Vancouver)
Mikayla Martin, Whistler Mtn Ski Club (Squamish)

BCST Men:
Dominic Unterberger, Revelstoke Ski Club (Revelstoke)
Patrick Carry, Fernie Alpine Ski Team (Fernie)
Riley Seger, Whistler Mtn Ski Club (North Vancouver)
Cameron Alexander, Whistler Mtn Ski Club (North Vancouver)
Sam Mulligan, Vancouver Ski Team (West Vancouver)
Max Peiffer, Whistler Mtn Ski Club (Whistler)

Coaches:
Head Coach: Johnny Crichton (Kamloops)
Men’s Head Coach: Nick Cooper (Whistler)
Women’s Head Coach: Ryan Jazic (Whistler)
Sports Science Director: Andrew Lambert (Vernon)

Photos and bios available at: http://bcalpine.com/bcst

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For More Information Contact:

Gordie Bowles, Athletic Director
604-678-3072 gordieb@bcalpine.com

Kathy Stahr, Communications
604-678-3071 kathys@bcalpine.com

ATTN Race Clubs: Legacy Training Centre set to open at RED Mountain Resort

by BCAadmin | Aug 11, 2014 | Member News

RED Mountain Resort and the RED Mountain Racers are very proud to announce the opening of the Legacy Training Centre @ RED Mountain Resort. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to offer preseason training for the 2014/15 season. A dedicated alpine training environment will be available on Red Mountain November 15th – December 12th, 2014. Red Mountain Resort opens to the public on December 13th.  There will continue to be training space December 13th – 21st however there may be reduced availability, balancing the need for public access to open ski terrain.

With the investment of $1.5MM in the state of the art snowmaking system, Legacy will provide coverage of up to 2 GS and 6 Slalom lanes on the Racer Pitch (T-bar), and upper sections of the Back Trail for its inaugural year. 

“This will not only be great for early season training but it will also ensure we can offer a consistent race surface for events we host throughout the season,” said club president Christine Andison.

The dream that was initiated in 1998 by Sean Valentine, Brian Fry, Don Stevens and Steve Hilts has finally become something tangible, said Christine Andison, event coordinator for the club. “This is a very exciting time for the racers and for the community of Rossland.

See the brochure for details HERE.

14 SKIERS NAMED TO BC SKI TEAM TRAINING GROUP: HPP group identified

by BCAadmin | May 23, 2014 | Member News

VANCOUVER, B.C. (May 23, 2014) – BC Alpine Ski Association is proud to announce 14 athletes named to a summer and fall Training Group with the goal of qualifying for full inclusion in the BC Ski Team for the 2014-15 season.

Led by returning veterans Dominic Unterberger (Revelstoke Ski Club), Alix Wells (Prince George Ski Club), Patrick Carry (Fernie Alpine Ski Team) and Blake Ramsden (Whistler Mtn Ski Club) – and pushed by an impressive up-and-coming crop of young racers – the group will be focussed on refining technical skills and overall fitness levels over the summer and fall months in preparation for the 2014-15 season.

“With the high turnover of athletes this year, this summer will have a steep learning curve for most, starting with understanding what it means to be part of the BCST, learning how to train, and how hard to push,” said Johnny Crichton, head coach. “We are going to rely on our returning veterans to be leaders in this process and show the new athletes the ropes.”

The group will be on snow at Mt. Hood, Oregon, in early July, followed by a centralized fitness block in Whistler for portions of July and August, a ski camp in Chile in September, followed by Nor-Am race preparations.

BC Alpine is also pleased to congratulate four skiers recently promoted to the Alpine Canada’s National Development Team: Broderick Thompson (Whistler Mtn Ski Club), Martin Grasic (Windermere Valley Ski Club), Brodie Seger (Whistler Mtn Ski Club). In addition, rising star James (Jack) Crawford (Whistler Mtn Ski Club) made the jump to the national development team, which commences immediately.

The BCST men’s program had a stellar season in 2014, highlighted by six Nor-Am junior podiums and six athletes invited to the Alpine Canada Development Team camp.

As an added bonus to the BC summer training plan, recently-retired World Cup slalom star Mike Janyk, will come back to his roots to help with preparing the BC Ski Team for the season as a guest coach at select projects.

The High Performance Program (HPP) and group of 17 skiers is also announced today. The club enhancement program, consisting of young racers aged 15 to 18 years representing eight BC Alpine clubs, will be highlighted by a training camp in Hintertux, Austria, in October, including a stop to spectate the World Cup opener in Solden, Austria, on Oct. 25th.

“The talent pool is getting deeper in BC and that means the clubs are doing a good job!” said Crichton. “Having four of the five men named to the development team shows we had a pretty good season, but we are far from done. We will continue to build our top tier system that provides our athletes with all the tools they need to reach their goals.”

The BCST Training Group was selected according to the BCST Selection Guidelines (http://bcalpine.com/pages/BCST_Selection/ ). The HPP Group was identified by provincial ranking system (PRS), head to head, and observations made by coaching staff at the Talent ID Camp in Whistler in late April.

