XC Canada Selects WC & U23 Teams

Monday, January 27, 2003
Mt. Orford, Quebec
 
After two straight weekends of competing in the Subaru Continental Cup trial races in Mt. Ste Anne and Mt. Orford, fourteen more Canadian athletes have been selected to compete in various international cross-country ski competitions.
 
Yesterday’s final race in Mt. Orford meant the selection committee had the daunting task of calculating which athletes qualified for which European competitions.  Joining Sara Renner and Beckie Scott, who are presently in Pontresina, Switzerland training for the upcoming Senior World Championships, will be eight more athletes.  Filling out the women’s contingent is Junior racer Daria Gaiazova and Ontario’s Tasha Betcherman.  Gaiazova left for the World Juniors last Thursday, which take place in Soleftea, Sweden starting February 4th.  Gaiazova has also been nominated for the Under-23 Team, which will be competing in Bormio, Italy starting February 13th.  Betcherman won a silver medal in the 15 km skate race held last weekend in Mt. Ste Anne and placed fourth in yesterday’s 10 km classic event. 
 
On the men’s side are six newcomers to a World Championships.  Included are Chelsea, Quebec’s Chris Jeffries, Toronto’s Gordon Jewett, Rossland’s George Grey, U-23 racers Devon Kershaw and Drew Goldsack, and Dan Roycroft from Port Sydney, Ontario.  Kershaw and Goldsack are also selected to compete at the U-23 World Championships.  The six men are expected to fly to Switzerland to meet up with the team and staff where they will train until February 5th.  The trip will be lead by Senior National Team Head Coach Dave Wood.
 
Apart from Gaiazova, Kershaw, and Goldsack, four more athletes have been chosen to represent Canada at the U-23 World Championships.  Edmonton’s Tara Whitten was nominated yesterday after grabbing a silver in the 5 km freestyle event held in Mt. Orford.  She will be joined by the North West Territories’ Sarah Daitch.  Ontario’s Adam Kates and Quebec’s Vincent Renart fill out the rest of the seven member team.  The group, led by National Development Centre Head Coach Mike Cavaliere, leaves for Europe today.  Their competitions run from February 13-16 and they will return to Canada on the 18th.
 
The two-weekend series of Quebec races are the last Subaru Continental Cups of the season.  When athletes return from their respective overseas trips, the Junior and Senior National Championships and Disabled National Championships will be held in Duntroon, Ontario from March 4-9.
 
CCC is the national sport governing body for cross-country skiing in Canada, servicing over 45,000 members in 375 clubs. The corporate vision: “It takes a ski community to raise Olympic medallists”, embraces the Association’s focus from entry level club development to the enhancement of the National Ski Team program.

Source: Amanda Fortier, Cross Country Canada