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Red Mountain partners with National Ski Academy

Red Mountain’s Legacy Training Centre and the National Ski Academy join forces.
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Red Mountain Legacy Training Academy has teamed up with the National Ski Academy to be its Western downhill skiing training centre.

By Chelsea Novak - Rossland News

Red Mountain’s Legacy Training Centre has been designated the National Ski Academy’s Official Western Canadian Training Centre.

Red announced last Wednesday that it has partnered with the National Ski Academy (NSA).

“The forefront of this relationship is to cement ourself as a leader in training facilities in the west, and by partnering up with a national ski academy, who is at the forefront and have been doing athlete development for 30 years, for them to recognize the opportunity here and to partner on it, really cements what we’re trying to do,” said Matt Henry, director of the Legacy Training Centre.

Skiers from the NSA which is based out of Collingwood, Ont., will be coming to Rossland to ski at the Legacy Training Centre for the next three years.

“For them to go back to southern Ontario spreading the news, I’ll say, is very exciting for us,” said Henry.

The NSA runs a program similar to Red Mountain Academy, whereas Red Mountain partners with the Seven Summits Centre for Learning to provide student-skiers with training and education, the NSA provides a full boarding school.

“That’s another angle that we’re going to be developing is that we have academy students coming from Ontario to train with our academy students, who some are local and others are international, so it’s a melting pot of academies,” said Henry.

Asked if the new designation has attracted new skiers, Henry said, “We’d like to think so and that remains to be seen.

“Word has already spread in southern Ontario. For instance, the Toronto Ski Club is now looking at us for 2017, next fall,” he added. “Part of the goal with this partnership is to put us on the map, so to speak.”

Red’s rich racing history coupled with the NSA’s 30 years of developing the Ontario and National Team’s ski racers made this partnership a natural fit.

“The student athletes and staff at the National Ski Academy are excited and proud of our new and long-term partnership with RED Mountain,” said Nigel Cooper, NSA Director of Operations in a press release. “With a shared history of success in ski racing and educating student athletes, we are happy to go down this path for the next three years together.”

Christine Andison, Director of the Red Mountain Academy, is expecting positive results for both academies, which will translate to success in the classroom and on the slopes.

“The opportunity to work closely with the National Ski Academy to enhance the athletic and academic programming for both Academies will result in a superior experience for athletes in both programs,” Andison said in a release. “This is a pivotal partnership and we are looking forward to a dynamic relationship which will benefit the sport of ski racing in Canada and beyond.”