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Getting out the broom – Canadians sweep both podiums at Aerials NorAm final

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

APEX MOUNTAIN, B.C. – Rémi Bélanger of Mascouche, Que., and Crystal Lee of Queensville, Ont., led Canada to medal sweeps in men’s and women’s aerials respectively with golden performances on Tuesday at a NorAm freestyle skiing competition.

From L to R: Geneviève Tougas, Crystal Lee, Sabrina Guérin

In women’s aerials, Lee overcame an injury-plagued season and week to land two solid jumps and win the gold medal with a 146.96 score. Sabrina Guérin of Laval, Que., was second at 132.33, Geneviève Tougas of St-Hubert, Que., third at 129.60 and Laurence Allard-Riendeau of Montreal fourth at 120.88.

Lee suffered a shoulder injury at the Calgary World Cup in January. She only started training again here last week but strained her back and skipped Monday’s aerials event. She only did two training jumps Tuesday morning.

“There was some apprehension,” said Lee, 21, with her third NorAm medal this season. “But I’ve worked a lot on how I need to deal with those situations. I was glad to go out and put down two solid jumps. My training jumps went well and that gave me confidence.”

Tougas also missed Monday’s event due to injury but her medal performance allows her to win the overall aerials title on the circuit. She earned three medals and a fourth this season in NorAm competition including a victory at the opening stop in Park City, Utah. Allard-Riendeau was second overall.

From L to R: Travis Gerrits, Remi Belanger and Jon Vellner

In men’s competition, Bélanger earned his second victory in two days totalling 205.21 points. Jonathan Vellner of Red Deer, Alta., was second at 185.18 and Travis Gerrits of Milton, Ont., third at 178.53.

“It was a bigger challenge today with the strong winds,” said Bélanger, 22, at his first competition since suffering a concussion in late January. “I didn’t land any of my jumps cleanly in training and that raised the stress level for the competition. I was pleased with how I overcame that.”

Olivier Rochon of Gatineau, Que., was fifth.

Nevin Brown of the U.S., took the NorAm season men’s aerials crown while Gerrits was second and Vellner third.

For more information, contact Canadian Freestyle Ski Association Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com.

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: Travis Gerrits, Rémi Bélanger et Jon Vellner</strong><br>
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Tougas and Guérin go three, four at Gabriel NorAm

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

STE-ADÈLE, Que., – Geneviève Tougas of Saint Hubert, Que., surprised herself with a third-place finish at Sunday’s eight-nation NorAm freestyle ski competition at Ski Mont Gabriel. The 22-year-old aerialist was preparing to pack away her skis and watch the medal ceremony when she learned she’d reached the podium.

Geneviève Tougas

“I didn’t know until they called my name because I really don’t watch the scores when I’m competing,” said Tougas, who was coming off a 6^th place finish here Saturday.

“I really liked this NorAm because there was so much competition,” added Tougas, whose World Cup career best is 11^th. “It wasn’t just Americans and Canadians. It didn’t feel like a NorAm, it felt more like a little World Cup,” said Tougas.

She didn’t try her more difficult double-twisting double flip, which she has struggled with lately. But she scored 153.50 points with two easier jumps, a lay tuck and lay full. That left Olympians Tanja Schaerer of Switzerland second at 163.79 and Elizabeth Gardner of Australia the winner at 175.56.

Sabrina Guérin of Laval, Que., nearly landed her second jump, then fell, en route to placing fourth in 147.98. Australian Lydia Lassila, who has won two World Cups this season, fell on her two jumps to finish sixth.

Inspired by a star-studded men’s aerials field, national development team skier Travis Gerrits of Milton, Ont., produced a career best score of 191.00 to place ninth. He was recruited into freestyle skiing’s Jump 2010 program a few years ago after a history in trampoline, gymnastics and alpine skiing. He aspires to shine at the 2014 Olympics.

Sabrina Guérin

On Saturday, while jumping against some of the world’s best aerialists, Gerrits said he just wanted to land two clean triples and produce a personal best score. He did just that with a single-twisting triple flip and a double-twisting triple.

Nicolas Fontaine, a four-time World Cup overall champion and head aerials coach for Canada’s national development squad said of Gerrits, “He’s a good skier, a good acrobat and he’s got talent.”

