The low temperatures during the holiday season caused many problems for Nicolas Fontaine in the construction of the ski jumps in anticipation of the Freestyle Skiing World Cup, which will be held at the Relais for the second consecutive year on January 21st and 22nd.
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“If we had had the same date as last year (January 5), we would have had to cancel the World Championships,” said Fontaine, who, in addition to his role as assistant coach, was the big boss behind the construction of the national team’s hills. The snowmaking took a long time. There were several stops because the temperatures were too low. »
Despite his fears, Fontaine assures that the organization was able to deliver a venue worthy of a World Cup.
“I was always confident that we could present the event, but time was running out,” he summarized. The snowmaking ended on January 11th and we started building the ski jumps. We concluded on Monday with the participation of the Quebec team athletes. It wasn’t the easiest build. »
Fontaine acknowledges that some athletes may be surprised by the size of the landing zone.
“If we had had more snow the landing area would have been bigger,” he explained, but it will be fine. Our area will be among the smallest in the world.
“Athletes have to get used to these smaller areas because it allows us to hold competitions in more locations, especially downtown areas. The FIS wants to go in this direction. »
Athletes pitched in.
“Like the Québec Air Force era, we prepared and built our site and we’re going to jump on it,” said Fontaine, who served as a course designer at the 2006 and 2010 Olympics. We’re working hard to build that mentality. »
Unplanned trip
The lack of snow changed plans for the Canadian team, which was scheduled to hold a two-week relay training camp ahead of the two stages of the World Cup.
“Within two or three days of us being behind schedule, the head coach (Jeff Bean) found plane tickets and the team left for Park City,” said Fontaine, who stayed in Quebec. Without this camp in Utah, the athletes would not have been ready. For my part, I preferred to stay here to oversee the construction of the site, not to mention that our budget was limited. »
The athletes have been back since Sunday and were able to enjoy a few days of training on the grounds designed by Fontaine.