Olympian Brigitte Acton retires from Canada's Alpine Ski Team

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:00:00 -0230

CALGARY, AB (August 18, 2010) — Two-time Olympian Brigitte Acton from Mont-Tremblant, QC is retiring from the Canadian Alpine Ski Team.

"I love what skiing has brought me," said the 24-year-old Acton, whose leadership skills provided a boost to the women's technical team over the last several years. "The thing that I am going to miss the most is my relationships with my coaches, teammates and supporters. I want to thank them all for believing in me. This was a difficult decision but one where I felt it was the right time."

Acton had suffered a few injuries in recent years, including a broken sacrum — a triangular bone at the base of the spine —- in 2007 that kept her out of action for almost the entire 2007/2008 season. She returned to form, with numerous top 20 World Cup slalom results after the injury.

Acton was born in Sault Ste. Marie, ON and grew up skiing at nearby Searchmont Ski Resort before joining the Mont-Tremblant Ski Club in Quebec. Her parents, Gordon and Diane (Pratte) Acton are national team alumni along with her sister Lise-Marie Acton, uncles Raymond and Michel Pratte as well as aunt Claude Pratte.

Acton said she intends to pursue post-secondary education in the fall. She and fiancée Mike Smith, a goaltender with the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, also plan to get married next month in Aspen, USA.

National Ski Cross Team to be incorporated into Alpine Canada Alpin

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:46:34 -0600

Canada's ski cross racers are joining national alpine ski racers in being governed by ACA, benefitting from the shared use of facilities, technical expertise and other resources.

ACA Chief Athletics Officer Max Gartner said having Alpine and Ski Cross under one governing body in Canada will maximize opportunities for skiers to reach their potential and create winter sport champions in Canada.

"We believe this partnership makes the most sense for the athletes. That integrating Ski Cross and Alpine will enable the smoothest transitions for athletes who are possibly making the switch. Ultimately, it is aimed at maximizing our ability to create champions in each respective discipline," said Chief Athletics Officer Max Gartner.

"Canadian ski cross athletes quickly developed into an international power thanks to the financial support provided by Own the Podium leading into the 2010 Olympic Winter Games," said Nick Bass, high-performance advisor, Own the Podium. "With the increased resources now available through the integration with Alpine Canada Alpin, ski cross athletes are well positioned to build on their international success well into the future."

"Ski Cross really captured the public's imagination in 2010 as an exciting and fun new sport that young people want to be a part of. So we're excited about the opportunities that this partnership offers in reaching an even bigger audience of Canadian winter sport enthusiasts," Gartner said.

Canada was among the first nations to form a national ski cross organization after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in 2006 that the sport would be part of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

"The sport of ski cross has its roots deeply embedded in the alpine system with many current national ski cross team members getting their start in alpine. We are looking forward to working together to develop world class ski cross racers," said Canada Ski Cross Sport Director Dave Ellis, who had been the Director of Sport Science for ACA prior to taking his current position in 2008.

"We are committed to sustaining the success achieved in 2010, with a gold medal performance and three other Top 6 performances at the Olympic Winter Games. We look forward to growing this partnership and developing the sport in Canada," Ellis said.

Ashleigh McIvor (Whistler, BC) became the first ever women's Olympic Ski Cross champion in 2010, while the team's success included finishing on top of the Nation's standings following the World Cup Finals in March.

"I'm really excited about the direction that alpine will take us in. The skill set that athletes develop training as alpine racers is essential in producing strong ski cross competitors, and it will be great to utilize the resources of the established, well-oiled machine that the alpine organization has become," McIvor said.

ACA was already the governing body responsible for alpine ski racing including men's and women's national teams, the national para-alpine ski team and national development programs.

Canada's able-bodied and para-alpine ski teams completed last season with 22 World Cup victories, and 44 World Cup podiums with Erik Guay (Mont-Tremblant, QC) becoming the first Canadian since Steve Podborski in 1982 to earn a discipline Crystal Globe, winning the men's super-G title.

Canada's Para-Alpine Ski Team finished with 13 of the host nations 19 medals won at the 2010 Paralympic Games, led by Lauren Woolstencroft's (North Vancouver BC) record-setting five gold medal performance.

Osborne-Paradis finds podium at Lauberhorn again

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 18:52:50 -0700

Manuel Obsorne-Paradis is seen in Beaver Creek in this undated file photo. — Alpine Canada Alpin

WENGEN, SUI — Manuel Obsorne-Paradis (Whistler, BC) already has a career-high third World Cup podium of the season after finishing an second in today's 80th running of the renowned Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen, SUI.

Osborne-Paradis continues to impress this season, adding to the two wins he already has by finishing today's grueling race in two minutes 32.89 seconds. It's his ninth career podium and second in the DH in Wengen, after a third place finish in 2008.

Today's race is being broadcast on CBC and Radio-Canada starting at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Osborne-Paradis has shown an ability to produce strong race results despite being in the back of the pack in training and today was no different as his top result in the week's training runs was a 30th place.

"I didn't think I was faster today then I was yesterday actually. But on race day, you have that excitement added and the big crowed there. Why would you" want to crash in the training run, it makes no sense. I felt like I was on the edge a couple of times, but I kept my tuck and I did that little extra thing I had to do," said Osborne-Paradis, who had bib #16 selected for him at last night's bib draw.

