Raffle tickets will be distributed to families of the racing teams. These will be available on March 17, 2018 and the draw date is May 6, 2018 during our year end banquet. The following prizes can be won: 1. Supercamp Ski Package Vernon, valid for the fall of 2018, valued at $1200
2. Fischer RCS Carbon skate skis, 187, stiff, valued at $850
3. Salomon Aero Skin, classic ski, 206, valued at $400
4. Halti Ski Jacket, valued at $250
5. Salomon Ski Jacket, valued at $250
| 1. | Supercamp Ski Package Vernon, valid for the fall of 2018, valued at $1200 | | 2. | Fischer RCS Carbon skate skis, 187, stiff, valued at $850 | | 3. | Salomon Aero Skin, classic ski, 206, valued at $400 | | 4. | Halti Ski Jacket, valued at $250 | | 5. | Salomon Ski Jacket, valued at $250 | Prizes can’t be exchanged for different size, colour or length |  Sunday Masters Intermediate group in Paradise Meadows with Coaches Chris and Marilyn | Four groups of Masters Rec Skiers are having a great season building skills and having fun on skis. Many thanks to the volunteer coaches who make this wonderful program possible for 59 Skiers this year: John Elson, Chris Round, Chris Bowlby, Liza Grant, Bob Hauser, Lynda Magor, Graeme Magor, Neil Smith, Johannna Ferrie, Dave Pinel, Rupert Wong, Susan Denny, Ron Quilter, Rick Morson and Marilyn Atkinson. |  Masters Rec Saturday Beginner group PC: Lynda Magor | | Who is in for a March Challenge Ski? Saturday March 17th. Try to ski all the trails on the mountain in one day. This is a totally self supported event. Get a group together to ski it out, Classic or Skate.
Do one, two or three of the loops. The full route should be about 45km. Bonus points if you want to add on 7km for World Cup and Sprint Trails...
Start early in the day to get better snow conditions - 8:30am (or later if that suits you). The suggested route is: Loop One - Raven Lodge to Lake Approach to Lake Trail to Lake Approach to Paradise Meadows Trail to Far East, back to Paradise Meadows Trail back to the lodge.
Loop Two -Raven Lodge to Jutland to The Grind to Legacy to Marmot, around Marmot Flats back down the Grind to Ravens Revenge and back to Raven Lodge.
Loop Three - West Passage to the Chair, ride chair up, go down Upper West Meadows, then down Lower West Meadows, and back to Raven Lodge! Celebrate your accomplishment! Oh and it’s St Patrick’s day so you could have a green theme! |  Masters take over the club van for the weekend. | Strathcona Nordics were well represented at this year's Payak on February 24, 2018. The Masters left town on Friday morning in the fantastic new club van, and travelled as a team to Whistler. Good thing that many of us we were all together. As a team we were held up by a substantial motor vehicle accident on the Sea to Sky highway for approximately 7 hours. Always prepared and adaptable, we returned to Squamish, had dinner and waxed skis while we waited for the road to clear. We eventually got to the Athlete's Village after 1:00am. We moved efficiently in the morning to get to the race site and structure the skis. There had been fresh snow on the Friday (a key factor in the MVA) and the temps were colder than normal. But the wax team executed a plan and all skis were prepped and ready to go. The 50Kers went out first, followed by the 30Kers, and the 15Kers next. The course follows along some wonderful undulating terrain and the grooming was really good. Aid stations were great. I'd like to report on two sets of awards- our ski race results and also our recognition awards for the activities that added to the weekend. First- race results
15K Women's 45-49:Odette Lemay- 2nd place
Liza Grant - proud finisher! 30K
Women's 25-29:Sylvia Watkins- 1st place
Women's 50-54Patty Johnson- 4th place
Men's 50-54 Rupert Wong- 3rd place
Women's 55-59 Chris Bowlby- 1st place
Women's 60-64 Marilyn Atkinson- 1st place
Women's 65-69 Chris Round- 1st place
Men's 65-69 John Elson- 1st place 50K
Women's 25-29
Andre Lee (UBC) - 1st place
Freya Wastenays- 2nd place
Men's 25-29
Grant Hihn - 5th place
Brendon Dawson- 6th place
Stephen Morson- 7th place
Women's 45-49 Lynn Swift- 7th place
Men's 45-49 James Ram- 9th place
Women's 50-54 Lynda Magor- 2nd place
Men's 50-54 Neil Holm- 2nd place
Men's 60-64 Graeme Magor- 3rd place
Men's 65-69 Reg Martin- 3rd place OTHER RECOGNITION AWARDS
Best driver of the trip- Rupert Wong
Best wax technician- Marilyn Atkinson
Best wax tech support- Lynn Swift and Rupert Wong
Best javelin arm throwing dart player award in the pub on Friday night- Chris Bowlby
Best "stay in the spa too long" award- Patty Johnson
