A few photos from the race event in Nelson on February 5 & 6. The Fernie Nordic Racers and several parents joined the fun and earned more points toward the 2022 Teck Kootenay Cup. This was the last event of the season in this series.
Several Fernie racers ended with podium finishes and all had a good time. Well done!
coach Jeffa great weekend!
The result of the races in Nelson are on the website of the Nelson Ski Club. The Fernie Nordic Racers finished in 4th place out of eight clubs in the Teck Kootenay Cup series – see the rankings at CrosscountryBC.
Aurélie and Louison from the Fernie Nordic Racers team are inviting more young racers to join this dynamic group of young athletes. They explain that the key benefit of the club is having fun while training for races.
“If you enjoy Nordic skiing, racing, and the outdoors, you should join the Fernie Nordic Racers. We are a very encouraging group of people, and we all support each other. Each athlete has their own goals to reach. You should join us and reach yours” say the girls.
The girls outline two good reasons for joining the club. They explain the first reason is “Fernie Nordic Racers is a wonderful group of athletes and coaches, that are always enthusiastic, and ready to train. Our coaches: John Shaw, Jeff Williams, Naomi Lentz, and Helen McAlister, coach a group of athletes ranging between the age 9 and 18 years old”, with coaching targeted to two age groups — under 12 and over 12.
The second reason is the comprehensive fall training program. Both groups meet on Tuesday with the under 12 group going for a 45-minute run on the trails around the Aquatic Centre while the older group trains with the Fernie Secondary School cross country running team. In addition, the older group also trains with the running team on Thursdays. “Our workout (as older athletes) is formed of a warmup (10-minute run + A’s, B’s, C’s), a running workout (hills, tempo runs, intervals, etc.…), and a cool down (5-minute jog, and dynamic stretching). On Fridays we have a dryland training with the whole team for 1 hour. We start with a 20-minute fitness game then we roller ski for 40 minutes. Sometimes the older athletes have a long and slow run, on Saturdays or Sundays. Some older athletes also use Training Peaks to keep track of training outside of practices. We also go training camps, which are fun and instructive,” say the girls.
Please send us a note if you need any information about the ski gear available to the children registered in the Skill Development Program. One of our volunteers will be in touch with you shortly.
We had planned a fun group ski on Saturday in place of a formal SDP lesson. But we have decided to cancel it in view of the frigid temperatures that are expected in the morning.
We hope that you will have a good weekend. The Flying Viking Challenge on Sunday morning is our last event of the season. The temps should be milder and you are welcome to come for a ski and to cheer for your favorite Viking! It all starts at 10:30 am on Sunday ending around 3 pm.
It’s been a wonderful season and we’d like to thank you, your kids, and all the volunteers who make the Fernie Nordic Society Skill Development Program such a success.
Saturday March 7th is the last official lesson of the Saturday program! Traditionally we have a dress up day, so open your tickle trunks! The following Saturday we will have an informal lesson for those who are in town from 10:30 to 11:30 like usual. It’s also the Fernie Flying Viking Challenge, so those who are around can also cheer on the viking participants – and please check it out and register at https://www.fernienordic.com/vikingchallenge/
Tuesday March 10th is the last official lesson of the Tuesday program and we will dress up as well!
Saturday April 4th @ 10:30 am we invite the entire club to come out for a season finale and another chance to dress up. We will have games to play and fun to be had regardless of the weather! There will also be a BBQ by donation.
On Saturday February 22nd, we are holding the 8th Annual Community Fun Race. This is a purely fun event meant to bring the entire community together. This event is free for members or non-members and no day pass is required.
The first event is the Hot Chocolate Run. It will start at 10:45 and takes the place of SDP lessons. A team made of an adult and child will ski from the hut to the intersection of the Jackrabbit loop and the Cedar loop exit (open area). There will be volunteers with a propane fire pit and hot chocolate for the kids. While the kids stay at the firepit, the adult will ski the Lizard Lookout and Cedar loops (approx. 2km), then return to the firepit, pick up their child, and head back to the hut. There will be small prizes for everyone, but the event isn’t timed and is meant to be entirely fun. Please arrive prior to 10:30 just like a normal lesson day – a little earlier would be better if possible!.
It would be wonderful if all SDP kids are able to partner with an adult, but we understand that not all kids have an adult in their life who is able to ski with them. If this is the case, we will partner your child with a coach or a race team member. We may have more than one child with an adult.
After the Hot Chocolate Run, there will be a Relay race followed by a Sprint race. We’d love to see lots of families participating or cheering! Please see more details on our website.
If you would like to
participate in all the race events but aren’t sure what to do with
the kids while you participate, please contact me. We’d like to
offer watch over a group of kids so that everyone gets a chance to
take part.
How to take part?
Please use the webscorer sign up at https://www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=210927 to add your child to the event and let us know if there is an adult to attend with them. Please enter “partner needed” if a coach or race team member will be paired. We will have a special area to meet, and all partnered kids will get a bib per usual lessons.
There will be hot
food available by donation. Please bring a bowl and spoon if you
would like to participate! All proceeds will go to the race team.
Finally, pass this
along to anyone you know. The more the merrier!! Also, if you would
like to volunteer in some way, we could always use help corralling
the racers!
