Eleven members of Canada’s ladies alpine ski team are heading to Whistler for intensive dryland training next week, hoping the effort will lead to Olympic medals when they return for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games next February.
Britt Janyk (Whistler, BC) is among the athletes who will be at the dryland camp, taking place in her hometown. Janyk, member of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team since 1996 and a World Cup downhill winner in 2007, said having a conditioning camp in Whistler provides the athletes with unique inspiration, with the Olympic Games now seven months away.
“A training camp like this one is a great opportunity for the team to come together in the Olympic environment and become more familiar with the surroundings. We can hike the race hill and just soak up the environment of Whistler a little,” said Janyk.
“Our summer conditioning training is what prepares us for our on-snow training. It’s important to work hard in the gym and make improvements in your conditioning so that when it comes time for on-snow training you can get the most out of it,” added Janyk, who has also won 11 Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships in her career.
Canada’s ladies alpine ski team held a training camp in June, with athletes split between Calgary, AB and Mont-Tremblant, QC. Dryland coach Craig Hill said the upcoming training camp in Whistler will have a higher intensity than the training held earlier in the spring.
“The athletes will be doing a lower volume of work compared to the last training camp,” said Hill. “We’ll be lifting heavier loads with more emphasis higher intensities. In this camp we will be doing a lot of outdoor activities to change things up a little bit, take advantage of some of the things Whistler has to offer. The girls have spent some long hours training in the gym the past couple months.”< Hill said there is a reason why this training camp is in Whistler, site of the alpine events during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. We are bringing this training camp to Whistler because it is a small mountain town, making everything easily accessible. The community is incredibly supportive of our program and everything we need is right here. It is a great place to train in the summer. As well, we want the athletes to become familiar with the environment prior to the Games. Some of the older veteran athletes have spent plenty of time in Whistler, but the younger ones haven't been here that often,” said Hill. The week long training camp gets underway July 13. Joining Janyk in Whistler are Emily Brydon (Fernie, BC), Shona Rubens (Canmore, AB), Georgia Simmerling (West Vancouver, BC), Kelly VanderBeek (Kitchener, ON), Larisa Yurkiw (Owen Sound, ON), Brigitte Acton (Mont-Tremblant, QC), Marie-Michèle Gagnon (Lac-Etchemin, QC), Anna Goodman (Pointe Claire, QC), Marie-Pierre Préfontaine (Saint-Sauveur, QC) and Geneviève Simard (Val-Morin, QC). The ladies will have their first on-snow camp of the season in New Zealand in August. Canada will also have several athletes taking part in the New Zealand Winter Games, which are scheduled from August 24 to 30. The ladies 2009/2010 World Cup season kicks off with a giant slalom on October 24, 2009 in Sölden, AUT. The Bombardier Lake Louise Winterstart opens the ladies speed season with two downhill races and a super G, starting on December 4, 2009. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will highlight the season, taking place in Whistler, BC from February 12 to 28.
