Heil, Richards and Rousseau also make podium

Kristi Richards, Mikael Kingsbury and Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau in China

December 21, 2010, Beida Lake, CHN – After a ten-day whirlwind trip around the world, the Canadian Freestyle Mogul Team is heading home for the holidays with a total of eight FIS World Cup medals — four of them earned here today at the first FIS World Cup Mogul event ever held in China.

Under sunny skies, teen mogul sensation Mikaël Kingsbury from Deux-Montagnes, Que., earned his first World Cup victory here with a score of 25.60 and was joined on the podium by the team’s elder statesman, Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau from Drummondville, Que., who took third place at 24.05. France’s Guilbaut Colas was second at 24.15.

Olympic Champion Hannah Kearney from the U.S. won the women’s event with 25.34 followed by the Canadian pair of: Spruce Grove, Alberta’s Jenn Heil at 25.26 and Summerland, B.C.’s Kristi Richards at 23.83, who matched their placings from Finland 10 days ago.

Kingsbury, who qualified in first position earlier in the day, said, “The chairlifts here were pretty slow, so we didn’t get a chance for a training run between qualifications and finals, so I talked to my coach and we decided not to risk doing anything different than I had done all day for my final run.

“Before my [final] run, I was listening to the scores from the other competitors and I knew I was in a position to win if I just put down the run I did in training. I did a clean run with a back full and a cork 720. I wasn’t the fastest guy, but I didn’t make any mistakes.”

This is Kingsbury’s second World Cup podium; he took home the silver ten days ago in Finland.

For his part, Rousseau, 31, said he was “happy and overwhelmed” by how well he has been skiing. “I thought last year at the Olympics was the pinnacle for me, but I’m still in great shape and I’m still improving.”

However, Rousseau’s celebration of his third place finish was eclipsed by his pride in his young teammate. “Mikaël has everything a mogul skier needs: jumps, speed and the right mindset. He proved it today and now I can leave the National Team this year with the knowledge that it’s in good shape for years to come,” said the 31-year-old who has announced he will retire after February’s World Championships in Deer Valley, UT.

Other Canadian men’s positions included: Eddie Hicks of Langley, B.C., in eighth, Cedric Rochon of St-Sauveur, Que., in 15th and Alex Bilodeau of Rosemère, Que., in 17th after catching an edge and falling in the qualification round.

Heil, who now lives in Montreal, was more than a second ahead of the rest of the field and her total score was only .8 off the leader. She said, “I did some great things with my skiing today, I took it up a level. I made a small mistake in the middle section that cost me, but I definitely laid the foundation for my confidence and my skiing to be at its maximum after Christmas.”

She added that it’s exciting to be on tour with a team that is, in her words, “on fire.”

Richards said her performances in Finland, France and here over the past ten days have been a breakthrough, “I feel like I am better able to focus and get into the groove and be able to stand in the gate and be ready to perform regardless of what else is going on around me.”

Other Canadian women’s positions included: Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City in fourth, Chelsea Henitiuk of Whistler in 8th and Maxime Dufour-Lapointe in 13th position.

The team makes its way back to Canada for the holidays and will compete next in the Canada Post Grand Prix event at Ski Mont Gabriel, presented by Ernst & Young on January 15 and 16, 2011. Media accreditation requests for this event, and the Canada Post Grand Prix at Canada Olympic Park on January 29 can be found at:

http://www.freestyleski.com/page.php?la=en&pa=media&id=accreditation

For more information, contact CFSA Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com.

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Full event results can be found at:

Ladies

Men

Travis Gerrits and Sabrina Guerin

Penticton, B.C. – Canada picked up two more gold medals in NorAm aerials action here today, with Sabrina Guérin on top of the women’s field for the second day in a row, and Travis Gerrits winning the men’s division after taking home the silver yesterday.

Conditions were difficult today. A fast surface on the in-run gave athletes more height than they expected in the air, ultimately affecting their ability to stick their landings.

That was the case for Laval, Quebec’s Guérin who, despite her two wins this weekend, was not happy with her performance today after poor landings on both her jumps. It was her high degree of difficulty and her clean lines in the air that earned her a winning total score of 125.23.

Alexa Devereaux and Alison Lee of the U.S. took the second and third spots with respective scores of 123.18 and 122.40. Other Canadian National Team results were Stéphanie Pratte of Quebec City in seventh at 91.43 and Crystal Lee of Newmarket, Ont. in eighth at 82.66.

Guérin, whose season goal is to land two jumps in a row in competition, said, “At the end of the day, it’s nice to see I can podium at NorAms, but I can’t really appreciate a first place finish today because I didn’t land well.”

Conversely, Milton, Ontario’s Gerrits, was very happy with his first-ever NorAm win. Today he scored a total of 198.98 with two triple-twisting double backflips and just narrowly missed his goal of breaking 200 points. Coach Nicolas Fontaine was thrilled with the calibre of Gerrits’ jumping this weekend and said, “To have a score like that on a day like today, this early in the season, that’s amazing.”

