For the first time in years, the 100 Mile Nordics have a ski team.
Despite the lack of snow and winter conditions this year, eight children between the ages of six and 12 have been practicing their cross-country skills whenever they can. On Jan. 27 and 28 they traveled to Prince George to take part in the Caledonia Nordics Ski Club’ TECK BC Cup. Nordics member Kimberly Vance-Lundsbye said it was an exciting moment for the club.
“Even though 100 Mile House has a long-standing history of racing in cross-country skiing it’s not something that has happened formally here for a long time,” Vance-Lundsbye said. “People have raced but I don’t think we’ve had a group racing under the 100 Mile Nordics name for 20 years, at least.”
Vance-Lundsbye said the club has been trying to promote and support competitive racing in recent years. This year the youth skiers are being mentored by Sam Lowen a teacher who moved to the area recently but has several years of experience skiing in Vernon and Kamloops. Vance-Lundsbye, whose own children are on the team, said Lowen has done a great job working with the kids.
Their hard work paid off in Prince George as the 100 Mile team competed against 310 skiers from across the province, a new record for the Caledonia Nordics. Even though there wasn’t a lot of snow on the ground and conditions were icy, Vance-Lundsbye praised the club for grooming the trail well.
“Our kids did great. Our goal was to have all our kids complete the course and they all did and had a great attitude,” Vance-Lundsbye said. “We even took home a couple of medals.”
Kurt Vance-Lundsbye and Juliette Leclair took home gold in freestyle sprints while Jaxson Leclair and Erik Lundsbye took home bronze in the same event. The rest of the team brought home several ribbons and had a lot of fun. Vance-Lundsbye noted the team enjoyed watching Lowen compete in the adult events which she said shows them that cross-country skiing can be part of their life for years to come.
Going forward Vance-Lundsbye said she and the other parents involved with the team hope to grow it each year. They hope to get in two more races this season, weather permitting and then recruit new members and coaches for next year.
“The truth is the program is going to need a lot of support and that support will have to come from the 100 Mile Nordics and any parents or kids that are interested,” Vance-Lundsbye said. “We’re in the stage of trying to get this off the ground and if anyone wants to support us in any way we’re totally open to that. We’d love to see this become something kids can join long after our kids have aged out or moved on.”
Anyone looking to support the team is welcome to reach out to the 100 Mile Nordics and ask how they can help out.
