Canada finished fourth in the Olympic medal count at Salt Lake City in 2002, we were third in 2006 in Torino. But officials at Own the Podium (OTP) don’t want to settle for anything less than first on home turf in Vancouver in 2010.

There’s been a shift in Canadian confidence and attitude as our athletes continue to claim their medals this season. As the Globe and Mail said in a recent editorial, “No more excuses. No more just happy to be here, did you notice my personal best.” They are more confident and more ready. In less than a year, Canada will be fielding the strongest Canadian team in our history due in no small part to as OTP.

No sport organization is a better example of the strength of Canadian sport teams than the Canadian Freestyle Team whose aerialists, mogul skiers and ski cross racers have been cleaning up in the standings this year and lead the FIS Nations Cup by a substantial margin.

OTP is a partnership of Canada’s 13 winter national sport organizations, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee, Sport Canada and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC).

Alex Bilodeau of Rosemère, Que., earned his fourth straight victory on the World Cup freestyle skiing circuit on Friday and clinched the season moguls title for the first time in his career.

“Winning the title was one of my goals this season,” said Bilodeau, 21, who was second in the World Cup moguls standings in the 2005-06 season, third in 2006-07 and fourth last season. “To achieve that I knew I needed to be consistently successful both in training and in competition and I accomplished that.”

In Friday’s men’s moguls, Bilodeau tabulated 26.63 points with Tapio Luusua of Finland second with 25.99 and Michael Morse of the U.S., third at 25.86.

“The conditions were difficult here but I was well prepared,” said Bilodeau. “I ran solid and mistake-free runs. The final had a very strong field and again you needed a very high score to win. It’s great to face that kind of competition. You can’t rest on your laurels. You have to constantly improve or else someone is going to pass you.”

The Canadian National Freestyle Ski Team, seen here with 2010 Olympic mascot and mogul skier, Miga

Fernie’s Emily Brydon  finished 20th overall at the Tarvisio super combined with an aggregate time of two minutes 22.76 seconds.

Brydon, a speed specialist, clocked the 10th fastest downhill run of the morning but was pushed back to 19th overall following a mistake in a less aggressive slalom run.

“Realistically, in order for me to be on the podium in the super combined, I would have to train and race a lot more slalom,” admitted Brydon whose sole career World Cup podium in the combined was a third place finish in San Sicario, ITA achieved almost exactly four years ago.

“Today’s super combined was primarily an opportunity for me to make a few more valuable World Cup points and to race the downhill course yet another time prior to the ultimate downhill event tomorrow,” added the 28-year-old ski team veteran from Fernie, BC.

“I had some good sections in the downhill but definitively skied better in the training runs,” added Brydon, who finished fifth and fourth in the training events held earlier this week.

Germany’s Maria Riesch, who was off the pace by 0.76 seconds behind friend Lindsey Vonn (USA) after the downhill, took the gold following the completion of a flawless slalom run.

Still fresh off her 2009 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships slalom win, Riesch claimed her first career super combined win and her fifth World Cup victory of the season with a cumulative time of 2:18.57, edging Vonn by 0.49 seconds.

The surprise of the day came from Austria’s Kattrin Zettel who managed to overcome a 23rd place finish in the downhill to claim bronze after offering the second fastest slalom run of the day. The versatile, technical and speed skier completed both courses with a two-run time of 2:20.60.

Canada’s Kelly VanderBeek (Chicopee, ON), who focuses primarily on World Cup downhill and super G competitions and has no points in the super combined, was the 61st racer down the Pista Di Prampera. Despite being the last skier out of the start hut for the downhill segment of the super combined, VanderBeek still managed to clock the 25th best time of the morning but chose not to take part in the slalom run.

Similarly to Brydon, VanderBeek has taken advantage of the super combined to focus on the downhill run. Because super combined event are usually held on the Friday, this has allowed the Ontario native to get an extra look at the track in anticipation of Saturday’s ultimate downhill race.

The only other Canadian to complete the downhill course was Emilie Desforges (Montreal, QC) who came in 48th. Desforges moved up one spot after the slalom to end the day in 47th place with a cumulative time of 2:26.72.