Gerrits, who normally competes triple backflips, downgraded his jumps for this weekend’s competitions due to a shoulder injury that affected his early season training. He said, “The win feels great, and I have realized that being safe and downgrading my [degree of difficulty] and making it look nice can be very rewarding.”

Maoya Tabara of Japan was second at 180.11, Michael Rossi of the U.S. was third at 175.71 and Canadian Team rookie Samuel Bélanger-Dallaire of Lac Beauport, Que., was fourth at 160.45.

Other Canadian placings include: Montreal’s Jean-Christophe André (and yesterday’s winner) in sixth at 158.15; Rémi Bélanger of Mascouche, Que., in seventh at 155.06; Jonathan Vellner of Red Deer, Alta., in 11th at 137.97; and, Marc-Antoine Labbé-Giguère from Quebec City in 17th position at 114.67.

Inaugural Canada Post Cup Selections a huge success in Quebec

Canadian Selections women’s podium, December 19

Val St. Côme, Que. – Today marked the end of the Canada Post Canadian Selection series here. The two-event, single mogul competition was the first of the Canada Post Cup events and the culmination of a week of training for National C Team members and provincial team members from across the country.

According to Canadian Freestyle Ski Association High Performance Director David Mirota, the idea behind the week at Val St. Côme was to give provincial mogul coaches and their athletes a chance to work with National Team coaches. In all 50 athletes and ten coaches from B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Quebec trained, brainstormed and learned from each other.

“I think the week was really worthwhile,” said Mirota. “There was a lot of positive dialogue and really good exchange of technical information and talent identification amongst the coaches. The goal is that those provincial coaches will now take that information home and filter it down to the club level.”

Results from this weekend’s Canadian Selections can be found at: http://www.freestyleski.com/page.php?la=en&pa=team&id=schedule. Canada Post Cup standings can be found at: http://www.freestyleski.com/page.php?la=en&pa=team&id=mogul-cup

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For more information, please contact Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com

The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association is the governing body in Canada for the sport of Freestyle Skiing. Our mission is to develop, in a safe, fun and ethical manner, Olympic and World Champions in all disciplines of the sport of Freestyle Skiing.

You can watch the best freestyle athletes in the world compete in Canada at the 2011 Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix events, presented by Ernst & Young at: Ski Mont Gabriel, QC on January 15 & 16 and at Winsport Canada Olympic Park, AB on January 29. Media accreditation for these events can be found at: http://www.freestyleski.com/page.php?la=en&pa=media&id=accreditation

Canada’s lone entry shows maturity

Warren Shouldice airborn over China

Beida Lake, China – Canada’s sole entry in the FIS Aerials World Cup here today, team veteran Warren Shouldice, finished the day in fourth position.

The event was originally scheduled for yesterday, but was postponed due to high winds.

Shouldice, who hails from Calgary, Alta., was in second position after the first jump of the two-jump event today when swirling winds and snow hampered his ability to gauge his speed for his second jump.

“With only three guys left to go the snow started and the wind direction changed. I could tell I was about one, to one-and-a-half kilometers per hour slow coming in to my take off, so I had to break form in the air because I didn’t have enough height,” said Shouldice. “But that wasn’t my big mistake, my mistake was that I missed my landing a bit by taking a deep squat. I’m glad I didn’t crash, but that squat cost me a spot on the podium today.”

Still, Shouldice said his mistakes are getting smaller every year. Canadian Freestyle Ski Association CEO Peter Judge agrees and said Shouldice has been performing well under difficult conditions in China this week – including unpredictable weather, repeated delays and the fact that he is away from his normal training partners. Judge said, “I have seen a maturity and experience emanating from Warren this week that make me really optimistic about his future.”

China’s Guangpu Qi and Zongyang Jia finished first and second, respectively, with scores of 245.74 and 245.17. Renato Ulrich of Switzerland was third at 232.72. Shouldice scored 219.03 with two triple backflips: a full double-full full and a lay double-full full.

Shouldice currently sits in third position in the FIS overall men’s aerial Grand Prix. With five events left in the program, he is well-within striking zone of his ambitious goal to win the crystal globe this year.

Canada did not have an entry in the women’s event, where, remarkably, China took the first seven spots.

FIS World Cup action continues here on Tuesday with China’s first FIS Mogul event.

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To arrange for post-event interviews with Canadian athletes, please contact Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com

The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association is the governing body in Canada for the sport of Freestyle Skiing. Our mission is to develop, in a safe, fun and ethical manner, Olympic and World Champions in all disciplines of the sport of Freestyle Skiing.

