Ski Jumping

VANCOUVER _ For many Canadian athletes, a poor performance at the Vancouver Olympics means only extreme disappointment and four long years to mull it over.

But for the baby-faced members of Canada's ski jumping squad, another setback in a sport that's already seen a rapid decline in this country since Horst Bulau finished seventh at the 1988 Calgary Games could spell doom.

"We need some results so we can start getting a little bit more money," Ski Jumping Canada chairman Brent Morrice said Sunday during a news conference to officially unveil the Canadian team.

The squad comprises Calgarians Stefan Read, 22, Mackenzie Boyd-Clowesand Trevor Morrice, 18, as well as 17-year-old Eric Mitchell.

Read is the nephew of Canadian former Crazy Canuck alpine star Ken Read and is the lone member of the team with previous Olympic experience. He was 20th on the normal hill in 2006, 42nd on the large hill.

Canada is not expected to reach the podium in the ski jumping competition, which begins Feb. 12 before the Olympic cauldron is even formally lit.

But while other athletes are burdened with the pressure of a Canadian public demanding medals, the ski jumpers hope to land a top-20 finish for the betterment of their sport.

"We compete against countries that have annual budgets of $1.5 to $2-million a year for their ski jumping team," said Brent Morrice, whose son Trevor will compete for Canada. "Our budget's about $180,000."

Canada's Own the Podium program, a five-year, $117-million plan to help Canada win more medals than any other country at its own Games, identified which sports had potential to succeed in 2010 and handed out money accordingly.

Ski jumping was not on that list and the sport has received the least OTP funding at $410,000 over five years. Alpine skiing, on the other hand, has received more than $10-million.

"When you're 18 and 19 and you don't get paid to do something, you have to go do something where you get paid,'' the Ski Jumping Canada boss said. "So it's very difficult to continue to develop world-class athletes when the athletes they're competing against [are heavily funded]. They're all getting a lot of money and these guys have to spend a lot of money to ski jump."

Until the ski jump was erected in Whistler, Canada Olympic Park in Calgary was the only place where the country's ski jumpers could train.

Brent Morrice said Ski Jumping Canada plans to submit a proposal to the Ontario government, with the hope that a ski jumping facility will be erected in the province.

"We're sending a proposal in to build those development hills out in Thunder Bay," he said.

While the news conference appeared gloomy at times, Brent Morrice insisted the future looks bright for not only the young men on the squad, but also the young women he hopes will compete in 2014.

Women's ski jumpers were not allowed to compete in 2010 because the International Olympic Committee said the sport was not developed enough.

At 17, Mitchell will be the youngest Canadian Olympian at the 2010 Games, a fact he called "an honour."

"Being the youngest person makes me feel like, well, if I can do it then maybe somebody else can do it and hopefully inspire other Canadians to work at it," he said.

Brent Morrice said Mitchell and the rest of the Canadian squad will be at an advantage because they've had more training time at the Whistler venue, not entirely by accident.

"We, like all the sports, have limited the access on purpose,'' he said. "We gave the access to the other teams as much as we needed to and no more than that.

"I don't think it's an unfair advantage. It happens at every Olympics."

Read agreed that competing on home soil should serve well for the Canadian squad.
"For a home hill advantage, it's amazing, just even mentally," he said.

"We know what the jumps look like. We know what they feel like. We have hundreds of jumps on them. The Europeans, some maybe have 30."