"When I got down, I was pretty surprised with my time, I looked at the time board and I saw 17 and then 18, and then I realized it was -0,17 seconds so I really got excited. I didn't know what to expect today, all I knew was that I has to go fast and obviously I believe what my coaches tell me about my skiing so I just went for it. You can only think of what you need to do and forget about the past," added Osborne-Paradis.

The 30,000 fans gathered around the Lauberhorn went crazy as Carlo Janka os Switzerland crossed the finish line with the best time of the day, beating Osborne-Paradis by 0.67 seconds. This is Janka's second podium in as many days as he finished second in yesterday's super combined.

A very happy and emotional Marco Buechel from Liechtenstein finished in third place with a time of 2:33.05. This was Buechel's first time on the podium since last years' second place in the downhill in Beaver Creek.

Erik Guay (Mont-Tremblant, QC) was the second best Canadian today. He crossed the finish line with a time of 2:34.86 which ranked him in 18th place.

When asked about Osborne-Paradis performance Guay had plenty of praise for his teammate.

"Manny knows how to perform on race day. He just gets in this race day mode and rips it. I might have a couple of things to learn from him," said Guay.

Tyler Nella (Toronto, ON) finished in 39th place with a time of 2:37.64 ahead of Jan Hudec (Calgary, AB) by 0,01 seconds who ranked in 40th place. This was Nella's career best performance in a World Cup event.

Canadian Ski Coaches Federation inducts two new members in Hall of Fame

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:24:21 -0700

Don Lyon and Jaime Rosewarne recieve awars as they are induced into the Canadian Ski Coaches Federation hall of fame last Sunday. — Alpine Canada Alpin

COLLINGWOOD, ON — The Canadian Ski Coaches Federation (CSCF) honoured long-time ski coaches Don Lyon and Jaime Rosewarne, inducting them into the organization's Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Collingwood, ON last Sunday.

CSCF Managing Director Peter Goodman said both recipients displayed leadership qualities that contributed significantly to coaching development in Canada as well as an unwavering dedication to the sport over more than three decades coaching ski racing.

"It was a special evening, honouring two individuals who have contributed enormously to ski racing," said Goodman.

"Both Don and Jamie can point to key people who influenced them along the way, people who made a difference in their career," Goodman said. "Now they have both made a huge difference, seeking out leadership roles and making a lasting contribution to the sport."

Rosewarne started coaching in the early 1970's, eventually making his way to Head Coach and Program Director of the Ottawa Ski Club. He would serve on the CSCF Board of Directors for 18 years and is credited as a major builder of the organization.

Lyon began coaching with Canada's national alpine ski team in the 1970's, going on to coach at six Olympic Winter Games. The athletes he coached, including Betsy Clifford, Kathy Kreiner, Karen Percy, Kerrin Lee-Gartner, Laurie Graham and others, achieved 17 World Cup wins, four Olympic medals and two World Championship medals during his tenure with the national team.

The Canadian Ski Coaches Federation began inducting coaches into the Hall of Fame in 2001 to mark the organizations 25th anniversary.

The CSCF is a not-for-profit organization, established in 1976, with over 8,000 members. The organization trains and certifies alpine ski coaches across Canada, from the Entry Level to the Canadian Alpine Ski Team. With Alpine Canada Alpin's support, the CSCF's mission is to lead and develop excellence in ski racing.

Michael Janyk finishes 5th in Alta Badia slalom

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:08:45 -0700

Michael Janyk is seen trainning in this undated file photo. On sunday Janyk finished fifth in the Gran Risa slalom course in Italy. — Alpine Canada Alpin

ALTA BADIA, Italy — Reinfried Herbst made it two wins in two slalom races this season with a victory Monday on the Gran Risa course.

The Austrian also won the season's first slalom in Levi, Finland, last month.

Moving up from second after the first leg, Herbst won in a two-run combined time of one minute 49.31 seconds. Silvan Zurbriggen of Switzerland had the fastest second leg and finished runner-up, 0.08 seconds behind, and first-run leader Manfred Pranger ended up third, 0.17 back.

Michael Janyk of Whistler, B.C., was fifth in 1:49.98. He was fifth after the first run.

Olympic slalom champion Benjamin Raich had been third after the opening leg but fell midway down the second run.

Italy’s Blardone reigns in Alta Badia’s giant slalom

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 09:36:28 -0700

Robbie Dixon is seen in this undated file photo. Dixon did not finish the first run of the mens giant slalom race in Italy Sunday. — Alpine Canada Alpin

ALTA BADIA, ITA — Italy's Massimiliano Blardone, who went out of the starting gate with the bib number one, dominated the giant slalom in Alta Badia, ITA today clocking a two-run combined time of two minutes 35.76. It was his sixth career World Cup giant slalom win. No Canadians qualified for the second run in today's race.

Today's race can be seen of the GMC Alpine Ski Series on CBC beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET as well as on www.cbcsports.ca. The race will be broadcasted again on CBC Sports Late Night followed by yesterday's downhill in Val Gardena starting at 12:30 a.m. ET.

The second place was secured by Blardone's teammate Davide Simoncelli who finished with a time of 2:36.19. Cyprien Richard from France completed the podium by recording the third fastest time with 2:37.39.

Jeffrey Frisch (Mont-Tremblant, QC), Brad Spence (Calgary, AB) and Patrick Biggs (Orleans, ON) were not able to qualify for the second run in today's giant slalom event in Alta Badia. Robbie Dixon (Whistler, BC), who had two top 10's in Val Gardena, ITA this week-end did not finish the first run.