BC ALPINE E-UPDATE FOR 04/14/2003

Odds & Ends

BC Alpine Spring Annual General Meeting
Don't miss your chance to be involved in the planning for next season. The BC Alpine Spring AGM dates are set for May 8-10, 2003 at the Coast Canadian Inn in Kamloops. Call the Coast Canadian at 250-372-5201 and mention that you are with BC Alpine for a reduced rate. BOOK NOW...rooms are going fast! Coaches Meetings are set for Thursday and Friday, May 8-9 with the General Meeting on Saturday, May 10. The Awards Dinner will be held on Friday, May 9th. Please note a change in venue for the dinner. We are booked for 6:00pm at Chapters Viewpoint Restaurant, 610 West Columbia Street in Kamloops. You can check them out at www.chaptersviewpoint.com.

Alpine Classic Invitational Golf Tournament - Kamloops
May 24 & 25, 2003
Sun Rivers Golf & Country Club (May 24)
The Dunes at Kamloops (May 25)
Accommodation at the Coast Canadian Inn in Kamloops
Were you inspired by Mike Weir’s phenomenal win at The Masters in Augusta this weekend? If you love golf AND skiing, this is an event you won’t want to miss. Sharpen your game during a weekend of golf, dining, friends, prizes and much more!
The entry fee of $325.00 per person includes accommodation, two rounds of golf, dinner on Saturday, breakfast on Sunday, a barbecue on Sunday afternoon, gifts, prizes and photos.
ALL proceeds go to assist young ski racers in the programs of BC Alpine.
For information and entry forms, call Amanda Shaw at 250-764-7854 or email to info@teetimes.ca

The Fortnight Awards - Keep The Nominations Coming
Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to recognize individuals in your areas who have performed above and beyond the call of duty. You nominate the athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers, and BC Alpine selects the winners. Find out who the worthy recipients are in the Bell Mobility Update as well as on our website. We encourage and welcome pictures of the nominees. If you are able to provide a photo, please email it to Kathy Stahr (no larger than 250kb @ 72DPI, please) NOMINATE SOMEONE TODAY http://www.bcalpine.com/content/communications/fortnightawards

Win A Descente BC Team Jacket - Send In Those Clippings!
Keep sending articles and we'll keep entering your name into the draw for a Descente BC Ski Team Jacket. Each article is worth one ballot! Our goal is to have an original copy of every ski-racing article published in BC this season. Please send your clippings to BC Alpine at 306 - 1367 West Broadway, Vancouver, V6H 4A9. The winner will be chosen at the Spring AGM in Kamloops. Thanks to those of you who have already sent clippings to us. Your names are in the box!

BC Ski Team & Development Team

Men's BC Team Year-End Wrap-Up by Coach Dale Stephens
The Men's BC Ski Team is winding up a successful season. The race schedule was extremely busy this year with the addition of the Canada Games to an already full calendar. There were many highlights throughout the season, starting off with a strong team performance at the Nor Am speed events in Lake Louise. Good early speed training at Panarama helped prepare the athletes for this early season series. Another strong series of results was turned in at the Nor Am and Canadian Junior Championships in Le Massif. Although the weather was very cold the races went well and with good cooperation amongst the western coaching staff everyone enjoyed some success. A highlight was Manuel Osborne Paradis’ strong and consistent performances which qualified him for the Canadian World Junior team. Manuel continued his strong skiing at the World Juniors finishing fifth in the DH and skiing very well except for a costly mistake in the SG. Unfortunately poor weather conditions disrupted the schedule at the Canadian Championships in Whistler, and caused the cancellation of the Downhill event. Dustin Fraser skied his best slalom of the season at Whistler showing well against other racers of his age in the country. Graham Kraft, Manuel Osborne Paradis and Scott Anderson finished off the year with good performances at the Western Spring Series in Rossland. The team will take a few weeks off and then do a physical testing session in Calgary prior to beginning dryland training sessions in May.