Larisa Yurkiw (Owen Sound, ON) did not finish her downhill run.

The women’s circuit has not competed on Tarvisio’s Pista Di Prampera since 2007. That year, Canada’s Brydon took bronze in the first ever women’s World Cup downhill event held at that race site.

“Tomorrow, I just need to stick to my plan and go for it,” said Brydon who achieved her last podium on the World Cup circuit in February 2008 in the St-Moritz, SUI super G. “The conditions in Tarvisio are some of the best we’ve had all season, I’ve had very good sensations in training lately, and I’m finally back in full health so I think tomorrow could be a good day if I pull it all together,” she concluded.

Today’s race marked the ladies’ third super combined competition of the season. The next and last women’s World Cup super combined race event of the season will be held at the World Cup Finals in Åre, SWE in March.

The women will race in the highly anticipated downhill race on Saturday, followed by a super-G on Sunday.

Radio-Canada.ca will broadcast Saturday’s downhill and Sunday’s super G live at 5:25 a.m. CBC will also be broadcasting the Women’s super G at 3 p.m. (EST). Live coverage of Sunday’s race will also be available on www.cbcsports.ca and cable channel bold at 5:30 a.m. (EST).

In other ladies CAST results, development skier Brittany Phelan (Mont Tremblant, QC) won two FIS slalom races this week in Laturns, AUT. In the opening race on Wednesday, Phelan finished with a two-run combined time of 1:51.88, almost two seconds faster than her closest competitor

The Austrian city of Kirchberg, AUT celebrated Canada’s ski racing success at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Val d’Isère, FRA by hosting a celebration for World downhill champion John Kucera (Calgary, AB) and slalom bronze medalist Mike Janyk (Whistler, BC).

Hundreds of residents of the small municipality, the European training centre for Canada’s national alpine ski teams, came out for a parade and 30-minute ceremony yesterday in the centre of town.

“It is great when you have partners like the town of Kirchberg. They have been so welcoming to the Canadian Alpine Ski Team, standing behind us and supporting us. It gives us a sense of home, even when we are so far from Canada,” said Kucera, who won the men’s World Downhill championship last week in Val d’Isère, FRA.

Kucera and Janyk, joined by double World Champion Lindsey Vonn of the USA, who was also being honoured, were paraded through the centre of the small community as hundreds of onlookers cheered. Members of the Canadian and US ski teams were also in the parade along with a marching band and various other community members.

The Canadian medalists were dressed in traditional Austrian lederhosen and presented with a personalized rodel, an Austrian sled, during the ceremony. Vonn was also presented with a goat which she, Kucera and Janyk posed for photos with during the ceremony. The event was covered live by Austrian television station ORF.

“I am really honoured that the people of Kirchberg came out and did that for us,” said Janyk. “It’s important to me that all my teammates and the coaching staff are here too. John and I could not have been on the podium without their support, pushing us as hard as they did. It’s a great achievement for the whole team and great to celebrate with the people of Kirchberg.”

Kucera and Janyk also earn the use of a GM vehicle of one year among other performance incentives with their medal-winning performances at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.

Kirchberg, with an estimated population of 5,000 residents, is located in Tyrol, AUT, about six kilometers from Kitzbühel. The Canadian Alpine Ski Team has had a European training base there for the past season.

As part of the training partnership, which is overseen by ACA Director of Ladies CAST and Special Projects Patrick Riml, Canadian ski races have access to a local piste for training as well as a hotel and storage facilities.

Kucera or Janyk quickly returned to training as the World Cup season continues this weekend with giant slalom, super combined and super-G races in Sestriere, ITA followed by GS and slalom races in Kranjska Gora, SLO the following weekend.

The ladies are in Tarvisio, ITA for a super combined on Friday followed by a downhill, super-G.

Alex Bilodeau captured the first World Cup dual moguls competition of his freestyle ski career Saturday to complete a perfect weekend on snow for the young man from Rosemère, Que.

