Val di Fassa, ITA (Feb. 19, 2019) – Canada kicked off the 2019 FIS Alpine World Junior Championships in Val di Fassa, Italy, with a ninth-place finish by Toronto’s Ali Nullmeyer (Georgian Peaks Ski Club) on Tuesday.

Nullmeyer, who has been making her comeback in Europa Cup racing this season following injury that took her out of action for the 2017-18 race season, led the Canadian entries in the ladies’ giant slalom with a total time of one minute, 57.42 seconds – 2.43 seconds off the pace.

“Today was a solid day. It was great to be back o the international stage after being out for a while,” said Nullmeyer following the race. “The weather was perfect and the conditions were awesome thanks to the volunteers and organizers. I’m looking forward to competing in (Wednesday’s) slalom.”

Teammates Beatrix Lever (Club de courses Mont Cascades) made her move, going from starting 64th to finishing 45th, while Justine Clement (Club de ski Stoneham) finished 48th.

Fresh off her FIS Alpine World Championships debut, Canada’s Amelia Smart (Panorama Ski Club) was unable to finish her first run.

Racing at World Juniors continues on Wednesday with the ladies’ slalom, and the men’s downhill.

Limited streaming, highlights available on Alpine Canada’s Facebook page

In coordination with the event’s rightsholders, Alpine Canada will provide a live stream of the men’s downhill on Feb. 20, men’s giant slalom on Feb. 25, and the men’s slalom on Feb. 26 for Canadian viewers through the organization’s Facebook page. In addition, daily highlights of the Canadians’ runs are slated to be available on race days.