BC ALPINE LAUNCHES NEW PROVINCIAL PROGRAMS FOR 2014-15

by BCAadmin | May 14, 2014 | Member News

TECK OPEN SERIES, REGIONAL FIS SUPER SERIES SET FOR 2014-15 SEASON

Following the recent Spring Coaches Meetings held in Kamloops, BC Alpine is announcing significant changes to BC Alpine programs, effective for the upcoming 2014/15 season.

FIS Super Series:

This new FIS circuit involves a unique partnership with the Pacific Northwest Ski Association (PNSA), Alberta Alpine and BC Alpine. The three West associations will host a 5-event FIS series (consisting of 2 DH, 5 SG, 5 GS, 5 SL) over the season. The events in BC and Alberta will be sponsored by Keurig.

Eligibility: open to all FIS-carded racers.

Rules: FIS rules apply.

Awards: Overall medals 1-2-3, Overall Most Improved, U18 1-2-3.

Proposed Race Series:

• Western Super Series #1: 2GS/2SL Panorama – Dec 18-22, 2014 TBC

• Western Super Series #2: 2GS/2SG Schweitzer – Jan 2-5, 2015

• Western Super Series #3: 2DH/2SG/1 Night SL – Feb. 7-13, 2015

• Western Super Series #4: 2GS/2SL Rossland/Red Mtn – Mar. 12-15, 2015

• Western Super Series #5: 1SG/1GS/1SL *Location TBD – April 8-13, 2015 (*Bid)

Teck Open Series:

This new BC Alpine “open” series is now official, after much discussion with all stakeholders throughout last season. This is a province wide, three-event race series for U16 and older racers (U16, U18, U21+). As this series focusses on U16 and older racing, zone racing programs across the province will focus more on U14 and U12 racing. Series Eligibility: Open to U16, U18, U21+ (FIS and non-FIS eligible).

Eligibility: open to all BC Alpine carded racers (FIS and/or ACA National card), U16-U21+

Rules: BC Alpine rules apply

Awards: Overall medals 1-2-3, Overall Most Improved, U16 medals 1-2-3, U16 4th-10th ribbons

The purpose of this new series is:

• Increase head-to-head racing in the province

• Improve the selection process through national points and series points model

• Transition racers to FIS racing “Super Series” circuit

• Utilize national points more effectively

Proposed Race Series:

• BC Open Series #1: 2SL/1GS Dec 13-15 (*Location TBD: Interior) *Bid

• BC Open Series #2: 2GS/1SL Jan 16-18  (*Location TBD: Interior) *Bid

• BC Open Series #3: Speed Camp and 2SG Feb 11-14 Whistler

* Bid events listed above, as well as the U14 Provincials and U14 Can-Ams will be sent out by BC Alpine soon. View the complete MINUTES from the recent Spring Coaches Meetings.

Reminder to all BC Alpine clubs that the Super Camp is scheduled for July 15-20, 2014 on the Blackcomb glacier in Whistler. Interested in attending? Please contact your club coach.

Whistler’s Ryan Jazic appointed to BC Ski Team staff

by BCAadmin | Apr 9, 2014 | Member News

Photo Credit: Gordie Bowles

VANCOUVER, B.C. (Wednesday, April 9, 2014) – BC Alpine Ski Association is pleased to announce the appointment of Ryan Jazic to the role of women’s coach for the BC Ski Team for the 2014-15 season.

Jazic, 42, a long-time ski racing coach and former racer, spent the last six years as the FIS head coach with the Whistler Mountain Ski Club. Previously he was the assistant FIS coach for WMSC and prior to that was the head FIS coach for the Mt. Washington Ski Club. He also spent one season with BC Alpine as the women’s BCST head coach in 2003 and worked with the Canadian Alpine Ski Team in the late 90s where he served as men’s World Cup downhill coach. The Whistler native also obtained his Level 4 NCCP diploma at the National Coach Institute at the University of Victoria in 2000.

Jazic felt it was a good time to move to a different level of ski racing and now joins a stable team of coaches and athletes, who are coming off a great campaign in 2013-14 season.

“I am very excited about taking a new role to better myself as a coach,” said Jazic. “It’s a great team and staff and an opportunity to grow as a professional coach.”

The new staff and select athletes will convene next week in Whistler, April 16-20, during the BC Alpine Talent ID camp.

BC Alpine is saying goodbye to a quality coach in Jean-Pierre (JP) Daigneault, who spent two seasons with the BC Ski Team. BC Alpine wishes JP all the best in his next venture and commend him for his professionalism and dedication to ski racing.

BC Ski Team staff: 2014-15

BC Alpine Head Coach: Johnny Crichton

Women’s Head Coach: Ryan Jazic

Men’s Head Coach: Nick Cooper

Conditioning Coach: Andrew Lambert

Team Manager: Gordie Bowles