Photo credit: John Evely

Perianne Jones had always been very dedicated to skiing but she fully focused on the sport after graduating from high school, moving to Canmore from Ontario.

She had tried to go to the University of Calgary for the first few years, "but the driving in and out was cutting into training and recovery time, so I decided to take some courses from AU. It seemed like the best option and many of my teammates had taken courses from AU, so I signed up!

"AU allows me to take school on the road with me and gives me something other than skiing to focus on (which is nice once in a while!). I spend three quarters of the year away from home at training camps and races, so it's perfect to have AU courses that I can do anywhere."

She was a member of the junior team for three years and is currently on the senior national team. Last winter she paired up with Sara Renner at the world championships to come sixth in the sprint relay. She had already qualified for the Olympics by the summer of 2009, and in the intervening months "all I had to do was lots of good training and preparation!" She and teammate Madeleine Williams made their Olympic debuts as part of the 11-member Canadian cross-country team that competed in Whistler.