The winner was Anton Kushnir of Belarus, winner of four World Cups this season, with a score of 249.48. It was a Belarusian medal sweep as Dmitri Dashinski took second in 248.73 and Alexei Grishin third in 246.93.

Gerrits’ development squad teammate, Jonathan Vellner of Red Deer, Alta., was 13^th in 170.04.

For more information, please contact Canadian Freestyle Ski Association Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com.

World’s greatest freestyle team names 2009/2010 roster

Monday, April 13th, 2009

Vancouver, BC, April 13, 2009 – Yesterday the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association (CFSA) announced its World Cup and development team rosters for next year. Athletes on the list will have the opportunity to represent Canada, the current FIS Freestyle Nations’ Cup winner, in World Cup and NorAm events next season.
Max Gingras shows the form that put him on the World Cup team for next season

Going into the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games selection, World Cup event spots will be crucial to athletes who have their dreams set on competing at Cypress Mountain next February. That’s because Olympic selection will be based on an athlete’s top four World Cup finishes from this season and next, with a maximum of two finishes from 2008/2009.

Already three freestyle athletes (Jenn Heil, moguls; Ashleigh McIvor, Ski Cross; and Steve Omischl, aerials) have been named to the freestyle squad for the 2010 Games through an early selection method, but there are 15 more spots up for grabs and the final team announcement won’t be made until January 25, 2010 – a mere 19 days before the women’s mogul skiers compete under the Olympic rings at Cypress Mountain.

There are 13 Freestyle World Cups on the FIS schedule before the Olympic selections deadline. That’s great news for World Cup team athletes, who are guaranteed spots to each and every one of those events in their disciplines. As for the development team athletes, their journey won’t be as easy as they’ll have to earn any remaining Canadian ‘taxi’ spots to World Cup events by fighting it out for results with their development team-mates.

Maxime Gingras from St. Hippolyte, QC, was downgraded to the development team last year after a less than spectacular 2007/2008 season, but thanks to some great results this season, he’s now back on the World Cup squad for next season.

“This experience showed me that getting to the top is one thing, but staying there is another. I worked hard and came back from a long way. It’s such a relief, I’m happy to be back,” said Gingras, adding, “It’s good timing for sure. I had to be back on World Cup team if I ever wanted to get a spot on the Olympic team. Hopefully, I’ll be able to carry that motivation and start the next season with a lot of confidence.”

Between now and then, there is a lot of work for Gingras and all the Canadian freestyle athletes named to the World Cup and development teams this week. Just because skiing is a winter sport doesn’t mean the athletes get a free pass for the summer; in fact, for many of them, off-season is their most important training time. That’s when they do intense rehab work from any injuries sustained over the competitive season and work on their overall strength and flexibility. Aerialists spend hours practicing their jumps on the water ramps in Lac Beauport, QC and mogul skiers augment their water ramp training with glacier skiing at Blackcomb Mountain in BC.

The 2009/2010 Canadian Freestyle Ski Team is as follows:

World Cup Mogul Team:

Men:
Alexandre Bilodeau (Rosemère, QC)
Vincent Marquis (Sainte-Foy, QC)
Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau (Drummondville, QC)
Maxime Gingras (St-Hippolyte, QC)
Renaud Jacques-Dagenais (Montréal, QC)

Women:
Jennifer Heil (Spruce Grove, AB & Montreal, QC)
Chloé Dufour-Lapointe (Montréal, QC)
Kristi Richards (Summerland, BC & Pemberton, BC)
Stéphanie St-Pierre (Quebec City, QC)

Development Mogul Team:

Men:
Warren Tanner (West Vancouver, BC)
Philippe Marquis (Sainte-Foy, QC)
Edward Lortie (Ivry-sur-le-Lac, QC)
Cédric Rochon (P2014) (Saint-Sauveur, QC)
Mikael Kingsbury (P2014) (Deux Montagnes, QC)
Eddie Hicks (Whistler, BC)
Matt Crosby (Summerland, BC)
Michael Henitiuk (P2014) (Calgary, AB)
Etienne Dugal-Tessier (Ottawa, ON)
Chris Wong (Prince George, BC)

women:
Sylvia Kerfoot (Whistler, BC)
Nathalie Bazin (Québec, QC)
Jackie Brown (Cambridge, ON)
Audrey Robichaud (Québec City, QC)
Maxime Dufour-Lapointe (Montréal, QC)
Alexandra Dufresne (Lorraine, QC)
Chelsea Henitiuk (Calgary, AB)
Béatrice Bilodeau (P2014) (Rosemère, QC)
Kiera Leung (P2014) (Coquitlam, BC)

