By Matt Smider, Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club
This past weekend, 11 members of the Revelstoke Nordic Race Team and their families ventured westward to Mount Washington on Vancouver Island to compete in the 2015 BC Midget Championships hosted by Strathcona Nordic Ski Club.
The Midget Championships are a ski tournament held annually throughout the province for skiers aged 9–12. This year’s event had nearly 130 registrants representing 10 clubs from across the province. The small, but mighty Revelstoke contingent performed admirably, finishing the weekend in fifth out of the 10 clubs.
The warm and wet weather stole the show at the competition. Usually blessed with 55km of Nordic trails, the Mount Washington trail network was severely compromised and it took countless volunteer hours of snow harvesting to ensure skiable terrain. Daytime highs of 7 C and incessant rain forced organizers to run through numerous course changes leading up to race day as snow disappeared and was washed away by flooding streams.
Fortunately, the tireless efforts of the organizing committee meant that skiers had not travelled in vain and competitors were able to compete in the full compliment of weekend events.
Saturday morning saw racers participate in a two kilometre classic technique interval start race. In the afternoon, costumes were adorned and a 4x1.5km classic technique team relay event was contested.
Like many of the coastal skiers, the Revelstoke team is no stranger to the wet, Klister-wax conditions and demonstrated a superb effort in Saturday’s event.
Top results include:
2003 Girls
Emily MacLeod – 2nd
Zoe Larson – 5th
2003 Boys
Nelson Luxmoore – 3rd
2004 Girls
Alexandra Luxmoore – 3rd
2005 Girls
Maeve MacLeod – 5th
Technique Award
Zoe Larson
Girls Official Relay
Emily MacLeod, Eden Thomas, Hannah Vickers, Rebecca Brosch – 4th
Alexandra Luxmoore, Nyssa Thomas, Maeve MacLeod, Zoe Larson – 5th
On Sunday, skiers sped around a 300m sprint loop in the stadium area — cheered on by a committed group of hardy fans dressed in their finest rain gear and dancing unexpectedly to stay warm. Once again, our club was represented in fine fashion throughout the morning qualifier and afternoon heats.
Top results include:
2003 Girls
Emily MacLeod – 4th
2004 Girls
Alexandra Luxmoore – 2nd
2005 Girls
Nyssa Thomas – 5th
Technique Award
Nyssa Thomas
Revelstoke athletes have a weekend off before they compete in the all-ages BC Championships hosted by Telemark Nordic in Kelowna, February 20–22.