Cross Country Canada is still without a head coach, but that didn’t stop it from naming its national teams with an eye on the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics.
According to CCC High Performance Director Thom Holland, training centre coaches will handle coaching duties until the right candidate is found. Every national team athlete is associated with a training centre. The head coach job search was supposed to end in April, but failed to uncover a candidate to CCC’s liking.
Meanwhile, the organization has made no changes to its world cup A team, as Alex Harvey, Lenny Valjas, Ivan Babikov and Devon Kershaw were once again the only athletes to make top-level criteria.
Emily Nishikawa, Jess Cockney and Graeme Killick will make up the B team, and will have many opportunities on the world cup. All three had strong showings at this year’s Ski Tour Canada.
“We obviously have a great lineup of athletes that combines veteran experience with youthful energy and drive,” said Holland. “I think our elite athletes proved last year they have what it takes to continue delivering medal-winning performances, while our next generation of athletes are steadily developing and demonstrating a promising future for our program.”
The 2016-17 season will be a good indicator of who will represent Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics, as the season includes a test event in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and a world championships.
Training centres have begun their seasons as well, but the Alberta World Cup Academy has yet to announce its team. CCC has also named a U25 team which will race several NorAm, overseas development and world cup races this year. The goal is to get these athletes to the 2022 Winter Olympics, however, many will contend for spots on the 2018 team.
That team consists of Dahria Beatty, Knute Johnsgaard, Maya MacIsaac-Jones, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt, Cendrine Browne, Katherine Stewart-Jones and Julien Locke.
A junior team has also been announced, which is heavy on Quebec skiers, and devoid of Alberta talent. The athletes named include Marie Corriveau, Katie Weaver, Laura Leclair, Annika Richardson, Hannah Mehain, Zoe Williams, Antoine Cyr, Phillippe Boucher, Antoine Blais, Gareth Williams, Ryan Jackson and Etienne Hebert.
