We have lots of news and opportunities for you below! Look for fresh wax for better glide, rabbit fun, coaching refreshers, clothing, up-coming events, Canadian history in-the-making, loppets, thanks, and more.
If you missed seeing Canada’s Devon Kershaw in action last Friday–you have to watch this. He’s really a phenomenon, and he’s making history for Canada’s cross-country ski team. Go Devon!
With many weeks of skiing left (the mountain just extended their season!), treat your skis to fresh hot wax and enjoy better glide. This Saturday, the Junior Racers will be hot waxing skate and classic (tips and tails) skis for $10–the best deal around!
You can find them in front of the Raven Lodge starting at 9am on Saturday, and they’ll be waxing through lunch time. Remember to bring up some cash this Saturday, and let the JRs freshen up your skis and try some goods from their bake sale while you wait.
Best wishes to our BC Winter Games team–Oliver Barry, Kylie Adebar, Sally Brown, Morgan Meckert, Avalon Wasteneys, and coaches Andrea Stapff and Berend Henckel–as they race in Vernon this weekend. Apparently, their bus pulled into the athlete accreditation centre in Vernon at 4am this morning, and after breakfast they were cheerfully heading to the Opening Ceremonies and then on to the nordic centre for warm up. Go team!
Berend, Andrea, Avalon, Morgan, Sally, Kylie, and Oliver joined other Vancouver Island athletes on the BC Winter Games bus to the 2012 games in Vernon yesterday.
Becky Scott sprints: This weekend all Jack Rabbits will be partaking in the Becky Scott Sprint Races! The purpose of this award is to encourage skiers to develop speed in their skiing and expose them to a race–like experience (because it’s fun!) The children will also actively cheer on their fellow participants. Skiers aged 6–7 (by the end of the current year) will ski a 50 meter race course. Skiers 8 years and up will ski a 75 meter race course. Timing will be done for these distances. Beckie Scott Sprint sticker awards will be included with Rabbit booklets at the end of the season. Each Rabbit group has been assigned a group racing time and will spend approximately 15 minutes at the Sprint Race area in the stadium. Following their sprint they will continue with a regular session.
Colouring contest: The deadline for the CCC Jackrabbit Colouring Contest is quickly approaching! Please submit all entries to Alix Wilson or Liz Girard by March 3 & 4 – either in person or electronically (headharewilson@gmail.com). To access the guidelines and template, please click here.
Rabbit volunteer opportunities: There are a few volunteer positions that still need filling:
Whether you know you want to coach or you would just like to know more about it come to our 15 min information session on Saturday March 3rd or Sunday March 4th at 10am in the Raven Lodge (as soon as the rabbits are organized). If anyone is interested and wants to work on their skills this can be followed by an hour of working on classic technique, all abilities welcome.
Common Myths about coaching:
Don’t miss it! The 2nd Coaching refresher takes place this Sunday, February 26 from 1:00– 2:30pm. It is open to any past, present, or prospective coaches. Current skiing ability is not important. We will be working on diagonal stride and double pole technique and using video to discuss error detection and correction. Video is a great tool for looking at ski technique and always creates some lively discussion. Join in the fun! Meet on the stadium at 1pm.
Join in the OBSTACLE RELAY on Saturday at 1:30pm! All ages and abilities are welcome. Relay teams consisting of 2 people will complete as many laps as possible of a set course in 20 minutes. There will be a central transition zone where team members will tag their team mate so they can set off. Leaving the Transition Zone there will be 2 courses; a short loop within the stadium for Rabbits and beginner skiers and a longer second course that incorporates the 1st bench for stronger skiers. Both courses will incorporate obstacles! Parents are welcome to ski alongside their younger rabbits.
Hope to see you there!
174 new pieces of clothing arrived from Louis Garneau last week! LG was really great to replace the entire order (from October) free of charge, due to issues with durability of the first sets of suits. (Our suit program investment was based on suits lasting several seasons.) However, we are selling off the suits from that first order for the unbelievable price of $30! All proceeds go back into the racing suit program. Contact Jae Yon jaeyon.jones@uniserve.com if you would like to buy an inexpensive, functional racing suit for $30. Many thanks to Jae Yon Jones for sorting and organizing it all!
Registration opens next week for the the 30th Annual Vancouver Island Loppet! The loppet will take place on Saturday, March 31. A loppet is a traditional Nordic citizens’ race where communities challenge themselves to a good long ski.
The full loppet is 30km, and there will also be a 15km half loppet for recreational skiers, a team loppet of 3 x 10km, and shorter distances for children. Watch for more details next week in the newsletter and on the website.
