Ski Jasper Alberta News

Mont-Saint-Anne Celebrates 10th Anniversary with Japan

This year marks the 10th anniversary of partnership between Mont-Sainte-Anne (Québec) and Japan. A team of athletes from Japan has been visiting the resort at the beginning of every season, making Mont-Sainte-Anne their training ground in the early season. They arrived on November 23rd this year and have trained on the north side of the mountain since then. Sixteen athletes, accompanied by three coaches, practiced the slalom, giant slalom and super giant circuits.

Composed of 16 athletes aged 16 to 19, the team of nine guys and seven girls is originally from Toyama, Japan, located on the Sea of Japan side of the Honsyu mainland. Thanks to the Toyama Ski Federation’s sponsorship as well as high school and family support, the team can afford to train where the snow is, in this case, at Mont-Sainte-Anne.

“The actual temperature of Japan unfortunately does not allow us to train adequately at this period of the year. From the numerous existent resorts in Europe and North America, we choose Mont-Sainte-Anne due to its warm hospitality year after year, as well as its good snow conditions at this period,” states Mr. Tatsuya Watanabe, responsible for the group visit, accompanied by Mr. Satoru Kamisaka, head coach of Toyama Prefecture Ski Team. “The Mont-Sainte-Anne team knows well and understands the philosophy and needs of our team. They are also a master in the art of preparing the training platform,” adds Mr. Watanabe.

The team is led by Mr. Shigeru Yamanaka, general manager of Japan’s national alpine team. After their day of training, the athletes look at their performances on videotape, then cook, shop, and practice the French language. Since their first visit in 1994, close to 1,000 Japanese athletes have come to train at Mont-Sainte-Anne, including many that are now participating in the World Cup circuit.