Canadian women train indoors in Bottrop
Canadian women train indoors in Bottrop
Seven women who hope to qualify for the Canadian Alpine Development Ski Team had the opportunity to pack up their slalom skis and head indoors this past weekend to take advantage of a one of a kind training opportunity at ‘Alpincenter’. The indoor training facility located in Bottrop (Germany) offers ideal racing conditions for athletes looking to fine tune their technical skills and maximizes their time between the slalom gates.
‘This facility allowed our team the possibility to train several times a day, anywhere from 7 in the morning to 11 at night, ‘ explained Europa Cup Head Coach of the Women’s Development Team, Carlo Lötscher. ‘The athletes were back on the track within seven minutes because of the short turn around of the lifts making it possible to ski more than 1000 slalom gates a day!’
The four day camp began on September 28th and concluded on October 1. Canadian Alpine Ski Team athlete Britt Janyk (Whistler, B.C.) was joined by development team hopefuls – Anna Goodman (Pointe Claire, QC), Shona Rubens (Calgary, AB), Jennah Durham (Timmins, ON), Marie-Pier Prefontaine (St-Sauveur, QC), Veronique Archambault-Leger (Montreal, QC), Larissa Yurkiw ( Owen Sound, ON) and Megan Ryley (Toronto, ON).
Alpine Canada Alpin Chief Athletics Officer, Max Gartner said that the greatest advantage for the Canadian development women was the ability to train on stable snow and in consistent weather conditions.
‘Early October in Europe can produce just about any kind of weather so it’s good to know ahead of time that you will be guaranteed optimal training and be able to maximize each and every day of the camp with no worries of a bad weather day,’ said Gartner. ‘The air temperature is kept at 4 degrees, the artificial light is very good, and the 25-35 cm artificial snow base is hard packed and ideal for slalom training. The women’s development team is very fortunate to train here along side numerous alpine ski teams on the circuit including those from Japan, Germany, USA, Italy, and Austria.’
The women are now headed to Hintertux, Austria to continue their on-snow training until October 26th. This will be their final camp until the 2005-2006 team selection announcement is made on October 31, 2005.
To find out more about Alpincenter in Bottrop, Germany, visit their website.(in German).
About the Author: Pete Rugh
