The Fernie Nordic Ski Team came second in the Kootenay Cup Race Series, hosted in Nelson on March 4.
Marley Robinson-Shaw of the Fernie Ski Team dominated in the Peewee division (age 8-9) 1 km sprint, taking first with a time of 4:52, four seconds ahead of Freya Keyserlingk of the Nelson Nordic Club.
“I was surprised that I won, because it (Nelson) was flat and I’m used to training going up hills and down hills,” said Robinson-Shaw.
Asked how she felt taking first in the last race of the season, Robinson-Shaw said, “It felt awesome, because I hadn’t actually gotten a big heavy medal like this, I’ve gotten second.”
Previous to this, Robinson-Shaw took second place twice in a row; once in Kimberley, again in Nipika, and was unable to compete in the Fernie Cup due to the weather.
“This accomplishment, it was the last race of the season and it was my first big, heavy medal. It was just so exciting,” she said, beaming from ear to ear.
This Kootenay Cup was the last race of the season for Nordic Skiers in Fernie, Kimberley, Invermere, Golden, Nelson and Rossland.
John Shaw, father and coach to Marley has seen her take off since she joined the club four years ago. In addition to cross country, the young athlete also competes in downhill skiing and gymnastics.
The nine-year-old has been participating in Nordic Skiing for four years, but this was her first year participating on the race team.
“I want to definitely get into a higher level,” said the ambitious and motivated nine-year-old. “I just feel like I can prove a lot next year. So I think after I’ve improved so much this year, I just want to improve again next year.”
On this team, there are 25 kids, the youngest being nine and the oldest being 17. During a tournament like the Kootenay Cup, every member of the team contributes to the total number of points earned.
The Fernie Team was short one match going into the finals, due to the ice storm that rolled into Fernie the weekend it was scheduled to happen. They lost to Nelson in the finals by 12 points.
“We would’ve come first if we had had the Fernie race,” said Robinson-Shaw.
A first place earns the team sevens points, a second place earns the team five, three points for third and every other participant who finishes the race earns two.
“The structure of Nordic Skiing, is an individual sport,” said Coach Shaw. “They try to structure it to give it a team atmosphere, so it encourages participation. It encourages a team structure. Everyone on the Fernie team is cheering for everyone else on the Fernie team, because every person who crosses the finish line, counts for the teams points.”
Shaw has been coaching with Fernie for five years. The Fernie Nordic Society has been around for approximately 12 years, and started off small. From practicing in parking lots, the club has grown to own their own spot at the Fernie Provincial Park, where they have been for four years.
“Every year we have been growing and building,” said Shaw.