The Vancouver 2010 Winter Games will be the first Olympics to debut the newest sport to hit the slopes -- ski cross -- which combines the thrill of freestyle skiing with the competitive rush of downhill racing.
Ski cross pits four to six skiers against each other as they race down a technically demanding course that features artificial and natural rollers, jumps, banked turns and tabletops.
Racers navigate the course, which resembles a motocross track, at speeds upwards of 70 kilometres per hour in a single elimination format. The fastest two skiers to complete the course advance to the next round of competition.
Already a staple at the Winter X Games, ski cross will make its Olympic debut in British Columbia in 2010 as a full-medal sport after receiving recognition from the International Olympic Committee.
Julia Murray is the newest and youngest member of the Canadian Ski Cross Team. The 19-year-old is setting her sights on the 2010 Olympics.
While she's a relative newcomer to the sport, Murray has always been comfortable on the slopes thanks to her impressive pedigree.
She was born and raised in Whistler, B.C., the daughter of three-time world freestyle ski champion Stephanie Sloan and Crazy Canuck Dave Murray.
"A lot of people know who my dad was and what he did, so I'm kind of a descendent of that, which definitely adds pressure," she told CTV British Columbia.
While others may succumb to the pressure of having legendary parents in the sport, Murray seems to be taking it all in stride.
Most recently, Murray put in a solid rookie ninth-place performance at the Saab Ski Cross FIS World Cup in Flaine, France last month.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Brent Gilbert
