Rob Boyd to head Canadian women's SG/GS team

Rob Boyd to head Canadian women's SG/GS team{mosimage}VANCOUVER, B.C. – Famed Canadian racer Rob Boyd will return to the Canadian National Team as head coach of the women's SG/GS team, Alpine Canada Alpin president Ken Read announced today.

"Rob is a winner and his mandate is to create winners for Canada," said Read, noting that Boyd's work ethic, Olympic experience and recent years coaching at the Whistler Mountain Ski Club make Boyd the ideal choice to guide the Canadian women in the lead-up to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Boyd, 38, retired from World Cup competition in 1997, having won three World Cup downhill races, finished on the podium six times and recorded 18 top-15 finishes during a 12-year career on the Canadian National Team. He also qualified for five World Championships and three Olympics.

"The opportunity to help build our women's team towards the 2010 Olympics in Canada comes around once in a lifetime," said Boyd, who for the past two seasons has been teaching the 13- and 14-year-olds at the Whistler Mountain Ski Club in the hope a new young Olympian could emerge. "These are our Olympics, our athletes, and we intend to work nonstop to make Canadians proud."

Emily Brydon, the Fernie, B.C., racer coming off a stellar rebuilding season with consistent top-15 finishes in World Cup speed events, said: "To bring a skiing legend, a great Canadian racer into the program at this time is simply awesome for us. Success doesn't just happen over night. It takes hard work. This is a great step forward for 2006 and our ultimate goal of the 2010 Olympics."

Boyd takes over a team that is filled with explosive potential and includes Brydon; former world downhill champion Melanie Turgeon, who could not compete last season due to injury; Geneviève Simard, who won her first World Cup super G at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, in January; and Kelly Vanderbeek, a two-time bronze medallist in super G at World Junior Championships.

The young Canadian speed team is expected to be at its racing prime in 2010, said Read, the former Crazy Canuck who has led a restructuring of Alpine Canada Alpin. "The appointment of Rob is another major milestone in our program to provide athletes with the technical, human and financial resources required to win against the best in the world," said Read. "His passion for the sport is renowned, his dedication to racing unwavering, and the record book tells you about his commitment to winning."

Boyd will be working closely with downhill head coach Piotr Jelen and technical head coach Jim Pollock, under the direction of women's program head coach Hughes Ansermoz.