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SitzmarksGold Master Vic Anderson

Worldloppet, founded in 1978 is an international sports federation to promote XC Skiing. It consists of the best XC ski marathons in the world but only one from each country. Vic Anderson is a Regina Ski club master skier who started competing in these races with a goal to become a Gold Master. This requires the completion of 10 different marathons that are 50 kms or more in length.

In 1973 Vic got his first wooden XC skis. Years later his son David started racing in the Sask Cup races under Coach Hal Harbison. Unlike many sports this is family friendly because parents can watch their children race first then race themselves as masters at the same meet. Back in 2004 Vic organized the first Regina trip to a World Loppet race in Lillehammer. He, with Hal Herbison, Barry Mang, Craig Francis and Grant McLeod, headed off to do the historic and very difficult 54 K classic Norwegian Birkie. Waxing is difficult because it traverses 3 mountain ranges and the temperature changes as the day progresses. With 15000 in the race it was quite an experience. Unfortunately it turned out to be even tougher than normal as everyone had klister skis when ¼ of the way through the race a storm blew in off the North

Sea. That turned it into a long “Saskatchewan tough” day when huge clumps of ice stuck to the klistered skis for 1/2 of the race.

One of the most scenic races Vic completed was the Engadin in Switzerland which is a skate technique race that runs along a valley with snow-capped mountains on both sides.

The longest race he finished was the 70 km classic Marcialonga in Italy that involved double polling for over ½ the distance

In addition to skiing Vic was able to investigate his family roots following the Norwegian Birkebeinerennet. He travelled with his second cousin Vidar to visit relatives on Hitra Island, a fishing village just off the coast. Here he was able to view his Grandmother’s former home. She immigrated to Canada from Norway in 1909.

Vic completed 2 North American races in 2016. First, he skied the American Birke in Hayward WI. His 10 th and last race to become a Gold Master which is an excellent and beautiful track was the 51 K classic in Gatineau, QC

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After a winter season with "interesting" weather and snow conditions, the Regina Biathlon club hosted a 2-day Bronze and Silver levels Community Coaching Course. With Gregg Campbell leading the sessions, the intent is to enhance the safety of biathlon training and increase the awareness of the exciting sport with its many many nuances of rifle shooting, range operations and cross country skiing.

Eleven new coaches graduated, after leading a practice using our club athletes as participants. Athletes ranged in age from 8 to 15. These athletes had a good winter of skiing and shooting — despite the thin snow conditions. For the warm but very windy 2 days, participating as the students in the coaching course reinforced understandings of the principles of marksmanship and particularly firearm and range safety protocols. It was so windy that at one point the shooting mats and heavy steel targets were blowing

over, but everyone persisted. It is key that safety remain paramount. To start the session, athletes used ski poles as their rifles --- there are no problems with ammunition when ski poles are used. Interspersed

within the practice, the athletes played soccer, did fitness routines and cleaned up the ski trails at the Regina Wildlife Federation. After, many attended the popular Regina Ski Club wind-up pot luck meal. In the near future, athletes age 12 and up, with an adult, will be attending a 2-day 10-hour session of firearm safety so that the Federal Firearms - Minor's permit can be obtained. At this point, the athletes graduate from air rifle to .22, and their adults can transport and store rifles, and can purchase ammunition. Summer activities will include training at the RWF, and optional summer camps held in Saskatchewan and Canmore. For more information please find us on the program link at the http://reginaskiclub.com/programs/biathlon/ website.

REGINA BIATHLON CLUB

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The 2016 Ski Nationals were hosted by the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club at the Whitehorse Nordic Centre in the Yukon Territory from March 19-26. This was also the site of the 2010 Ski Nationals and the 2007 Canada Winter Games.

Three of the Regina Ski Club’s Nordic athletes competed in these competitions: Simon Chambers-Crease (Junior Boy), Nathan Weiman (Juvenile Boy) and Janice Grundahl (Juvenile Girl), in addition to six other athletes from Saskatchewan. As well, the Regina Ski Club’s Nordic racing coach, Phyllis Bend, was a member of Saskatchewan’s coaching, managing and wax support team. Our Regina Ski Club athletes arrived in Whitehorse one to two days in advance of the races to take advantage of official training days by skiing their Sunday race course and revisiting any difficult parts of the course. While the courses were challenging, Whitehorse had an abundance of snow, the trails were perfectly groomed and set to a high standard. The weather for the entire week was sunny and warm – making waxing challenging as conditions changed rapidly throughout the day. The grip wax throughout the week was a mixture of klisters and soft hard waxes.

The first race for one of our RSC athletes, Simon Chambers-Crease, was team sprints on Saturday, March 19th. Simon raced with Canmore Nordic and partnered

with Xander Harvey for 28th place. Unfortunately, due to the requirements of team sprinting, Saskatchewan wasn’t able to enter a team as both athletes must be from the same club, age group and gender.

Sunday, March 20th was a day of racing for all RSC athletes. It was a classic race with interval starts – 10.0 km for Simon and 5.0 for Nathan and Janice. The weather was clear, sunny and warm requiring klister…the snow and trails were quite soft for those athletes racing in the early afternoon. All RSC athletes held their own amongst a very strong and competitive field. Simon placed 66th, Nathan placed 34th (5th in his age year) and Janice placed 70th.

