Kranjska Gora, SLO (Jan. 21, 2019) – Canada’s Para-Alpine Ski Team opened the 2019 IPC World Para-Alpine Skiing Championships with perfect course conditions on Monday with men’s giant slalom racing, and a seventh-place finish by Alexis Guimond (Gatineau, Que./Club de ski Mont-Tremblant).

Guimond, a 2018 Paralympic bronze-medallist in giant slalom, competed in the men’s standing event alongside teammate Braydon Luscombe (Duncan, B.C./B.C. Para Alpine), while fellow Canadians Kurt Oatway (Calgary/Regina Alpine Race Team-Saskatchewan) and Alex Cairns (Squamish, B.C./B.C. Adaptive Snow Sports) competed in the men’s sitting race. Luscombe finished 14th, and Cairns 11th, while Oatway posted a DNF in the first run.

“In the second run, I came in charging with some great skiing on the top, and unfortunately, I had a costly mistake which left me in tough position to finish (where I was hoping to),” said Guimond, who struggled with his focus in the first run after a mistake partway down. “Overall I’m happy with my approach coming into today, and I felt I was in a good place but finished with some frustration toward the outcome of the day. I’m looking forward to the speed races to come in Sella Nevea (Italy).”

The IPC World Para-Alpine Skiing Championships resume on Tuesday with the women’s giant slalom, and all events are being live-streamed on the CPC Facebook Page, the CBC Gem app, with select races available at radio-canada.ca/sports. For a full schedule of the Paralympic Super Series events available through streaming coverage, please visit CBCSports.ca.

Canadians can support national team athletes such as Guimond and his teammates on the para-alpine, alpine, and ski cross national teams by enjoying a day on the slopes themselves at discounted rates. Alpine Canada has partnered with the Canadian Ski Council, Snowboard Canada, and Freestyle Canada – as well as more than 100 Canadian ski resorts across the country – to deliver National Ski and Snowboard Day, Jan. 26-27, 2019. Proceeds from every ticket purchased at HitTheSlopes.ca go back into supporting Canada’s high-performance athletes in alpine, para-alpine, ski cross, freestyle, and snowboarding.