Alex Bilodeau

He had Canadian company on the podium, for the second straight day, after spearheading a Canadian medal sweep Friday.

Bilodeau won the gold-medal dual against Guilbaut Colas of France. Maxime Gingras of St. Hippolyte, Que., took the bronze by knocking off Sho Koshima of the United States.

The day before, Bilodeau, Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau of Drummondville, Que., and Vincent Marquis of Quebec City went 1-2-3 for the second time this season.

“It’s awesome just to have a weekend like this,” said Bilodeau, 21. “I stuck with my own game plan, but it’s really nice to win my first dual moguls,” he added.

“What’s the most fun is the five podiums we (guys) had this weekend. The Canadians are so strong.”

Gingras, 23, was demoted to the national development squad after struggling last season, but has rebounded with a series of strong World Cup showings this year. This was also the second medal of his career after a bronze at Apex in 2007.

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Relay For Life …
Needs Team Captains like you!

Relay For Life is about a community taking up the fight against cancer. Your community needs you. Relay For Life participants are the heart and soul of the event.

Share your heart this Valentine’s Day by joining Relay For Life in your community www.cancer.ca/relay
Thanks to your fundraising efforts. Cancer Research: Living Progress
Need a little inspiration?
Meet Ashley, 9, who raised $1044.
Each heart on Ashley’s shirt represents a loved one and a cancer story.

Happy Valentine’s Day,
The Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life Team

P.S. Already a Relay For Lifer? You can use your previous username: egavas and password: barney to speed up the online registration process and gain access to past fundraising information.

Teams of people from all walks of life have fun while raising much-needed funds to fight cancer, and raise awareness of cancer prevention and treatment.  No matter who you are, there’s a place for you at Relay. Join us as we celebrate, remember and  fight back!

A multi-genre single night festival featuring primarily local talent, Wee Fest is a confirmation of the love of music and love of the Arts Station for the mostly local crowd. The eclectic line-up offers something for everyone, with some performers making a return and others making their debut.  Their improvisational jazz make classics seem like new releases week to week, garnering and entertaining a regular and growing fan base.

A firm fixture on the Fernie music scene, the question for Bubba Tres is not, will the show be a little crazy, very eclectic and multimedia, dark, but funny?  But what will the costumes be this time and will there be confetti? The odd Madonna, Radiohead and Johnny Cash covers are transformed and blend seamlessly with Troy Cook’s seriously funny, fantastic originals that deal with zombie wars and nasty robots (hmmm commenting on the state of the world? touching on our fears? or just having a laugh?).  Always hugely entertaining, you never know what will happen, except that it will be a show to remember.

Born and raised in Fernie, Steve Gildea took on the challenge and the opportunity to tour with a folk-rock band in Australia and had a lot of fun doing it. Wanting to be in Fernie, he continues to work on his own, (loving the cello, but primarily playing guitar) writing his own music, influenced maybe a little by Tom Petty. This is Gildea’s debut.  Another debut, Green Circus Still has been building and perfecting their repertoire performing at jams around town. A very new group, fronted by Sage, they offer their soulful performance of music.  Jay Ray (aka Jason Raymond) has been spinning disks in town for more than a few years, and will entertain the crowd with his eclectic choices of music.

A video producer currently living in New York, Brit Liggett is a painter, amateur photographer, singer, songwriter and musician. Citing Joni Mitchell and Carole King as two of many infuences, her music is reminiscent of Feist and Ani Difranco.

Keith Liggett’s an oft-published writer and poet who has lived all over the US, but chooses to make Fernie his home for the next while. He is the major force behind the Fernie Writer’s Conference and its success.  His poetry was a hit at last years Wee Fest.

With the pipes to capture the emotion of old country classics, David P. Smith delivers his “raunchy and surreal 21st century hillbilly rhythm and booze” song writing with conviction. His humour lifts the sometimes black themes to comedic heights, making us either laugh out loud or somewhat nervously at ourselves. His beautiful accordion is not the usual choice, but is the perfect choice for the unpredictable lyrics and vision of this songwriter. His talent is recognizable, and he is signed with Northern Electric Records.

