Training runs for the first women's World Cup downhill of the season began on Tuesday in Lake Louise - but the unofficial start of speed season kicked off on Wednesday night with a country and western themed dinner party for race volunteers at a large rustic reception hall just a stone's throw from The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise where all the athletes are staying.
The evening is very similar to the one held here last week during the men's races - except for one major detail - the women on The Canadian Alpine Ski team are neither shy or untalented when it comes to the fine art of western line dancing.
Canadian speed specialist Kelly VanderBeek, who won a bronze here in the Super-G in 2006 says fast feet are needed for both ski racing and line dancing - but in terms of toughness - ski racing is usually harder to master.
"Line dancing is easier than ski racing but then again, if you are line dancing in high heels it would have to be a draw," VanderBeek says.
Perhaps the best line dancer on the team - and a huge crowd favourite at the event every year is Emily Brydon, who hails from nearby Fernie, BC. After signing a million autographs and posing for countless photos with race volunteers, Brydon - the team's unofficial captain addresses the audience with a heartfelt speech thanking them for all the hours of sweat and hard labour on the slopes.
"It's an amazing opportunity for us to get to hang out with the volunteers and the people who dedicate so much of their time and effort to making our dreams possible and just having a good time to connect with the people of Lake Louise because it's always exciting to come here and to have the opening race here every year, it's pretty exciting," Brydon says to me afterward.
When the speech is done, Brydon hits the dance floor with her team mates and tears it up like a line dancing professional to huge round of applause and a chorus of hoots and hollers.
And just how did she get so good?
"Years of line dancing in gym class in Fernie," Brydon says with a chuckle, "No other option!"
But Brydon isn't the only line dancing star on the team.
One of the team's younger racers Shona Rubens is also a whirlwind on the dance floor.
"I'm from Alberta and we learn how to line dance in school and I love line dancing here, it's awesome!" Rubens says in between songs.
But for Larisa Yurkiw, who learned how to ski on the slopes of Collingwood, Ontario's Georgian Peaks Ski Club before making it to the national squad, line dancing is a difficult endeavour.
"I'm awful because I'm from the east - we only know how to slow dance at high school dances. Line dancing's not my style, but I always do my best here. The focus and the tripping over my giant feet are what usually get in my way," Yurkiw says with a huge laugh.
The evening goes on for the volunteers but for the racers it's a few more dances and a few more autographs and pictures before returning to The Chateau for some much needed sleep after a long, chilly day of training (it was -31 this morning in Lake Louise). Their next opportunity to shuffle their feet will be at the "big dance" on Friday - the first official downhill race of the World Cup season.
See CTV News for more photos.