You can watch the best freestyle athletes in the world compete in Canada at the 2011 Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix events, presented by Ernst & Young at: Ski Mont Gabriel, QC on January 15 & 16 and at Winsport Canada Olympic Park, AB on January 29. Media accreditation for these events can be found at: http://www.freestyleski.com/page.php?la=en&pa=media&id=accreditation

Canadians also earn two ski halfpipe medals in Breckenridge Dew Tour

Jean-Christophe André

Penticton, B.C. – It was an auspicious start to the Aerials NorAm season today under difficult course conditions with Canadian aerialists taking most of the hardware in men’s and women’s competition at Apex Mountain Resort.

Heavy snowfall between training and competition jumps made it very difficult for the competitors to accurately gauge their speed on take-off, but that brought out the fighting spirit of the Canadian team who managed to earn five medals.

On the men’s side Ville St-Laurent, Quebec’s Jean-Christophe André took home the gold at 213.99 points, he was joined on the podium by teammates Travis Gerrits (Milton, Ont.) at 198.80 points and Rémi Bélanger (Mascouche, Que.) at 187.62 for a podium sweep.

“It was awesome to be on the podium with my teammates,” said André. “We talked about a sweep earlier in the week, it was a good goal and we achieved it.”

Today’s win, and a personal-best score, was especially sweet for André who sat out of competition last season after having surgery on his right shoulder. He said, “I wasn’t too certain of my return to competition, so it’s really motivating for me for the rest of my season.”

Gerrits, who injured his shoulder earlier in the season and was only able to perform doubles today, was also very happy with his performance, as was Coach Nicolas Fontaine who said, “Travis succeeded in performing two amazing jumps with very high scores.”

Jonathan Vellner of Red Deer, Ont., was seventh at 155.59.

On the women’s side, Sabrina Guérin of Laval, Que., was first at 147.40. Alison Lee of the US took second spot at 126.47 and Quebec City’s Stéphanie Pratte was third at 113.26.

For Guerin the win was bittersweet. “For sure it’s nice to be first, but I would have liked to achieve better scores, today was not my best jumping and especially not my best form in the air.”

Guérin attributed her troubles to a terrible pre-competition training session where she didn’t land a single jump and the difficult conditions on the jump site.

Crystal Lee of Newmarket, Ont., finished the day in sixth position with a score of 104.92.

NorAm aerials competition continues here with a second event tomorrow.

Assaly and Dorey make Dew Tour podium

In ski halfpipe, Edmonton’s Dania Assaly took home a prestigious Dew Tour superpipe win today in Breckenridge, CO, and Vernon’s Justin Dorey took second place in the men’s division.

Assaly, who had trouble on her first run in the best-of-two run event said she put on some mellow music and tried to relax for her second run. The recipe worked and she aced her run, which consisted of a cork 900, straight air, 540, right-side 540, and a 720.

This is the first season that women are included in two events of the three-event series, and Assaly said their inclusion is already doing great things for the women’s side of halfpipe, “I think there are so many talented girls out there and now with the Dew Tour the level is just getting higher and higher.”

Dorey, who won last week’s Copper Mt., CO, NorAm, said he was thrilled to be on the podium two weeks in a row. “I’ve historically struggled with consistency, so it feels really great to get two consecutive podiums under my belt.”

Simon Dumont of the U.S. took the men’s title.

Dorey has earned a spot to February’s FIS World Championships in Park City, UT, Assaly hopes to do the same.

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For more information, contact Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com

The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association is the governing body in Canada for the sport of Freestyle Skiing. Our mission is to develop, in a safe, fun and ethical manner, Olympic and World Champions in all disciplines of the sport of Freestyle Skiing.

You can watch the best freestyle athletes in the world compete in Canada at the 2011 Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix events, presented by Ernst & Young at: Ski Mont Gabriel, QC on January 15 & 16 and at Winsport Canada Olympic Park, AB on January 29. Media accreditation for these events can be found at: http://www.freestyleski.com/page.php?la=en&pa=media&id=accreditation

Aerial event fraught with challenges

Warren Shouldice is joined by Chinese event hostesses

Beida Lake, China – Warren Shouldice of Calgary, Alta., won the silver medal in men’s aerials at the first of two FIS World Cup freestyle aerials competitions here on Friday.

It was a difficult day for the aerialists who fought cold temperatures, snow, shifting winds and a flatter than usual landing.

Shouldice said that despite the fact he had been jumping very well in training, he wasn’t happy with his competition jumps.

“I survived and because I survived I got on the podium,” said Shouldice, who was in 11th place after his first jump, then landed deeply on his second jump, a lay, double-full, full, and watched competitor after competitor fall until he landed in 2nd spot for the day.

Regardless of how he got there, Shouldice couldn’t deny that his podium finish was a great start to the season. He said, “Sure, beginning the season on the podium gives me a lot of confidence. And, I have been jumping well in training all week. Now I have a few things to work on and execute better for tomorrow’s competition.”

