Red Deer Nordic’s
NEWSLETTER
April, 2015
The last of the snow!
March, 2015
Remember this in the summertime!
Our Last Month of Snow
It is difficult to watch the snow melt and not have your emotions
swing between sadness and anticipation. On the one hand, it can
be hard to say goodbye to a ski season. (There are trails left unskied! Hills unconquered! Routes unexplored!) When one thinks
back to the first few strides in perfect track, it is understandable
to be a little remorseful as puddles start to form where your
intervals formerly paced. With the melt comes all sorts of other
surprises, like the construction and restructuring of the
riverbank, or the fresh tracks of overzealous all-terrain vehicle
drivers, not to mention all the recently buried dog poop.
Wolf Howl
Read about the screams, the
surprises, and the hot chocolate
that made this night ski great fun!
On the other hand, when the temperatures start to warm and
one can see grass under the snow banks, athlete minds start to
turn towards running, mountain biking, and warm days in the
sun. Can you blame them? After 6 months of tricky weather and
piles of slush, who wouldn’t want a little bit of sunshine and a
chance to wear shorts?
Read on about Red Deer Nordic and Track Attack’s adventures in
the last days of the season. Check out our “new” trail map,
photos, and stories! Ski on as long as you can! J
Yay!
Spring!
Page 3
Nationals
Page 2
Read more about results in
Thunder Bay, Ontario, at the
2015 Haywood Ski Nationals!
.
lorem
is a,
April Newsletter, 2015
Nationals in Thunder Bay
Red Deer Nordic representation at the 2015
Haywood Cross Country Ski Nationals!
M O RE IN F O
What is it?
The Haywood XC Ski Nationals
are sponsored by Haywood
Securities (hence the name).
“Nationals,” as they are simply
called, are every year in
different venues across
Canada. The races are the
completion of a season of ski
racing, and a huge domestic
competition.
Where?
This year, Nationals was held
at the Lappe Nordic Centre,
about 20 mins/45 km from
Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Who Comes?
The Haywood Canadian Cross Country Ski Nationals are held
every year at a Nordic venue in Canada. There are 5 races (Team
Sprint, Interval Start Short Distance, Interval Start Medium
Distance, a Short Individual Sprint, and a Mass Start Long
Distance race). The split in odd numbered years is 40% skate
skiing to 60% classic skiing in the races. Skiers from across
Canada come to the National Championships, and the
competition is very challenging.
The 2014 Ski Nationals were held in Corner Brook, NFLD, and
this year, most participants had a shorter journey to the
championships in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Red Deer’s Bailey
Johnson made 4000+km trip this March, representing both the
Alberta Development Team and Red Deer Nordic. Bailey was
accompanied by her awesome chef mom, Diana, the coach, and
by two other skiers from central Alberta: Marin Cislo, from
Edmonton Nordic, and Derek Stollery, from Camrose Ski
Club/Augustana Vikings.
Following a difficult first race in the Interval Start Skate distance,
Bailey turned things around in a big way. She raced to a super 5th
place finish in the Interval Start Skate race in her Juvenile Girls
category.
(Con’t on next page….)
Nationals are held for the
categories of Juvenile
Boys/Girls (birth year 2000
and older), and upwards to
the Open category of racing.
There are also standing and
sit-ski Para Ski Nationals
races. Athletes come from
clubs and teams all over
Canada, from Vancouver to
Newfoundland, The Northwest
Territories to the Toronto
Area. It’s a truly National
event!
Why go?
New friends, cool local
experiences, and awesome
races! Just go ask Bailey. No,
seriously, go talk to her.
Wow!
2
April Newsletter, 2015
Nationals Con’t
The Short Classic Sprints were next, on a challenging 1.3km
course. After qualifying 7th in the category, Bailey raced in the
quarter finals, the semi finals, and then found herself on the start
line of the A final with 5 other skiers, all from British Columbia.
Bailey finished 5th after a hard-fought race.
The final race was a 7.5km mass start classic race. With 68 other
racers, even the coaches had a hard time keeping track of all the
skiers. Bailey managed a solid 12th place finish, and had a
commanding uphill charge on the last portion of the course.
Want to hear more about the Nationals adventures? Find Bailey or
her mom for more details! Shurlee to Business!
Bailey on the podium in 5th place.
Spring Checklist
H ere’s what you need
to do to prepare for
the “off season” of
skiing:
1. W ax the glide
zones of A LL your skis
with a warm wax, but
don’t sc rape it off.
Leaving the wax on the
skis over the summer
will allow your skis to
stay saturated with
wax (so they won’t dry
out in the summer
Etiam
et Aurna
heat).
dditionally, the
wax is a protec tive
c oating for the ski
bases, so you don’t
sc ratc h them by
ac c ident in the garage.
J fringilla
Etiam
2. S tore your boots
with newspaper in
them to ward off
dampness.
