Alpine Ontario Alpin (AOA) Announces the 2019/20 Ontario Ski Team (OST)
and the Ontario Para-Alpine Ski Team (OPAST)
COLLINGWOOD, ON (November 5th, 2019). Alpine Ontario Alpin (AOA) would like to congratulate the athletes named today to the 2019/20 Ontario Ski Team (OST) and the Ontario Para-Alpine Ski Team (OPAST). These two teams represent the pinnacle of alpine ski racing in Ontario. The members of these two provincial teams are representatives of their ski clubs and respective divisions and it is thanks to these programs and coaches that Ontario continues to produce world-class athletes.
ONTARIO SKI TEAM (OST)
WOMEN
Ashley Campbell (2002), Georgian Peaks Club, Huntsville – returning athlete
Jayden Metcalfe (2001), Osler Bluff Ski Club/NSA, Collingwood – 1st year
Emma Williamson (2001), Alpine Ski Club/SODST, Brantford – returning athlete
MEN
Aaron Puskas (2001), Norwesters Alpine Ski Club, Thunder Bay – returning athlete
Britton Quirk (2000), National Capital Outaouais Ski Team, Ottawa – returning athlete
Zach Temertzoglou (2001), Georgian Peaks Club/SODST, Toronto – 1st year
Kobe Villeneuve (2001), Camp Fortune Ski Club/NCO, Ottawa – 1st year
COACHING STAFF
Kip Harrington, Program Director
Cam McKenzie, Men’s Head Coach
Cam Stephen, Women’s Head Coach
SUPPORT STAFF
Melissa Lacroix, CSIO Sport Physiologist
Dr Dana Sinclair, Team Psychologist
These athletes were named to a training squad this past April based on the 2019/20 OST selection criteria. This group has spent the last six months together following a strength and conditioning program provided by the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO) and they have attended three on-snow camps in North America and Europe. The OST will be in the gates in Ontario at the following events:
December 27-28th: Mount St. Louis Moonstone – Slalom
January 25-26th: Alpine Ski Club – Slalom
January 27-28th: Georgian Peaks Club – Giant Slalom
February 4-8th: Georgian Peaks/Osler Bluff/Craigleith, Women’s Nor-Am Cup
March 6-9th: Camp Fortune Ski Club – Slalom
March 14-15th: Devil’s Glen Country Club – Slalom
March 16-17th: Georgian Peaks Club – Giant Slalom
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ONTARIO PARA-ALPINE SKI TEAM (OPAST)
The OPAST started its 2019-20 program with a dryland camp in Whistler in July. The athletes were encouraged to participate and compete in summer para sports where they excelled in kayaking and wakeboarding at the World Cup Level along with accolades on the mountain bike circuit. For the coming season, the OPAST team will be merging with a U19/FIS team in Southern Ontario and will come together for para specific training camps at Panorama/BC, Tremblant/QC and Kimberley/BC. Athletes will go to races appropriate to their own pathway. Congratulations to the following athletes.
WOMEN
Michaela Gosselin, Osler Bluff Ski Club, Collingwood – 1st year
Alex Marta, Camp Fortune Ski Club – returning athlete
Rebecca Mideros, Mount St Louis Moonstone – returning athlete
Abbey VanDuzer, Craigleith Ski Club – returning athlete
MEN
Ben Harris, Craigleith Ski Club – returning athlete
COACHING STAFF
Gwen Binsfeld, Program Director/Coach
Sandy Nattress, High-Performance Coach
SUPPORT STAFF
Alyssa Woronecki, Physiotherapist – Strength & Conditioning Coach
Bill Reeves, AOA Executive Director comments, “This is an exciting announcement for AOA as it represents the very first time we have jointly announced the OST and the OPAST team. We can all learn so much from both teams and it is great to have them share the stage together! I know I personally look at all these athletes in awe and hope that they live up to our expectations of representing ‘ONTARIO’. Best of luck in the race season, make us proud!”
AOA would also like to congratulate two OPAST athletes Brian Rowland from Calabogie Peaks and Sarah Gillies from the Mansfield Ski Club who have moved on to the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team (CPAST). Congratulations also to OST graduates; Brianna Macdonald from the Osler Bluff Ski Club who was selected to race for the University New Hampshire and to Camryn Metzger of The Georgian Peaks Club who is now racing at Plymouth State University, also in New Hampshire.
The OST and OPAST would not be possible without continued support from the following AOA partners including Mackenzie Investments, The Province of Ontario, Sporting Life, FASKEN, Windfall Mountain Homes, Blake Farrow Projects and Helly Hansen.
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ABOUT THE ONTARIO SKI TEAM (OST)
The OST is one of the main properties of AOA with coaches, office staff and support practitioners working directly with the team throughout the year. Since its inception in 1977, the OST has been a leader in ski racing development in Ontario, Canada, and the world. Many graduates of the OST have continued to race and achieve international success as part of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team (CAST) and/or on the NCAA circuit at some of the most prestigious schools in the United States including; Dartmouth College, Harvard, The University of Vermont and Denver University. Learn more>
ABOUT THE ONTARIO PARA ALPINE SKI TEAM (OPAST)
The Ontario Para-Alpine Ski Team’s goal is to educate, promote and train para ski racing in Ontario. As members of AOA these athletes train and compete together to promote para-alpine ski racing locally, provincially, nationally and internationally. The team participates in a weekly fitness training tracking program and in a spring and fall testing program at the Canadian Sports Institute of Ontario in Toronto. Personalized, incremental strength and conditioning programs continue throughout the fall months until the athletes return to snow in November. Learn more>
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For more information contact:
Kristin Ellis
Communications Manager
Alpine Ontario Alpin (AOA)
705-444-5111 x 132
communications@alpineontario.local