Jeane Lassen barely had time to catch some sleep after a return flight from Thailand before she was back at centre stage Friday afternoon although this time the stage wasn't quite so intimidating.

The Yukon weightlifter was back home, surrounded by fellow members of AthletesCAN during a press conference at the Westmark Whitehorse.

Lassen just returned from the senior world weightlifting championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where she broke a Canadian record with a snatch of 105 kilograms.

Lassen's clean and jerk of 128 kg gave her a total of 233, which was good enough for sixth place overall in the 69-kg class.

'I'm pretty happy,' said Lassen. 'Obviously, it's not as great as I did last year, but I knew it would be stiff competition because it's the main Olympic qualifier.'

Lassen said she was really conservative when it came to the clean and jerk, because the Canadian team and coaching staff wanted to make sure they got as many points as possible at the championships, so there were no real risks. She only took four kilo jumps.

'It's better to be secure with a sixth place then taking a risk and failing to post a total.'

Thanks to the top-10 finishes by Lassen and teammate Christine Girard, who was eighth in the 63-kg class, Canada has potentially qualified two women for the 2008 Olympic Summer Games in Beijing. The official word will come sometimes this week.

As long as they stay healthy over the next several months, those two spots will most likely go to Lassen and Girard. Lassen said the fact they won't have to try and qualify in Peru next March at the continental championships, will make preparation for the Games a lot easier.

'We can go into training now as a team, rather than rivals,' she said. 'This is really, really positive for both of us.

'Neither of us did our maximum at the competition in Thailand, so there's still room for improvement.'

Lassen plans to spend some time training in Whitehorse now, before deciding what competitions she needs to attend leading up to Beijing. She said she enjoys training at home, surrounded by all the encouragement and support.

It's that warm reception which had the dozens of AthletesCAN representatives buzzing about Whitehorse during their stay.

From Thursday's school day activities, including the Terry Fox Run, to the information sessions and the annual general meeting of its members, AthletesCAN's 15th annual forum seemed to go off without a hitch.

'The reception from the city's been wonderful,' said Claire Carver-Dias, president of AthletesCAN.

'It's a pretty lively group of delegates this year. It's kind of nice to see we're the new generation of leaders. What I always want to see coming out of the forum is athletes totally inspired and encouraged to go out and be leaders. I really hope we've been successful in doing that this week.'

Cindy Eadie, a former national softball team member, said it was nice for her to get a different perspective at this year's forum, since she's newly retired. Eadie spoke about the importance of events such as the forum, and the importance of athlete representatives for each sport.

'It's not often that athletes get to speak or even correspond with people in higher positions that are making the decisions. I guess I'm kind of the middle person that makes sure their voices are still heard.'

Eadie said she was most looking forward to the session on team selection and appeals, something she called a very touchy subject currently, especially in team sports.

'I need to know how to deal with that, because I'm the first to answer the phone calls (in her sport).'

Asked about the 2008 junior world softball championships, which will be held in Whitehorse next June, Eadie said anytime Canada can host an international event it provides great exposure for both the country and the sport.

She added Yukon residents can expect to see some high-calibre action.

'Anytime you get a worlds, it's going to draw the best athletes. Fast-pitch is a lot more entertaining, I find, then men's baseball. The skill level is excellent.'

Another athlete garnering plenty of attention during the weekend forum was Canadian alpine skier and three-time Olympian Thomas Grandi, who gave a presentation on climate change and going carbon neutral.

Grandi and his wife, cross-country skier Sara Renner, spearheaded a program called Play It Cool last year, in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation.

Concerned about climate change and the effects on the environment, the two athletes, who reside in Canmore, Alberta, wanted to do something about it.

Winter sports such as skiing are extremely vulnerable to the effects of global warming, according to information on the David Suzuki Foundation website. A recent United Nations report warned that downhill skiing could disappear completely at some resorts as early as 2030.

Similarly,studies show that some mountain ranges in Europe and the Western United States have experienced decreases of 50 to 75 per cent in snowfall amounts in recent decades. Summer sports will also be affected by global warming as warmer temperatures mean more smog and poor air quality.

'It's something people have talked about a lot, but there hasn't been any action,' said Grandi. 'Especially from the government.'

Grandi donated all of his prize money from last season to the cause, and then took it one step further with a carbon-neutral plan for athletes. Going carbon neutral involves reducing emissions as much as possible, and then purchasing high quality carbon offsets from sustainable energy projectsfor whatever emissions remain.

'We took it to our teammates and challenged them to come on board,' explained Grandi. 'We signed up six cross-country skiers, six on the alpine side, and NHL player Andrew Ference. Then he talked Jarome Iginla, Rhett Warrener and Robyn Regehr into it too. So basically, it started like that.'

In his presentation Friday at the Westmark, Grandi played a video message from David Suzuki and also used a slide show. He gave basic Coles Notes on global warming and shared the story of how be and Renner became involved, followed by what the skiers did specifically to become carbon neutral.

'Basically, as an alpine ski team, the airline travel, car travel and hotel stays added up to about 21 tonnes (of emissions) per athlete. That's a pretty big number. We were pretty shocked and dismayed by it.

'It cost each of us about $300 to go carbon neutral.'

Grandi said it's about making every day choices to cut back on your emissions, at home and at work. Even switching to a 'cleaner' car can make a difference.

'Through the ski team, I won the use of a GMC vehicle for three years. I could pick anyone I wanted. I picked the Pontiac Vibe because it's the cleanest. A lot of my teammates couldn't believe it. I could have picked the biggest, baddest SUV there.'

Grandi saw the AthletesCAN forum as a good opportunity to get the word out to all the participants about his new project. He basically invited them all to join Play It Cool and become carbon neutral.

He said there are various benefits to joining, including having their name on the website and wearing a patch stating they are carbon neutral on their uniforms.

'For me, it's a motivation to be successful, so I can have a voice,' said Grandi, who retired from competitive alpine skiing at the end of this past season. 'If you're successful, people will listen, and then you can actually really make some positive changes.'

Grandi estimated at least 40 of the forum's participants signed up to receive information on the program following his presentation. The David Suzuki Foundation will follow up in the next few months by contacting each of them and getting them involved.

Carver-Dias was pleased to have the session included on the forum agenda.

'What it really shows is athletes can take leadership roles in any area of interest,' she stated.

The 15th AthletesCAN forum wrapped up with a dinner at the High Country Inn Saturday night. Some athletes stayed in Whitehorse for an extra day and worked out at the Canada Games Centre Sunday before heading home.

For more information on the Play It Cool program, visit www.davidsuzuki.org.