ALPINE:

Four Canadian alpine athletes score GM wheels for a year

March 31, 2010 — Alpine Canada

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CALGARY, Alberta — Four Canadian ski racers were presented with keys to new General Motors vehicles at Canada Olympic Park on Saturday following the conclusion of the GMC Canadian Championships.

GMC provides a vehicle for one year to a Canadian skier who finishes in the top 10 in any discipline, wins a World Cup race or earns a podium at the World Championships or Olympic Winter Games, through the unique incentive program now in its eighth year.

"The entire Canadian Alpine Ski Team represented our nation extremely well in international competition this past season. We are very pleased to offer this incentive to those who excelled on the slopes and congratulate the four recipients on their accomplishments," said Fred Lautenschlager, sponsorship manager at GM of Canada.

With World Cup wins during the 2009-10 season, Erik Guay and Manuel Osborne-Paradis qualified to keep the vehicles they received last season. Osborne-Paradis and Guay selected a GMC Yukon Hybrid and GMC Yukon Denali, respectively, after qualifying a season ago.

Michael Janyk, the slalom bronze medallist at the 2009 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, qualified to keep his GMC Acadia or select another vehicle this season by finishing ninth in the men's slalom standings this season with 267 points.

Emily Brydon, who officially retired from World Cup ski racing earlier this week, placed sixth in the downhill and 10th in the super-combined.

"Once again, GMC has really stepped up and showed their support for their athletes and their accomplishments. The fact that GMC is honouring this deal although I am retiring really shows the spirit and passion of the great company. It has been an honour to ski for them for all these years. I have fallen in love with my GMC Acadia, so I am extremely happy I have the opportunity to drive one for another year," said Brydon.

General Motors of Canada is a platinum-level partner of Canada's Alpine Ski Teams and the title sponsor of Canada's development ski series the GMC Cup and GMC Canadian Championships, as well as the exclusive vehicle supplier to the national teams.

GMC ski programs include leveraging the expertise of the GM engineering staff at the aerodynamics lab at GM's Technical Center in Warren, Michigan — typically used to test the effects of wind on future car and truck designs — to hone racing techniques and search for increased speeds. GM also hosts ski waxing clinics at dealerships across the country to encourage more Canadians to enjoy the sport and raise funds for amateur ski clubs.

Canada's alpine ski teams finished the season with four World Cup victories, the most since 1984, as well as eight World Cup podiums. Guay also became the first Canadian since Steve Podborski in 1982 to win an overall discipline title. Canada's Para-Alpine Ski Team also finished with 13 medals at the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver/Whistler.  SRC