World Cup Aerial Team:

Men:
Steve Omischl (Kelowna, BC)
Warren Shouldice (Calgary, AB)
Kyle Nissen (Calgary, AB)
Ryan Blais (Grande Prairie, AB)
Olivier Rochon (Gatineau, QC)

Women:
Veronika Bauer (Calgary, AB)
Amber Peterson (Thunder Bay, ON)
Sabrina Guérin (Laval, QC)
Geneviève Tougas (St-Hubert, QC)

Development Aerial Team:

Men:
Rémi Bélanger (Mascouche, QC)
Travis Gerrits (Acton, ON)
Jean-Christophe André (Saint-Laurent, QC)
Jonathan Vellner (Red Deer, AB)

Women:
Deidra Dionne (Red Deer, AB)
Crystal Lee (Newmarket, ON)
Stéphanie Pratte (Québec, QC)
Nicole Mulder (East St-Paul, MB)

Note: P2014 is “Project 2014” and denotes athletes who are targeted towards the 2014 Olympic Games. For more information about the Canadian Freestyle Ski Team or to arrange for interviews, please contact Media Relations Manager, Kelley Korbin, at kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com.

Amber Peterson wins fourth straight national title in aerials

Saturday, March 28th, 2009

March 28, 2009, WEST VANCOUVER, B.C. – Aerialists Ryan Blais of Grande Prairie, Alta., and Amber Peterson of Thunder Bay, Ont., stole the spotlight at the Canada Post Freestyle National Championships Saturday.

It was familiar territory for Peterson, who collected her fourth straight senior nationals title while winning handily.

It was altogether different for World Cup team-mate Blais, who hadn’t competed at the season-ending nationals for several years, including 2008 when he missed the season with a shoulder injury.

“I hadn’t been feeling good and I wasn’t jumping well,” said Blais, 30, who wants to be competing on this 2010 Olympic site after narrowly missing the 2006 Olympic squad. “But I knew if ever there was a time to get motivated, with the changing, wet snow conditions and the wind, then this was the time,” added Blais.

Blais turned his game around en route to producing his first-ever podium performance at the nationals despite having seven World Cup medals to his credit.

“I was slightly injured and mentally tired, so to pull off my highest score of the season was definitely satisfying.”

His world-class score of 244.30 left national development team member Rémi Bélanger of Mascouche, Que., second in 205.07 in the men’s aerials final.

“For sure it’s awesome. It’s a good way to end the season,” said Bélanger after collecting his first medal at the senior nationals.

Jean-Christophe André of Montreal took third in 189.40, just ahead of World Cup squad member Kyle Nissen of Calgary.

Olivier Rochon of Gatineau, Que., who was this year’s World Cup male aerialist rookie of the year, was fifth. The field of 17 men did not include 2009 World Championship silver medallist Steve Omischl of Kelowna, B.C., because of a hip injury.

In women’s aerials, Peterson’s fourth-straight national title gives her four overall, or the same as World Championship medallists Veronika Bauer and Anna Fraser. She’s now just one title shy of the five held by retired Olympic silver medallist Veronica Brenner.

“The pressure was on because I definitely wanted to get this title for the fourth straight year,” said Peterson, 26. “I definitely want to beat that fifth title in the next couple of years.”

She was happy with her aerials manoeuvres in the constantly-changing weather conditions, but her score suffered by slapping back upon landing her last of two triple-twisting double somersaults.

“It’s a wonderful (Olympic competition) site. You just have to be prepared for the conditions,” added Peterson, who said she made some sizeable improvements during the week-long training camp here.

Geneviève Tougas of Saint-Hubert, Que., was second in 147.70 and Sabrina Guérin of Laval, Que., took third in 140.12.