Zongyang Jia of China was first with 230.49 points. Shouldice, the only Canadian in the men’s field, scored 210.47 and Chao Wu of China was third with 205.10.

In women’s aerials, Canada’s lone entry, Veronika Bauer had an impressive third-place first jump, but landed in the backseat on her final jump and fell on the outrun, twisting and hurting her knee.

The extent of Bauer’s injury is unknown at this time, but team officials said she will not be competing in tomorrow’s event.

“It’s really unfortunate,” said Bauer, “because after some difficult training everything finally clicked for me today and I was feeling really good after the first jump. Then on the second jump I snowplowed trying to save my landing, hit some ruts and just fell and hurt my knee.”

Bauer finished the day in 6th spot with 156.32 points. China swept the women’s podium with Xin Zhang first at 197.04, Mengtao Xu second at 185.76 and Shuang Cheng third at 164.61.

Competition continues here Saturday with another aerials event, a team aerials event on Monday and a mogul event on Tuesday.

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To arrange for post-event interviews with Canadian athletes, please contact Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com

The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association is the governing body in Canada for the sport of Freestyle Skiing. Our mission is to develop, in a safe, fun and ethical manner, Olympic and World Champions in all disciplines of the sport of Freestyle Skiing. You can watch the best freestyle athletes in the world compete in Canada at the 2011 Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix events, presented by Ernst & Young at: Ski Mont Gabriel, QC on January 15 & 16 and at Winsport Canada Olympic Park, AB on January 29. Media accreditation for these events can be found at: http://www.freestyleski.com/page.php?la=en&pa=media&id=accreditation

China hosts FIS Aerials and Moguls World Cups

Warren Shouldice

China’s Beida Lake ski resort plays host to four FIS Freestyle events this coming weekend: Aerials World Cups on December 17 and 18, an Aerials Team event on Dec. 20 and, for the first time in China, a Moguls World Cup event on Dec. 21.

These competitions mark the third time the new super power has hosted a FIS Aerials World Cup event, and the first time it has hosted a World Cup Moguls event. In fact, Freestyle skiing is the only FIS World Cup discipline that China has ever hosted.

Canadian Freestyle Ski Association CEO Peter Judge commented that China has gone from being a consumer of FIS World Cup events to being a host. And, he added, a very good host at that.

“The hand-built sites are impressive and extremely well-prepared,” he said. Adding that, “It’s encouraging to see a new country come on board and be organized for an event.”

Long known for its prowess in Aerials (China took home five of the top six placings in the overall aerials World Cup standings last season), moguls is a relatively new sport to China. But, Judge says the country has dedicated significant resources to developing its moguls program and added that he believes the Chinese will be a real contender in moguls in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

Judge added that the fact that China is hosting international Freestyle ski events indicates that the world’s most populous country has embraced Freestyle as its primary ski sport. This, he said, is significant, not only for Freestyle skiing, but also good for the breadth and expansion of skiing as a whole.

Chinese ski resort of Beida Lake sits in Yongji County in North East China. The resort itself was designed by Ecosign, a ski resort design company based in Whistler, B.C. Along with Aerials and Moguls courses, the resort also has a terrain park and a halfpipe.

The Canadian Aerial Team will be represented in China by veterans Warren Shouldice (Calgary, Alta.) and Veronika Bauer (Toronto, Ont.) who are already training in Beida Lake. The rest of the Aerial team has opted to remain in Canada and compete at this weekend’s upcoming NorAm event at Apex Mountain. Judge said, “It’s pretty normal for these athletes to skip the one-off, pre-Christmas [World Cup] events and opt, instead, to focus on their training in preparation for the rest of the World Cup season, which starts with our Canada Post Grand Prix at Ski Mont Gabriel on January 15 and 16.”

The Mogul Team arrives in China on Thursday. Mogul athletes competing in China are: Jenn Heil (Spruce Grove, Alta and Montreal, Que.), Kristi Richards (Summerland, B.C.), Audrey Robichaud (Quebec City, Que.), Chelsea Henitiuk (Spruce Grove, Alta and Whistler, B.C.), Alex Bilodeau (Montreal, Que.), Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau (Drummondville, Que.), Mikaël Kingsbury (Deux-Montagnes, Que.), Cédric Rochon (Saint-Sauveur, Que.) and Eddie Hicks (Langley, B.C.).

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To arrange for post-event interviews with Canadian athletes, please contact Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com

The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association is the governing body in Canada for the sport of Freestyle Skiing. Our mission is to develop, in a safe, fun and ethical manner, Olympic and World Champions in all disciplines of the sport of Freestyle Skiing.