And to be honest if that’s not enough to tickle your fancy and make the 20th February a night to remember then we don’t know what is.  It’s going to be popular so get your tickets!

Friday 20th February, 8pm
WEE FEST 2009
At the Arts Station, 601 1st Ave., Fernie
TICKETS $15. Available @ The Arts Station, Freshies, Carosella’s and the Blue Toque.

Wildsight is concerned about misinformation being disseminated by a B.C. hunters’ group. The group, the British Columbia Wildlife Federation, released a statement earlier this week that questioned the value of a park in the Flathead River Valley.

“Let’s be clear,” said Casey Brennan, Wildsight’s Southern Rockies program manager, “the proposal for a national park in the Flathead Valley is for the lower one-third of the valley. There have been calls for a national park in the Flathead River Valley for nearly a century. It wouldn’t interfere with current mining activities — even BP’s controversial coalbed methane tenure — but it would provide much-needed sanctuary for increasingly threatened and vulnerable wildlife populations.”

Brennan said Wildsight believes a wildlife sanctuary in the form of a national park belongs at the headwaters of the one of the most pure and pristine rivers in the world, the Flathead River.

And as for wildlife, Brennan said the 16 species of carnivores that help lend the Flathead Valley the title “Serengeti of the North” need a sanctuary.

“There is not a single sanctuary for wildlife in southeastern B.C.,” he said. “Not one. Geographically, the Flathead is the best place to have one. It’s the last, unsettled, low-elevation valley in all of Canada. It’s where animals should be able to breed and raise their young — securely.”

Seven out of  Ten residents support a park.

“The BCWF’s claim that there is no support for the park is plain wrong,” Brennan said. “The group claims to speak for ‘local wishes’, but its wishful thinking, given that actual poll results show clear support for a park.”

An random digit dial telephone poll conducted by McAllister opinion research last fall found that seventy percent of residents in the East Kootenay support the establishment of a national park in the lower one third of the Flathead River Valley.

Brennan cautioned people not to be fooled by the rhetoric of the federation.

“The BCWF is a hunter’s group, which is just fine,” he said. “Some of its members are ideologically opposed to any wildlife sanctuaries, period, so their opposition is no surprise.

“Other members hold a more balanced view that considers the needs of sanctuaries for animals. They know that a wildlife sanctuary in the Flathead would still leave the vast majority of the East Kootenay region open to hunting.”

Contrary to the BCWF’s unsupported rumor that Hillary Clinton is involved in the issue, Brennan said that Clinton has not contacted Wildsight or any other group about the Flathead park question.

Why sanctuary?
The Province’s own grizzly bear study (Peak et al, 2003) said southeastern B.C. needs wildlife sanctuaries to ensure the grizzly bear’s long-term survival, but none have been created.

And the Southern Rocky Mountains Management Plan has serious shortfalls.

“Although the plan is held by some to be adequate, the truth is it fails wildlife dismally,” Brennan said.
“It’s subject to the B.C. government’s ‘two-zone’ mining policy, which puts a priority on energy and mining development.”

Brennan added: “While the BCWF might be happy for us to continue to fight their battles to keep mining out of the Flathead, we need to move toward a proactive solution to long-term conservation in this area. The current land-use policy puts  wildlife at risk by giving mining and energy extraction the highest priority. It would be nice to see the BCWF take a balanced approach to land use and rather than worry about protecting their access we would invite them to work together to protect one of the last great wilderness areas in Southern British Columbia.”

The water question
Mining has had a significant impact on water quality in the southeast corner of the province.
“We can’t afford to see more cumulative impacts on the land from strip mining and poorly-monitored and enforced energy extraction regulations,” Brennan said. “We need balance on the land and the public knows we don’t have it now. That is why the majority of residents support a wild Flathead.”

For more information, contact:
Casey Brennan, Wildsight Southern Rockies and Flathead Program Manager
casey@wildsight.ca

Emily Brydon of Fernie was going for gold today at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships but will settle for 11th place in today’s ladies downhill in Val d’Isère, FRA.

