A St. Albert skier has joined Canada’s national alpine ski team and may someday have a shot at the Olympics.
Alpine Canada released the names of the athletes that had accepted their nominations to the Canadian National Ski Team for the 2024-2025 ski season on Oct. 24. Nominations were announced back in June.
The 53 alpine, para-alpine, and ski cross athletes who accepted their nominations will represent Canada at national and international ski competitions including the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
St. Albert resident and St. Albert Catholic High graduate Kendra Giesbrecht, 18, was one of 10 Albertans named to the team and one of the two named to the Canadian Alpine Ski Team (CAST) D squad, which is a group designed to turn Canada’s top U21 and U24 athletes into world-class medal winners.
CAST D is sort of like Team Canada Junior, Giesbrecht explained. CAST D members get to train with Team Canada athletes and can graduate to become Canada’s Olympic representatives if they have the right stuff.
“We’ll be racing at the level just below the World Cup,” Giesbrecht said, and will aim to be World Cup competitors within two years.
Giesbrecht said it was pretty surreal to learn she had been accepted to the team, as the CAST D squad had been inactive for many years. This announcement means she will be able to train more often with her teammates, all of whom she had competed alongside with last year as a member of the national junior team.
Giesbrecht said she and the CAST D squad would compete in various national and international events this season, and aim to earn enough points to eventually join the regular national team. While she doubted she would be ready for the 2026 Olympics, she hoped to compete in the World Cup in a few years.
Visit alpinecanada.org for details on the announcement.