You can watch the best freestyle athletes in the world compete in Canada at the 2011 Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix events, presented by Ernst & Young at: Ski Mont Gabriel, QC on January 15 & 16 and at Winsport Canada Olympic Park, AB on January 29. Media accreditation for these events can be found at: http://www.freestyleski.com/page.php?la=en&pa=media&id=accreditation

The teenager from Montreal was third in today’s dual mogul event

MERIBEL, France — In only her second FIS World Cup start, 16-year-old Justine Dufour-Lapointe gave herself an early Christmas gift with a bronze medal finish in today’s dual mogul competition here.

“I’m really stoked, I actually can’t quite believe it right now because it came so fast,” said the Montreal teenager. “I think I did so well because the course looked a lot like what I’m used to in Quebec, icy and small moguls. So, I just fought really hard and did my best.”

In fact, the course was extremely difficult, as it had frozen to blue ice after three days of rain last week followed by freezing temperatures. A light dusting of snow overnight mildly improved conditions for today, but the difficulties remained and made for unpredictable results in today’s finals.

After losing to Yulia Galysheva of Kazakhstan in the semi-final, Dufour-Lapointe defeated Ekaterina Stolyarova of Russia in the small final to land herself in third spot for the day.

Dufour-Lapointe credited her air with giving her an edge today, “My 360 at the top has never been better, and I did a really high backflip on the bottom jump.”

Galysheva finished the day in top spot, followed by Hannah Kearney of the U.S. in second.

Jenn Heil of Spruce Grove, Alta was sixth, Kristi Richards of Summerland, B.C. took 10th spot, Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City was 13th and Chelsea Henitiuk of Whistler, B.C. was 16th in the finals. Maxime Dufour-Lapointe fell after her top jump and did not make finals. She finished the day in 34th position.

On the men’s side, a dominating first-position qualification run for Alex Bilodeau didn’t materialize into a medal for the Olympic Champion after a small mistake against Russian Sergey Volkov in the quarter-final round. Bilodeau finished the day in fifth position.

“About three moguls before the bottom air in my run against Volkov I made a mistake and caught an edge, that threw me onto one ski and I had to pass by the jump. That mogul was really tough, and I knew it, but I messed it up by mistake,” said the Rosemère, Que. native.

However, Bilodeau was buoyed by his lightning fast, high-scoring qualification run, which landed him almost a point and a half ahead of the field. He said, “In qualifications I did a great run, I was in my game and I dominated. I’m really disappointed about my mistake in the finals today, but I know if I’m skiing to my best I can be at the top.”

Guilbaut Colas of France won today’s FIS World Cup, Patrick Deneen of the U.S. was second and Bryon Wilson of the U.S. was third.

While five Canadian men made it to today’s finals, the unfortunate way the dual ladder played out meant that in the first round two sets of Canadians went head-to-head: Bilodeau against last week’s second-place finisher Mikael Kingsbury; and Saint-Sauveur’s Cedric Rochon against veteran Drummondville, Que. native Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau.

Bilodeau’s coach, Michel Hamelin commented, “We had some bad luck in the way we qualified for finals for the men, two Canadians were eliminated for sure after the first round, but that’s duals for you, it’s very unpredictable. In fact, from looking at the training runs today you never could have predicted the winners.”

Rochon finished the day in eight spot, Rousseau was 12th, Philippe Marquis of Quebec City who was skiing with an injured shoulder was 14th and Kingsbury of Deux-Montagnes, Que. was 16th. Eddie Hicks of Langley, B.C. didn’t make finals and was 43rd for the day.

The Canadian National Mogul Team heads to China tomorrow to join their aerials teammates for an FIS World Cup event in Beida Lake later in the week.

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For more information, contact Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com

Results:

Meribel, France

Ladies Dual Mogul Final, December 15, 2010

1. Yulia Galysheva, KAZ; 2. Hannah Kearney, USA; 3. Justine Dufour-Lapointe, Montreal, Que; 4. Ekaterina Stolyarova, RUS; 5. Regina Rakhimova, RUS; 6. Jennifer Heil, Spruce Grove, Alta; 7. Deborah Scanzio, ITA; 8. Yuliya Rodionava, KAZ; 9. Miki Ito, JPN; 10. Kristi Richards, Summerland, B.C.; 11. Marika Pertakhiya, RUS; 12. Heather McPhie, USA; 13. Audrey Robichaud, Quebec City; 14. Tereza Vaculikova, CZE; 15. Nikola Sudova, CZE; 16. Chelsea Henitiuk, Spruce Grove, Alta.

34. Maxime Dufour-Lapointe, Montreal, Que.

Results:

Meribel, France

Men’s Dual Mogul Final, December 15, 2010

1. Guilbaut Colas, FRA; 2. Patrick Deneen, USA; 3. Bryon Wilson, USA; 4. Sergey Volkov, RUS; 5. Alex Bilodeau, Montreal, Que.; 6. Alexandr Smyshlyaev, RUS; 7. Dmitriy Reiherd, KAZ; 8. Cedric Rochon, St. Sauveur, Que; 9. Jeremy Cota, USA; 10. Nobuyki Nishi, JPN; 11. Artem Valinteev, RUS; 12. Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau, Drummondville, Que.; 13. Jesper Bjoerlund, SWE; 14. Philippe Marquis, Quebec City; 15. Ville Miettunen, FIN; 16. Mikael Kingsbury, Deux-Montagnes, Que.

