Program start up!
We hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and the phenomenal snow conditions on Mount Washington! Reminder: Most club programs begin in two weeks on Saturday January 8 or on Sunday, January 9. Check next week’s SNSC News for any final updates.

Masters and Junior Racers enjoying a snowy Monday at this week's holiday race camp.

Backcountry ski tour
We wish blue skies to the adventurers taking part in the first backcountry tour of the new year. Bring us back some photos and good stories from your Sunday, January 2 trip to Mount Brooks! If you have questions about this tour or other backcountry ski tours, contact Andrew via email andrewpapesalmon@shaw.ca or phone 250-592-7017.

T-shirts
If you haven’t already, place your order for an awesome Strathcona Nordics technical t-shirt. You can find photos, sizing, pricing, and ordering info on the Gear page. You can also see shirt samples on the SNSC bulletin board downstairs in the Raven Lodge. Note: Red long sleeve are also available! The deadline for orders is January 10.

Rabbits
The deadline for Rabbit registration is just days away – December 31 registration ends! Also if you plan on renting equipment through Mt. Washington, be sure to head up and sort things out before Rabbits starts to avoid long delays on beginning day. Please also note, if you are looking for gear, we have some Rabbit-sized items on our Gear Pages and the Blue Toque on 5th Street in Courtenay has quite a bit of used adult and children’s cross-country ski gear.

We are still in need of a Sunday Session coordinator!  I can’t stress enough how uncomplicated this role is, and how crucial! Please let Alix know right away if you are interested (alibedali@shaw.ca).
There is an abundance of snow and clear skies predicted for this week – the skiing is wonderful! Remember to keep track of all these Holiday ski days to count towards your Rabbit’s snow goal award.

Join the Race Committee
The club will host two race events this season, the Coastal Cup #4 on February 12-13 and the Vancouver Island Loppet on March 26. We have begun to plan and set up the organizing and competition committees. There will be a short planning update meeting Sunday Jan 2 at 12pm at Raven Lodge. Please drop by and see how you can help. Look for Len or Alison.

Race camp
Masters and Junior Racers. along with Devo team members, have been working hard this week at their holiday race camp. Check back later today for photos from Monday’s all-teams relay!

Devo team members at Monday's holiday race camp.

Ski Playground
The club will be working with Mount Washington to develop a ski playground after the holidays. We will need a volunteer team of 4-6 people to help make this happen and set this up throughout the season. To learn more about the ski playground and what is involved drop by the Raven Lodge at Sunday, Jan 2 at 1pm. Look for Len.

Waxing Fundraiser
Mark it on your calendar, on Saturday, January 8 — the Junior Racing Team will wax your classic and skate skis for a small fee. You can find them out front of the Raven Lodge on Saturday, January 8th in the morning and at lunch time. Ski better with a fresh hot wax!

There must be some good “boys” and “girls” out there because we have received enough snow on Mount Washington to fulfill everyone’s Christmas wishes. Happy Holidays and Happy Trails to everyone!

Race Camp!

All Devo, Junior, and Masters Racers — Get ready, get set for the SNSC Race Camp next week. Coach Dave Battison is running the camp Monday, December 27 through Thursday, December 30 with 2 sessions per day at 10am and 1pm. Racers should bring both skate and classic skis to each session. Coach Dave says, “We’ll work with what the weather gives us!” Look for a FUN race on Monday along with sessions of group work, technique refinement, and video work if the weather permits. The camp is free to racers in SNSC race programs. Racers are welcome to attend all sessions or to drop in for sessions that fit in their holiday schedule.

First backcountry ski tour — Mount Brooks, Jan 2, 2011!

Andrew did a reconnaissance trip up Mount Brooks last Sunday in ideal conditions with fellow Alpine Club member Mike Hubbard. The trip was 5.5 hours from Raven Lodge, including a ~ 600 meter vertical ascent. You can view some photos from the trip on this link.

Andrew will be leading a SNSC trip up Brooks on Sunday, January 2nd. There will be two groups – one will ascend the peak, the other will focus more on backcountry skill development. Please contact him if you haven’t already signed up:andrewpapesalmon@shaw.ca<. Tel: 250-592-7017.

Club office clean up work party – Dec 28 2pm-4pm – we need to get organised for the start of our programs. Efforts to focus on archiving old race records, organising race office and timing equipment, and rabbit program gear.

Masters update

We are full and cannot accept any more registration for masters programs. We tried to accommodate everyone’s wishes this year, but based on the breakdown of the registrations and number of coaches, we will structure the sessions as follows:

** Intermediate and Advanced will run on Saturdays at 1pm – 3pm
** Beginners will run on Sundays from 10am – 12pm in the same time slot as Rabbits.

