It has been a long time since John Kucera has skied for Canada but he is finally back skiing and recently was spending some rehabilitation time at Panorama Mountain Village.

He was injured during a super-G race in Lake Louise, Alberta, at the start of last season and has yet to ski on the World Cup circuit this year.

“This has been a little strange. I am coming back from an injury and I feel like I should be competing right now but instead I am at home,” Kucera said.

He went on to say that he is happy to be out of the gym and back on the slopes.

As for his mindset going back into a starter’s gate after such a serious injury he said that everyone knows skiing can be a dangerous sport and accidents can happen.

Being back on his skis since the beginning of November he now is hopeful that he can make it into some of the World Cup races before the end of the current season.

One of the things he has missed is the camaraderie between the skiers on the Canadian National team.

A few weeks ago he had the chance to ski with a couple of the members of the alpine team at Panorama which was helpful in his rehab.

“It felt really good to be able to come out here for a change. I felt normal being out here. The great part about Panorama is it is a family environment and they have a lot of support for the ski racing community,” Kucera said.

Getting the younger skiers on the slopes is vital for the sport to continue to grow in Canada according to Kucera.

“We had the Crazy Canuck days where the interest in skiing was up. It was exciting to be a part of and it brought a lot of attention to the sport. We need that exposure. If the kids don’t know the sport exists then it is hard to get them involved.”