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Switzerland's Christian Haller competes during the qualification run at the men's half-pipe Snowboarding FIS World Cup competition on November 4, 2009 in Saas-Fee, southern Switzerland.
Fabrice Coffrini/Getty Images

No Canadians qualify at World Cup halfpipe

CTVOlympics.ca
By Katie Rook, CTVOlympics.ca Posted Wednesday, November 4, 2009 1:37 PM ET

No Canadian male halfpipe riders will be moving on to the finals at the season's second World Cup event.

Hope remains that female riders Dominique Vallée and Palmer Taylor will make the finals after bad weather in Saas-Fee, Switzerland forced organizers to reschedule the women's qualifying runs for Thursday.

"We fell flat today under some very difficult conditions, in a small pipe," said head coach Tom Hutchinson.

"We spent lots of time in New Zealand doing tricks at huge amplitude in an Olympic-size halfpipe - which is our main focus this season.

"Saas Fee, a beautiful region, has never been a great event for Canadians in terms of performance, but tomorrow our women will attempt to change this tide around."

The contest was held in an 18-foot pipe while the Olympic-sized facility is a 22-foot pipe. 

Japanese rider Kazuhiro Kokubo won the first heat of the men's qualifications with 40.7 points while local rider Christian Haller won the second heat scoring 43.0 points.

American Kevin Pearce, whose halfpipe performances have rivaled those of current World Cup leader Shaun White, finished the qualification run in 5th place.

Canadian Charles Reid, who finished fourth at the 2009 Burton US Open, completed Wednesday's event in 20th place, narrowly missing enough points to gain a spot in the 12-rider final. Reid finished ahead of American Jack Mitrani, who was 22nd. Mitrani will also miss the final.

Canadian Dustin Craven finished in 37th place while teammate Ryan Rausch placed 48th.

Three competitions remain for Canadian halfpipe riders aiming to meet the selection criteria for the Olympic halfpipe team.

A total of 64 riders from 22 countries took part in the men's contest.

Tomorrow, 35 women from 17 countries are entered to compete in the qualification runs.

Canada's top-ranked riders Jeff Batchelor, Brad Martin, Justin Lamoureux did not drop in.

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