Canada wins inaugural Whistler Cup alpine team event

On the final day of racing at the Whistler Cup, the home team took a victory in the first-ever Alpine Team Event. Canada won while Norway took second place. Switzerland and Australia tied for third place.

Team USA smiles in the finish area of the Alpine Team Event.

The Alpine Team Event, a dual paneled slalom, was run just like the discipline at the World Cup level, giving these young athletes early exposure to an event with growing popularity. In addition to the top 4 teams, the U.S., France, Chile, Japan, Argentina and various Canadian provinces fielded teams for the head-to-head race.

With its third place finish, Switzerland secured the Whistler Cup, unseating Norway, the winner from 2015 and 2016 Whistler Cup. The Whistler Cup goes to the most successful country during the series, and of the six possible individual gold medals, Switzerland won five including Selina Egloff’s sweep of the women’s events.  Norway was second in the overall team standings with one victory while Canada finished in third place.

There were also some individual awards handed out on the final day for the top Canadian athletes. The top male Canadian athlete Raphael Lessard, who trains with Burke Mountain Academy, won the U16 Dave Murray Award. Cassidy Gray of Ontario was the top U16 athlete in the women’s field, earning the Nancy Greene Award. Gray was also the overall Canadian U16 National Champion this year.