June 19, 2008 – Canada’s best cross-country skiers, including Olympic and World Cup medallists Chandra Crawford, Sara Renner and Devon Kershaw, will take their summer training program on the road while traveling coast-to-coast to work with young athletes and coaches in six Canadian communities, June 23-29, 2008.

The inaugural National Ski Team Outreach Week, presented by Haywood Securities, AltaGas and Teck Cominco, is a new initiative designed to support and foster the development of cross-country skiers and coaches in Canada, while enhancing the relationship between the national ski team and clubs around the country. The program will provide an opportunity for athletes and coaches involved in the clubs’ high-performance development programs to learn daily training routines required to be high-performance cross-country skiers while working out and gaining one-on-one interaction with their Olympic role models.

“The National Ski Team Outreach Week is the most unique summer training program we have ever staged which will help contribute to the long-term development of our sport in Canada,” said Al Maddox, executive director, Cross Country Canada, who adds the initiative will showcase the complementary roles in the high-performance model from the grassroots to elite level. “It offers the opportunity to showcase our sport in communities across the country, educate Canadian youth on the critical elements required to compete at the highest level, but most importantly, inspire the next generation of Canada’s Olympic heroes.”

Each of the three national team coaches, including Arild Monsen, Dave Wood and Eric De Nys, will participate to provide club coaches with the opportunity to share thoughts and perspective with Canada’s best instructors about athlete and coach development. Monsen joins the national program this year after delivering impressive results while coaching many Norwegian athletes over the last two years. Dave Wood has been guiding the national troops over the last decade, while De Nys has worked extensively with Canada’s development athletes since receiving his level 4 coaching certification.

“Having new opportunities to pursue excellence through sport will change the lives of aspiring Olympians in every corner of this country,” said Chandra Crawford, the Olympic sprint champion who also claimed two World Cup victories last season. “This unique program will enhance athlete development, and give young competitive skiers from different regions of the country the ability to interact with, and learn, from their Olympic role models while continuing our summer training programs.”

The training program at each of the designated stops will include distance and technique workouts by rollerskiing in each Nordic discipline; strength training; athlete and coach presentations; open discussions and social gatherings.

Each of the national team coaches, along with athletes on last year’s World Cup team, will set their tracks across the country to the following locations:

Rossland, B.C.
June 23 – 4 p.m. Rossland and Blackjack Ski Club
Phil Widmer, Amanda Ammar, Eric De Nys

June 25 – 4 p.m. Rossland and Blackjack Ski Club
Phil Widmer, Amanda Ammar, Eric De Nys

Kelowna, B.C.
June 26 – 2 p.m Maple Springs Bible Camp, Peachland
Phil Widmer, Amanda Ammar, Eric De Nys

June 29 – 9 a.m. Maple Springs Bible Camp, Peachland
Phil Widmer, Amanda Ammar, Eric De Nys

Canmore, Alta.
June 28 – 9 a.m. Canmore Nordic Centre (BWTC)
Sara Renner, Sean Crooks, Arild Monsen

June 29 – 9 a.m. Canmore Nordic Centre (BWTC) Sara Renner, Sean Crooks, Arild Monsen

Barrie, Ont.
June 23 – 4 p.m. Harwood Ski and Bike Venue
Devon Kershaw, Perianne Jones, Dave Wood

June 24 – 9 a.m. Harwood Ski and Bike Venue
Devon Kershaw, Perianne Jones, Dave Wood

Ottawa/Gatineau, Que.
June 25 – 4 p.m. Arboretum at the Experimental Farm, Ottawa
Devon Kershaw, Perianne Jones, Dave Wood

June 26 – 9 a.m. Gatineau Park
Devon Kershaw, Perianne Jones, Dave Wood

Quebec City
June 27 – 3 p.m. Mont Ste-Anne
Chandra Crawford, Alex Harvey, Dave Wood

June 28 – 9 a.m. Mont Ste-Anne
Chandra Crawford, Alex Harvey, Dave Wood

Active coaches and athletes at the juvenile level and older holding a valid Cross Country Canada racing license are eligible to register for the events. For more registration details, please visit www.cccski.com on the Internet.

Cross Country Canada is the governing body of cross-country skiing in Canada. Its 45,000 members are athletes, coaches and officials, including members of the Canadian Cross-Country Ski Team and Canadian Disabled Cross-Country Ski Team. Cross-country skiing is Canada’s optimal winter sport and recreational activity with more than one million Canadians participating annually.