Best iPhone tech award- Liza Grant (aka: reporting on the Facebook page for Sea to Sky highway)
Best chai latte order award- Lynda Magor
Best kale salad ever award- Odette Lemay
Best "I can't talk in the spa award so I'm leaving"- Graeme Magor
Best rookie of the trip award- James Ram
Best veteran skier but rookie to Strathcona Nordics Masters award (hope he comes back)- Reg Martin |  Odette’s Lemay's Rabbit group. From left to right Lulu Errico, Jaycee Harmatiuk, Nico Schum. | Reminder that the Jackrabbit windup celebration is on March 17th in the stadium! Rabbit parents look for details in your inbox. | Strathcona Nordics Ski Club past president Len Apedaile is off to Korea this week for the Paralympic Winter Games. Len who is the Head of Technical Control and Officials for the World Para Nordic Skiing federation has been travelling to Korea over the past 4 years to support the technical planning of the Nordic events and will lead a team of ten international technical officials in Korea as the Race Director for the Paralympic cross country skiing and biathlon events. Joining his team from Vancouver Island are Joe Bajan and Francoise Ducret from the Vancouver Island Biathlon Club. Joe will act as the assistant technical delegate for biathlon and Francoise will monitor commercial marking and equipment control. Additionally, Marc Lyster, Nordic Manager at Mount Washington Resort and Tom Kennedy of Comox have been recruited by the organising committee to provide expert snow and course preparation and grooming services for the event. Grooming for para-nordic skiing is highly technical and demanding and these experienced operators will guarantee the best possible competition conditions for the athletes. All five individuals became involved in the sport when the Comox Valley, Mount Washington, the Vancouver Island Mountain Sports Society and the two clubs played host to two Paralympic world cups world cups in 2007 and 2009. Each subsequently participated in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games and Len, Joe and Francoise were also involved in Sochi 2014. Len and Joe have also been actively involved in World Para Nordic Skiing since 2010 at the World Cup and World Championship level. The team represents a growing body of Canadian technical experts who work behind the scenes for a variety of international sport federations, bringing Canadian excellence and know how to support events and ultimately our athletes at the highest levels of sport. The Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang run from March 9 to 18, and the cross country and biathlon events will encompass almost half of the medal events at the Games. Watch for them on TV,here, and cheer on not only our athletes but also our officials who work behind the scenes to deliver this historic event. | This multi-sport event brought together the best athletes from across BC, from Febr. 22-25.
Strathcona Nordic Ski club had 5 Nordic skiers qualify to attend BC Winter Games, joining other Vancouver Island Athletes, to compete for Zone 6. These skiers training and focus paid off with many top 10 finishes in a competitive field of racers from all regions of the province. The coaches were very happy with the effort of the team. Waxing and preparing the skis required many early mornings, but ultimately, the speed of their skis paid off. “The weather patterns were stable, and we had the bonus of a light dusting of snow; which made the wax choices perfect,” says Bratrud. |  Henckel says, “The real highlight for me was when Naomi Swift’s ski popped off her binding 4 times in one Sprint Heat, and yet she pushed herself to complete the race, and race hard until the end.” |  L to R: Coaches Jim Bratrud, Sarah Henckel, Skiers: Naomi Swift, Anna Chatterton, Finn Manktelow, Hugo Henckel, and Theo Lemay. | | | The Vancouver Island Mountain Centre is in need of activity guides for March. This includes Snowshoeing, Snow Cave Building and basic Winter Skills Programs. Pay is $14.50/hr and free gym use. Contact the manager for more information. | Upcoming dates of interest and ways to represent Strathcona Nordics in the community! May Ski Camp: May 4,5 and 6. This will include our year end banquet. This year it will be at the VIMC. Tri K triahtlon: May 27, 2018 YANA Ride: Aug. 19, 2018 Perseverence Run Cumberland: Oct.28, 2018; registration opens April 1st and race sells out - sign up early! AGM/Ski Swap/Fundraiser: Oct.20, 2018 at the Native Sons Hall in Courtenay. Mark this important day and please make yourself available for volunteering. This needs to be in all-out club effort. More information to follow in the months to come. | |
