IPC World Championships get underway in Kangwon Land, KOR February 20

IPC WORLDS: CANADIAN PARA-ALPINE SKI TEAM SENDING 12 ATHLETES TO THE 2009 IPC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

KANGWON LAND, KOR  – For the first time in its history, the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team will enter the IPC World Championships as the top-ranked team in Nations Cup rankings.

The CPAST team, which has 24 medals in two IPC World Cup events thus far this season including 11 gold, is sending 12 high performance athletes and has set a goal of 15 medals for the 2009 World Championships which get underway in Kangwon Land, KOR Feb. 21.

The IPC World Championships will crown the world’s best slalom, giant slalom, super combined, super G and downhill para-alpine ski racers.

The CPAST team’s goal of 15 medals during the 2009 IPC World Championships would represent a significant improvement from the last IPC World Championships in 2004 at Wildschönau, AUT where the CPAST team got four medals.

“Our preparation for this year has been focus towards peak performances from our athletes at the World Championships and the World Cup Finals in Whistler. The World Championships itself is very important because it represents a good opportunity to evaluate our capacity to produce results on demand at a major event with a similar schedule to the Paralympic Games, only one year away from the Games. It is also the first IPC World Championships since 2004, so it feels even more prestigious. Most of our athletes will be competing at their very first World Championships in Korea,” said CPAST High Performance Director Jean-François Rapatel.        

Lauren Woolstencroft (North Vancouver, BC), Kimberly Joines (Rossland, BC) and Chris Williamson (Markham, ON) all IPC World Championships medal winners in 2004, will lead the team again in 2009.

So far in the 2008-09 season the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team leads the IPC Nations Cup standings for the first time in the team’s history. The CPAST team is also coming off its best season ever, finishing second overall last year.

Woolstencroft, who is in the ladies standing category, is ranked first in each of the disciplines (slalom, giant slalom, super G, super combines and downhill). In the ladies sitting category, Joines is ranked first in giant slalom, super G, super combined and downhill and in the men’s visually impaired category Williamson, along with guide Nick Brush (Panorama, BC) is ranked first in slalom, super G and super combined.

2009 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
SHEDULE OF EVENTS

Para-alpine ski racing has three different categories in each race, with events in visually impaired, standing and sitting categories for both men and ladies.

2009 IPC PARA-ALPINE WORLD SKI CHAMPIONSHIPS
CANADIAN ROSTER – MEN AND WOMEN
Name (Residence) Category

Nick Brush (Vernon, BC) Guide (Chris Williamson)

Josh Dueck (Vernon, BC) LW 11

Andrea Dziewior (Nanaimo, BC) LW 2

Arly Fogarty (Montreal, QC) LW 5/7

Viviane Forest (Edmonton, AB) B2

Matthew Hallat (Coquitlam, BC) LW 2

Kimberly Joines (Edmonton, AB) LW 12/1

Morgan Perrin (Vancouver, BC) LW3/2

Lindsay Debou (Whistler, BC) Guide (Viviane Forest)

Chris Williamson (Markham, ON) B 3

Karolina Wisniewska (Vancouver, BC / Calgary, AB) LW3/2

Lauren Woolstencroft (North Vancouver, BC) LW 3/1

For more details related to classification, click here.