Canyon hosts top ski cross racers ahead of World Cup event

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The Canada Games allowed for renovations at Canyon, including the installation of a ski cross track, which was the field of play for this weekend’s competition. The athletes, many of whom are in the country from the U.S.A., Japan and Switzerland, are acclimating to the region’s timezone and weather ahead of a World Cup event Jan. 17-18 at Nakiska Ski Area in Kananaskis.

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Gairns may have been one of those had she not recently torn her ACL and been sidelined for another eight months. Born on Canada Day, the Calgary resident added that the venue’s importance is amplified by the fact that Canada is consistently at or near the top of the podium for ski cross, and it wants to stay there.

Meantime, David Martel, Canyon Ski Resort’s co-owner and GM, says events like these continue to put their venue on the map.

“There’s no need to go to the mountains to have big grandiose competitions. And a lot of the athletes have mentioned that they can do more laps when they’re training because they don’t have a 900 metre vertical to get to their course that takes 40 seconds to go down,” Martel remarks.

Top to bottom, Canyon boasts a 164 metre height.

David Martel, co-owner/GM at Canyon Ski Resort, says this weekend’s Nor-Am competition is an example of the legacy left by the Canada Winter Games. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

“One of the biggest perks that Alpine Canada has been able to use us for is our snow-making capabilities. We get the cold weather needed to make snow and we were the first cross course to open in Canada this year due to that.”

Canyon hosted a Youth Olympic Games qualifier earlier this season, and has multiple still to come, including the Canadian Jr. Championships for moguls March 13-15, and a Canada Cup Series moguls event March 21-22.

Heather McRae, this weekend’s race administrator and a member of Evolve Ski Cross in Calgary, says the track is exceptional for introducing new athletes to the sport and for giving national athletes an opportunity to do track-specific training.

“When most people think of coming to western Canada, they think about going to Bow Valley or to the Rocky Mountains,” she says. “Albertans have really embraced ski cross and it’s thriving in our province, so for this to be located in Red Deer, which isn’t perceived as a mountain village, it kind of catches people off guard, especially because you have to drive down to get to it, not up.”

Event results can be found here once competition has ended.