| National Team Athletes Welcome New Knitwear Provider |
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After completing one of their final training sessions at the Canmore Nordic Centre before heading off to chase, Canada's cross-country skiers welcomed Kootenay Knitting as the new official supplier of sweaters and knit products for the National Ski Teams. Kootenay Knitting cemented the relationship with Cross Country Canada for the years leading up to, and including, the 2010 ski season.Over the term of the sponsorship, Kootenay Knitting will provide all formal specially-crafted sweaters, hats and scarves for the National Ski Teams. For the past two years, Kootenay Knitting has developed an ongoing relationship with the leaders of Laxgalts'ap, which is a small and remote Nisga'a village located in north western British Columbia. The people of Laxgalts'ap have lived in the Nass Valley 'since the beginning of time', and they are proud of their sophisticated North West Coast culture and artwork. They are also looking for employment and economic opportunities. Laxgalts'ap was the driving force respecting the creation of Nisga'a Knit & Apparel Corp., which last year purchased shares in Kootenay Knitting. Kootenay Knitting has been working with Selena Sampare, who is an artist and seamstress living in the village of Laxgalts'ap. Sampare's artwork is the inspiration respecting the authentic wool knit products that Canada's high-performance athletes will be showcasing around the world. "We are excited to merge the strong tradition of Kootenay Knitting and the Laxgalts'ap people with the rising success of the entire Canadian Cross-Country Ski Team in the international arena," said Allan Rella, chief executive officer of Kootenay Knitting. "Our relationship with Cross Country Canada is part of a growing movement by corporate Canada and national organizations to build better business relationships with Aboriginal communities. This partnership will allow us to engage Aboriginal peoples with Cross Country Canada in our continued pursuit of excellence in sport and business." The distinctive National Ski Team and Para-Nordic Ski Team athlete replica merchandise will soon be available on Cross Country Canada's e-store and preferred retail outlets across Canada. |
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Did You Know...
The high-performance cross-country skiers on Canada's World Cup Team and Para-Nordic Ski Team consume approximately 200 kilograms of both sport and recovery drink each year. That is a whopping 400 kilograms!
A national team athlete uses approximately 1,500 lactate strips per season through testing and training.
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CCC E-Store Product of the Month:
Auclair Liteloft Mitt |
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Fall Special
Free 2008 World Cup Long Sleeve T-Shirt
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Cross Connections November 2008
Co-editors: Chris Dornan, Cathy Sturgeon and Ashley Wright |
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Dear Cross Connections Subscriber,
I hope you enjoy our new look to Cross Connections. It will be a work in progress for the next few issues so don't hesitate to offer ideas that will make it work better for you.
Thank you,
Ashley Wright
Assistant Administrator
Cross Country Canada
info@cccski.com |
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Mark Arendz Takes Aim on Pursuing Paralympic Dream 
Balancing time between sport, school and volunteering isn't easy for most teenagers, but for Mark Arendz, it's everyday life. And he does it with one arm.
Arendz, 18, just graduated from high school and moved across the country from Prince Edward Island to start university and to continue on his path of competing as a biathlete in the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.
"It just made sense if I wanted to get further in the sport to move out here," Arendz said of the home to Canada's National Ski Teams.
He was an avid cross-country skier when he was younger, but he let it slip for several years.
Biathlon didn't actually intrigue him at first, however four years ago his little brother joined the biathlon cadet core and Arendz was hooked.
"The coaches asked if I wanted to give it a try and I turned it down at first," said Arendz. "Then the next week, he said just shoot once, I did and I haven't stopped since."
At age seven, Arendz was involved in an accident on his family farm where he lost his left arm in the blades of a grain auger. The accident didn't stop Arendz from living a normal childhood, and never once did he dwell on it.
After losing his arm, he became a champ with the war amps organization. He attended meetings and events and became actively involved in spreading the message on playing safe. He became a junior councillor, helping younger champs realize their goals and reassure them that everything would be ok.
He also does safety presentations in the community, explaining the dangers in the community. He hopes to continue his work with war amps while training in Alberta and continuing to spread the message of playing safe and spotting the dangers in the community.
These days though, Arendz is focused on pursuing excellence with the Para-Nordic National Ski Team and competing for Canada at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.
"To be realistic I know I can do quite well but I can't (expected to) be the best there personally," Arendz said. "I can train as hard as I can to get to where I need to be in the next two years."
To become one of the youngest athletes on the team by nearly a decade was a tremendous accomplishment for Arendz, however he never focused on it during races.
"It was something that was always in the back of my mind but I never said I had to race at a certain speed in order to make the team," he explained. "I just thought it was going to happen so just do the best you can and it will happen sooner or later."
Arendz has been training in Canmore for the summer and started school again in the fall at the University of Calgary where he is studying engineering.
We wish Mark a successful season and trust he will achieve his goals through continued hard work. |
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Heroes of Tomorrow: Kibitzing with Killick 
Name: Graeme Killick
Current Team: Canadian Junior Team
Club Affiliated: Banff Ski Runners
Career Goals: Represent Canada at 2014, Medal in world cup and olympic events.
How did you get involved in cross-country skiing? Through conscription by my parents at a young age. I liked it after a while :)
How did you balance high school academics with athletics? I took most of my courses online which let me travel between Fort McMurray and Canmore.
