After a successful ski swap last weekend all the 100 Mile Nordic Ski club needs is snow and volunteers.
Tanya Parchomchuk is the new skill development co-ordinator for the children. The ski swap was a multi-purpose event she said. People could sign up their kids for the ski program while getting their season passes and socialize with friends.
It was a busy day Parchomchuk said and a few new people had signed up throughout the swap. Unfortunately, there is still a shortage of volunteers.
“We’re pushing for a lot more volunteers this year,” she said.
There are board positions that could be filled and they need more people for the ski program to be a success.
She said as of that morning (Nov. 20) they had 13 kids registered for lessons. There had been a few more registrations throughout the day but she was not sure of the final number.
“If we have the 68 registrations we had last year we don’t have enough coaches by far,” said Parchomchuk.
Ideally, they would have one coach for every six children. They can get by with one coach for eight kids but the coach needs individual time with each child to make sure they do not hurt themselves by doing something wrong, she said.
Parchomchuk said she needs “At least six people for the ski development program alone, above what I have right now.”
The club is hosting a coaching clinic on the 21st and 22nd of January. People interested in learning more should contact the club.
They are also hoping to have soup nights on Thursday evenings. Lessons are from 5 - 6:30 p.m. and it can be difficult to get the children fed and out the door. Soup nights would make it easier for families. Volunteers are needed to make this possible, she said.
Rentals are another area where volunteers are needed to help out.
Colleen Ellens worked the registration table for the event. The previous registrar is handing over the reins to her so she was learning the registration process.
“It was very busy. We had a lot of registrations online and we had lots of registrations today in person.”
The club offers the flexibility of day passes, a punch card or a season pass, she said.
Although some people were out skiing with their “rock skis” (Old skis where it is not an issue if they get a bit of damage from exposed rocks etc. on the ground) the club does not have an official opening date yet.
“Our opening date is all snow dependant, all depends on when we get another whack of snow,” said club member Kathleen Rottluff.
The trails need to get a packed base first before they can groom them. Once another 15-20 cm of snow falls they should be able to roll it to get a base then get the trail groomer out.
Anyone wishing to volunteer with the ski club can call 250-395-2104 or by email at info@100milenordics.com. There is also an online form that can be filled out on their website.
fiona.grisswell@100milefreepress.net
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