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Media Release

Nordiq Canada Selects Athletes to Compete on FIS World Cup, U23 and Junior World Championships

December 18, 2020

CANMORE, Alta.—Nordiq Canada has selected 27 athletes who will head to Europe in January to represent Canada in a series of international races.

Providing it is deemed safe to travel internationally, Canada plans to suit up their best ranked athletes for five World Cup races from January to March, the FIS Nordic Junior/U23 Cross-Country World Ski Championships in Vuokatti, FIN (Feb. 6-13), and the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf, GER (Feb. 23 – March 7). Athletes selected for the post-holiday break international trip were selected based on achieving the following Competition Trip Criteria: https://bit.ly/3h19ubq

“Not having competitions in Canada this season to evaluate athlete performance, we developed an objective criteria for this trip in consultation with the High Performance Committee that is focused on maximizing Canada’s FIS nations’ ranking through all of these international events, while managing risks associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” said Kate Boyd, high performance director, Nordiq Canada. “Our goal is to field a team for targeted events in an effort to achieve the necessary points for Canada to maintain, or improve, the nation rankings that will allow us to secure maximum quota spots for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games and the 2021-22 World Cup season.”

The following athletes have met the revised Nordiq Canada Competition Trip Criteria to participate in World Cup Period 3:

Women

  • Katherine Stewart-Jones (Chelsea, Que.)
  • Dahria Beatty (Whitehorse)
  • Maya MacIsaac-Jones (Athabasca, Alta.)
  • Cendrine Browne (Saint-Jérôme, Que.)
  • Laura Leclair (Chelsea, Que.)

Men

  • Antoine Cyr (Gatineau, Que.)
  • Phillipe Boucher (Levis, Que.)
  • Remi Drolet (Rossland, B.C.)
  • Pierre Grall-Johnson (Ottawa)
  • Russell Kennedy (Canmore, Alta.)
  • Graham Ritchie (Parry Sound, Ont.)

Canada plans to compete in the following World Cup events:
January
23-24 – WC Lahti, FIN
30-31 – WC Falun, SWE
February
7-8 – WC Ulricehamn, SWE
20-21 – WC Nove Mesto, CZE
March
12-14 – WC Oslo, NOR

Drolet, Grall-Johnson, Cyr and Ritchie will be joined by Sam Hendry (Canmore, Alta.) to form the Canadian men’s squad that will depart on January 29, 2021 for the FIS Nordic U23 Cross-Country World Ski Championships, Vuokatti, FIN in February.

The women’s team will include: Annika Richardson (Vancouver); Elizabeth Elliott (Revelstoke, B.C.)
Hannah Mehain (Vernon, B.C.); Benita Peiffer (Whistler, B.C.); and Shaylynn Loewen (Parry Sound, Ont.)

Canada will select a team of up to 10 athletes in February for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf, GER based on results achieved at World Cup and U23 Cross-Country World Ski Championships.

Nordiq Canada also plans to send a full team of five women and five men who will be focused on making a return trip to the podium at the Junior World Championships in Finland. The following athletes are also scheduled to depart Canada on January 29, 2021:

Women Men
Jasmine Drolet (Rossland, B.C.) Tom Stephen (Calgary)
Molly Miller (Kimberly, B.C.) Xavier McKeever (Canmore, Alta.)
Liliane Gagnon (Quebec City) Olivier Léveillé (Sherbrooke, Que.)
Anna Pryce (Calgary) Joe Davies (Pemberton, B.C.)
Alexandra Luxmoore (Revelstoke, B.C.) Félix-Oliver Moreau (St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que.)

“This is a young and talented group of athletes who represent the future of our sport and are hungry to get back on the start line to earn quota spots for Canada,” added Boyd, who added robust protocols will be in place including a bubble concept while traveling.

“While we believe it is important to provide competitive race opportunities for all of our athletes, this will not come at all costs. We are going to continue to work with our medical advisors in assessing the pandemic and potential risks to our team, and program. If it is not safe, we will be prepared to cancel this portion of the season, but we are optimistic we can get back on the start line. I know this group of athletes will stay ready and do Canada proud.”

Nordiq Canada also has resources to support the entire cross-country skiing community in staying healthy at https://covid.nordiqcanad.ca.

Nordiq Canada is the governing body of para-nordic and cross-country skiing in Canada, which is the nation’s optimal sport and recreational activity with more than one million Canadians participating annually. Its 60,000 members include athletes, coaches, officials and skiers of all ages and abilities. With the support of its valued corporate partners – Haywood Securities Inc., AltaGas, Swix and Lanctôt Sports– along with the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee, Own the Podium and B2Ten, Nordiq Canada develops Olympic, Paralympic and World champions. For more information on Nordiq Canada, please visit us at www.nordiqcanada.ca.