Summerland’s Kristi Richards and other members of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Team are enroute to Sochi, Russia, to compete in Europa Cup mogul and aerial events on March 4 and 5.
The National Team normally limits itself to FIS World Cup level competition, but the organization couldn’t resist the opportunity to check out the 2014 Olympic courses.
Canada Freestyle CEO Peter Judge explained,
“Part of our strategic line code heading into Olympic Games, or even World Championships, is to give our athletes every opportunity possible to become acclimatized to the physical and social environments of upcoming event locations, including the sights, smells and tastes.
“In the case of Sochi, the Europa Cup allows the team to get a sensory assimilation of the Russian venue and culture. Familiarity and comfort are key to good performance. We experienced that with the home field advantage in Vancouver and that’s what we’re aiming for in Russia.”
Some members of the Canadian team visited Sochi last year on a familiarization trip, but the Olympic courses were not built at that time.
This year, the athletes will actually compete at the 2014 sites.
Besides Richards, moguls skiers from Canada attending the Sochi Europa Cup include Kristi Richards, Summerland; Justine Dufour-Lapointe, Montreal; Audrey Robichaud, Quebec City, Que.; Chloé Dufour-Lapointe, Montreal, Que.; Maxime Dufour-Lapointe, Montreal, Que.; Alex Bilodeau, Rosemere, Que.; Mikael Kingsbury, Deux-Montagnes, Que.; Philippe Marquis, Quebec City, Que. and Marc-Antoine Gagnon, Terrebonne, Que.