School Average: 86%
What is a typical training day? Wake up as late as possible in order to make it for training at 10 (usually 9:45) roller ski for 1.5 hrs then back home drink some recovery mix and make some lunch. After lunch I'm usually zonked so hit the sack for about an hour. Wake up, do some homework, play guitar, waste some time checking all the ski sites and then get ready for ski walking at 4:30 p.m.
When not skiing I am likely? Sleeping
When finished skiing I want to? Do I have to? I hope to study medicine at UofC
Favourite Vacation Spot? Marathon, Greece
Favourite Book? Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Favourite Movie? Fight Club
Favourite Actor/Actress? Jason Statham
Favourite Competition Venue: Mt. Shark
Favourite Olympic/Paralympic Moment? Simon Whitfield winning the silver medal in Beijing
Inspiration? You miss 100 per cent of the shots you never take. ~ Gretzky
Favourite Colour? Green
If I had to do maintenance on my car what could I do? Given enough time I would change my pads and rotors. umm oil...but not much else!
Before a race, I will listen to what song? monster hospital by metric (mstrkrf remix)
Favourite Muscian? right now pinback and final fantasy are two of my favorites.
If I could rule the world for a day I would? I'd be pretty selfish, give myself lots of money, make a ski tunnel in Canmore, hire a personal cook and get flown into space! |
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Great Skiing and Friendly Smiles on the Menu at Sovereign Lake  With the arrival of daylight savings time, not far behind is Mother Nature's annual gift of snow for the 1,640 members at Sovereign Lake Nordic Ski Club.
And once the snow is on the ground, it is within hours that a convoy of Canada's National Ski Team makes the climb up the winding road from Vernon, B.C. to one of the largest clubs in the country, and prepare for the first on-snow training session of the season before the launch of the World Cup season.
"The National Ski Team has been coming here for as long as I can remember and we are very proud to say they are our friends," said Bruce Cummings, vice-chairperson of the club and a 20-year member himself. "We have one of the longest ski seasons in Canada, great snow and great terrain so I think that is appealing to the National Ski Team."
Other nations are also taking note as they stride closer to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Sovereign Lake welcomes nearly five other Nordic and biathlon national teams to its 55-kilometres of rolling and groomed terrain.
"We are a positive and enthusiastic full service club that is forward thinking," said Cummings, who is also a co-chair on the member services committee.
Sovereign Lake reintroduced itself to the world's best skiers in 2005 when it hosted the first World Cup in Canada in more than a decade. Next on the agenda for one of the best race sites in the country, is hosting the 2011 World Masters.
"Our mandate is skier development and hosting the World Masters is consistent with our overall mandate of getting people involved in cross-country skiing," said Cummings, who added the club is also focused on improving the numbers of quality coaching.
To assist with recruiting top-notch coaches, Sovereign Lake was one of the targeted clubs to receive the AltaGas Club Incentive and Coach Mentoring grant, which is a new Cross Country Canada initiative aimed at supporting Canada's high-performance clubs and coaches by optimizing high-performance coaches' ongoing and practical education and training. The financial support is aimed at improving the outlook for more full-time professional club coaching positions.
As a result, the Club hired Doug Egan to work with its high-performance athletes.
High-performance aside, Cummings and his fellow club mates are also committed on growing member retention numbers.
"Our numbers stay pretty consistent, but we have about a 15 to 20 per cent turnover in our season pass-holders so we want to find ways to keep them here," said Cummings, who added Sovereign Lake has been accomplishing a lot in growing nordic sport by working with Glen Bond at neighbouring Silver Star Ski Resort. "Cross-country skiing is an affordable sport, and with the difficult economy these days, we believe there is still an appetite for people to get up here."
And if affordability isn't enough of a draw, the friendly faces, good conversation and a great day of skiing is definitely worth the ticket when they do arrive. |
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Club Volunteer of the Month: Gerry Kuhn from Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club (WCCSC) 
Gerry is one of the those volunteers that a club depends on from day to day, getting the job done, with only his self satisfaction and a good cup of coffee as a reward. Of course, the beauty of being a trail groomer is that you know there are a lot of happy skiers, enjoying the trails. He has been a club volunteer for over 20 years but continues to show enthusiasm and dedication.
Gerry is the WCCSC Equipment coordinator and looks after keeping snow machines fuelled and in good running condition. He also repairs the tracksetters and renovators. During September and October, Gerry spent many hours organizing the equipment building, checking machines, and working on trails. He was one of the first groomers on the trail when the snow came to stay this year in mid-October. His eagerness to pack the first snowfall meant that the skiers were enjoying good conditions by October 25th.
Being a retired Air Traffic Controller and a keen skier, Gerry has plenty of time to contribute to the club and still gets out on the trails to enjoy the fruits of his labour. He is often the first one out to ski the tracks that he set the night before or early the same morning. All of the club's volunteer grooming is done between 7:30 and 10pm or 6:30 to 9am.
Gerry is not confined by the limits of our groomed trails. He is often out exploring around the many other Whitehorse trails and backcountry destinations and always reports back about his wonderful experiences.
During the month of October, Gerry spent at least 12 hours on a snow machine, packing, grading and track setting and another 20 to 30 hours preparing for the season. Over the course of a winter, he will log more hours than most of the volunteer groomers and on average he'll be on the trails or at the club for at least 10 or 12 hours a week.
The Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club appreciates the dedication of volunteers like Gerry Kuhn and wants the whole country to know about it. | |
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A reminder that the Athlete Forum is now open. Please click here to register or login.
Thank you,
Ashley Wright
Cross Country Canada |
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