Emily Brydon placed 14th at St. Anton World Cup Ladies Super Combined in December 2007. (Photo courtesy of Alpine Canada Alpin)

With my best ever season at an end, one would think that it would be the time to sit back, relax and reflect on the success, defeats and obstacles of the past season but no, here we are in Whistler for our first off season training camp.

It is somewhat bittersweet at this time of year as the last thing that I want to do, is put on my plastic shoes (aka ski boots) opposed to my flip flops which are calling my name. On the other hand we have been given an amazing opportunity to be training on the future Olympic track.

Canadians are notoriously “diplomatic” people, almost to a fault sometimes. We are the first and probably the only team to offer key training spots to other teams; we virtually give them away. We are learning though, and we are taking a step in the right direction.

Matthew Hallat was the 2007 Canadian National Champion in Slalom and Super G (Photo courtesy of Alpine Canada Alpin)

After four short days at home we made our way to Kimberley Alpine Resort for 4 days of racing where we competed in two Downhill races and two Super G races. Kimberley is a regular stop for our team; we have skied there so many times we know the hill just as well as our local hills at home.

One thing that is a virtual guarantee about Kimberley is that there will be sunny skies and great conditions for ski racing; this week was no different. The week started with 2 days of Downhill training runs in preparation for the Downhill race held on Thursday. Downhill training days went well for me. I took this time to try and implement a few changes we thought would improve my overall times. I also worked on some equipment in order to improve the setup I have.

Race day consisted of two Downhill races in one day. The top section of the Kimberley race hill is pretty flat, with some rolling terrain, and the last 25 seconds is down a fairly steep pitch, with the speed increasing all the way to the finish line.

Allie Hann-McCurdy and Michael Coreno performing their original dance program in Sweden, at the World Championships for the first time. (Photo courtesy of Brett Barden, Skatetoday.com)

We're back home after a successful First Worlds...Here is a re-cap:

There were 31 teams in the event. We finished 19th overall. This a very good accomplishment for us, because the event was filled with great, experiences, talented teams, and everyone had their A-game ready. We set a tentative goal to be somewhere in the teens in terms of placement, and we accomplished that as well.

In the Compulsory dance, (where each team performs the same dance to the same music) the Argentine Tango, we had a great performance and placed 17th.

In the Original dance, (where each team performs a unique dance to the same overall theme) Canadian Country folk, we had a great overall program with one small mistake in our side by side footwork sequence. Unfortunately we slipped to 19th in this portion of the event.

Allie Hann-McCurdy and Michael Coreno in Sweden, competing for the first time at the World Championships

We have arrived in Sweden!! We left home on Friday morning, for a five-hour flight to Toronto. From Toronto it was a six-hour trip to Heathrow airport in London. Then finally an hour or so later we touched down in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Fortunately for us, we’ve been so excited to compete here that its somewhat numbed the effects of jet-lag. For reference, its 6:00pm here, and 10:00am in Vancouver.

Travel does a number on anyone’s body but especially an athlete. We always have to be sure we have enough food, (carbohydrates mostly and nothing too heavy), water and sleep, which can be difficult on a long crowded flight with an unhappy baby sitting across from you.

Britt Janyk soars down the mountain on her way to placing fourth in the women's FIS World Cup downhill ski race in Whistler, B.C. on Friday Feb. 22, 2008.(Frank Gunn/CP)

As I pushed out of the start gate for the first training run in last weeks downhill, and heard the course workers cheering away, I almost couldn’t believe that I was actually going to be running the new women’s track.

Finally, I said to myself. It was such a great moment that first day; the sun was shinning, and the snow was hard (as we racers like it). All week I tried to really take everything in, because there will never be another 1st time down that track. I took in the views, the feelings and the course and enjoyed every moment.

I had such a blast that first day and I am pretty sure that the rest of the World Cup field did to. All I heard that day was about how everyone liked the course. The new women’s track in Whistler is quite technical.

Allie Hann-McCurdy and Michael Coreno placed fourth at the HomeSense Skate Canada International in November.) (Photo Courtesy David Carmichael)

Impossible...

Well there are less than two weeks left until we leave for the ISU World Figure-Skating Championships in Sweden.

Nice enough, but nothing is ever really interesting unless you put it into context... We are Allie Hann-McCurdy and Michael Coreno, two halves of our favorite ice dance team! haha

Moving to Vancouver three years ago to work with our coaches, Maikki & Victor Kraatz, has been a great adventure, and now our careers are entering a new chapter. This year we’ve climbed from the top eight ice dancers to third in our country, being the only world competitors not on the national team in the previous season.

George Grey had his Olympic debut in Torino in 2006 (Photo Courtesy Cross Country Canada)

My name is George Grey. I am twenty-eight years old and I was raised in the small but delightful town of Rossland, B.C. from the age of three. My parents moved our family over from England to give my brother and I and outdoor upbringing. Rossland is truly one of Canada’s little jewels.

As a youngster I took full advantage Red Mountain…our local ski hill. But Rossland offers so many outdoor activities that downhill skiing and snowboarding were just two of the cards in my ‘stacked’ hand. There was also track and field, mountain biking, rugby, waterskiing, wakeboarding, fishing, and cross country skiing among others competing for my time.

The majority of my competing life was soon to be dedicated to the sport of cross-country skiing.

Justin Kripps is a brakeman on Canada's National four-man bobsliegh team. The men's four-man world championship will be held on Febrauary 28, 2008.

Between now and 2010 I'll be doing a lot of trips. In bobsleigh the world cup tour goes from November until march with a race every week and a break at Christmas, so while we go to 8-9 different venues in North America and Europe it really feels like 2 big trips, one before Christmas and one after.

On top of that we have training weeks at various tracks and we will soon be adding many trips to Whistler onto that. When I'm on the road sometimes its hard to stay healthy, if someone comes down with an illness we try to get them treated as fast as possible, and in the mean time try to reduce the chances of everyone else getting sick.

Steve Omischl won his fourth World Cup in Freestyle at the inaugural event at Cypress Mountain February 10, 2008.

I may be old, but I'm way too young to be washed up just yet. @ 29 I'm about to torture my back and knees with my 8th season as a world cup aerialist. I remember when my body cooperated with me and physio was an appointment made by and for the weak. Those were the days I tell you.... oh those were the days. And if I ever forget my constant aging the "kids" on the jump 2010 team are right there to remind me.

I used to tell my friends that aerials was pretty safe and injuries weren't that common. I know what your thinking and yes, I was wrong and maybe a bit crazy. From my perspective it was more that I didn't think about the consequences of my actions. This "blinders on" attitude is what probably led me to winning 2 world cup overall titles and the 2005 world championships. I think the expression "young and dumb" comes to mind. It never crossed my mind that I could get hurt ~ that just happened to other people.

Kristi Richards is a 2006 Olympian, and the current World Champion for women's moguls.

Regeneration and rest periods in life seem to be highly under rated. With all of the stress and pressure to succeed in our society, people forget to stop and take time for themselves to regain balance in their lives. We are trained by society to work hard and always be on the go, but we never learn how to balance that with things that calm us and rejuvenate us.

The question is; how do we intend to keep giving out so much energy into the world and never receive?

It only seems like a matter of time before we are burnt out, unhappy, constantly tired, and feel less joy and purpose in our lives. Output energy needs to be balanced with input energy. Creating balance is a constant project that we have to be aware of at all times, but making the time to rejuvenate can make all the difference. It will make feel you centered and focused, and the energy that you need to output into your day-to-day life will be that much more effective.