The championships conclude Sunday with dual moguls.

For more information about the National Championships or media accreditation to the event, click here or contact Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com.

Tougas, Rochon capture a pair of golds and NorAm grand prix titles

Saturday, February 21st, 2009

February 21, 2009, CALGARY, Alberta – Aerialists Olivier Rochon of Gatineau, Que., and Geneviève Tougas of Saint-Hubert, Que., posted memorable performances to wrap up their 2009 NorAm freestyle ski season Saturday.

Both produced personal best scores, but Rochon was the star of the day with a spectacular world-class showing of 244.51 points for his two jumps.

Rochon, 19, made a late adjustment to adapt to the headwinds for his second jump, to clinch his fourth victory in five NorAm starts. He also took home the Grand Prix crown as leader of the men’s NorAm freestyle ski aerials standings.

“This total is really mind-blowing,” said Rochon, 19, who last week was named the World Cup male aerialist rookie of the year.

“I was expecting a high score, but this is way beyond what I was expecting. I’ve never had two jumps in the same competition in the 120s before.”

His opening triple-twisting triple somersault scored 121.28, before receiving 123.23 points for his quad-twisting triple flip.

“I achieved my goals,” said Rochon.

“I wanted to reach the NorAm podium every event and I wanted to win the Grand Prix. And I did.”
Rochon finished the aerial season with four golds, one silver and one bronze in NorAm competition, and a top World Cup finish of fifth place, at Ski Mont Gabriel in Quebec.

Team-mate Rémi Belanger of Mascouche followed his Friday win with a silver medal Saturday. He scored 211.80 points, while the bronze medal went to David Morris of Australia with a score of 201.81.

Jean-Christophe André of Montreal was fourth and Travis Gerrits of Milton, Ont., fifth.

In the women’s aerials final, Tougas, 21, produced a winning two-jump score of 164.71.
That’s her best in a final, although she had scored 167 in a qualifying round Friday before placing second with a lower score.

After two seasons interrupted by injuries, Tougas strived to handle this entire season with more control.

“I was pretty happy with the way things went,” said Tougas.

“I was there all the time. I wasn’t tired,” she added, crediting visualization exercises and close work with her coaches, including former World Cup overall champion Nicolas Fontaine, for her most successful season ever.

Her win also led a Canadian women’s medal sweep. World Cup skier Deidra Dionne of Red Deer, Alta., was second in 160.70, while Sabrina Guérin of Laval, Que., was third and Crystal Lee of Queensville, Ont., fourth.

Tougas’s win also clinched her win in the NorAm Grand Prix for women’s aerials.

Guérin emerged second overall ahead of Ashley Caldwell of the United States.

In the men’s Grand Prix aerials, Rochon led a Canadian sweep, with Bélanger second and André third.

A dual mogul event tomorrow winds up the Canada Olympic Park NorAm finals. To watch the event live on streaming video go to: www.ustream.tv/mybroadcasts/info/cop-noram-finals; finals start at 2 p.m. Mountain Time.

Watch pre and post World Cup competition features, interviews and highlights each week at http://www.freestyleski.com/videos/index.htm.

And don’t miss the TV broadcast of both Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix (at Ski Mont Gabriel and Cypress Mountain). Broadcast schedule: http://www.freestyleski.com/en/media/tv_sched.htm

For detailed results from today’s competition, click here.

Bélanger shows his potential, leading a five-medal day for Canadian NorAm aerialists

Friday, February 20th, 2009

February 20, 2009, Calgary, Alberta – Rémi Bélanger of Mascouche, Que., led a Canadian medal sweep in men’s aerials Friday at the NorAm finals being held this week at Canada Olympic Park. Canadian women aerialists added two more medals for the day.

In men’s aerials, Bélanger totalled 216.07 points for his first victory this season.

Jean-Christophe André of Montreal took the silver with a personal best 190.70 and Olivier Rochon of Gatineau, Que., won the bronze at 183.25.

“My jumps are getting better and better,” said Bélanger, 21. “I did my usual jumps but I improved my landings in particular today and that probably made the difference in finishing first. The win highlights a big year for me along with going to the North American World Cups.”

