Freestyle Skiing

Blasting out of the race gates on the Farnham Glacier ski cross training course, Canadian competitors are after the fastest time and - on occasion - one another.

The Canadian World Cup ski cross squad, which was officially introduced Tuesday, trains together rather than individually, sending competitors such as Kelsey Serwa and Julia Murray through the course behind teammates such as Davey Barr and Stanley Hayer.

"This is the first case that I've been with a boys and girls team," Serwa said Tuesday. "I've learned a lot from the guys - technique, different styles and ways to approach jumps and rollers."

The inclusive nature of the squad's training techniques is helping Canadian athletes to refine race-time strategies as well as cultivate the nerve required to navigate courses at speeds in excess of 70km/hour.

Ski cross, a freestyle event making its Olympic debut at the 2010 Vancouver Games, features four-to-six skiers racing over artificial and natural rollers, jumps, banked turns and tabletops.

The fastest two skiers to complete the course advance through various rounds of competition.

"[Chasing male teammates can] give you the extra confidence you need...once you see someone else do it," said Serwa.

Hayer, who was 5th overall in the 2008-09 World Cup standings, believes the team-centric approach to training is one that can also intimidate international skiers who compete against other countries as well as their own teammates.

"We don't go out to hurt anyone, but you're going to give your teammate an inch and you wont give the other guy anything," Hayer said.

"We try to work together a lot more."

"That intimidates other competitors...that's the kind of image we tried to make."

Ashleigh McIvor is the only ski cross athlete to have so far been named to Canada's Olympic freestyle team.

World Cup standings during the pre-Olympic season will determine who else from the ski cross World Cup squad will be joining McIvor in Vancouver.

Contenders for the Olympic freestyle team in the ski cross discipline include Aleisha Cline, who finished first at the 2009 World Cup on Cypress Mountain; Murray, Serwa, the 2009 Rookie-of-the-Year on the World Cup and Danie Poleschuk.

On the men's side, Hayer, who finished first at the X-Games in 2009 and captured the silver medal at the World Cup on the Cypress venue last year, is vying for an Olympic start bib.

Hayer is competing alongside Chris Del Bosco, who won the World Cup event last season at Cypress Mountain en route to finishing second overall in the 2009 World Cup standings; Barr, who completed the podium sweep at Cypress with this teammates; Cam Culbert, Dave Duncan, Brian Bennett, Brady Leman and Nick Zorcic.

Canada's ski cross athletes will kick-off the 2009-10 World Cup season, December 21-22 in San Candido, Italy.

The team's lone World Cup race in Canada will take place on January 28 at Blue Mountain Ski Resort near Collingwood, Ont.