On the slopes in 2018-19: Where in the world is Team Canada?
The snow sport season has arrived, so it’s time to check in on some of the athletes who will be wearing the maple leaf around the world this winter.
In our second installment, we head to the slopes for alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, and snowboard.
Alpine Skiing
Erin Mielzynski, of Team Canada, skis during the first run of the women’s slalom at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Which Canadians are Competing?
This year’s World Cup roster includes PyeongChang 2018 Olympians Candace Crawford, Erin Mielzynski, Laurence St-Germain, Roni Remme, Valérie Grenier, Benjamin Thomsen, Broderick Thompson, Dustin Cook, Erik Read, Jack Crawford, Manuel Osborne-Paradis, Phil Brown, and Trevor Philp. You can find Alpine Canada’s complete in national team list here.
After he missed most of last season, including the Olympic Games, while nursing a back injury, Canada’s most decorated World Cup alpine ski racer has decided to retire. Erik Guay ends his career with 25 World Cup podiums and three world championship medals, including super-G gold and downhill silver in 2017. He announced his retirement just days before the season opener for the speed events in Lake Louise, Alberta after seeing teammate Manuel Osborne-Paradis helicoptered off the hill following a crash in training that resulted in fractured bones in his leg.
Anxious for a strong comeback season is Marie-Michèle Gagnon, who suffered season-ending knee and shoulder injuries while training for last year’s speed opener in Lake Louise.
Where is Team Canada Competing?
Erik Guay of Team Canada skies down the course during a training run for the men’s World Cup downhill ski race in Lake Louise, Alta. on Friday, Nov.24, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
The FIS World Cup schedule feature events just about every weekend until mid-March 2019. A complete calendar can be found here.
There are two opportunities to cheer on Team Canada at home. As is tradition, the season openers for the speed events will take place in Lake Louise, Alberta. First the men compete in the downhill and super-G, November 21-25. The next week, November 27-December 2, the women move in to also compete in downhill and super-G.
This is also a world championship season. The biennial competition will be held February 4-17, 2019 in Are, Sweden.
Freestyle Skiing
Justine Dufour-Lapointe does her signature pose, after claiming moguls silver at PyeongChang 2018.
Which Canadians are Competing?
Freestyle Canada has the complete list of this year’s national teams in moguls, aerials, slopestyle and halfpipe, but the crew competing this season includes the following PyeongChang 2018 Olympians:
Aerials: Catrine Lavallée
Moguls: Mikaël Kingsbury, Philippe Marquis, Chloé Dufour-Lapointe, Justine Dufour-Lapointe
Halfpipe: Noah Bowman, Simon d’Artois, Cassie Sharpe
Slopestyle: Alex Beaulieu-Marchand, Alex Bellemare, Evan McEachran, Teal Harle, Yuki Tsubota
This season, 2018 Olympic champion Mikaël Kingsbury will aim for his eighth straight Crystal Globe as the top skier on the freestyle World Cup circuit. When the moguls season kicks off on December 7 in Ruka, Finland, he’ll be looking for his 50th World Cup win. In halfpipe, Olympic champion Cassie Sharpe is seeking her second straight overall World Cup title when the season begins on December 5.
This post-Olympic year is also one of change. Halfpipe veterans Roz Groenewoud and Mike Riddle have retired. Mogulist Andi Naude is taking the season off to focus on school, while Travis Gerrits, Olivier Rochon, Lewis Irving and Dara Howell are all in various stages of recovery and rehab from injuries.
Alpine Canada named the following 2018 Olympians to its national team in ski cross:
Ski Cross: Brady Leman, Brittany Phelan, Chris del Bosco, India Sherret, Kelsey Serwa, Kevin Drury, Marielle Thompson
If you’re keeping track, you know that list includes four Olympic medallists (Brady Leman, Brittany Phelan, Kelsey Serwa, MarielleThompson) all looking to maintain Canada’s position as the dominant country in ski cross after winning the Nations Cup during the last World Cup season.
Where is Team Canada Competing?
Team Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury of Deux-Montagnes Que. jumps in the moguls run at the freestyle ski world cup 2018 Saturday, January 20, 2018 in Mont-Tremblant Que. Kingsbury is among the Canadian athletes to watch heading into the Pyeongchang Olympics.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
The FIS World Cup season kicks off this month with competitions almost every weekend until April 2019. The complete schedule can be found here. The FIS Freestyle World Championships, held every two years, will take place in February 1-10 in Deer Valley and Park City, Utah. Big air will be on the schedule for the first time following the announcement that the event will make its Olympic debut at Beijing 2022.
There will be plenty of opportunity to catch Team Canada athletes on home soil this season. The moguls skiers will compete in Calgary on January 12 and in Tremblant, Quebec on January 26. The first-ever halfpipe World Cup in Calgary will be held February 14-16 and the big air and slopestyle skiers will close the season in Quebec City March 14-17.
Snowboard
Laurie Blouin of Team Canada flies through the air during the snowboard slopestyle finals at the Phoenix Snow Park at the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games in South Korea, Monday, Feb. 12, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Which Canadians are Competing?
Canada Snowboard’s full national team can be found here and includes the following PyeongChang 2018 Olympians:
Slopestyle and Big Air: Mark McMorris, Tyler Nicholson, Sébastien Toutant, Brooke Voigt, Max Parrot, Laurie Blouin, Spencer O’Brien
Halfpipe: Elizabeth Hosking, Derek Livingston, Calynn Irwin
Snowboard Cross: Zoe Bergermann, Kevin Hill, Carle Brenneman, Tess Critchlow, Baptiste Brochu, Meryeta O’Dine, Chris Robanske
Alpine: Darren Gardner and Jasey-Jay Anderson.
After an impressive four-medal performance at PyeongChang 2018, Canada’s experienced snowboard team is looking to continue their success on the World Cup circuit as well as other pro tour events. Mark McMorris, Sébastien Toutant, Max Parrot and Laurie Blouin are all returning to the slopes this season with even more experience and international success under their belts.
Elizabeth Hosking is another athlete to watch. She was the youngest member of Team Canada at PyeongChang 2018 and came away with an impressive 19th place finish in halfpipe.
Where is Team Canada Competing?
Derek Livingston in action during the Snowboard Men Halfpipe Qualifications Run at the Phoenix Snow Park on February 13, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.(Photo by Vincent Ethier/COC)
The snowboard World Cup season kicks off in Carezza, Italy on December 13 and will stop in PyeongChang in February, one year removed from the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. The FIS Freestyle World Championships will be in Deer Valley and Park City, Utah from February 1 to 10. The full snowboard World Cup schedule can be found here. One of the most anticipated events every winter for slopestyle and big air are the X Games in Aspen. They’ll take place January 24-27.
