Freestyle Canada announces 2013 roster including slopestyle and halfpipe teams

Following one of its most successful competitive seasons, the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association revealed its lineup for 2013 today (May 3) in Vancouver, B.C.

The mogul, aerial, slopestyle and halfpipe national teams won a total of 42 FIS World Cup medals and 13 podiums at Association of Freesking Professionals platinum events in 2012. The CFSA plans to build on that success in the lead up to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games with a team comprised of a powerhouse mix of veteran and rookie athletes.

“Youth, depth and exceptional talent is how I’d characterize next season’s roster. We have legitimate podium potential in every discipline,” said Canadian High Performance Program Director David Mirota. “What we’re seeing is the result of an incredibly strong history of freestyle skiing in Canada, where great athletes come back as great coaches and keep the evolution going, it’s a cycling effect.”

In its 2015 strategic plan, the CFSA has set a goal of winning six Olympic medals in Sochi from amongst the 55 athletes named to the team today. The selection process for those Games begins in the 2013 competitive season.

The majority of the athletes on the team, like Alex Bilodeau, who won Canada’s first gold medal on home soil at the 2010 Games, are returning veterans, but there are a host of young up-and-comers who will join their more experienced peers in a bid to represent Canada in Sochi.

Some to watch include 16-year-old Andi Naude of Okanagan Falls B.C. who took this year’s NorAm mogul grand prix; and, 19-year-old Alex Bellemare from St. Boniface Que., who earned a silver medal at the US Grand Prix World Cup event in Mammoth this season in slopestyle.

Ski slopestyle along with ski halfpipe are two of the latest additions to the Olympic program and they will make their debuts in Sochi.

“Slopestyle is where we’re seeing the most new faces emerge right now,” said Mirota. “Next year’s slopestyle team is a veritable teen invasion, with more than half of them under 20. It’s really exciting to see so much young talent coming up and great that they will be able to mix with more experienced and successful athletes like Kaya Turski and JF Houle.”

Moguls

Group  A  
Men
Alexandre Bilodeau (Rosemere, Que.)
Mikael Kingsbury (Deux Montagnes, Que.)
Phil Marquis (Quebec City, Que.)
Marc-Antoine Gagnon (Terrebonne, Que.)    

Women
Justine Dufour-Lapointe (Montreal, Que.)
Audrey Robichaud (Quebec City, Que.)
Chloé Dufour-Lapointe (Montreal, Que.)
Kristi Richards (Summerland, B.C.)
            
Group B   
Men
Cédric Rochon (St. Sauveur, Que.)
Eddie Hicks (Langley, B.C.)
Simon Pouliot-Cavanagh (Quebec City, Que.)
Pascal-Olivier Gagné (Montreal, Que.)    

Women
Chelsea Henitiuk (Spruce Grove, Alta)
Maxime Dufour-Lapointe (Montreal, Que.)
Andi Naude (Okanagan Falls, B.C.)
 
            
Group C    
Men
Simon Lemieux (Repentigny, Que.)
Hugo Blanchette (Ile d’Orleans, Que.)
Luke Ulsifer (Calgary, Alta)
Kerrian Chunlaud (Quebec City, Que.)    

Women
Béatrice Bilodeau (Montreal, Que.)
Christel Hamel (St. Sauveur, Que.)
Kiera Leung (Coquitlam, B.C.)
Myriam Leclerc (Beaconsfield, Que.)

Halfpipe
Group A
Men  
Noah Bowman (Calgary, Alta)
Mike Riddle (Sherwood Park, Alta)
Justin Dorey (Vernon, B.C.)    

Women
Rosalind Groenewoud (Calgary, Alta)
            
Group B    
Matt Margetts (Penticton, B.C.
Simon D’Artois (Whistler, B.C.)    

Women
Megan Gunning (Calgary, Alta)
Keltie Hansen (Calgary, Alta)
Dania Assaly (Edmonton, Alta) 

Slopestyle
Group A   
Men
Alex Bellemare (St. Boniface, Que.)
Jean-Francois Houle (Drummondville, Que.)    

Women
Kaya Turski (Montreal, Que.)
Dara Howell (Huntsville, Ont.)
            
Group B    
Men
Alexi Godbout (Mt. Tremblant, Que.)
Alex Beaulieu-Marchand (Quebec City, Que.)
Charles Gagnier (Victoriaville, Que.)
Jamieson Irvine (Barrie, Ont.)
Noah Morrison (Vernon, B.C.)
Vincent Gagnier (Victoriaville, Que.)
TJ Schiller (Vernon, B.C.)    

Women
Kim Lamarre (Lac Beauport, Que.)
Yuki Tsubota (Pemberton, B.C.)

Aerials
Group A   
Men 
Warren Shouldice (Calgary, Alta)
Olivier Rochon (Gatineau, Que.)
Travis Gerrits (Milton, Ont.)
J-C André (Montreal, Que.     
            
Group B    
Men
Rémi Bélanger (Mascouche, Que.)
Jon Vellner (Red Deer, Alta)
     
Women
Sabrina Guérin (Laval, Que.)
Veronika Bauer (Toronto, Ont.)
 
            
Group C    
Men
Marc-Antoine Labbé-Giguère (Quebec City, Que)
Dave Blais (Lac Beauport, Que.)