Monday, March 21th was a recovery day and preparation day for the Tuesday, March 22st distance skate races with interval starts. For our athletes, that meant skiing the course, segmenting their race and completing a segmentation map. The distances were 7.5 km for Simon and Nathan and 5.0 km for Janice. One again, our RSC athletes raced hard and gave their best, Simon placing 53rd, Nathan placing 45th and Janice placing 51st. With almost 500 athletes in attendance at Nationals, all age categories were well represented.

Wednesday, March 23rd was a recovery day and preparation for the Thursday, March 24th skate sprints – 1.0 km for Simon, Nathan and Janice. While all three RSC athletes had good races and gave good performances, the fields were extremely competitive and they were unable to secure spots in the top 30 to proceed to heats.

The final day of races was Saturday, March 26th, which would be the long distance, mass start, classic race 15.0 km for Simon, 10.0 km for Nathan and 7.5 km for Janice. Simon placed 71st, Nathan placed 47th and Janice placed 64th. Overall, the week was challenging and very successful. Congratulations to our athletes!

NORDIC NEWS

L-R: Anna Sigurdson, Jenna Beaulieu, Phyllis Bend, Ragnar Robinson, Janice Grundahl, Matt Gill, Andrew Brisbin, Nathan Weiman and Les Parsons (missing is Simon Chambers-Crease)

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The trip was bound for Red Lodge Montana, even though snow was just a little late arriving. It is important for club membership to know that we will always do our best to provide a great holiday, even it it means re-planning the trip to a better snow location. This time however I told participants to be patient because Red Lodge gets the majority of the snow in March. As predicted, in one week, Red Lodge got 127 centimeters (50 inches or 4.2 feet) of fresh snow. It was too bad that Mother Nature was slow on delivering it.

On March 23, 33 excited skiers loaded the Moose Mountain luxury liner for our journey to sunny Bozeman, Montana. Ken Stovin arranged for wonderful muffins, cookies and donuts from Tim Hortons South Albert Street. Also, our friends at Sunshine and Ski donated a great selection of pop for the trip. After a food and beverage pit stop in Plentywood, we had a scenic and uneventful cruise to our destination.

When we arrived at the Country Inn and Suites, we were pleasantly pleased with the many features of this new hotel. The beautiful lobby featured fresh cookies and 24 hour coffee bar. The rooms were very stylish with comfortable beds, fridge and microwave. The bathroom featured a huge glass walk in shower with rain head and vessel sinks. It was a great place to recharge for the next day of skiing.

The delicious breakfast buffet featured sausage and scrambled eggs, French toast with fresh fruit and yogurt, breakfast burritos, hot waffles, a variety of cold cereal and oatmeal. With muffins, pastry and cheese, there was something for everyone.

Just outside the multi-purpose room was a stone natural gas fire pit that we enjoyed while having a muscle relaxing beverage and conversation. There was a cozy library with a fireplace, perfect for the group to gather to share a glass of wine or two.

FRESH SNOW AT BRIDGER BOWL

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Within view of the fire pit, was a steaming, indoor 10-person hot tub. It was great for relaxing tired muscles after a day of skiing. The hot tub is always a great spot for participants to tell the tales of their adventures in the fresh powder. Ray was quick to point out that it was deep snow and that powder is drier and only arrives at colder temperatures! The large indoor pool was well used.

The hotel graciously provided a spacious conference room for our wine and cheese meet and greet. Although Ray set up the chairs like a self-help group, we still had great conversation. While the music played, we exchanged tall tales of ski hill adventures.

On Thursday, we were treated to bountiful fresh snow and we had the hill mostly to ourselves. Bonus!! More deep fresh snow dumped on Friday. On our last day, Saturday, we enjoyed a perfect sunny sky. If you haven't been to Bridger for a few years you will be impressed by the new chairs and lots of accessible terrain. Bridger offers a vast selection of runs for skiers of all abilities. The trees make this hill truly picturesque and multiple day lodges are nestled around the hill. The new Schlasman’s lift opens up a whole new ski area with acres of double black awe inspiring terrain.

Several members of the group took advantage of the free mountain orientation tours by the Mountain Hosts, offered daily. They found it was a great way to explore the hill and meet some new people. Also, our group took advantage of the deals at the ski shop with the end of season sales.

We will miss bus driver Richard. This was his last trip with the Regina Ski Club because he was retiring.

We had wonderful group suppers at Famous Dave’s, Johnny Carino's and the Outback restaurants.

Ray Wolfram Trip Coordinator PS: I wrote this on my way to Whitefish to scope out a trip for next year. If you are interested, send Ray a note at golf2ski@gmail.com

Farewell Until the FallThis year will go down as the year of little snow! But we did find some great skiing this year!

There was the trip to PA and Ebbs trails that had perfect conditions.

The Fred Cameron Memorial Trip to Canmore.

The First Trip to Duck Mountain for the Loppet.

The Second Trip to Duck Mountain with a little more challenging conditions but well worth the trip.

The Alpine ski trip to Bridger Bowl.

CONTRIBUTORS

SIMONE HENGENVic Anderson

RAY WOLFRAMRegina Alpine Club

MERLE BOYLERegina Biathlon Club

LAURIE ROBANDNordic News