Mike & Manny Cowboys Ski Camp gives back to youth for 8th year

After a summer ski camp with the national team in Portillo, Chile, in 2007, Canadian alpine skiers Manuel Osborne-Paradis and Mike Janyk were rooming together during an overnight layover in Santiago. The two World Cup skiers were chatting about the camp they just wrapped up when Manny turned to Mike and said, “Mike, it’s time to do more.”

With this notion, they began talking about how they could give back to the sport and community that has given them so much while helping young racers pursue their dreams of a career in skiing.

They settled on the idea of creating an all-expenses-paid, four-day long ski camp for talented Canadian athletes entering FIS-level competitions. The Mike & Manny Cowboys Ski Camp was born.

The concept proved to be very successful right away and the camp has been growing ever since.

“We started this camp to share the knowledge of racing we learn on the World Cup, but the best part is all the energy the kids give us to keep pushing on the slopes. They are the future of our sport,” Osborne-Paradis explained. “And it’s all free!”

This year, the 8th Annual Mike & Manny Cowboys Ski Camp is took place from April 14-17 at Whistler.

To participate, interested athletes had to go trough a selection process where they filled out an online application and provided a reference letter from their coach. A selection committee went through each application and decided which athletes could benefit the most from the camp – seven girls and seven boys were selected and invited to attend the camp.

This year’s campers were chosen from all over Canada and traveled to the camp from across British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia and Manitoba.

The lucky 14 spent the past four days focusing on slalom, giant slalom, downhill and speed aspects, free skiing, drills and gate training at Whistler under the guidance of both Janyk and Osborne-Paradis as well as BC Ski Team Coach Nick Cooper.

As in the previous editions, the camp was 100 percent free for the campers and was funded through Mike & Manny Foundation fundraisers and donations.

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

Release courtesy of FIS, videos courtesy of Mike & Manny Foundation