Women's BC Team Year-End Wrap-Up by Coach Nancy O'Neill
The 2002 - 2003 season was a mix of great highs and disappointing injuries. The BC Women's Ski Team, consisting of veteran Christina
Lustenberger and rookie Danielle Poleschuk, enjoyed an extremely productive preparation season with camps in Sunshine, Mt. Hood, Saas Fee, Portillo, Panorama, and Nakiska. Both athletes made important gains during this period to lead them into the competitive season with confidence and motivation to win! Danielle opened eyes with her outstanding performances in her first ever NorAm speed events, coming from the back of the pack to score top 15 results in a full Nor Am field. Unfortunately, Danielle's strong start to the season in Panorama was crushed the second day of competition when she cracked ribs and subsequently missed the rest of the Pre- Christmas events. To add to this situation, Danny returned to snow and was competing in her first technical Nor Am in Quebec when she suffered a knee injury during the second GS. Danielle spent the next 6 weeks at home training diligently with her physio. She returned to snow much earlier than planned, and competed in the final few weeks of competition, slowly returning to form by the Spring Series in Rossland. Danielle learned a considerable amount this season about the next level up, and will come into next season as a "veteran", knowing what it takes to win at the next level.
The Cinderella Story of the year surely goes to Christina Lustenberger, who came back from several tough competitive seasons, to clearly make her mark in Canadian women's ski racing. Having not competed in Nor Am Speed events, Christina stunned the Nor Am field in Aspen SG's, where she aced the World Cup course in Colorado to a 4th and 5th Nor Am finish! Confidence started to kick in, as the "possible" became reality. Winning the title of Canadian Junior Super-G Champion, Christina qualified for the World Juniors, where she impressed the Canadian coaches with her fearless competitive nature. Obviously she made a strong impression with her skills in the air, being dubbed "Air Canada" out of this event! From that point on, confidence led to brilliant performances at the Canadians GS (and FIS GS) where she went head-to-head with the best GS skiers Canada has, to earn a 5th and 4th place and a 21 point score average.
At this time, I would like to thank the following people for their support and expertise:
Jay Taylor, who is our "magic man" with boots! We credit Jay with making the changes that helped greatly to make changes!
Dave Ellis, our fitness guy! Thanks Dave for the incredibly individual attention in our fitness design!
Dr. Dana Sinclair, our Sport Physch champion! Thanks Dana for always being there for the girls!
Paul Lavoie, The ski-god of ski technicians. This guy can make any ski go FAST! Thanks Paul for every .01 sec!
Dennis and Nenad of Rossignol, Thanks for your detailed attention to the needs of Christina this season!
Dave Armstrong of Atomic, Thanks Dave for the support you gave to Danielle through the year!
I would like to thank my colleagues Darren Thorburn and Dale Stephens for their assistance throughout the season....couldn't have done it without you!
From myself and the girls, a great big thank-you to the volunteers at all the mountains for their countless hours of work at the races!
Last, but not least, a HUGE thanks to Gordie, Keven, Sue-Lynda, Bruce, and Kathy for all the hard work behind the scenes. Your support to the BC Ski Team and its athletes is outstanding! Thanks everyone!

Coach's Corner

Gordie Bowles - Programs Update

Women - Top 5
1. Rachel Walker, Whistler Mtn Ski Club 1020
2. Megan Kidston, Sun Peaks Alpine Club 689
3. Kayla Benbow, Whistler Mtn Ski Club 630
4. Alison Leighton, Whistler Mtn Ski Club 623
5. Janelle Miller, Fernie Alpine Ski Team 563

Men - Top 5
1. Sean Cochrane, Okanagan Zone Team 723
2. James Finlayson, Whistler Mtn Ski Club 710
3. Chris Colpitts, Whistler Mtn Ski Club 668
4. Scott Anderson, BC Ski Team 642
5. Tyler McNabb, Okanagan Zone Team 592

2003 K2 CANADIAN JUVENILE CHAMPIONSHIPS - Team BC Finishes Second
Provincial Medal Cup Standings
1. Quebec 11
2. BC 4
3. Ontario 2
4. Alberta 1

SIERRA WIRELESS AIR CANADA WHISTLER CUP 2003 - Team BC Finishes 3rd
2003 Provincial Points:
1. Quebec 322
2. Ontario 271
3. BC 260
4. Alberta 254
5. Yukon 57
6. Sask 35
7. Manitoba 8
8. Nova S 6
9. New B 0

2003 National Points:
1. Norway 298
2. Italy 283
3. Austria 211
4. USA 205
5. Canada 142
6. Croatia 73
7. Slovakia 41
8. Spain 35
9. Korea 33
10. Germany 27
11. Andorra 18
12. Nether 6
13. New Zea 1
14. Austr. 0

BC AWARDED THE J1 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR 2004
Alpine Canada took a positive step forward in improving the J1 Programs in Canada with the addition of the J1 National Championships to the domestic calendar. The races, exclusively for the 15 & 16 year-olds, will feature 4 events. BC Alpine was awarded the first annual event, to be held at Apex Mountain Resort.

