Anna Goodman and Larisa Yurkiw are off the injury shelf and back on snow in New Zealand.
In a comeback year for Canada's injury-plagued alpine ski team, that's good news.
Goodman, of Pointe Claire, Que., and Yurkiw, of Owen Sound, Ont., stepped into skis at a team camp in Roundhill, N.Z. In Yurkiw's case, the former national champ in downhill and super-G events hadn't been able to ski since late 2009.
Yurkiw suffered a knee injury during training in Val d'Isere, France, in December, 2009. Slalom specialist Goodman recuperated from a knee injury last year, only to suffer a nagging hip problem that disrupted and eventually ended her season.
The Canadian women's team is lacking speed specialists with veteran Kelly VanderBeek, of Kitchener, Ont., still recovering from a long-term leg injury and Whistler's Britt Janyk retiring at the end of last season. Yurkiw isn't yet ready to be a front-line intrepid downhiller, but she started to get acclimatized as far back as April when she took part in a ski camp for prospect skiers. Since then, she's been doing dryland training with the rest of the women's team in Calgary and Canmore, Alta.
"First run, I didn't know what I was doing. The second run felt better . . . I've got a lot of work to do but I feel so comfortable," Yurkiw, 23, said in an Alpine Canada statement.
"I have a lot of phases still to go through. This is definitely my first big camp and I plan not just to survive it. I have big goals still to accomplish."
Goodman, 25, after completing her first day of skiing said last season she skied in constant pain after damaging her hip. "I'm really happy that I'm healthy right now – it's been a long time since I haven't felt any pain.
"It's such a good feeling to have the wind in your face. It's awesome."
Hugues Ansermoz, head coach of the women's alpine team, has 13 athletes taking part in the team's camp in New Zealand, including five prospect skiers.
"The snow is soft. It's winter – perfect conditions," said Ansermoz. "It's really good that Larisa and Anna could be back for the beginning of the first camp. With Larisa, we have to be patient. Before she got injured she had some great results. Fitness-wise, it's going well – it's just going to take her some time. Anna looks like she's going to come back quickly. She had knee and hip injuries but she didn't miss a full winter."
Yurkiw had a top-10 World Cup finish in downhill in 2009 and isn't going to rush her recovery.
"I had a lot of nerves, but good nerves," said Yurkiw. "My feet were cramping today but everything's good.
"There's going to be tons of unknowns but I'm not worried. There's a good understanding of what the big picture is."