SNOWBOARDING:

Canada Snowboard names 2011 worlds freestyle team

Jan. 10, 2011 — Canada Snowboard 

Canada Snowboard has announced its roster for the freestyle disciplines of the 2011 FIS World Snowboard Championships in La Molina, Spain, from Jan. 14-22. More than 370 athletes from 44 countries are expected to partake in this most important event outside of the Olympic Games.

Canada will be represented by seven riders in the Olympic discipline of halfpipe, eight riders in slopestyle and four in the big-air competition.

The 2011 World Championships will be a historical event as it will showcase the discipline of slopestyle for the first time. The discipline is under evaluation for Olympic inclusion by the International Olympic Committee.

The halfpipe crew of seven includes five riders who competed at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as two riders with previous World Championships medals.

The team will be guided by head coach Leo Addington of Vancouver and technical coach Abram “Abe” Teter of South Lake Tahoe, Calif.

“We’ve had a good season so far, aligned with the objectives that we gave ourselves. The riders have had good training camps recently, and will be competitive at the worlds in La Molina,” said Addington.

Brad Martin, Justin Lamoureux and Derek Livingston will be riding the men’s halfpipe contest.

Martin, 23, is the defending Canadian champion in halfpipe. Martin has five World Cup podiums under his belt.

Lamoureux, 34, who posted the best Canadian result at the 2010 Games with a seventh place, is the 2009 World Cup champion, winning the crystal globe in men’s halfpipe last season.

Sarah Conrad, Alexandra Duckworth, Mercedes Nicoll and Palmer Taylor will be competing in the women’s contest.

Nicoll, 26, will be looking for a solid performance after her strong finish of the 2010 season. Nicoll placed fifth at the 2010 Games, tying the best-ever finish by a Canadian halfpipe rider in the women’s contest, and went on to podium in the last two FIS World Cup events.

Conrad, a veteran of six years on the Canadian snowboard team, started the 2011 season on a good note by finishing eighth in halfpipe at the U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain, Colo., in December.

Taylor, 18, is the defending Canadian champion in women’s halfpipe.

Canadians won medals in halfpipe at the past three World Championships — all three medals in men’s contests. Both Martin and Lamoureux have won medals at World Championships — a silver medal won in 2005 at Whistler for Lamoureux and a bronze medal at the 2007 World Championships in Arosa, Switzerland, for Martin. Jeff Batchelor won silver at the 2009 World Championships in Gangwon, Korea. Batchelor will not compete at these championships as he is focusing of completing his education.

CANADIAN PODIUMS AT WORLDS – FREESTYLE SNOWBOARDING
2009 – BATCHELOR, Jeff – HP – Silver
2007 – MARTIN, Brad – HP – Bronze
2005 – LAMOUREUX, Justin – HP – Silver

Japan’s Ryoh Aono and China’s Jiayu Liu are the defending world champions in the men’s and women’s halfpipe, while Markku Koski of Finland is the current world champion in big air.

The alpine snowboarding (PGS, PSL) and snowboardcross (SBX) teams will be announced at a later date, prior to the World Championships. S-Magazine

CANADIAN SNOWBOARD TEAM – HALFPIPE – WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

WOMEN
CONRAD, Sarah (Halifax, NS)
DUCKWORTH, Alexandra (Kingsburg, NS)
NICOLL, Mercedes (Whistler, BC)
TAYLOR, Palmer (Collingwood, ON)

MEN
LAMOUREUX, Justin (Squamish, BC)
LIVINGSTON, Derek (Aurora, ON)
MARTIN, Brad (Ancaster, ON)

CANADIAN SNOWBOARD TEAM – BIG AIR – WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

MEN
BEAULIEU, Julien (Lac Beauport, QC)
LEBLANC, Alexandre (Beaupré, QC)
GRAY, Harrison (Newmarket, ON)
STONE, Zachary (Thornbury, ON)

CANADIAN SNOWBOARD TEAM – SLOPESTYLE – WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

WOMEN
DENENA, Samm (Orillia, ON)
DUCKWORTH, Alexandra (Kingsburg, NS)
RACINE, Marie-Andrée (Brackendale, BC)
RUDGE, Diane (Thornbury, ON)

MEN
BALHARRY, Robby (Canmore, AB)
BEAULIEU, Julien (Lac Beauport, QC)
CATTON, Elliot (Collingwood, ON)
STONE, Zachary (Thornbury, ON)

HIGH PERFORMANCE STAFF – FREESTYLE SNOWBOARDING
ADDINGTON, Leo (Vancouver, BC) – Head Coach
TETER, Abram [Abe] (South Lake Tahoe, CA) – Technical Coach
JONCAS, Robert (North Vancouver, BC) – Director, High performance
M’SEFFAR, Nadia (Vancouver, BC) – Manager, High performance