Alcan Nancy Greene Ski League

SMILES ABOUND AT ANNUAL NANCY GREENE INVITATIONAL
Many smiling faces, including Nancy's, skied most of the Sun Peaks Mountain during the two-day Alcan Nancy Greene Invitational and Husky Snow Stars Skills Festival March 29-30, 2003. Some of the BC Alpine E1, E2 and Alcan Nancy Greene skiers went head-to-head in the Alcan Dual Super Slalom, while others tested their skills in the Husky Snow Stars Skills stations, which were positioned in most parts of the mountain.The most popular event - the Speed Trap or "Mini Velocity" - showed the youngsters reaching speeds nearing 70km/hr. The other three stations were the moguls, the jump and the obstacle course. It was impressive to see our young skiers enjoying themselves on the snow while testing their ability and skills at the same time. This was a positive environment where the reward came from the challenge of the skill. BC Alpine thanks Nancy Greene for her support and encouragement of all of BC's young skiers.

Oceans Officials

Officials Level III Course
Plans were put on hold for an end of season Level III Officials course in the Okanagan. The course has been re-scheduled to November 2003, with plans to hold it at Apex when the mountain is open for early season training. The course will be scheduled on an alternate weekend to any Coaches meetings. Level II Officials with adequate practical experience (see Officials manuals for criteria) and Level II Coaches interested in taking the course, please tentatively mark this information on your November calendar.

Officials Awards
With 1,200+ Officials registered on the BC Alpine Officials list - I am hoping Officials and clubs will have no difficulty in nominating Officials for the end of season Officials awards. Nominations should be in by April 15th to skiboss@bcalpine.com Criteria for the nominations are available on the BC Alpine web site.

BC Alpine Officials awards include: The Moira Jaatteenmaki Award - a $250.00 scholarship for post secondary education. Criteria: dedication to the Officials program by an individual that continues to serve as a high level BC Alpine Official when their child is no longer involved in the sport of alpine ski racing in a competitive nature. The award must be used for education purposes which involves their son's or daughter's post secondary schooling.
Ocean's Zone Officials Awards (one for each of the four zones)
Criteria: Dedication and commitment of a BC Alpine Official (Level I, II, III, IV) during the past race season. Nominations can be made on-line www.bcalpine.com by April 15th, attn: skiboss.

Gold Medals & Face Plants

GOLD MEDAL to Sam Harvey, and the Sun Peaks parents. President Sam and his assistants have been tireless organizers through a virtually never ending series of events, starting with the zone "K" races, continuing with the Sun Peaks speed camp, the large Alcan/Husky Snow Stars festival and finally the Masters Nationals. Well done Sam and crew, for leading the rest of our executive and the volunteer parents through this long but very rewarding schedule of significant events, that were without exception, very successful.

GOLD MEDAL to Doug Matthews of the Nelson Ski Club. Doug is the president of the Nelson Ski Team and he's been working very hard this season to rebuild the club from the ground up. He secured a CIBC Wood Gundy SL series for the club and scrounged up volunteers from his own club, neighbouring clubs - whatever it took - to pull off the event. This past week, he paid back the favour to the Red Mountain Racers big time by doing electronic timing for the Mar Cup Spring Series races for 4 days, showing up at Red Mountain at 6:30 or earlier every morning from his home in Castlegar.

FACE PLANT to Valerie Ward, a long time Whistler Weasel Worker and instructor at Kimberley, who has literally earned herself a Face Plant Award. As she was delivering a huge bag of lunches for Weasel Workers at the Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships in Whistler, she fell flat on her face, suffering a black eye and scraped face! Poor Valerie had to brave the inclement weather for the duration of the week as well as face her students at school back in Cranbrook on Monday. What dedication! She deserves a Gold Medal too!