Here’s a volunteer position that’s really quite fun. You have great support, and on Loppet day you get to be in the hub of the all the activity–not to mention the job satisfaction of handing out nourishment to thirsty, hungry people!
We need two coordinators for the Loppet Feed Stations:
The set –up and preparations have already been well-organized and documented, so who ever is willing to take this on has very good guideline to follow. Rupert Wong rupert.wong@telus.net is willing to give some guidance here. The coordinators would be gathering your volunteers as well as consulting with our Sponsorship director, Larry Reynolds larry.a.reynolds@gmail.com for possible food contribution businesses.
Feed station coordinator for the 2 course stations would also work in conjunction with the Chief of Course, Bob Hauser.
The Race Committee is keen to resurrect a Feed Station at the finish line/stadium area similar to what the Discovery Nordics established a few years back now where a very large canvas tent was borrowed from the Military and all loppeteers big and small as well as all the volunteers would gather for a spirited hot luncheon of chili, hot soup , hot chocolate and other food items. Possible awards could also be presented in the space. This coordinator would also have the assistance of the stadium crew and course crew for tent & equipment set up.
Strathcona Nordics racers cover lots of ground traveling to races in the BC interior every winter, and it pays off. Last weekend, they brought some aggregate awards back to the Island from the BC Championships in Salmon Arm.
In provincial standings, Avalon Wasteneys (Campbell River) placed second in the Juvenile Girls category, Alec Stapff (Campbell River) placed third in the Juvenile Boys, Michael Ravensbergen (Courtenay) placed third in Junior Boys, Sylvia Watkins (Royston) placed first in Junior Women, and Masters racer Andy Brown (Comox) placed second.
Of the third and final race in the BC Cup series, head coach Dave Battison said, “Our small island club had fantastic results! We are very proud of the team. They all persevered through challenging, changing snow conditions.”
In racing action in Salmon Arm, the following racers placed in the top five in the classic distance race, Brian Stamp (Campbell River) – second, Andy Brown (Comox) – fourth, Sylvia Watkins (Royston) – second, Michael Ravensbergen (Courtenay) – fifth, Jamie Wasteneys (Campbell River) – fifth, Ariel Becherer (Merville) – fourth, Alex Brown (Comox) – fifth, Alec Stapff (Campbell River) fourth, Avalon Wasteneys (Campbell River) – third.
Members of the racing team successfully returning from BC Championships.
Many thanks to Investors Group and the Coaching Association of Canada for contributing $750 towards the cost of the Community Coaching workshop that the club hosted in December!
We have news for you below about last weekend’s Coastal Cup, sit ski participants and volunteers, backcountry tours, Cross Country Canada (CCC) wins, International Ski Federation (FIS) stars, and more! Check out Devon Kershaw’s impressive first place victory on February 4!
We are now officially halfway through the Rabbit season – time does fly when you’re having fun!
Last week’s Coastal Cup races were a lot of fun, and it was great to see some Rabbit faces in the crowd. Congratulations to all Rabbits who participated – way to go!
Each week, the staff at Raven Lodge rentals do a fantastic job setting out gear for a significant number of skiers. For renters who may switch between classic and skate gear from week to week, the staff have requested that they be notified the week prior as to which kind of gear is needed (not the morning of). Please make sure you get this information from your coach at the end of each session–and pass it on to the rental department (for next week) when you return your gear.
If your child hasn’t yet passed their booklets in to their coach, please do so this weekend.
This Saturday, join us for Sprint Races in the Stadium–any age, any ability, everyone welcome! Everyone will do several heats with lots of shouting and lots of fun! Sign up starts at noon at the bottom of the Raven Lodge stairs. The fun starts at 1pm in the Stadium!
Sebastien McGrady and Ankit Bakshi raced to a close finish in the Coastal Cup #3 last Saturday. Photo: Brent Reid
We are looking for volunteers to help out with the clinic on February 25 at 10:30am. Contact Sue Bloxsome sbloxsome@gmail.com for more details.
Please also pass along the information to anyone you know who might want to participate in the clinic. Participants should have good upper body strength.
Cost: $20 ($12.50 for DSABC members) includes insurance, trail pass, equipment, and instruction.
For more information and to register, email Bloxsome sbloxsome@gmail.com
Do you have a child in grades 3 to 7? Has your child’s school participated in this amazing program? Can you convince your child’s teacher to allow your child and fellow classmates to participate in 3 or 4 cross country ski lessons? The March program still has many available time slots!
