Snow Sport Clubs Alive & Well on Mount Washington
A season of no snow has not dimmed interest in these clubs. “Last
year was such a tough year,” said John Trimmer, head coach of
the Mount Washington Ski Club.
MOUNT WASHINGTON SKI CLUB
The ski club has rolled over fees for its Alcan Nancy Greene Ski League,
which already has quite a few participants re-registered from last year,
about 70, Trimmer said. “It’s definitely not a number to
worry about at all.”
On the competitive level, racers have been working for their physical
fitness on snow and glaciers throughout the summer. There are about
50 athletes in the carded program.
“We did a couple of glacier camps (at Blackcomb and Mt. Hood in
Oregon),” he explained. “We basically trained just as we
would in winter. We’ll ski, we’ll learn gates, we’ll
do technique.”
The
glacier camps helped prepare racers for the upcoming winter season.
So did early-season training at Apex Alpine. Racers with the ski club
compete at the zone level in slalom, GS, Super G and downhill events.
They vie for position with skiers from Whistler, Cypress, Grouse Mountain
and Hemlock. A number of those kids will qualify to race provincially
and the club has had some qualify to compete internationally.
“We have one group, our highest level group - the FIS program.
Those athletes basically race against a lot of people from outside the
country,” Trimmer said. Mount Washington has hosted FIS events
in the past, but not for the last three years.
The ski club has created such products as Alison Forsyth - who is still
listed as a club member - and Dustin Fraser, who in the fall was still
competing with the provincial ski team. Trimmer expects Fraser to one
day make the national team, just like Forsyth.
For more information, visit their website www.mtwashington.bcalpine.com
STRATHCONA
NORDICS
While the ski club takes over the alpine portion of Mount Washington,
the Strathcona Nordics have total control of the Nordic terrain.
The Nordics offer a range of programs for all ages and interests consistent
with the ideal that cross-country skiing is a lifelong sport. The programs
fall roughly into two categories: recreational skiing/ski skill development
and ski training/athlete development/racing.
“Our programs should not be confused with lessons‚ or ski
instruction‚ which is provided by Mount Washington and their ski
instructors,” Nordics president Len Apedaile said. “You
have to be a club member to participate in our sessions.”
Programs include Jackrabbits (ages 3-12), adventure program (ages 10-16),
Devo program (ages 10-14), junior racing and high-performance racing
programs (ages 14-19 and older). Masters programs are for people aged
20 years and older.
The club hired a full-time professional coach, Dave Battison, in May
2004 to help the club develop and lead its athlete and volunteer coach
development programs. Battison helped develop last year’s programs
and also implemented a summer training program for the junior and masters
athletes.
“Dave’s accomplishments over the season despite the snow
were tremendous and are evidenced in the enthusiasm and dedication of
the young athletes who are in the program,” Apedaile said.
The other thing the Strathcona Nordics club does is organize races that
are open to everyone. The annual Loppet is the highlight of the season
and is scheduled this year for March 18, 2006.
“The 2005 season was a tough one for the nordic teams,”
Apedaile said in his president’s report at the club’s AGM
in September.
The year was disastrous from a skiing perspective due to the lack of
snow from mid-January through to the end of March. This resulted in
the curtailment of most club programs and the cancellation of all club
races, the Loppet and on snow coaching courses. The lack of snow also
meant we were unable to ski on the new trails that were developed above
the lodge during the summer of 2004.
Despite the poor conditions, the club maintained its membership base;
the only effect being that for the first time since the club’s
inception in 1998, its membership did not grow. “Our membership
base remains more than double the average club size for B.C. clubs,
the 11th largest out of 67,” he said.
For more information, visit their website
www.strathconanordics.com
LUGE
The Comox Valley was once home to strong luge competition, so much
so that when the Wood Mountain Luge run closed, Mount Washington created
its own 300-metre-long natural luge run in the glade next to Raven Lodge
to accommodate the interest.
However, the sport’s local competitors have grown up or gone on
to other activities, says onetime organizer James Robinson. “Luge
has collapsed here,” he said. “There are no teams at present.”
FREESTYLE SKIING
While luge appears to be dead, freestyle skiing is gaining in popularity.
The mountain will host the Dairyland Slopestyle Competition on Feb.
4, 2006, featuring riders and skiers competing in a number of different
jumps, hits and features down the slopestyle course. They’ll show
off style, technique and flow.
ADAPTIVE
SNOW SPORTS
The Vancouver Island Society for Adaptive Snowsports (VISAS) offers
instruction in all aspects of skiing, alpine and nordic, snowboarding,
race programs and skill improvement for people with all types of disabilities.
The society has been advancing the abilities of disabled skiers for
more than 30 years.
They also offer certified training to prospective instructors through
the Canadian Association of Disabled Skiers, where instructors learn
to use adaptive equipment and techniques to enhance the abilities of
students.
For more information on VISAS, visit their website at www.visdsweb.ca