Four Prince George athletes named to Canada’s 2020-21 national ski, snowboardcross teams

When it comes to conquering mountains, Prince George continues to produce athletes for the highest level of competition.

This is the case for four local skiers and snowboarders, who were just named to Canada’s respective national teams for the upcoming 2020-21 season.

Olympian Meryeta O’Dine retained her spot on the snowboardcross team for her international performances last year, which included 10 top-10 finishes in North America and Europe.

The 23-year-old competed for Canada’s national team since the 2016-17 campaign and is currently ranked 15th in the world.

She’s joined this year by rookie Evan Bichon, also from Prince George, who will sit in the NextGen group for snowboardcross.

This means the 21-year-old will be invited to national team training camps, but will still be coached by their provincial and personal coaches.

“Making the NextGen/Canadian National Development Team means a lot," said Bichon to PrinceGeorgeMatters following his selection.

"I am very proud to represent Canada on the world stage again this year and am very thankful for the support I have received along the way! Repping Canada heading into the Olympic Qualification year for 2022 feels pretty awesome and no matter how uncertain next season is with everything going on in the world, I will give it my all to make my Olympic dream a reality!”

Bichon, a graduate of D.P. Todd Secondary, landed on the North American podium three times last season, including a gold medal in February from the circuit’s stop in Colorado.

He started his year on the international slopes by claimed ninth place in Finland out of 45 racers and is ranked 50th in the world.

Switching to skicross, two other Prince George athletes have their eyes set on the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics by cracking the national roster.

Soon-to-be 22-year-old Tiana Gairns is back on Canada’s team after a stint of injuries that forced her to rehab for the rest of the 2019-20 season.

This came after claiming a silver medal at the 2019 Austrian National Championships, her first international podium finish since joining the World Cup circuit.

"Being on the Canadian ski cross team is something I have so much pride in," she tells PrinceGeorgeMatters. 

"The team is like a second family and sometimes I still can't believe I get to be a part of it. Canada has one of the strongest teams in the world and representing our nation in such a way is an incredible honour. These last two years have been challenging for me because I have missed both seasons due to injury. I'm really hoping I can stay injury free this year and put some solid results down before the Olympic year."

Gavin Rowell joins his fellow Prince George teammates on the skicross roster for a second consecutive season.

The 21-year-old started his 2019-20 campaign on a high note, winning gold and silver on the same weekend at a World Cup event in Canada back in December.

Since then, Rowell has claimed two other golds in his host country and four other North American-based medals, along with a top-five finish at the Skicross European Cup in France.

All four local athletes will train and develop with their respective teams with hopes of gaining attraction and points to potential earn a spot on Canada’s 2022 Olympic team.

Their season were also cut short earlier this year when COVID-19 forced countries to cancel races and competitions.