43. Eddie Hicks, Langley, B.C.

The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association is the governing body in Canada for the sport of Freestyle Skiing. Our mission is to develop, in a safe, fun and ethical manner, Olympic and World Champions in all disciplines of the sport of Freestyle Skiing.

You can watch the best freestyle athletes in the world compete in Canada at the 2011 Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix events, presented by Ernst & Young at: Ski Mont Gabriel, QC on January 15 & 16 and at Winsport Canada Olympic Park, AB on January 29. Media accreditation for these events can be found at: http://www.freestyleski.com/page.php?la=en&pa=media&id=accreditation

Val St. Come event is the first on the new Marble Mogul course

Terrebonne, Quebec’s Marc-Antoine Gagnon

Check out the next generation of Canadian mogul contenders live on webcast. The Canadian Selection event in Val St. Côme on December 18 and 19 will be aired on www.webmedias.tv. Don’t miss it! Qualifications are scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. EST each day, Finals at 1:30 p.m. EST.

Provincial mogul team members from across the country along with their C-level National Team counterparts will be competing in the first-ever Canadian Selections, and the first official event from the new Marble Mogul Course at the Val St. Come Freestyle Training Centre in the Lanaudière region.

The Canadian Selections event in Val St. Côme is the first stop on the newly-created Canada Post Mogul Cup Tour. Other stops include the Canadian Series West event at Apex Mountain on January 15-16; the Canadian Series East event in Beaver Valley, Ont. on March 15-18; the Canada Post Junior National Championships at Marmot Basin, Alta on March 10-13; and the Canada Post National Championships at Val St. Côme on March 25-27.

Competitors who take part in Canada Post Mogul Cup Tour events will earn points for their placing in each eligible event. Points earned from their best four placings (of nine possible mogul and dual mogul competitions) this season will count towards the Cup. Provincial organizations may use these rankings in the selection of Provincial Team athletes and the CFSA will use the rankings for future junior talent identification camps planned for summer 2011.

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For more information contact CFSA Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com

The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association is the governing body in Canada for the sport of Freestyle Skiing. Our mission is to develop, in a safe, fun and ethical manner, Olympic and World Champions in all disciplines of the sport of Freestyle Skiing. You can watch the best freestyle athletes in the world compete in Canada at the 2011 Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix events, presented by Ernst & Young at: Ski Mont Gabriel, QC on January 15 & 16 and at Winsport Canada Olympic Park, AB on January 29. Media accreditation for these events can be found at: http://www.freestyleski.com/page.php?la=en&pa=media&id=accreditation

“Dramatic situation” prompts charter flight from the Arctic Circle

It wasn’t Santa’s sleigh, but it was the next best thing that whisked the Canadian National Mogul team, along with their Freestyle compatriots from six other countries and a host of FIS officials and coaches away from the land of the reindeer on Sunday.

In the wake of a Finnair strike, that left the teams desperate to get themselves and their considerable amount of luggage to France in time for the Meribel FIS World Cup this Wednesday, FIS Freestyle Coordinator Joseph Fitzgerald went into overdrive and chartered a 737 from Kussamo, Finland direct to Geneva, Switzerland. In Fitzgerald’s words it was a “dramatic situation” that provided the only viable option for moving 74 people and 200 pieces of luggage from Ruka, a mere 100 km from the North Pole, to central Europe.

Whistler's Eddie Hicks discusses strategy with Coach Rob Kober

Hot on the heels of a stellar opening event, the Canadian team was thrilled to arrive safely in Meribel yesterday with all its bags, and was eager to start training for the Dual Mogul event.

The team managed to come out of Finland with its own sack of early Christmas gifts – silver medal’s for Montreal’s Jenn Heil and Deux Montagnes’ Mikael Kingsbury, and a bronze for Summerland’s Kristi Richards, along with a total of nine, top-10 finishes.

Canadian Freestyle Ski Association High Performance Program Director David Mirota said that he is optimistic about the Canadian’s chances in Meribel and the overall outlook for the season. Referring to the amazing performances by 18-year-old Kingsbury and the fifth place finish from 16-year-old Justine Dufour-Lapointe, and the fact that all but one of the Canadian entrants in last weekend’s events made it to the finals, Mirota said,  “Its exciting to see the veterans and rookies performing like this. There is no doubt that this mogul team has depth.”

