The camp, which took place from March 23 to April 3 involving men’s and women's speed and technical ski racers, was a partnership between Alpine Canada Alpin (ACA), the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) and Whistler Blackcomb. Whistler-area volunteers, affectionately known as the "Weasel Workers" also played a key role in the training.
“It’s been just a great camp,” said Britt Janyk (Whistler, BC), a World Cup downhill winner in 2007 who finished fourth in a World Cup DH in Whistler in 2008. “It’s great because the volunteers and staff in Whistler understand how important it is for us to get some time on the race hill and they take great pride in contributing to our success. We know that everyone in Whistler is fully supporting us and we’re looking forward to performing in front of them next winter.”
VANOC provided equipment for the training camp, including grooming and course preparation. Whistler Blackcomb provided access to the race hill, sacrificing valuable space during an important time in the winter tourism season. The Whistler Weasel Workers worked long hours securing b-netting and ensuring all other safety issues were maintained to a World Cup level for the duration of the camp.
“We had a great two weeks of training in Whistler, experiencing many of same challenges and conditions we will likely see in 2010. A big thank you to our friends at Whistler Mountain, namely Peter Young, Bob Dufour and their staff as well as VANOC, namely (VANOC Sport Manager, Alpine Skiing) Peter Bosinger and his staff. A big thanks also to all the groomers and Weasel Workers for their co-operation and help giving us a good safe race track where we could push our racers to their limit,” said Canadian Men’s Ski Team Head Coach Paul Kristofic.
Members of Canada’s Alpine Ski Teams were able to train downhill, super G, giant slalom and slalom during the intense camp.
“The cooperation of VANOC, Whistler Blackcomb and the Weasel Workers allowed our athletes to get much needed time on the 2010 Olympic course, getting a feel for the terrain and some of the challenges they will face next winter,” said Alpine Canada Alpin President Gary Allan.
“ACA is intensifying its focus on the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and we are committed to providing our athletes with the resources required to achieve their goals. We believe this training will provide an advantage to our athletes and we would like to acknowledge the cooperation that our teams received in Whistler,” added Allan.
“This training would not have been possible without the dedication and passion shown by the volunteers in Whistler. We want to pay them back with some great results next year,” said ACA Chief Athletics Officer Max Gartner, who also oversees Own The Podium projects on behalf of ACA. “ACA’s partnership with Own the Podium was also critical in making our time in Whistler as productive as possible. ACA was able to buy specialized equipment for the ski teams, invest in high-tech snow analysis and many other important projects that will go a long way to achieve our goals next season."