Bélanger’s coach, Nicolas Fontaine, said he has been really impressed with Bélanger’s jumping progression over the season. “You have to realize that this guy took all of last season and half of last summer off with a knee injury so he has had much less training than everyone else,” explained Fontaine. “And still he has managed to progress with his jumps all season. He just needs to add one more twist to his current jump of full, full, full [a triple backflip with three twists].”

Travis Gerrits of Milton, Ont., also reached the final and placed ninth.

In women’s aerials, Ashley Caldwell of the U.S., was the winner with 148.99. Geneviève Tougas of St-Hubert, Que., was second with 139.23 and Sabrina Guérin of Laval, Que., was third with133.82.

Tougas was the leader after the preliminaries then fell on her first of two jumps in the final. At that point she thought her medal hopes were dashed.

“I had my best-ever jumps in the prelims,” said Tougas, 21. “Then it didn’t go well in my opening jump in the final and I thought there was no hope for a medal. But a lot of girls had trouble as well and I was pleased with how I came back and landed a second solid jump.”

Of Tougas, Fontaine said, “She really impressed me today, she is jumping really well and had a very high individual score in her first final jump.”

Fontaine added that the conditions were difficult with a big temperature swing – the morning started off at minus 12 degrees, but reached about six degrees by early afternoon.

Laurence Allard-Riendeau of Montreal was fourth for the women with 128.66, Crystal Lee of Queensville, Ont., was fifth with 127.34 and Stéphanie Pratte of Quebec City sixth with 122.53.

The NorAm finals continue later tonight with half-pipe events and then into the weekend with another aerial event tomorrow and a dual mogul competition to wind things up on Sunday.

The NorAm competition can be viewed live by going to: www.ustream.tv/mybroadcasts/info/cop-noram-finals. You must sign up to watch the events. The event schedule can be found at: http://freestyleski.com/en/technical/competitions/noram_calendar.htm.

Watch pre and post World Cup competition features, interviews and highlights each week at http://www.freestyleski.com/videos/index.htm.

And don’t miss the TV broadcast of both Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix (at Ski Mont Gabriel and Cypress Mountain). Broadcast schedule: http://www.freestyleski.com/en/media/tv_sched.htm

For detailed results from today’s competition, click here.

A busy Freestyle weekend – World Cup in Norway and NorAm finals at COP

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

Vancouver, BC, February 18, 2009 – The Canadian World Cup mogul team is on fire this season, winning 17 medals in seven events so far. The team hopes to keep up the heat in the bumps at this Friday’s FIS World Cup in Norway.

The Myrkdalen-Voss event will be the Canadian mogul skiers’ last chance to qualify for the upcoming 2009 FIS Freestyle World Championships in Inawashiro, Japan (March 2 – 8). The competition will be tight for the ten mogul spots available, given the across-the-board talent and excellent results week after week, where a majority of Canadian skiers have been making it through to finals.

The course in Norway is challenging, as the pitch changes a couple of times, but that hasn’t stopped the Canadian athletes from putting out great performances there.

Canadian Freestyle Ski Association’s CEO Peter Judge said the team performs well in Voss because they feel at home there. “It’s a bit of a mogul skier’s Mecca,” he said, referring to the fact that four-time world champion and 2002 Olympic gold medal winner Kari Traa is from the area and has created a huge freestyle following at the event.

In other freestyle news, subsequent to last weekend’s final aerial event of the World Cup season, selections have been made for the team members who will represent Canada at the World Championships. They are: Veronika Bauer, Amber Peterson, Sabrina Guérin and Deidra Dionne for the women; and Steve Omischl, Warren Shouldice, Kyle Nissen and Ryan Blais for the men.

Finally, Canadian development team skiers will be competing in the NorAm finals this weekend at Canada Olympic Park in Alberta – with mogul events on Thursday and Sunday; aerial events on Friday and Saturday; and an evening half-pipe event on Friday.

Watch pre and post World Cup competition features, interviews and highlights each week at http://www.freestyleski.com/videos/index.htm.

