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Klimchuk-Brown ready for luge season

Ƶappresident has high hopes on the track
Luge
Squamish's Nicky Klimchuk-Brown races down the track from a competition earlier this year.

Whistler hosts its first ever Federation International de Luge (FIL) junior race running from Dec. 4 to 7 and it will have some Ƶappflavour.

Grade 10 Coast Mountain Academy (CMA) student Nicky Klimchuk-Brown was named to Team Canada earlier this year and will be zooming through the Whistler Sliding Centre in the red and white.

Klimchuk-Brown said it’s a thrill to be on Team Canada and get the chance to race on his home course.

“I’m really looking forward to having a great year,” he said. “I’m very comfortable on the Whistler track, I’ve done thousands of runs on it and I’ve taken my time getting to know exactly what to do to go fast and I’m confident I will have a good position in the race.”

The race in Whistler kicks off the FIL junior circuit, with other races scheduled for Utah, Norway, Germany and Austria. Klimchuk-Brown said he’s ready to take on the world’s best.

“It’s really exciting because last year we didn’t get to do as many races as we do this year,” he said. “Canada is going to all the races and it should be a lot of fun.”

It was a busy off-season for the young luger, as he said he trained six days a week for six hours a day. Training includes sliding down the runs on wheels and lots of weightlifting in the gym. He’s one of only eight juniors on Team Canada and he said he has big goals for the 2014-15 season.

“I’d like to be pre-selected for next year and in order for that to happen I need to have two top ten finishes,” he said, noting only one can be in Whistler. “And my other goal is I’d like to podium in Whistler.”

He said the school situation at CMA is ideal for his development as an athlete.

“Things are going really good at CMA,” he said. “I’m away for almost the entire term so I was able to take a lighter course load and the distance education makes it easier to keep up with my work. It also helps that the teachers are available for emails 24/7.”

He said he plans to continue at CMA until he graduates in two more years. Klimchuk-Brown hits the course in Whistler from Dec. 4 to 7 and check The Ƶapp next week for details on how he fared.

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