October 28, 2011 (Canmore, AB) – Three athletes from the National Development Team have been selected to join the World Cup Team for early FIS races in Bruksvallarna, Sweden and Rovaniemi, Finland. The athletes will then get the opportunity for a World Cup start in Kuusamo, Finland and Dusseldorf, Germany.

The athletes include Kevin Sandau, Alysson Marshall and Drew Goldsack, all members of the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA). The focus for this convergence group is to stimulate their transition into being competitive on the World Cup circuit. The athletes were selected based on their international and domestic performance benchmarks from the 2010-11 season and a review of their training and conditioning factors over the summer and fall of 2011.

Graham Nishikawa, another National Development Team athlete (AWCA) will also join the World Cup Team for the first World Cup period. Graham won the overall Haywood FIS Regional NorAm series in the 2010-11 season, which according to FIS rules, entitles him to World Cup starts in the first World Cup period.