We are pleased to announce that the CIBC Wood Gundy School XC Ski Program is running again in 2012 thanks to the continued support of Rick Morson of CIBC Wood Gundy and his work with the CIBC Children’s Foundation, the Vancouver Island Society for Adaptive Snowsports, and Mount Washington Alpine Resort.
Contact info@StrathconaNordics.com for more information.
Last weekend, we had two fabulous days of racing in the Coastal Cup #3 and #4! Many thanks to our race organizers for putting on a great event–and many thanks to the dozens of volunteers who made it happen.
"Thank you" to volunteers like Val Wooten and Jae Yon Jones, who spent several hours in the timing hut tracking race results. Photo: Tim McGrady
The races also couldn’t have happened without our sponsors who support our race program, Mount Washington Resort, Government of BC, Ski Tak Hut, Dr Andreas Conradi, andThrifty Foods.
If you have some good photos from the race that you would like to share–send them in, and we’ll put them on the website.
You can find race results on Zone 4 for:
The SNSC’s Andrea Lee took the gold at a NorAm race in Mount Orford, Quebec last weekend in what is being described as a very exciting race. According to a CCC report, Andrea won the 15km, mass start, skate race in a photo finish with 4 other skiers finishing within 10 meters!
Lisa Patterson, who was part of the NDC support crew for this race, was very impressed by Lee, “the athletes toughed it out in the cold, slow conditions. Andrea skied a smart race sitting in the middle of a pack of 10 girls and out sprinted her competitors at the end to win,” as reported in the Net News Ledger.
Congratulations to Andrea Lee!!
Junior Racing team alumni Stephen Morson, Freya Wasteneys, Sylvia Watkins, Andrea Lee, and Brett Trainor enjoyed skiing and socializing on Mt Washington over the Christmas holiday.
After an impressive 1st place win in the February 4 race in Russia, Devon Kershaw currently ranks 3rd in the World Cup races and Alex Harvey 7th. You can view the FIS World Cup standings here. If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to check out Devon’s impressive victory in the video above.
Best wishes to our Junior Racing team, Masters Racers, and team support as they head off on Friday to Salmon Arm for the BC Championships! Go team!!
The SNSC’s Andrew Pape-Salmon led a large group of backcountry adventurers to Mount Brooks last month. You can see Andrew’s spectacular photos on this link.
Next month, Andrew has a tour planned for Mount Becher. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos, Andrew! We look forward to seeing more of your adventures.
From the January 2012 Mt Brooks tour. Photo: Andrew Pape-Salmon
You can view tomorrow’s teams for the sprint race in the Coast Cup #4 by using this link — Sprint Teams
The results from today’s Coast Cup #3 are available on the Zone 4 website.
We are half through our ski season, and I hope you are enjoying the skiing as much as I am! Look for news below about races, the officials course, sit ski clinic, a trip to Peru, happy returns, t-shirts, and more.
Register now because today is the last day to get in on the fun! You can:
and remember to send in the names of your sprint team members to info@StrathconaNordics.com by midnight.
Maya De Vos and Bill Boham's Sunday Rabbit group paused for a photo while whizzing through the stadium last Sunday.
Become a certified Level 1 Race Official this weekend! Join us for the Cross Country Canada course that focuses on the duties of minor officials for both Olympic style (interval start, pursuit start, mass start, relays and sprints) and Loppet style (mass participation) competitions.
Contact Alison to register andyalisonbrown@yahoo.ca
Good luck to all the Rabbits participating in the Coastal Cup this weekend – Have Fun!!
There will be no Rabbits in session on Saturday, however Sunday Rabbit sessions will run (making up for the lost Sunday a few weeks ago).
Do you have a child in grades 3 to 7?Has your child’s school participated in this amazing program? Can you convince your child’s teacher to allow your child and fellow classmates to participate in 3 or 4 cross country ski lessons? The March program still has many available time slots!
Additionally, a big “Thank you” to Junior racer Ariel Becherer who has been a great enthusiast behind the CIBC Wood Gundy XC Ski Program by helping out at many of the in-school orientations. Showing up in her skiing garb and excitedly sharing her stories of how she got involved in skiing has added to the students’ experience.
If you are a youth ski club member, can take and hour or two off school, and even gain some volunteer hours, please contact Karla kwikjord@gmail.com
IncaRunners is offering the trip of a lifetime this summer, the chance to train on the Inca trail in the mountains of Peru with Olympic Medalist and 2003 World Champion cross-country skier Martin Koukal.
Run and hike the Inca Trail with a World Champion cross-country skier! Photo: Walter Rhein
The 10-day hike passes through the famous city of Choquequirao and concludes at the legendary Machu Picchu. Come and train with Olympic athletes and see some of the most spectacular ancient cities on the planet. For more information, click here.