This will mean that some intermediate masters who signed up for Sunday will either need to switch to Saturday or join the faster beginners group on Sunday. Likewise for the small number of beginners who signed up for Saturday – they can either join the slower intermediate group on Sat or switch to Sunday.

If these changes do not work for everyone the club apologizes and will gladly refund program fees paid. We will contact individuals affected directly.

Rabbits

The deadline for Rabbit registration is next week!If you are looking for gear, we have some Rabbit-sized items  on our Gear Pages and the Blue Toque on 5th Street in Courtenay has quite a bit of used adult and children’s cross-country ski gear.

Club office clean up work party

Join us in the Raven Lodge on Dec 28 from 2pm to 4pm. We need to get organised for the start of our programs. We will focus on archiving old race records and on organising race office & timing equipment and Rabbit program gear.

Congratulations Andrea Lee!

Our Andrea Lee has been selected for the team to represent BC at the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This will be Andrea’s second Canada Winter Games. Watch for a story about Andrea Lee’s exciting cross-country ski story in the new year!

Support the Junior Racers

You can bring your empties in to Return Centre on Puntledge Road in Courtenay and ask that they go toward the Strathcona Nordics Junior Racing Team account. The Junior Racing Team will be waxing skis in early January. Watch for details next week.

BC Cup #1

The Race Notice is posted and registration is open for the first race in the BC Cup race series on the host club webpage.

Strathcona Nordics are now on twitter!

Check us out as #SNSCskis. We will also be adding a Twitter portal to our website so that members can join and tweet to the club. Stay tuned and check the website for this. We are hoping that we can use this as a vehicle to report on trail and grooming conditions, club activities, updates and other skiing news.

New Boot Service in the Community!

Skier Jason Stevens just moved to town from Smithers where he was a cobbler fixing skate ski boots and zippers.  He also does gear repair. You can learn more about him on his website.

Ski playground

After a glorious first weekend of skiing on Mount Washington’s groomed trails, we’re hoping for colder weather again.  It’s time for everyone join in the cold-snow dance!

Masters and Junior racers perfecting their technique last weekend.

Coaches

Refresher course coming up! Note: The date has changed to Saturday, December 18. This is a great opportunity to refresh your skills and coaching strategy with Head Coach Dave Battison and to meet other coaches too. Meet at the Raven Lodge ready for some classic action at 10am. Lunch is on us at noon. At 1pm review skate technique skills and drills. All coaching levels are welcome! Free to SNSC members.

Sunday Rabbits

Are you a Sunday Rabbits parent? Those little skiers need someone to be a go-between for Sunday coaches and the Rabbit program coordinator Alix Wilson. Email Alix if you are going to be on the mountain on Sundays and know how to send email. Contact alibedali@shaw.ca

With the mountain opening a week early there have already been some beautiful ski days – Don’t forget to keep track of your child’s ski time before the Rabbit season starts. Each day spent skiing outside of Rabbit lesson time is worth one point towards your child’s Snow Goal, as long as it is for an hour at least. Time on skis is one of the best ways to improve a skier’s balance, agility, fitness and rhythm – the key elements of good ski technique.

Racing Teams

Best of luck to the Masters and Junior Racers at Haywood NorAm races in Vernon this weekend. Go team!

T-shirts

Place your order for these awesome technical t-shirts! You can find photos, sizing, pricing, & ordering info on the Gear page. Note: Red long sleeve are also available! The deadline for orders is January 10.

Racing this season?

If you are thinking about racing this season, mark December 27-30 on your calendar! Let Coach Dave help you get ready and set to go for the race season with the SNSC Race Camp at Mount Washington. Watch for details coming soon on the daily race camp sessions. The camp is free to SNSC members.

Newsletter

As of next week, the newsletter will go out to registered members (along with CCBC and MTW Nordic.) If you haven’t registered and would like to continue receiving newsletter, email Info@StrathconaNordics.com Registration is still open. Visit the website and use the button on the left sidebar to register.

Gear

If you are looking to buy, sell, or trade some gear, email Info@StrathconaNordics.com to get your items on the Gear page.

Race committee

Plans are under way for the upcoming season, and we’re forming a race commitee. If you’re interested in volunteering or planning, contact AndyAlisonBrown@yahoo.ca!

Watch for more SNSC news on Thursday! Use the “Register” button on the left sidebar to sign up for SNSC membership and programs.

For the Coaching Refresher Course, use the email on the notice below. Hope to see you there!