Helen McAllister
Fernie Nordic Racers, Team Coordinator
A strong contingent of athletes from the Fernie Nordic Racers spent the last weekend in February in Nelson, BC. The West Kootenay nordic club once again played host to the season finale of the Kootenay Cup race series. Spread over two days, the races were held in two separate venues to best match the race formats, and to showcase the wonderful trails that make up the Nelson Nordic Ski Club.
Led by Kate Woods, and supported by Megan Lohmann, the nordic skiers participated in two events. Saturday’s races were based in the meadows of the Apex facility. Sprints in the freestyle (skate) technique were once again the order of the day. With no qualifying round to seed the racers, athletes were placed in similar age groups, racing in groups of six around their course. Distances ranged from 150m for the youngest competitors up to 800m for the oldest age brackets. The order of the racers across the finish line then dictated who would be placed in which heat for the second round of sprints. A third and final round of heats was skied before the final order of the day was established. Most of the Fernie Nordic Racers found themselves on the podium of their respecitve age category after the first day of racing.
Sunday’s event was based in the beautiful trail network of Nelson’s Busk facility. The courses varied in distance based on age, accessing undulating terrain under a dense forest canopy. The longer courses experienced the wonderful trails along the Salmo River. Classic technique distance racing was the format, with interval starts (athletes were released in 15 second gaps). A winter storm warning gave the coaches and wax technicians plenty to consider when setting up the grip zones of the skis. The below zero temperatures helped ensure that the more technical applications of klister or ‘hairies’ was not required. Heavy snow fell throughout the day creating powder conditions. Once again, the Fernie Nordic Race Team represented well in categories ranging from U10 to Masters. Siblings, parents and coaches all joined the fun, if challenging experience.
As the regional finale to the season, this was the last weekend of cross-country ski racing for many of the Fernie Nordic Racers. As a fun, low-pressure regional event, it showcased all the skills that had been developed over the many months of training leading up to this race weekend. A few Fernie Nordic athletes are still competing and will travel to Telemark Nordic in West Kelowna the first weekend of March to challenge the best in the province at the 2023 BC Championships over three days of racing. With BC Aggregate Points on the line, many of our athletes will be gunning for strong performances.
With newly arrived snow, training and fun activities for the team will continue through the coming month. This includes the Fernie Flying Viking Challenge on Sunday, March 26th hosted by the Fernie Nordic Society at the Elk Valley Nordic Centre. Mark your calendars for this fun community event, with a mini-viking category for youth to be added this year.
As a volunteer-driven program, the athletes are thankful for the support of so many in the community, including all the groomers, trail ambassadors, the FNS Board of Directors, and the membership at large for their ongoing support. If you are inspired by this group of youth, check out their current fundraising drive for a set of test skis through the Nordiq Canada Annual Club Fundraiser page: Fast Fernie Flyers - https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/cross-country-ski-de-fond-canada/p2p/Annual-Club-Fundraiser-23/page/fast-fernie-flyers/. Of note, donations to this particular campaign receive a charitable donation tax receipt and any donations over $100 will additionally receive a Fernie Nordic Racers cowbell.
The program also gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Province of British Columbia.