Canadian Women’s Alpine Speed Team members and Right To Play Athlete Ambassadors Emily Brydon, Britt Janyk, and Kelly VanderBeek, along with their teammates, today announced a Canadian Women’s Alpine Speed Team initiative in support of Right To Play. Beginning at the 2007 Bombardier presents Lake Louise Winterstart World Cup Brydon, Janyk, VanderBeek, and their Canadian Women’s Alpine Speed teammates are kicking off their Right To Play partnership initiative to raise awareness and fundraising within the international and national ski community.

“Right To Play epitomizes the power, passion, and unity of sport. It exceeds the boundaries of competition into the daily lives of people world wide; it even overcomes the power of hatred,” Fernie’s Emily Brydon said. “The Right To Play initiative with the Canadian Women’s Alpine Speed Team is a great opportunity for me to pay it forward and to help lessen the gap between sport in our backyard and the international doorstep.”

As three of Canada’s top female skiers, Brydon, Janyk, and VanderBeek see their Women’s Alpine Speed Team’s Right To Play initiative as a great team-building tool for their whole team, including skiers, coaches, and staff this World Cup season and going forward to the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. The Women’s Alpine Speed Team is encouraging the international ski community, Canadian ski community and all Canadians to join them in supporting Right To Play’s Sport for Development and Peace projects across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. To show your support for the Women’s Alpine Speed Team, visit the team’s link at www.righttoplay.com/goals.

Right To Play’s “Make Your Goals Count” program empowers Canadian athletes to have an impact on more than just the playing surface. By collecting pledges in support of their sporting successes, athletes will allow children on the other side of the world to share in their celebrations while raising awareness of the power of sport as a force for positive social and individual change.

“I am inspired by the Right to Play Initiative with the Women’s Alpine Speed Team,” Britt Janyk said. “We are coming together as a team and giving to an organization that emulates the qualities we strive for as athletes. Through our goals in sport we can help children around the world to play.”