And don’t miss the TV broadcast of both Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix (at Ski Mont Gabriel and Cypress Mountain). Broadcast schedule: http://www.freestyleski.com/en/media/tv_sched.htm

Steve O takes overall top spot again

Saturday, February 14th, 2009

February 14, 2009, Moscow, Russia – Steve Omischl of Kelowna, B.C., finished fifth in the season finale Saturday to clinch his third straight crystal globe, as World Cup men’s overall aerials champion

“There’s definitely been some ups and downs,” said Omischl, 30 referring to his results this season.

“It wasn’t as smooth as last year, but last year was a dream season. It was a tough act to follow,” he said of the 2007-08 campaign, in which he won five World Cups.

“The main objective (this season) was to win the overall and do well at home in Canada. And I did that.”

It was Omischl’s fourth World Cup overall title of his career and sixth time he has finished first or second. This year’s title came after wining gold medals in the Canadian events at Ski Mont Gabriel and Cypress, and a bronze medal at Deer Valley in the U.S.

“Winning the globe is something special, and I feel pretty humbled and honoured to win it,” said Omischl who finished the season with 382 points. Saturday’s winner, Ryan St. Onge of the United States, emerged runner-up with 313 points.

Other top-ten overall season finishers were Kyle Nissen of Calgary in fourth and Ryan Blais of Grande Prairie, Alta., in seventh. Olivier Rochon of Gatineau, Que., was 18th, with a best season placing of fifth in Mont Gabriel.

St. Onge also had two World Cup wins this year, including Saturday’s win with a two-jump score of 249.94 points. Dmitri Dashinski of Belarus was second in 247.86 and Stanislav Kravchuk of Ukraine 243.64.

Omischl’s fifth-place score was 230.02, while Blais was ninth in the 12-skier final.

Rémi Bélanger of Mascouche, Que., was 14th.

Omischl had some Canadian award-winning freestyle ski company Saturday, too. Rochon and team-mate Sabrina Guérin of Laval, Que., were honoured after the night final as the 2009 World Cup aerials male and female rookies of the year – an event that surprised Rochon, who placed 24th in Moscow.

“I didn’t even know there was a rookie award,” said Rochon, 19, who entered the season as a member of the national development squad, but competed in five of the year’s six World Cups.

“It just means that in my first (steady) year doing World Cups my improvement has been going up and up.”

One of his biggest accomplishments was his introduction of a quad-twisting triple back flip.

Lydia Lassila of Australia was third in women’s aerials Saturday to clinch the season’s World Cup overall women’s title.

Mengtao Xu of China won Saturday’s event with a score of 195.98. Shuang Cheng of China was second in 192.81 to clinch third in the overall standings.

Sabrina Guérin was 15th in the overall standings after placing 19th in Saturday’s final. “I’m pretty happy about being rookie of the year,” said Guérin. “It’s a nice end to my World Cup season.”

Guérin had two seventh-place World Cup finishes and just missed last week’s Cypress final with her highest single-jump score of 86 points.

Veronika Bauer of Toronto was 12th in Saturday’s final to finish seventh in the overall standings.
Deidra Dionne of Red Deer, Alta was 17th Saturday, finishing the season in 24th overall and Amber Peterson, Thunder Bay, Ont., was 18th, which gave her a 20th place overall standing.

Watch pre and post World Cup competition features, interviews and highlights each week at http://www.freestyleski.com/videos/index.htm.

And don’t miss the TV broadcast of both Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix (at Ski Mont Gabriel and Cypress Mountain). Broadcast schedule: http://www.freestyleski.com/en/media/tv_sched.htm

For detailed results from today’s competition, click here.

Spotlight on the home team at this week’s Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix at Cypress Mountain, presented by Ernst and Young

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009

Vancouver, B.C., February 3, 2009 – Nearly three hundred of the world’s best Freestyle skiers are converging here this week in preparation for the 2009 Canada Post Grand Prix at Cypress Mountain, presented by Ernst and Young.

This FIS Freestyle World Cup event will be the last opportunity for teams to train and compete on the courses for next year’s Olympics.

Mogul and aerial athletes had an opportunity to check out the sites at Cypress last year at their World Cup event here, but for the newest Olympic Freestyle discipline — Ski Cross — this will be a first on the site.