For more information about the event, or to schedule athlete interviews, please contact CFSA Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com

Athlete Hometown Freestyle Ski Club Jenn Heil Spruce Grove, Alta and Montreal, Que. Northern Alberta Kristi Richards Summerland, B.C. Apex Audrey Robichaud Quebec City, Que. Le Relais Chloé Dufour-Lapointe Montreal, Que. Ski Mont-Gabriel Maxime Dufour-Lapointe Montreal, Que. Ski Mont-Gabriel Justine Dufour-Lapointe Montreal, Que. Ski Mont-Gabriel Chelsea Henitiuk Spruce Grove, Alta and Whistler, B.C. Jasper Freestyle Alex Bilodeau Montreal, Que. Mont St-Sauveur P-A Rousseau Drummondville, Que. Mont-Sainte-Anne Philippe Marquis Quebec City, Que. Stoneham Mikaël Kingsbury Deux-Montagnes, Que. Mont St-Sauveur Cédric Rochon Saint-Sauveur, Que. Belle-Neige Eddie Hicks Langley, B.C. Blackcomb Freestyle

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The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association is the governing body in Canada for the sport of Freestyle Skiing. Our mission is to develop, in a safe, fun and ethical manner, Olympic and World Champions in all disciplines of the sport of Freestyle Skiing.

You can watch the best freestyle athletes in the world compete in Canada at the 2011 Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix events, presented by Ernst & Young at: Ski Mont Gabriel, QC on January 15 & 16 and at Winsport Canada Olympic Park, AB on January 29. Media accreditation for these events can be found at: http://www.freestyleski.com/page.php?la=en&pa=media&id=accreditation

Kingsbury takes first trip to the World Cup podium

Kristi Richards, Mikael Kingsbury and Jenn Heil celebrate in Ruka!

RUKA, Finland, December 11, 2010 – Mikaël Kingsbury of Deux-Montagnes, Que., took home his first FIS World Cup medal today and Jenn Heil of Spruce Grove, Alta., along with teammate Kristi Richards from Summerland, B.C. added to the Canadian coffers with a two, three finish.

In men’s moguls, Kingsbury posted the best air points of the finals, which earned him the silver medal with a score of 24.89. Patrick Deneen of the U.S. was first at 25.23 and Guilbaut Colas of France was third at 24.78.

At only 18, last season’s FIS Rookie of the Year, Kingsbury pulled off a double full at the top of the course and a cork 1080 on the bottom air. He said, “Everything went really well on the run and I didn’t make any mistakes today. I feel fast and strong in the moguls. I’m so happy; you’ve never seen a smile this big on my face. I’ve been waiting to win a World Cup medal since I was eight years old watching the World Cup at Tremblant.”

Cédric Rochon of Saint-Sauveur, Que. was the next Canadian, in 5th at 23.99, Olympic Champion Alex Bilodeau finished the day in seventh spot with a score of 23.55.

On the women’s side, Jenn Heil at 24.02 was narrowly edged out of first by 2010 Olympic Champion Hannah Kearney of the U.S. at 24.09. Richards was third with 23.52.

Heil, the five-time Crystal Globe winner who now makes Montreal her home said, “It’s always great to be at the first World Cup of the season and to get back into the rhythm. I had a breakthrough on my skis at a training camp earlier in the season and I could feel it today, although I wasn’t skiing at my full limit. Now it’s time to charge it up for next week’s contest in France.”

For her part, Richards was very excited to stand on the podium next to her teammate. “I was so happy to be up there with Jenn. It was just so nice to start the season with all the Canadians doing so well, it was a great feeling for all the team,” she said, referring to the fact that five Canadian women made it to today’s 16-women final.

Richards said she had a difficult week and had to manage the emotions of her 20th place finish at the Vancouver Games, “It’s been an interesting time for me, there have been a lot of emotions from the Games, and I’ve had to face them and overcome them by trying to simplify things – feeling wind on my face, snow under my skis, and by being patient on my jumps.”

The other big Canadian story of the day was 16-year-old Justine Dufour-Lapointe’s amazing 5th place finish in her first-ever World Cup appearance.

Canadian Mogul Coach Darcy Downs said today’s three medals, and the fact that five men and five women made finals bodes well for the rest of the season. He said, “We have awesome moguls depth in Canada that’s coming up strong and it sure makes me proud. The whole coaching team is really stoked today.”

The team next competes in Meribel, France on Wednesday.

For more information, contact Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelleykorbin@freestyleski.com.

Full results:

Ladies Moguls Final, December 11, 2010

1. Hannah Kearney – USA (24.09); 2. Jenn Heil — Spruce Grove, Alta. and Montreal, Que .(24.02); 3. Kristi Richards – Summerland, B.C. (23.52); 4. Eliza Outtrim – USA (22.97); 5. Justine Dufour-Lapointe – Montreal, Que. (22.76); 6. Audrey Robichaud — Quebec City (22.74); 7. Yulia Gaysheva – KAZ (22.68); 8. Maxime Dufour-Lapointe – Montreal, Que. (22.56); 9. Regina Rakhimova – RUS (22.53); 10. Heidi Kloser – USA (22.39); 11.Ekaterina Stolyarova – RUS (22.30); 12. Deborah Scanzio – ITA (22.11); 13. Heather McPhie – USA (22.10), 14. Nikola Sudova – CZE (21.47); 15. Chelsea Henitiuk, Whistler B.C. (21.22); 16. Miki Ito – JPN (20.97).

