Olympic bronze medallist Jan Hudec will join the valley’s Trevor Philp and Erik Read on the Canadian national alpine ski team for the 2014-15 season, as the organization reloads for another Olympic quadrennial.
“In selecting this year’s team, we set the bar very high,” said Paul Kristofic, Alpine Canada’s vice-president of sports. “Our goal at Alpine Canada is to win medals and we would like to be able to do that at all levels, from the world cup to the Continental Cup. I believe the team we have named this year is capable of achieving those goals.”
Hudec was the talk of the alpine scene thanks to his bronze medal, however, his season was cut short after a late crash sidelined him for much of the spring season. Philp made his Olympic debut and has shown promise on the slalom course, while Read is a talented skier to watch, following in his father Ken’s footsteps.
The men’s team is smaller this season, while the women’s team has grown by a third, reflecting the emerging talent in Canada. The women’s program had lost momentum after a number of retirements and the failure of the program to develop new talent, but it appears ready to turn the corner.
“For us, the key for the next quadrennial is to be able to deliver high-quality programming for the selected athletes so we can move them to the benchmarks that they need to achieve to be on track for either the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, or for the 2022 Olympics. To do it right, we’ve named a leaner team so they get the quality of programming they need to succeed and be competitive internationally.”
The Bow Valley is a frequent training home for the women’s alpine team, which will be led by Marie-Michele Gagnon. Last season, she became the first Canadian to win a world cup super combined race. Erin Mielzynski, the first Canadian to win a world cup slalom race since 1971, will join her. Others named to the team include Candace Crawford, Brittany Phelan, Julia Roth, Mikaela Tommy and Larisa Yurkiw.
Phil Brown, Dustin Cook, Robbie Dixon, Erik Guay, Morgan Megarry, Manuel Osborne-Paradis, Morgan Pridy and Tyler Werry are also on the team.
“There’s a real balance present on this year’s team,” Kristofic said. “There is a core group of veterans who are highly capable on the world cup, and any one of them can be on the podium on any weekend. Also on the team is a skilled group who are the next wave of athletes.”
Burkhard Schaffer will lead the program as head coach of the speed team. Former head coach Martin Rufener will become the team’s athletic director. Max Carca and Jim Pollock will coach the men’s and women’s teams, respectively.
Mike Janyk, John Kucera and Brad Spence retired from the squad, however, not all of last year’s athletes made the team this year.
Invermere’s Ben Thomsen, Marie-Pier Prefontaine, Madison Irwin and Ford Swette have been invited to train with the team, but did not meet funding criteria. Julien Cousineau, Conrad Pridy, Jeffrey Frisch, Sasha Zaitsoff and Elli Terwiel, all on last year’s team, were cut.