If you (or someone you know) has physical disabilities that make stand up skiing difficult or impossible–try nordic sit skiing!
On Saturday, February 25, we are co-hosting (with VISAS) a sit ski clinic at Mt Washington for:
For more information email info@StrathconaNordics.com
There are still a few awesome Strathcona Nordics technical shirts remaining. You can see the shirts and the sizing chart on the Gear page. Email Sue if you would like to buy one of these practical, stylish, and affordable shirts. sbloxsome@gmail.com
Thank you to everyone using their Strathcona Nordics Thrifty Foods Smile Cards. Your purchases have raised $1297.96 to date for the racing suit program. Wow! If you shop at Thrifty’s and would like a smile card, contact Berend bhenckel@telus.net
Here’s another way to help the club–if you are returning empty bottles and cans to the Return Centre on Puntledge Road in Courtenay or on Anderton Ave in Comox, you could tell them to give the proceeds to the Strathcona Nordics. Every little bit helps us to continue delivering great cross-country ski programs!
Looking for a men’s recreational (non-competitive) masters team cross-country skier for the Snow-To-Surf. If this is you, please call Dan Clements at Outdoor Addictions in Campbell River.
Happy Ground Hog Day! In central and eastern Canada, the ground hogs have predicted an early spring–but with the 417cm snow base at Mount Washington, I think the marmots would say that we can ski for months to come!
Speaking of signs, watch for the new “bag storage area” in the Raven Lodge. They will be installing some shelves as well. Let’s keep the obstacle course for the twoonie race and help the Raven Lodge staff keep the floors and tables clear when we are out skiing.
Register now for these fun and exciting events! All ages and abilities are welcome to race–don’t miss the thrill of the mass start on Saturday, February 11 and the team sprints on Sunday, February 12.
Remember to contact info@StrathconaNordics.com before the deadline with your sprint team member names or we will find a team for you.
Note: racing team members will be assigned to sprint teams by their coaches.
The annual Coastal Cup races are just around the corner – a weekend of exciting races for skiers of all ages! All Rabbits are encouraged to join in on the fun, as well as their parents! For Rabbits born in 2003 and later, Saturday February 11′s Mass Start Free Technique course is only 1 km, and registration is only $5.
Sunday February 12′s Team Sprints (also free technique) for the same age category is 200 m, and also only $5 to join in! What a great way to introduce them to a race setting right here in their own backyards! Many coaches will be skiing the Saturday course with their groups this weekend so their skiers can be familiar with the terrain before the big day!
To all Sunday Rabbits – the make-up day for the session that was cancelled due to extreme weather will be on Sunday, February 12th (during the Coastal Cup weekend).
2011 Child Fitness Tax Receipts will be handed out this weekend - please ask your child’s coach if you haven’t received one.
Rick Morson of CIBC Wood Gundy passes a cheque for $2,784 to Karla Wikjord from the Strathcona Nordics & CIBC Wood Gundy XC Program for Elementary Schools. Martin Hartig’s grade 6/7 class at Ecole Puntledge Park have been enthusiastic participants in the program. The program takes thousands of local elementary students cross-country skiing each winter. The program is sponsored by CIBC Wood Gundy and Mount Washington Resort.
Join us this Saturday for the Obstacle Relay! All ages and abilities are welcome.
Relay teams consisting of 2 people will complete as many laps as possible of a set course in 20 minutes. There will be a central transition zone where team members will tag their teammate so they can set off.
Leaving the Transition Zone there will be 2 courses; a short loop within the stadium for Rabbits and beginner skiers, and a longer second course that incorporates the 1st bench for stronger skiers. Both courses will incorporate obstacles! Parents are welcome to ski alongside their younger rabbits.
Become a certified Level 1 race official! On February 10 and 11, our club is offering the CCC Level 1 Race Official course, which focuses on the duties of minor officials for both Olympic style (interval start, pursuit start, mass start, relays and sprints) and Loppet style (mass participation) competitions.
Register for this course by contacting Alison. andyalisonbrown@yahoo.ca
Diane and Sue enjoying a ski. Photo: Brent Reid
We wish clear roads and fast skis to the team of racers and race support traveling to Prince George today to take part in the BC Cup #2 races. Go team!
Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw are helping cross country skiing to gain a higher profile in the national news spotlight.
CBC tv recently aired a fun, short clip about Alex and Devon and our sport, Nordic Knights.
In Canadian Sport Awards, Alex Harvey has been named the Junior Athlete of the Year and Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey have been named the Partners of the Year.
