Chilliwack native and five-time Olympian David Ford will lead the Canadian whitewater slalom team that competes in this summer’s World Cups and world championship.
CanoeKayak Canada announced the senior A roster following national team trials last weekend in Valleyfield, Quebec.
Ford is joined in the men’s K-1 (kayak singles event) by Paul Manning of Calgary and John Hastings of Ottawa.
Ford’s impressive kayaking resume includes a world title in 1999, a World Cup championship in 2003 and 16 Canadian national championships.
Another Chilliwack native, Jazmyne Denhollander, secured a spot on the junior A team by finishing first in the K1W (kayak single woman) race.
The Sardis secondary school student’s time was the fastest recorded by any of the female kayakers in the junior or senior divisions.
The 17-year-old and her junior teammates will compete July 9-10 in the U-23 Pre-World Championships in Wausau, Wisconsin.
‘’This was a very exciting trials with a lot of close battles for spots on the World Cup and world championship teams,’’ Michal Staniszewski, head coach of the Canadian whitewater slalom national team said in a news release. ‘’We had a performance criteria for this event and our athletes raced at a very high level. It certainly shows we are going in the right direction.’’
The World Cup circuit makes four stops this season.
The first is June 25-26 in Tacen, Slovenia.
The second is July 2-3 in L’Argentiere, France.
The third is July 9-10 in Markkleeberg, Germany and the fourth is August 13-14 in Prague in the Czech Republic.
The world championships are in August in Brastilava, Slovakia.