Summer Training 2015

My Rookie Season on the World Cup. 2014/2015

This past season was an amazing journey that took an incredible amount of hard work and dedication to achieve. At the beginning of the season, my goal was to make the World Cup team and to have the opportunity to race in the World Championships.  Team Selection races/ Canadian Championships took place in early November; I finished 2^nd in Canada. This earned me the 2^nd of three spots on the Canadian National Team World Cup circuit.  I couldn’t have been happier.  

The season started with a two week training camp in Winterberg, Germany, which is also where the World Championships were held in early March.  From Winterberg I flew back to North America (Lake Placid, NY) for my first ever World Cup race in Skeleton. It was a total thrill and a rush of pride being able to stand on that start line wearing a World Cup bib while representing my country. I finished in 16^th place which was a great result for my first World Cup race. From Lake Placid, I travelled to my hometown track in Calgary AB before the Christmas break. 

The second half of the season started off in Altenberg, Germany then moved to  Konnigssee, Germany, St.Moritz, Switzerland,  LaPlange, France,  Igls, Austria,  and finally Sochi Russia. After those eight races, my first World Cup season was complete. 

The season had its ups and downs, struggles and successes, but I gained some invaluable experience that will push me to be better in the upcoming seasons leading to the 2018 Olympics. I finished the World Cup circuit ranked 17^th overall which qualified me to compete in the World Championships in Winterberg, Germany. This was a dream come true!  The World Championship race was a difficult race with an incredibly high level of competition. There were thousands of enthusiastic spectators. I pulled off one of the best races of my season, finishing in the top 20, ranking me top 20 in the world. 

The whole season was a great experience and I can’t wait to see what next season brings. I’ve been training hard every day since World Championships to make myself more competitive in the next season’s races. Thank you to my family, friends, sponsors and supporters for making this season a possibility. Your help and support is beyond appreciated.  Stay tuned for updates on the coming season.

Cheers!

Barrett Martineau