Cross Country Skiing in Spectacular Fernie
All Fernie welcomes the Griz from March 6 to 8. Among the local activities, the SNOW-TO-ICE(cream) challenge is back again this year. Take a selfie at four different locations on the trails around Fernie inside of 72 hours from Friday to Sunday 7 pm. More details HERE.
A special Griz Days Full Moon Ski & Social event closes the weekend. Meet at 7 pm at the Nordic Centre.
Hello Skill Development Program families!
Sorry for the long email, please bear with me!!
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.
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!
Cheers,
Sam
Email: fernienordicmemberships@gmail.com
The club invites all skiers, young, adult, families, to our annual Fernie Community Fun race event on Saturday Feb 22 at the Nordic Centre. It is open to club members and non-members alike. The fun starts at 10:30 with the Hot Chocolate Run followed by relay and solo races plus short sprints to finish. It is totally FREE to participate. Read the details on our page (click to open).
Fernie skiers were very active in the past weekend of February 8-9 with a few events.
On Saturday twenty skiers gathered in the hut before starting on the trails under a very bright moon. The evening ended back at the hut for snacks, refreshments and a good time.
The race weekend in Kimberley was the Teck Kootenay Championships, a tier 2 points qualifying race, so it was a higher level event than usual races for the team. The Fernie racers competed against other racers from several clubs, including Telemark, Sovereign Lake, Revelstoke, Canmore, Foothills, the Kootenay teams – Nelson, Kimberley, Black Jack and Toby Creek – plus Montana teams, Glacier Nordic and Seeley Lake. The weather was perfect and excellent snow conditions.
Eleven young skiers from the Fernie Nordic Racers team took part in the two-day event together with nine adult skiers from Fernie. Our team is coached by Jeff Williams. Overall the team had 28 starts in the classic and skate races. Race results may be found HERE. The current cup standings are HERE.
Saturday was also the day of the 2020 Canadian Birkebeiner in Edmonton. Two skiers from Fernie completed the challenging course. Ron Lentz finished the 31 km tour race while Naomi Lentz did the 55 km race with a 12 lbs pack (5.4 kg) on her back. Congratulations to both!
from the Full Moon Ski:
from the Kootenay Cup races:
Last Saturday was another Skill Development Program lesson for 46 young skiers at the Nordic Centre.
The new Family Friendly Ski event followed on Sunday afternoon at 4 pm. We inaugurated the new and very long string of lights along the kids loop by the staging area. A fun place to ski after dark! About twenty adult skiers participated in the event as well as a few children either on dad’s back or in a chariot. The trails were well groomed and the skiing was great!
The January 25-26 weekend was also the time for our Fernie Nordic Racers to shine at the Teck Kootenay Cup in Nipika.
Twenty racers from Fernie completed the classic races on Saturday and 17 did the skate races on Sunday. In total the racers received 9 podium positions. Three young racers did amazingly well in their first cross country ski race ever. The trails were well groomed and track set although hard and very icy. Good participation by our young racing team and several adults from Fernie.
The results of the classic races are HERE and the ones from the skate races are HERE. The current standings in the Kootenay Cup are on this page. Go Fernie Racers!
The Family Friendly Ski is coming up! This Sunday is an opportunity for anyone, kids, adults, families, to ski on the trails of the Nordic Centre. Meet at the Elk Valley Nordic Centre at 4 pm for a group ski for all ages. Headlamps may not be needed! Free for members, day pass required for non-members.
