January 22, 2003 (Mt. Ste. Anne, Quebec) – The athletes selected for trips to Soleftea, Sweden for the 2003 World Junior Championships and to Switzerland and Italy for a series of international-level races were named January 21, 2003, after the last of three races held as part of the Subaru/Madshus Continental Cup Series up in Mt. Ste. Anne, Quebec was cancelled due to cold weather.

Two of the three selection races went ahead as planned at the ski venue 45 minutes north of Quebec city. The first race, a 5/10 km classic race, was initially postponed Saturday due to the brisk weather and eventually moved to the following day. The 15/15 km skate race got underway Monday morning in a comparatively balmy -15 degrees. After the first race, Junior National team member Daria Gaiazova, from Montreal, solidified her place on the World Junior team by skiing to a gold-medal. Edmonton's Madeleine Williams will join Gaiazova on the trip overseas after coming in 4th in the 5km classic and 11th in Monday's 15 km skate event. Nineteen-year Williams placed 30th at last year's World Junior Championships in the 5 km skate race held in Schonach, Germany and is a strong addition to this year's team. Also making the team are Canmore's Chandra Crawford, a speedy sprinter who ranked 12th at the World Juniors last year, and Almonte, Ontario's Perianne Jones. Jones is a newcomer to the Junior National Team this year and a strong skater. Crawford place 8th in the classic race on Sunday and 22nd in the skate event Mondday, while Jones finished 11th and 5th respectively. The four girls will be accompanied by four boys, allowing both groups to enter relay teams at the World Juniors.

Filling out the boy's contingent is Sean Crooks, from Thunder Bay, who came in 14th in Sunday's 10 km classic and was the top Junior overall in Monday's 15 km skate. Crooks is a tough sprinter who finished 18th at the Worlds last year. Also named to the team is North Bay's Dave Nighbor, who was last year's aggregate winner at the Junior Nationals. Nighbor, a member of the North Bay Nordic ski team, placed 20th and 17th respectively in the last two races. Newcomers to the team are Cyrus Kangarloo, from the Banff Ski Runners ski club, and Graham Nishikawa out of Whitehorse, skiing for the Yukon Ski Team. Kangarloo came 24th in the classic event and 32nd in Monday's skate race. Nishikawa was the fourth overall Junior on Sunday, coming in 30th, and placed 37th in Monday's 15 km. The trip leader is Junior National Team Head Coach Alain Parent. Accompanying Parent for waxing and coaching support will be Graham Maclean, Dave Battison, and Godefroy Bilodeau. The team of eight athletes and four coaches leave for Sweden on Thursday. The World Junior Championships commence on February 3rd and go until the 9th.

The athletes qualified for the Junior National Development team were also named this afternoon and are also expected to depart for Europe this Thursday. On the girl's side, Edmonton Nordic's young up-and-comer Amanda Ammar will be making the journey overseas after placing an impressive 14th on Sunday and 17th yesterday. Joining Ammar is Viktoria Koskenoja of Sault-Ste-Marie who skis for the Soo Finnish Ski Team. Koskenoja came in just behind Ammar on Sunday, finishing 16th. The third and final member of the girl's team is Alison Madlung, a member of the Rocky Mountain Racers from Rocky Mountain House, who came in 22nd and 29th in the last two races. On the boy's side are six speedy Juniors including Edward McCarthy from Ottawa, Mark Doble from Barrie, Louis-Philippe Gagnon and Simon Beaudet from Quebec, and Terrell Stephens and Brent McMurtry both from Calgary. The young athletes plan to compete in a series of National Championship races in Switzerland and Italy over the next two weeks.  The trip leader for this series is Al Mortimer.

The Subaru/Madshus Continental Cup Series continues next weekend in Mt. Orford, Quebec, where athletes vying for spots on the Senior World Championship and U-23 World Championship Teams will be finalized. Senior National team members Sara Renner and Beckie Scott have been pre-selected for the former team and are currently in Europe competing on the World Cup circuit. Their next races are this coming weekend in Oberhof, Germany.

The Subaru/Madshus Continental Cup race series is an integral part of the North American racing program as they prepare for the international competitive field.

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