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Albertans scarce on development team

Alpine Canada has introduced the next crop of young athletes it hopes will lead the nation’s Olympic medal charge in 2018 and 2022, yet Alberta is sorely under represented in the group.

Alpine Canada has introduced the next crop of young athletes it hopes will lead the nation’s Olympic medal charge in 2018 and 2022, yet Alberta is sorely under represented in the group.

The new development team includes just one Albertan: Stephanie Gartner, and she trains out of Fernie, B.C. Other team members include Candace Crawford (Ont.), Valerie Grenier (Que.), Roni Remme (Ont.), Julia Roth (Ont.), Laurence St-Germain (Que.), Mikaela Tommy (Que.), Vincent Lajoie (Que.), Morgan Megarry (Ont.), William Schuessler-Bedard (Que.), Chris Steinke (Que.) and Ford Swette (B.C.).

Adam Hull, president of Alberta Alpine, said the organization “needs to be better,” but is confident the provincial team athletes will push Team Canada all season long on the domestic circuit.

“We still have complete confidence in the direction we’re going. Athlete development is cyclical in nature. There is nothing earth-shattering Quebec is doing that we’re not.”

Ontario and Quebec dominate both the men’s and women’s teams.

“Quebec has done an excellent job in their development. They had some challenging years domestically, but they focused internally on development, which is something Alberta has learned from. We’ll take a similar approach in the future,” Hull said.

The provincial team made a coaching change last week to help their young group of athletes reach the next level. They also struck a high performance committee which met in Banff on April 11 to discuss the trajectory of the ski team. Drawing on experts such as Ken Read, the group discussed how to ensure the next group of athletes, which are purported to be a banner group, are given every opportunity to succeed.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence we’re heading in the right direction,” Hull said.

Alberta athlete Jeff Bell got a long look from the national team, but was told Friday (May 17) he did not make the top squad.

“We’re pleased he got that exposure, but unfortunately he wasn’t selected. We were appreciative he got the invite. He’s tracking very well and his athlete development has been incredible,” Hull said, noting Bell was a late starter to the sport. “We’re keeping most of our guys together.”

The team will attend a training camp in Mount Hood in June, and Chile in September.

Alpine Canada president Max Gartner originally told the Outlook in February the organization planned to bring back its development program, but funding was the biggest obstacle.

A strong development program is essential for the future of the sport in Canada, especially as many of the nation’s top racers such as Erik Guay and Jan Hudec, grow older.


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