Men’s Moguls Final, December 11, 2010

1. Patrick Deneen – USA (25.23); 2. Mikael Kingsbury – Deux Montagnes, Que. (24.89); 3. Guilbaut Colas – FRA (24.78); 4. Dimitriy Reiherd – KAZ (24.61); 5. Cedric Rochon – Saint Sauveur, Que. (23.99); 6. Dale Begg-Smith – AUS (23.81); 7. Alex Bilodeau – Rosemere, Que. (23.55); 8. Alexandr Smyshlyaev – RUS (23.53); 9. Arttu Kiramo – FIN (23.53); 10. Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau – Drummondville, Que. (23.31); 11. Sergey Volkov – RUS (23.22); 12. Nobuyuki Nishi – JPN (23.08); 13. Eddie Hicks — Langley, B.C. (22.70); 14. Jeremy Cota – USA (22.68); 15. Denis Dolgodvorov – RUS (22.52); 16. Sho Endo – JPN (22.08)

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The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association is the governing body in Canada for the sport of Freestyle Skiing. Our mission is to develop, in a safe, fun and ethical manner, Olympic and World Champions in all disciplines of the sport of Freestyle Skiing.

You can watch the best freestyle athletes in the world compete in Canada at the 2011 Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix events, presented by Ernst & Young at: Ski Mont Gabriel, QC on January 15 & 16 and at Winsport Canada Olympic Park, AB on January 29. Media accreditation for these events can be found at: http://www.freestyleski.com/page.php?la=en&pa=media&id=accreditation

Groenewoud and Dorey golden, Riddle takes the silver

Happy Birthday win for Roz G. Photo by Tom Zikas

Rosalind Groenewoud of Squamish, B.C.  gave herself a very happy 21st birthday at the The Visa U.S. Halfpipe Grand Prix NorAm event at Copper Mountain in Colorado today. She was the queen of the pipe beating out the USA’s 5x-X Games champion Jen Hudak for top spot. Canadian Teammate’s Justin Dorey and Mike Riddle also made the podium at the season’s first Ski Halfpipe FIS event, placing first and second in the men’s division.

Under challenging weather conditions, including heavy snowfall that affected all the athletes’ speed, Groenewoud managed to put together an amazing first run in a field that included the world’s best female halfpipe skiers. Groenewoud finished her run with her signature switch 540 – a trick that very few women have mastered.

Groenewoud said, “It feels amazing to win today, it’s great to start season off with a bang and get my tricks under me.”

Sherwood Park, Alta’s Riddle started the day in top spot from the qualification round on Wednesday and managed to hold onto that lead until his second run when teammate Dorey from Vernon, B.C. came back from 6th spot to win gold. Simon Dumont from the U.S.A. was third.

“Today was as good as it could get,” said Dorey. “Riddle and I were one, two in quallies and we told each other we had to be in one-two in finals. I had a good feeling up at the top of the pipe, landed my first trick well and then really got into my groove.”

That first trick is a huge double-cork 1260 – a trick both he and Riddle perfected this past summer in New Zealand.

Coach Trennon Paynter was thrilled with his team’s performance and said, “The day couldn’t have gone any better. Roz killed it and won hands down with her first run, and the guys were clearly the top of this elite field today.”

Paynter added that the best of two run format is pushing the boundaries of ski Halfpipe and allowing the athletes to go bigger and better every year.

Canadian ski Halfpipe athletes next compete in at the Dew Tour in Breckenridge, CO, Dec. 16-19.  The Canadian National Mogul Team has its FIS World Cup season-opener tomorrow in Ruka, Finland.

Ski Halfpipe and Ski Slopestyle are both hoping to receive IOC acceptance to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

For more information, contact Media Relations Manager Kelley Korbin at: kelley korbin@freestyleski.com.

The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association is the governing body in Canada for the sport of Freestyle Skiing. Our mission is to develop, in a safe, fun and ethical manner, Olympic and World Champions in all disciplines of the sport of Freestyle Skiing.

You can watch the best freestyle athletes in the world compete in Canada at the 2011 Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix events, presented by Ernst & Young at: Ski Mont Gabriel, QC on January 15 & 16 and at Winsport Canada Olympic Park, AB on January 29.
 Media accreditation for these events can be found at: http://www.freestyleski.com/page.php?la=en&pa=media&id=accreditation

Urtur Video VISA Ski Halfpipe Grand Prix in Copper Mountain, CO.