A total of 30 snowboarders made one step further in their quest to progress from park to podium, clinching a spot to the 2010 National Development Group, it was announced Wednesday by Canada Snowboard Federation...

“These dedicated athletes are the future of competitive snowboarding. Many of them will one day have the opportunity to compete internationally and make an Olympic team either in 2014 or 2018, with a few of them challenging for our 2010 Olympic team. Our National Development Group is the springboard from various teams to the Canadian Snowboard Team”, said Robert Joncas, Manager of High Performance at Canada Snowboard.

The National Development Group consists of riders from the provincial and club level. Riders mainly compete on the FIS Nor-Am Cup tour, but top young riders may be eligible to compete at various World Cup events in Canada and around the world in accordance with allocated quotas.

Riders on the National Development Group are supported and coached under a unique partnership between Canada Snowboard and Provincial Snowboard Associations. Provincial and club coaches are actively working in collaboration with Canada Snowboard to meet the Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model stages and objectives and develop champions.

The National Development Group riders are found in the “Learn To Win” (L2W) stage of the LTAD, a transition period between national level podiums and international level podiums. This is the sixth and final stage of athletic preparation. At the end of the stage, maturation is complete and all the performance factors are fully established to optimize performance on the international circuit to begin winning for a living.

Riders are allowed to train in any recognized L2W program of their choice, but are provided with enhanced training programs, competitive opportunities and support services.

A recognized L2W program is defined as a program operating on a 12-month per annum basis whereas young athletes take part in a supervised and intense on-snow and dryland training program. After meeting with Canada Snowboard, the club coach or director, who must be a NCCP Level 3 and completed the technical level Comp Intro, must submit a year-long training plan for his program to be approved.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT GROUP, 2010 EDITION

ALPINE

Women

FARRELL, Megan (Richmond Hill, ON)

LEESON, Marianne (Burlington, ON)

BARLOW, Steve (Calgary, AB)

CARTER, Matthew (Maryhill, ON)

GARDNER, Darren (Burlington, ON)

Women

CAMERON, Kim (Calgary, AB)

COWLING, Taryn (Calgary, AB)

RUDGE, Dianne (Toronto, ON)

SHANAHAN, Lauren (Calgary, AB)

CRAVEN, Dustin (Calgary, AB)

DAVIS, Brendan (Barrie, ON)

LEMAY, Hugo (Ste-Foy, QC)

RAUCH, Ryan (Whistler, BC)

Women

BRODEUR, Michelle (Calgary, AB)

COWAN, Ziggy (Banff, AB)

HUNTER, Sarah (Athabasca, AB)

CSOKONAY, Dan (Calgary, AB)

HICKEY, Ryan (North Bay, ON)

HILL, Kevin (Vernon, BC)

HOLDEN, Jake (Caledon, ON)

LIVINGSTONE, Adam (Whistler, BC)

ROBANSKE, Chris (Calgary, AB)

TUNNICLIFFE, Matthew (Vancouver, BC)

TUNNICLIFFE, Pat (Vancouver, BC)

WINTERMAN, Derek (Burnaby, BC)

Photo: www.cfa.ca