By Rosemary Kelsall, Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club
Eleven of the younger racers of the Revelstoke Nordic Club took part in the BC Midget Championships at the Telemark Nordic Club in West Kelowna last weekend.
More than 200 racers took part in the championships for racers born between 1999-2002. The Revelstoke athletes led the club to a seventh place overall showing out of the 21 teams who came from all over B.C. and Washington State.
Club coach Andrei Pascu said the future of cross country skiing in Revelstoke is very bright and he is very proud of the young racers who have been training hard this season.
On the first day of competition the racers took part in a two kilometre classic race and a 4 X 1.5 km relay. The waxing team led by Penny Paige-Brittin was able to keep the waxing competitive as the day warmed and was thankful they didn’t need to go to klister wax.
Year 2000 skiers Alana Brittin and Beth Granstrom brought home individual medals for the team, tying for silver in their event. Later in the day Alana and Beth joined with teammates Kate Granstrom and Elizabeth Elliott to bring home a silver medal in the girls relay.
On day one, other results were:
Year 1999 – Andreas Suchovs eighth; Josie Koerber 21st
Year 2000 – Elizabeth Elliott 11th; Kate Granstrom 12th
Year 2001 – Hayden Mallet seventh, Calum Gribbon 13th, Simon Blackie 18th, Miika Park 11th
Year 2002 – Alexis Larsen, who raced with confidence and poise in her first Nordic race, finished 12th.
The boys relay of Hayden Mallet, Calum Gribbon, Andreas Suchov and Simon Blackie placed 12th.
Day two of competition saw mild conditions and fun and fast sprint racing as the racers took part in either a 300 metre or 400 metre king’s court sprint event. Each racer sprinted four times freestyle through the day in elimination rounds to come up with their final placing. The athletes needed speed, strategy and a bit of luck to avoid falls as groups set out fast, four at a time.
Results were:
Year 1999 – Andreas Suchovs 19th, Josi Koerber 25th
Year 2000 – Alana Britton fifth, Beth Granstrom seventh, Elizabeth Elliott ninth, Kate Granstrom 17th
Year 2001 – Calum Gribbon ninth, Simon Blackie 14th, Miika Park 18th