Freestyle Canada – Sierra Nevada, Spain, February 27, 2017 – Every two years, the Freestyle Ski World Championships return to the FIS competition calendar, and there is no doubt that this year’s event will have some significant outcomes, particularly for the athletes who could, based on results, confirm their ticket to the next Winter Games in 2018.

Heading into this crucial competition, Freestyle Canada has named the list of moguls and aerials athletes who will represent Canada in Sierra Nevada from March 8 to 10, 2017:
                       
Moguls:
 

Mikaël Kingsbury (Deux-Montagnes, Qc)	Justine Dufour-Lapointe (Montreal, Qc)
Philippe Marquis (Quebec City, Qc)	Chloé Dufour-Lapointe (Montreal, Qc)
Marc-Antoine Gagnon (Terrebonne, Qc)	Andi Naude (Penticton, B.C.)
Simon Pouliot-Cavanagh (Quebec City, Qc)	Audrey Robichaud (Quebec City, Qc)
Laurent Dumais (Quebec City, Qc)	Maxime Dufour-Lapointe (Montreal, Qc)

 
Note: Laurent Dumais will be competing only in the dual moguls and Maxime Dufour-Lapointe will compete in single moguls only.
 
Aerials:
 

Travis Gerrits (Milton, On),	Catrine Lavallée (Montreal, Qc)
Olivier Rochon (Gatineau, Qc),

An historic victory in 2015
At the 2015 FIS World Championships in Austria, Freestyle Canada’s men’s moguls team recorded an historic feat. For the first time ever, the Canadian competitors swept the podium in the dual moguls event, with Mikaël Kingsbury winning gold, Philippe Marquis the silver, and Marc-Antoine Gagnon the bronze. Kingsbury had also finished second in the single moguls event. On the ladies side, Justine Dufour-Lapointe was a double medallist, winning gold in single moguls and silver in dual moguls events.
 
The selection process
Freestyle Canada follows a two-part process for selecting athletes for the World Championship teams.
 
First, FIS sets a maximum quota of four eligible athletes per gender and per event, plus the FIS world championship title-holders. This is why Freestyle Canada has one extra male and female skier going to the upcoming World Championships, from our victories in 2015. Canada will have five ladies in single moguls and four in duals, and for the men, four in single moguls and five in duals.
 
Second, Freestyle Canada compiles the World Cup scores the aerials and moguls athletes record between December 9, 2016 and February 26, 2017. More specifically:

• All eligible athletes are ranked by their three (3) highest scores during the selection period (note about moguls: a maximum of one (1) final dual moguls score can be used in the standings);
• Standings are calculated from the total of the three (3) highest scores of each athlete;
• The athlete with the lowest total of points will be ranked first, and so on;
• In the event of a tie, the athlete with the higher score in the eligible 2016-2017 World Cups for the selection period will rank first. If this still results in a tie, the next athlete with the highest score in the eligible 2016-2017 competitions will rank first. The process continues until the tie is broken. If need be, scores from the 2015-2016 FIS World Cup season are used.

Freestyle Canada’s selection process is engineered this way to maximize the odds of performing well at Worlds. “ Our recent performances in World Cup events demonstrate that our teams are progressing well towards this key event of the season », explained David Mirota, Vice-president, Sport, Freestyle Canada.
 
Click here for the moguls and aerials schedules.
 
Slopestyle and Halfpipe teams will be announced following the World Cups in Silvaplana, Switzerland and Tignes, France.

Media access
 
A conference call will be arranged with the athletes chosen to participate in the World Championships. The schedule is as follows:
 
Aerials team:           Wednesday, March 1, 2017, 11:00 a.m.  ET / 8:00 a.m. PT
Moguls team:          Thursday, March 2, 2017, 11:00 a.m. ET / 8:00 a.m. HP    
 
Details for the call will be sent to you by e-mail.
 
Please note that the conference call will be the only time the Dufour-Lapointe sisters will be available before the World Championships.
 

For more information and media inquiries please contact: 

Dominique Ladouceur, Manager, Athlete Relations
Cell: 514.576.2379
Email: dominique@freestylecanada.ski

Freestyle Canada is the governing body in Canada for the sport of Freestyle Skiing. With the support of its valued corporate sponsors along with the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee and Own the Podium, FC develops Olympic and world champions in all disciplines of the sport. For more information about FC, please visit www.freestylecanada.ski