Brydon, who was gaining speed and momentum throughout the course, finished as the top Canadian in a time of one minute 32.44 seconds.

“I was going for the win today,” said Brydon. “Eleventh in the world is not the end of the world but we are going for the podium every day. I wanted more.”

The battle for gold came down to American Lindsey Vonn, who captured the ladies super-G earlier in the competition and Swiss teenager Lara Gut. It was Vonn who came out on top, winning by over half a second in a time of 1:30.31 with Gut second, for her second medal of the 2009 World Championships following her second place finish in Friday’s super combined. Italian Nadia Fanchini captured the first World Championships podium of her career, finishing third in 1:30.88.

Kelly VanderBeek (Kitchener, ON) finished 21st in 1:33.59.

“These last two weeks have been a struggle for sure,” said VanderBeek, who incredibly popped out both shoulders while training for a World Cup race two weeks ago.

“I battled today and fought really hard the whole way down so I am happy about that. The top was good but the bottom was a struggle. I skied a lot more like I can today so that’s good,” VanderBeek said.

Britt Janyk (Whistler, BC) looked very good on the top of the course, including the second fastest opening interval, but was carrying too much speed into a tricky section on the bottom and missed a gate.

Janyk said she was going for it, boosted by John Kucera (Calgary, AB) gold medal performance in the men’s downhill on Saturday.

“It was so cool to watch Kucera come out with a win and I wanted to do something for the girl’s side today. But there are a lot of lessons from this World Championships that we will take into Olympic next year,” Janyk said.

The Pontiac Alpine Ski Series on CBC has coverage of the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships from Val d’Isère Feb. 14 and Feb. 15 at 3 p.m. Radio-Canada Sports also has a show on Dec. 14 beginning again at 3:00 p.m. ET.

The World Championships schedule calls for a day off tomorrow followed by the team event on Wednesday.

WORLD CHAMPS NOTE: For more Canadian content regarding the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships including a history of Canadian podiums and the 2009 Canadian team announcement, please go to www.canski.org and click on the event logo in What’s Hot.

Jennifer Heil of Spruce Grove, Alta., and Alexandre Bilodeau of Rosemère, Que., capped a brilliant performance for the Canadian freestyle ski team this week with victories in Saturday’s mogul events at the Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix World Cup competition at Cypress Mountain.

It was a phenomenally successful weekend for Canada’s freestyle team in front of a Canadian crowd at the 2010 Olympic venue. Canada ended the three-day competition with a remarkable five gold medals, two silver and a bronze.

In women’s moguls, Heil, who now lives in Montreal, took the gold with 24.79 points for her second victory and fourth medal in five World Cup races this season. Hannah Kearney of the U.S. was second with 24.18 and Margarita Marbler of Austria was third at 23.84.

“For sure this was my best performance this season,” said Heil, the reigning Olympic champion. “The course, the weather and the crowd made it all perfect. The highlight for me was the quality of my skiing. I was more aggressive and I felt my technique becoming more automatic. I could feel the smoothness and the ease in my skiing.”
Steve Omischl of Kelowna, B.C., won the gold medal Friday in the men’s aerials final at the Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix World Cup competition on the 2010 Olympic site at Cypress Mountain.

Omischl and Anton Kushnir of Belarus both earned 250.96 points in the final but Omischl was awarded the gold after the tie-breaking procedure that looked at raw scores before the degree of difficulty was included. It was the Canadian’s second victory this season. Stanislav Kravchuk of Ukraine took the bronze with 250.64.

“I’m totally exhausted,” said Omischl, the two-time defending FIS World Cup aerials champion and current points leader on the tour. “It was special to win here for sure but I approached this competition like any other World Cup. We’re here to do a job and execute a plan that we rehearsed over and over. But this was an important venue and I’m quite proud to have achieved my goal.”

Omischl leads the World Cup standings after five events with 337 points followed by Jeret Peterson of the U.S., with 242 and his compatriot Ryan St. Onge with 213. Kyle Nissen of Calgary, who didn’t qualify for tonight’s final, remains fourth overall.