A SUCCESSFUL SEASON WINDS DOWN

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are over, hugely successful in part due to the volunteer efforts of many SNSC members, and the main races of the season, ranging from Coastal Cups to Midget Championships and the Nationals in Whitehorse, are done.  Racers both young and aspiring have done well thanks to our volunteer coaches and Head Coach Dave Battison.  And of course the annual Rabbit Tourney took place last weekend, as always filled with happy faces and the great energy of our young skiers.   Our Masters and Rabbit programs have been well attended and received positive feedback from participants once again.

Thanks so much to the many volunteers, mainly coaches and program leaders, who coordinate and structure all of this on-snow activity that is the heart of our club.  We simply would not exist without such willing participation and effort from so many.  As always, the executive is looking ahead to next season and there is a need for “new blood.”  Of particular note is the soon-to-be-vacant role of Rabbit Coordinator, as Laura Johnston is stepping down after 4 years of full-on commitment to the program that brings in most of our membership.  Anyone interested in this important role will find that Laura has done an amazing job of streamlining this role, so that is in fact a very manageable job, with most of the load occurring in October and November.

And the last official club event of the season in this weekend’s Vancouver Island Loppet.  See further info below for registration or to get invovled as a volunteer.  We are looking forward to a great race day,  and hope to see many members there of all ages to participate in a fun day of racing to end the season.

Cheers!

Rob Grantham

Club Veep

Andrea Lee finishes in 2nd place at Nationals!!

LOPPET

There are only a couple more days to register for the 28th Annual Vancouver Island Loppet. Registration closes on Thursday, March 25 at 6 pm. There is no late registration! Visit the Races page to find the race notice. Go to Zone 4 to register. Email us if you would like to volunteer info@strathconanordics.com

BACKCOUNTRY SKIING

Reminder – Backcountry Ski Trip up Mount Becher this Sunday! Contact Andrew at: andrewpapesalmon@shaw.ca to sign up.

NATIONALS

Congratulations to all our racing team on skiing well and representing our club well at the Canadian Cross-Country National Championships in Whitehorse. Highlights from the week of races include three medals for Andrea Lee–a 2nd place in Interval Start Classic technique, 2nd place in Interval Start Free Technique, and a 1st place in Mass Start Classic technique. Andrea finished in 2nd place for the individual aggregate awards!

ART

People have until April 11 (last day for the Raven Lodge) to buy some beautiful art and have the club benefit from the sale. The proceeds from Brian Scott’s paintings and prints that appear in the Raven Lodge will go to our ski club. You don’t have to be a club member to buy the art, but the club will benefit from the sales.

RABBITS

Wow!  What a fantastic season of Rabbits.  We had an excellent weekend wrapping up the Saturday instructional sessions and on Sunday our annual Rabbit Tournament for both the Saturday and Sunday groups.  It was a great time for all, Bunnies, Jackrabbits, volunteers and parents.  Thank you to everyone who helped out this weekend to make it such a wonderful success.

A very special thank you to the 25 coaches that gave so many hours of their time and creative and patient energies into teaching and coaching the Rabbits to be better skiers and develop of a love of the sport of cross country skiing.  All of your efforts and dedication are sincerely appreciated.

This coming weekend is an opportunity for Rabbits to show off their skiing skills at the Loppet, either in the 2km or 5km categories.  This is a fun family event, and we encourage all Rabbits to participate.  Look for registration details on the club website.  Also, if any parents are interested in providing some motivation/encouragement along the 2km course, and making some cookie medals for the Under 6 category, please contact Laura at dl_johnston@shaw.ca.

Finally, looking ahead to next season, new Skill Development Coordinators will be needed for both Saturday and Sunday.  If you were inspired by the fun weekend we just had to provide leadership for the Rabbits program, or would like to coach, or get your spouse coaching, please contact Laura at dl_johnston@shaw.ca.

Thank you to all the parent volunteers to gave some of their time over this past year, and those who will be still involved with their year-round duties to make this program a success.

Looking forward to seeing you all next year in Rabbits (or seeing you skiing by if you’re a future Devo),

Laura Johnston

Rabbits SDP Coordinator