Heidi Widmer, 22, isn't one for hanging around. Recently promoted to the Canadian Senior Team, Widmer ended the season with a backcountry trip then flew to El Salvador and New Orleans before training in Switzerland, where she'll spend a month with World Cup and national team skiers.
This is the third preview in a quick-and-dirty series about Canadian national-training centres. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team: Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) Coaches: Chris Jeffries (head coach/women’s coach), Mike Cavaliere (racing director/men’s coach), George Grey (women’s assistant coach), Stefan Kuhn (universal coach/men’s assistant), Jeremy Hecker (summer intern), Rob Soffer (strength...
Minutes before the NorAm freestyle interval starts on Saturday, three Alberta World Cup Academy coaches scrambled to get into position. In the women’s race as well as the men’s, they had several athletes starting one after another, many of which they knew would be competing for top spots. Earlier that morning in the wax room, AWCA head coach Chris Jeffries jokingly told sprint coach Stefan Kuhn that the men’s team had not swept a distance...
The Alberta World Cup Academy in Canmore, Alberta, recently posted a job listing for a “Senior Coach.” Program director Mike Cavaliere explained in an email that this is not a head coaching position and Chris Jeffries is not leaving. Rather, the Academy wants to add to its elite team with talented coaches looking to further enhance the program. Job notice from the www.albertaworldcup.com Applications should be in the form of a letter of application with...
VERNON, British Columbia — Mike Cavaliere had a pretty distinct idea of what he wanted the Alberta World Cup Academy to look like when he developed the training center just over four years ago. With several AWCA athletes zipping around in the Canadian national team’s unmistakable neon jackets and four Olympians assisting them at last weekend’s NorAm opener at Sovereign Lake, things appeared to be going as planned. If anything, Cavaliere, a 2006 Olympic coach...
With four separate races run in West Yellowstone on Wednesday, there was a lot going on. Here are bits and pieces of what didn’t make the official race report cut: On Getting the Season Started “At the start of the season you never quite know where you’re at, it takes a bit of time to get into the race season. We typically try to have our athletes start in good shape.” Chris Jeffries, Alberta...
Last week, a new race format debuted on tough courses, with freezing temperatures as a backdrop. Reviews from athletes and coaches were mixed. The Ruka Triple, the three-day World Cup mini-tour in Finland? Nope. Try the SuperTour Sprint Showdown, the double qualifier held in West Yellowstone, MT, last Thursday. The event was the first of its kind in North America, and so far as anyone knows, in the world. Thus far, other countries have not...