With exactly one year to go before the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, event organizers have noticed a substantial interest in this year’s competition, with more than 250 media, some from as far away as Brazil, Australia and Japan, coming to watch and file stories.

The added media attention certainly ups the ante for the athletes, but the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association’s high performance director David Mirota says he welcomes the added pressure.

“We are really trying to treat this event as a test for next year, so whatever we can do to make it more realistic in terms of athletic challenges, and challenges that come from the race environment, will only make us stronger for the Olympics,” said Mirota.

“We know that as the home team, our athletes will need to focus not only on their ski skills, but also on their ability to manage the external factors like media attention. We have a great team of coaches, support staff and sports psychologists who work with our athletes to prepare them for the mental side of this level of competition.”

Because the Canadians are the host team at the Cypress World Cup, the team gets a number of extra athlete spots this weekend. That’s great news for some of the up and coming development team members who, through early season NorAm results, have earned competition berths here this week. This will be crucial for athletes like mogul skiers Nathalie Bazin, from Québec City and Chris Wong from Prince George, B.C. as well as aerialists like Sabrina Guerin from Laval, Que. and Olivier Rochon from Gatineau, Que. who are fighting hard to earn spots to join their national team cohorts at the upcoming FIS World Champions in Inawashiro, Japan scheduled for March 1st to 8th.

Freestyle athletes will be training on the Cypress sites all week. Ski Cross and Aerial finals take place on Friday, February 6 and Moguls finals are on Saturday, February 7.

Watch pre and post World Cup competition features, interviews and highlights each week at http://www.freestyleski.com/videos/index.htm.

And don’t miss the TV broadcast of both Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix (at Ski Mont Gabriel and Cypress Mountain). Broadcast schedule: http://www.freestyleski.com/en/media/tv_sched.htm

For detailed results from today’s competition, click here.

Canadian Freestyle Team tops international standings

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

Vancouver, BC, January 27, 2009 – Fresh on the heels of a huge weekend at Ski Mont Gabriel, the world’s best Freestyle Ski Team is set to compete again this weekend in Deer Valley, UT.

Last weekend the Canadian team dominated in moguls, with the men’s team making history by sweeping the podium and Jenn Heil earning her second silver in two starts this season.

When Steve Omischl added his gold in men’s aerials to last weekend’s cache, the team had topped the FIS 2009 Freestyle World Cup standings with 2,051 points – almost doubling the points of the next best nation, France, that has 1,144.

A remarkable four Canadian team members will wear the yellow leader’s bib at Deer Valley. Veteran team member Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau, from Drummondville, Que. is tied with Alex Bilodeau, from Rosemère, Que. for the top spot in men’s moguls; Jenn Heil, from Spruce Grove, Alta who now lives in Montreal, is also tied for the top spot, sharing her woman’s moguls lleader position with Hannah Kearney from the US; while Steve Omischl, from North Bay, Ont. is back on top as the men’s aerials leader.

The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association’s high performance director, David Mirota, is excited with the team’s results at this early stage in the season. “The team is really coming together and performing well,” he said, and added, “What’s especially great is that not only are our experienced skiers getting good results, but our up and coming Development Team members are achieving personal bests week after week.”

Olivier Rochon from Gatineau, Que. is among the next generation of Freestyle skiers who has caught the attention of Canadian Freestyle fans. He and his equally popular female cohort Sabrina Guérin both made the finals at last weekend’s aerial World Cup event and achieved personal bests – finishing a remarkable 5th and 7th in their respective events – an incredible accomplishment considering the depth of the field. Both are looking forward to competing in Deer Valley this weekend.

Deer Valley boasts the longest mogul course on the World Cup tour. It was the site of the mogul event for the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games.

Mogul Coach Dominick Gauthier commented, “It’s a real skier’s course – technically demanding. The Canadian skiers are in great shape so we expect them to do well here and we love it here because the organizing committee at this resort puts the same passion and effort into this event as they did in 2002.”

Single mogul action is scheduled for Friday, followed by aerials on Saturday and finishes with a dual mogul event on Sunday.

Watch pre and post World Cup competition features, interviews and highlights each week at http://www.freestyleski.com/videos/index.htm.

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Canadian Freestlye Skiing Association