Alberta World Cup

3 weeks ago

Our final goodbye is to Emily Nishikawa, a 10-year member of the Academy. Emily has been a longtime member of the national team, taking on a strong leadership role of an emerging women’s team. Emily represented 🇨🇦 at the 2014 and 2018 0lympics, as well as many other world championships. Emily has also just graduated this Spring, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Athabasca University, an amazing accomplishment and example of dedication. This fall will see her return to her native Whitehorse and begin a 2-year after degree program at Yukon University for teaching. For now, adjustment to normal life have been made easy by establishing new bike skills and working with kids as a Forest Play leader. Emily has helped make all of us better during her time here, to say she will be missed would be a major understatement of her contributions to our community. Congratulations on a fantastic career! ... See MoreSee Less

Alberta World Cup

3 weeks ago

Nathaniel Mah, member of the Canadian National Nordic Combined team, approached us 2 years ago in search of local cross country support. It has been such a gift for us to have had the opportunity to collaborate with him, sharing our knowledge while learning about a new sport that shares so many skills yet is so completely different. Being a 🇨🇦 nordic athlete competing in a European based sport is hard enough, but it’s that much harder when the closest jump is in the 🇺🇸 and your jump coach is in 🇸🇮😱 As the lone member of a national team with little funding, Nathaniel has had no shortage of challenges to overcome. The work he put into his training and logistical and financial hurdles were inspiring. He represented 🇨🇦 proudly at 2 World Ski Championships and got to cap his career at the Oslo World Cup last winter. Thanks to his coaches Gasper Bartol and Wes Savill for collaborating with us. Nathaniel is now working for @rundle.sport and @reboundcycle as he prepares to study Kinesiology and become a physiotherapist. Thanks Nathaniel for including us in your journey and good luck in your next adventures! ... See MoreSee Less

Alberta World Cup

3 weeks ago

Michael MacIsaac-Jones is another of our athletes setting a new life course this year. A 4-year Academy member, Michael was always known for his enthusiasm for any adventure and his ability to consume food! We have so much respect for Michael as he pushed through some heartbreaking setbacks and injuries the last few years while never losing sight of his goals and love of the sport. Perhaps his biggest achievement was last year when he managed full time studies in mechanical engineering at the University of Calgary while balancing his training and racing. He is “super excited” to commit fully to his studies this fall, and we look forward to following along on his future adventures! ... See MoreSee Less