PRESIDENTIAL RETURNS

Hi Strathcona Nordics members!

Just wanted to say hi and let members know that I’m back from my adventure at the Olympics and am looking forward to getting back involved with our club board. Even though the big show is over, this remains an exciting time to be a cross-country skier with the sport growing across Canada. There are also many exciting events happening next season — especially for our masters skiers – including the new P’yakentsut Loppet & Ski Festival at Callaghan Valley in February — followed by the World Masters event at Sovereign Lake in March when you can get out and ski with the widest cross-section of keen skiers from around the world that you will ever see in BC.

At the club level we have some great new energy on the Board and lots of ideas to continue to deliver and improve excellent programs and services and capitalise on the many legacies from 2010 that are out there. Did you know that the Strathcona Nordics had the single largest contingent of club members involved in both the Olympics (21) and Paralympics (38)? I hope to see some of you around over the summer and into the fall as we get ready for the next ski season. Keep in touch with the website for news and club summer activity updates. Most of all stay active – remember that it is what you do in the summer that has the biggest impact on how well you ski in the winter.

Len Apedaile

apedaile@oberon.ark.com

RELAY — SUPPORT THIS AWESOME NEW TRAIL

There is still a week remaining to sign up for the Vancouver Island (VI) Spine Relay. June 5, 2010 you can run, hike, cycle, mountain bike and horse ride to support the creation of a new trail, The VI Spine. This is a participation-oriented event – not a race.

You can sign up as an individual for as little as one day – you don’t need a team.

View full details on each of the 11 Sections of the Relay here:

http://vispine.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=53

Please sign up at the following webpage – the cost is $30:

https://www.zone4.ca/register.asp?id=1117&lan=1&cartlevel=1

The first 100 registrants will get a free technical T-shirt.

There are five sports to choose from – hiking, cycling, running, mountain biking and horseback riding.

By participating in the Relay, you will help support the development of a permanent, continuous wilderness trail from Cape Scott to Victoria.  Several sections of the Relay are partly or fully on the proposed Vancouver Island Spine Trail – Sections 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11. The other sections tie it all together into a continuous route.

If you can’t participate in the Relay, please consider sharing this email with somebody who might be interested.

Thanks,

Andrew

Andrew Pape-Salmon

Chair, Vancouver Island Spine Relay

andrewpapesalmon@shaw.ca

www.vispine.ca

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to the SNSC’s Andrea Lee who was selected to ski for Canadian National Development Centre (NDC) in Thunder Bay. Andrea will join 9 other top Canadian skiers on the NDC Thunder Bay team. Watch for an up coming story about Andrea Lee in the Comox Valley newspapers and the Strathcona Nordics website.

Congratulations also to our club’s Freya Westanays as she prepares to pursue her skiing and academic goals in Ottawa. Freya will be skiing with Carlton University team as she works on a degree in English Literature there. You can also learn more about Freya in an up coming story in the Comox Valley newspapers and on the Strathcona Nordics website.

The Strathcona Nordics wish both you girls the best of luck! We are proud of you.

RABBITS PASS THE TORCH

Although the season is over, it won’t be long until we begin planning for the 2011 season of Rabbits, and in particular looking for coaches for the season. Please consider setting aside some of your time next winter for coaching and then watch for the call for coaches in the early fall.  The more coaches we have, the more kids can ski.

Our new 2011 Rabbits Skill Development Coordinator or “Head Hare” is Alix Wilson.  She has graciously stepped forward into this coordinating job and will be involved with the Saturday Rabbits program, so a Sunday Session Coordinator to assist Alix is still needed.  If you have any questions about

the Rabbits program, coaching or the Sunday Session coordinator position, please contact her at alibedali@shaw.ca

Thank you to all who have assisted me over the past 4 years to develop a Saturday Rabbits program, and also those who continued to grow and enhance the Sunday program.  Looking forward to seeing many Rabbits on the trails next year…

Laura Johnston

Rabbits SDP Coordinator

NEW WAVE DEVOS

The Devo team is planning an overnight adventure to Tree Island July 14 and 15th. Depending on the number of Devos interested our mode of transport will be either by sailboat or kayak. Please let coach Tim McGrady know of potential interest in the trip as soon as possible. Prospective Devos welcome.

RACING TEAMS

The racing teams are busy with their dryland training programs. If you would like to join the racing team and take part in the summer fitness program, contact info@strathconanordics.com

MAY CAMP

If you missed the story in the newspaper, you can read it below. See photos from May Camp in the Gallery.

Nothing beats nordic race camp!
Last weekend we kicked off our summer training program with a race camp on Mount Washington. 27 skiers from the Devo (development), Junior, Elite, and Masters teams enjoyed skiing, training, and commraderie over the course of the 4-day ski camp.

May Camp 2010 photo: Lynn Swift

The racers started their days early with an activation run and, following breakfast, got in some early morning skate skiing while the snow was still firm. In the late afternoon, they worked out on their classic skis. The teams entertained each other with games, tricks, and stories, and they shared meal prepartion and clean up duties. The weather gave them everything–they skied in sunshine, blustery winds, a hail storm, and a white out snow storm. Though they didn’t encounter any bears this year, they skied to a soundtrack of drumming grouse and chattering squirrels.

The teams will now strap on their roller skis and hit the track and trails. It will be some months before they are able to ski on snow again; however, Coach Dave Battison said they enjoyed near perfect snow conditions and on the final Monday morning ski of the camp, “We had the best ski ever–the most fun we ever had skiing!!”

Support a New Back-Country Trail!

SNSC member Andrew Pape-Salmon is part of an initiative to create an awesome new back-country opportunity. They are proposing a trail that stretches the length of Vancouver Island (VI)–from Cape Scott in the north all the way down to Victoria in the south–called the VI Spine.

Relay–you can support this initiative by joining in the relay to increase community support for the development of the VI Spine Trail. Visit their website to learn more about the relay VI Spine Relay or contact Andrew Pape-Salmon by email andrewpapesalmon@shaw.ca or telephone 250-592-7017.

Route–the VI Trail route is an inland route that passes near many communities, yet retains its wilderness character, following historic routes and completed trails where they exist.

Approximately 700km long, the VI Spine is an adventure opportunity that will provide a recreational route for residents and tourists through the beautiful back country of Vancouver Island. Primarily a hiking trail (but permitting non-motorized, multi-use where appropriate) the route traces mountain ridges, through forests and past lakes, similar to many successful long-distance routes in North America.

The VI Spine trail will encourage local economies, both in the building of the trail and in the maintenance of the route. Local hiking clubs will be encouraged to monitor the trail, and businesses to provide services to travellers in their region.

Hike BC--the project is being developed by the Vancouver Island Spine Trail Association, VISTA, a part of “Hike BC,” the BC wing of the National Hiking Trail. The NHT, over the past 30 years has incorporated such significant trails as the East Coast Trail in Newfoundland, the Bruce Trail in Ontario and the Alexander MacKenzie route, the Nuxalk/Carrier “Grease Trail” from Bella Coola to Quesnel.