June 13, 2003 (Canmore, AB) – The athletes selected to the 2003/04 Canadian National Cross-Country Ski Team were announced today by Cross Country Canada. Led by two-time Olympians Beckie Scott and Sara Renner, the 2003/04 Team combines veterans and newcomers in a blend of experience and potential that is designed to sustain excellence through the next several Winter Olympics.

In announcing the Team, National Ski Team Committee Chairperson Tom Holland explained that “CCC is planning strategically. We've structured the Team in a way that targets the next two Olympics and beyond – with proven stars like Beckie and Sara to provide leadership and role models for the short term, maturing talent such as Chris Jeffries and George Grey to provide the foundation of a men's team for 2006 and high-potential rookies such as Sean Crooks and Chandra Crawford to begin building towards 2010.”

The Senior National Team will have three components. Team 2004, the World Cup Team, will consist of Olympic-medallist Scott (age 29, Vermilion, AB), Renner (27, Canmore, AB) and Milaine Theriault (30, St. Quentin, NB). Theriault will be returning to the Team mid-season after taking a year off for maternity leave. The second component is Team 2006, which is also World Cup eligible. This squad will consist of Jeffries (25, Chelsea, QC), Grey (24, Rossland, BC) and Tara Whitten (23, Edmonton, AB). The third component, Team 2010, has the short-term task of preparing for the 2004 World Under-23 Championships and is also expected to place athletes on the 2006 Olympic Team in order for them to gain experience for the follow-on objective of the 2010 Winter Games. Selected to this Team are Drew Goldsack (22, Red Deer, AB) and Devon Kershaw (21, Sudbury, ON), both entering their second season, and graduating juniors Chandra Crawford (20, Canmore, AB) and Sean Crooks (20, Thunder Bay, ON).

Head Coach Dave Wood is pleased with the line-up. “We're beginning to narrow our focus as we move closer to 2006. We have the ingredients for highly competitive relay teams on both the women's and men's sides, and Beckie and Sara have certified podium potential. The Team also has great sprinting potential, as Tara Whitten, Chandra Crawford and Sean Crooks have all proven themselves to be among the world's best in junior and under-23 races.”

In order to manage the three-dimensional Senior Team and permit Wood to give more time to planning and coach development duties, an Assistant Senior Team Coach has been hired. Mike Cavaliere joins the Team in this capacity after three years coaching at the Canmore National Team Development Centre. “This is a major step forward for our program,” said Tom Holland. “We were wearing out Dave Wood. There just isn't enough of him to go around when part of the Team is in Europe and part on the domestic circuit.”

Notably absent from the Team is Dasha Gaizova, another graduating junior who was dominant in 2002/03 on the Continental Cup circuit, at the Canada Winter Games and at the National Championships. Gaizova declined her nomination to the Team, and for the 2003/04 season will remain based in Quebec where she plans to combine training and academics. Dave Wood noted that he hoped to see Gaizova join the Team for some camps and competition trips: “Dasha is certainly on our radar screen. We'll be working with her and her coach to provide training and race opportunities if she continues to develop and perform as she's done for the past two years. And there are other athletes with demonstrated ability or potential who will be joining the Team for trips based on performance in selection races in the early part of the winter”.

Cross Country Canada has also announced the athletes selected to the Junior National Ski Team (Team 2014) for the coming season. Dave Nighbor (19, North Bay, ON) returns to the Team for a third year and Perianne Jones (18, Almonte, ON) for a second. They are joined by newcomers Crystin Jaques (19, Canmore, AB), Amanda Ammar (17, Onoway, AB), Viktoria Koskenoja (17, Sault Ste Marie, ON), Ed McCarthy (19, Ottawa, ON) and Brent McMurtry (17, Calgary, AB). Ottawa's Chris Mamen declined his nomination. Junior Team Coach Alain Parent likes the balance between experience and youth. “I expect great results from Dave and Perianne, who know what it takes to crack the top-16 at Worlds, and with four younger skiers on the Team we're laying the groundwork for strong performances in the next two seasons as well.”

Nominations have also been made for the National Team Development Centres (NTDC Canmore, NTDC Thunder Bay and Pierre Harvey National Training Centre in Mont Ste. Anne, QC) and the National Athlete Development Centre of Ottawa-Gatineau, as well as the National Development and National Talent Squads. The final make-up of these teams has not been confirmed at this time, but will be posted on the CCC web-site shortly.

CCC is the national sport governing body for cross-country skiing in Canada, serving over 45,000 members in 375 clubs. The corporate vision, “It takes a ski community to raise Olympic medallists”, embraces the Association's focus from entry level club development to the enhancement of the National Ski Team program.