Two Carleton Ravens skiers will be heading to Almaty, Kazakhstan to take part in the 2017 Winter Universiade from Jan. 28 to Feb. 8.
Alpine skiier Hannah Schmidt and nordic skiers Carrington Pomeroy will be among the Ravens to represent Canada at the international event.
Last season, Schmidt finished on the podium at several Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) racing events last season.
Schmidt said she has also competed at a high level for the Mont Tremblant race team and then the National Capital Outaouais Ski team, the elite Ottawa regional team.
Skiing within that scope, Hannah made it up to the North American cup circuit, a feeder series to the World Cup circuit before joining the team at Carleton.
Schmidt said she hopes to draw on her experience from some of the bigger North American (Nor-Am) events, and not let the pressure of the races get to her.
“The biggest thing I can draw from racing NorAms is to go in with an open mind and set realistic goals as the games progress,” she said.
Schmidt capped off her season last year with a third place overall ranking, and several top-five finishes to begin the season in both Val St. Come and Tremblant.
Pomeroy, meanwhile, said he has been eyeing the Universiade since finishing in the top four of the distance events last season.
“Most of my training this season has been built around these races. My goal is to be in the top 30 at least once,” he said.
Like Schmidt, Pomeroy said he has raced high level races in North America but never competed at an event like the Universiade.
Despite this, he said he remains confident about his goals and his approach into the games.
“The team and support staff have been a huge help in pursuit of my goals this season,” he said.
