SKI CROSS:
Ski cross national championships descend on Lake Louise
LAKE LOUISE, Alberta — World champions Kelsey Serwa and Chris Del Bosco will go hunting for more hardware this week as the 2011 Sport Chek Ski Cross Canadian Championships bring the national team’s wildly successful season to a close in Lake Louise, Alta.
Serwa, of Kelowna, B.C., racked up five World Cup podiums and was ranked third in the overall standings despite competing for much of the latter part of the year with a back injury sustained when she won gold at the Winter X Games.
Del Bosco, of Sudbury, Ont., came into the year recovering from surgery but went on a tear after winning his first World Cup race of the season in Les Contamines, France, in January. He finished the year by winning at the World Cup Finals in Myrkdalen-Voss, Norway, and he was second in the overall World Cup standings.
This week, Del Bosco, Serwa and the rest of the national team — fresh off a Nations Cup victory at the World Cup Finals — head to Lake Louise to compete in Saturday’s Sport Chek Ski Cross Canadian Championships.
“It’s definitely a cool title,” said Del Bosco of the national championship. “I won the first one we had in Red Mountain in 2008. I’m still healthy and will definitely try to win this one.”
Serwa, who was only 62 points back of crystal globe winner Anna Holmlund of Sweden despite missing a World Cup race in Germany to attend X Games, is anxious to earn another national title.
“I think it’s good that we have one last event,” said Serwa, who won the Canadian ski cross title in 2009 at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alta. “I want to end on a good note.”
The weekend action includes training on Friday, the Canadian championships on Saturday and the Canadian Open on Sunday.
“The Forzani Group Ltd. and its retail brands, Sport Chek and Sports Experts, are excited sponsors of the Ski Cross Canadian Championships being held in Lake Louise, Alberta, April 1 and 2,” said Forzani Group Ltd. CEO Bob Sartor. “Ski Cross is a young, exciting alpine sport that will capture the imagination of a new generation of alpine skiers, and we are proud to be associated with the ski cross team, Canadian circuit and these Canadian championships.”
Before the Sport Chek Canadian Championships get under way at Lake Louise, the national ski cross team will be involved in the One Surface event at Canada Olympic Park on Thursday.
The day starts with a Fast and Female Pow Wow at Canada Olympic Park at 9:30 a.m., which features Serwa, Olympic gold medallist Ashleigh McIvor and others. That’s followed by a Sport Chek ski cross clinic with members of the national team from noon to 2 p.m.
EVENT SCHEDULE: SPORT CHEK SKI CROSS CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS & OPEN, ONE SURFACE EVENT
March 31 One Surface ski cross Fast & Female Pow Wow 9:30 a.m. COP
March 31 One Surface ski cross Ski cross clinic 12 p.m. COP
March 31 One Surface ski cross Media availability 2 p.m. COP
March 31 One Surface alpine event Provincial dual 6 p.m. COP
April 1 Ski cross Cdn Champs Training 10:30 a.m. Lake Louise
April 2 Ski cross Cdn Champs Qualification 12 p.m. Lake Louise
April 2 Ski cross Cdn Champs Finals, M/W 1:30 p.m. Lake Louise
April 3 Ski cross Canadian Open Qualification 12 p.m. Lake Louise
April 3 Ski cross Canadian Open Finals 1:30 p.m. Lake Louise
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