Adaptive Snowboard World Cup in Canada

The World’s best adaptive riders will be descending on Mont-Tremblant, QC, on April 2nd as Canada, a leader in the execution and promotion of adaptive snowboarding, will host the World Snowboard Federation (WSF) 2010 Adaptive Snowboard World Cup.

Adaptive snowboarders from Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Australia and the Netherlands will compete in a sling-shot snowboardcross event. The sling-shot snowboardcross format provides a combination of both race and freestyle elements, while challenging the athletes regardless of their disability.

“The significance of holding this event is its ability to draw an international adaptive snowboard athletic field, providing the stage from which the pursuit of entry into the IPC Paralympic Winter Games for either 2014 or 2018 can be successfully driven,” said Tom McIllfaterick, Chief Executive Officer of Canada~Snowboard.
Our goals for the sport remains to increase awareness and increase the participation of young riders and build a base which will ultimately allow its inclusion in the Paralympic Winter Games,” added McIllfaterick.

For the first time the Adaptive Snowboard World Cup and the 2010 Canada~Snowboard Nationals will be held in conjunction. The able-bodied disciplines of Snowboardcross, Alpine, and Slopestyle will run at Mont-Tremblant from March 29th to April 3rd.
It is exciting to have the WSF Adaptive World Cup alongside Canadian Nationals. This will hopefully be the first of many integrated Nationals!” commented Candice Drouin, Head Coach of the National Adaptive Team.

The Adaptive World Cup competition is also the Canadian Adaptive Nationals and the top Canadian in the competition will be crowned National Champion. Last year was the inaugural year for Canadian Adaptive Championships. The event was held at Grouse Mountain, BC, where Tyler Mosher (Whistler, BC) and Emily Cavalin (Telkwa, BC) took the gold medal. Five nations took part in the event.
Tyler Mosher, who is currently participating at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in para-nordic skiing, is the current World Champion in adaptive snowboarding and will be participating to defend his Canadian championship title. Tyler also won the first ever Adaptive World Cup, held at Whistler, BC in 2008
Prior to the start of the Adaptive World Cup the Canadian Adaptive Snowboard Program (CASP) will host a Train to Train Athlete Development Camp for all athletes from March 30th to April 1st. The Train to Train camp will allow athletes to work with the CASP National Team Coach, Candice Drouin to develop their technical skills and have the opportunity to prepare for the main competition.
Canada Snowboard recognizes the significant interest in making the sport accessible to persons with disabilities and, as the national governing body for the sport of snowboarding, is addressing this interest through various initiatives within the Canadian Adaptive Snowboard Program.
Canada~Snowboard’s philosophy for adaptive snowboarding is to have it fully integrated with the delivery of programs and activities for able-bodied participants of the sport. Adaptive snowboarding is currently integrated into Vision 2020: The Long Term Athlete Development Plan for Snowboarding, and into the Canadian Snowboard Coaching Program.
All adaptive events held in Canada this season have been integrated with the able-body competitions. The Adaptive World Cup will be the fourth integrated event of the season.
To register for the WSF 2010 Adaptive Snowboard World Cup visit http://www.canadasnowboard.ca/en/dev/events/.

About Adaptive Snowboarding
Adaptive snowboarding refers to a modified version of the sport, with changes in equipment, rules, and technical specifications that enable persons with physical disabilities to participate in both recreational and competitive activities.
Adaptive snowboard events include male and female athletes with a physical disability such as spinal injury, cerebral palsy, amputation, or visual impairments. Athletes compete based on their functional ability, allowing athletes with different disabilities to compete against each other.

Author: silvia