The four athletes to be added to the OWI/AIS skeleton program for the 2006/07 season have been selected following training and competition in Calgary, Canada, over the past two weeks.

Those to make the cut from the six woman squad are Lucy Chaffer, Renee McCabe, Teniele Richards and Ami Wallace.

Three of the group – Chaffer, McCabe and Richards – come from a surf life saving background, while Wallace has come to the sport from track and field.

Two are from Perth and two from Queensland, and their ages range from 17 to 27.

For their first season in the sport, the four will train in North America and compete in America's Cup events, under the coaching guidance of Duff Gibson, the reigning Olympic champion, and OWI Head Skeleton Coach Terry Holland.

In more detail, the new athletes are:

Lucy Chaffer
Age: 22
DOB: 19/10/83
Residence: Perth, WA
Sporting background:
• Beach Flags, 2006 National Open Women’s Beach Flags, top ten
• Water polo, 2003 Australian National U20 Squad member
• Netball, Fremantle Netball Association

Renee McCabe
Age: 27
DOB: 28/4/79
Residence: Perth, WA
Sporting background:
• Beach Sprints, 2006 National Open Women’s Beach Sprint, 3rd place
• Beach Flags, 2006 National Open Women’s Beach Flags, 7th place

Teniele Richards
Age: 17
DOB: 20/6/89
Residence: Sunshine Coast, QLD
Sporting background:
• Beach Flags, 2006 National Open Women’s Beach Flags, 6th place
• Beach Flags, 2006 National U17 Women’s Beach Flags, 2nd place
• Athletics, 2005 Qld State Age Champs, 100m, 2nd place & 200m, 3rd place

Ami (Amilia) Wallace
Age: 18
DOB: 24/11/87
Residence: Brisbane, QLD
Sporting background:
• Athletics (sprints), 2005 U20 National Championships, 100m, 2nd place
• Touch Football, regional team