Today 18 U16 AOA racers from the 2018 U16 High Performance Program (HPP) traveled to Whistler, B.C. for the first of two on-snow camps designed for the 2018 program. The team will be led by U16 coaches Heather Metzger (Georgian Peaks), Graeme Buckrell (Osler Bluff) and Stefan Overgaard (Osler Bluff). Additional staff accompanying the racers includes Osler Bluff Ski Club Alumni Joey Young along with AOA’s Duncan Gibson-Maclean. Joey will assist in both a coaching role and mentoring role, getting to know the athletes and speaking to his own personal journey through the many phases of alpine ski races. Joey most recently skied with the University Of Boulder, Treble Cone Academy in New Zealand and before this the National Ski Academy.
Attending athletes include:
Zoe Caldwell, Georgian Peaks Ski Club
Lucie Cook, Glacier Ski Club
Mikayla Cornthwaite, North Bay Antoine Ski Racers
Ava Symons, Osler Bluff Ski Club
Elizabeth (Lizzie) White, Georgian Peaks Ski Club
Zoe Zemla, Georgian Peaks Ski Club
Jayden Buckrell, Osler Bluff Ski Club
Dax Cavers, Craigleith Ski Club
Jacob Davidson, Georgian Peaks Ski Club
Jacob Foote, Georgian Peaks Ski Club
Calum Hayes, Toronto Ski Club
Theron Inglis, Devil’s Glen Country Club
Colin Kress, Georgian Peaks Ski Club
Julian Mojsiak, Georgian Peaks Ski Club
Aidan Nella, Georgian Peaks Ski Club
Aleks Valadka, Georgian Peaks Ski Club
Liam Vlaad, Alpine Ski Club
Declin Williams, Osler Bluff Ski Club
The trip runs from June 27th to July 7th with a focus on Slalom on the Whistler Glacier. The team will be staying in the Vancouver Olympic Athlete Village which offers an excellent facility for multi-sport (basketball courts, tennis courts and many fields) along with a large cooking area allowing the team to manage their own food.
SXS Fitness owner Stefan Overgaard will be overseeing the dryland portion of the camp as the athletes move in to their second phase of the athletic training. The first phase of training was introduced at the May 11-13th Kilcoo weekend retreat with racers having spent the last 6 weeks working on these exercises. This fitness regime is designed with the intent of producing a stronger, fitter skier over the off-season that is not only competition ready, but also less prone to injury once on snow.
The end goal of the U16HPP remains AOA to strengthen its position and performance at the U16 level at higher level competitions. AOA is seeking to develop high-performance athletes and well-rounded human beings. These athletes will be able to use skills that will help them to adapt to any environment, thus enabling them to focus on their personal performance in any given situation.
More information on the U16HPP can be found here>