Fusce urna
3. C lean up your bike
and rollerskis for the
summer training
ahead!
4. G o have fun in the
sunshine and fresh air!
S pring is here!
3
1
2
April Newsletter, 2015
Nighttime Ski: The Wolf Howl!
The Red Deer Nordic skiers, Track Attackers,
and Jackrabbits gathered at Great Chief Park
on the evening of March 6th. A fire was lit,
boxes of cookies lined the food table, and the
hot chocolate was flowing. Skiers tried out the
“Wolf Trivia” scavenger hunt, searched for
glow sticks in the “Glow Stick Garden,” and
played a long game of Capture the Flag as the
sun set.
However, the skiers weren’t the only ones
running through the darkness. Somewhere…
lurking in the trees…was the WOLF!
Terrified (and hilarious) screams filled the
chilly air as skiers encountered the creepy
face of the Wolf. For the braver skiers, the
Wolf offered
chocolate
eggs. This
generosity
became a
burden to
the poor
canine later
in the
evening, as
THE WOLF
(Pictured at
right.)
packs of skiers yelled, “We’re going Wolf
hunting!” and skied menacingly away into the
night.
This coach learned a lot in the evening:
1. Athletes have really excellent lung capacity,
and can scream really really really loud.
2. The guy in the wolf costume is a pretty
good runner.
3. Mobs can form over chocolate eggs.
4. Teenagers (and adults, apparently) LOVE
danger, and will throw glow sticks in the fire
just to see them “get all colourful”.
5. Oreos are very popular cookies.
6. Great Chief Park has two parking lots. Huh.
7. Sometimes the moon rises whenever it
wants to…like, 2 hours later than the previous
evening.
8. Hot chocolate makes excellent fire
retardant.
4
April Newsletter, 2015
Canada Winter Games Report
We asked Anna Zimmerman, RDN racer and member of the 2015
Alberta Team, to write us about her her experiences at Canada
Winter Games. Read on!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yeah, leaving your family for a week and going to a
strange city called Prince George is pretty scary, but leaving
with 4 girls you don’t know and flying on a plane for the first
Anna Zimmerman
time is quite another thing.
That was the first thing that happened before getting to PG.
• 17 years old
Already I was acquainting myself with these other 9 athletes,
• Skiing 12 years
• Goal: Qualify for
and guess what? I actually survived the flight!! Believe me, it’s
2019 CWG and
hard preparing for such a week while your brothers are
represent Red Deer
watching Mayday, and other scary plane crashes on tv.
in Red Deer!
The first thing I saw getting off the plane was media!
There were several guys out there with their cameras and
everything! People trying to get footage of us, and interview us!
The food there was sooooo amazing! For those of you who remember the AWG food, I’ll tell
you the food here was much better, and everyday we had different choices! During that time, I got
the chance to meet so many athletes, and became great friends with a few of them.
Believe it or not, I was competing in two different sports while being there. In fact, almost
everyone was competing in two sports as well. I remember our coaches telling us that the CWG
had another sport that anyone from athletes to even citizens could participate in. It was pin
trading. Each province was given a set of pins, and everyone would go crazy trying to get the set
they wanted. Some people offered $150 for just one set.
So in our free time, (days we weren’t necessarily racing) we would explore PG, trade pins,
shop, watch aboriginal dances and different sports,
etc. There was never a dull moment at PG, and every
day they offered some type of activity for us athletes.
Maecenas purus
One day it was an epic nerf gun battle.
Now for the races, it was really intimidating
racing against girls 2, 3 or even 5 years older than I.
Some of these top skiers were nominated for junior
national teams!! These girls were the best of the best.
I was thinking if I had a good race I would AT LEAST
get in the top 40, but I was wrong. The first day was a
classic distance of 7.5 kms of crazy downhills and
uphills. I finished 23rd, even though I over paced it.
Next, the sprints came along, and not believing I
would qualify into the heats, I finished 28th. I just
made the cut for that top 30 selection. I only manage to race one heat, and for the rest of the
day, I cheered on my teammates.
We then we had a 10km skate distance, and hoping to be in that top 25, however, I just
missed my goal finishing 26th.
5
April Newsletter, 2015
Canada Winter Games report: Con’t
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And sadly enough, I didn’t get a chance to race in the relay,
but I decided to be the LOUDEST and the CRAZIEST
cheerleader for my team. They were hoping to get a medal,
but finished 4th, 40 seconds away from a bronze.
Man, I wish I could go on and on about my experience, but I
think this wraps up the highlights. CWG’s have been such a
huge step in my athletic career, and my next goal is to represent
Alberta in my hometown, Red Deer. I think that would be very,
very cool!!
And hey, If you’re ever bored and wanna come and talk to me
about CWG, I would be more willing to share some more stories.
:)
Editor’s Note: Thanks so much Anna!
Can’t wait to hear more!
About the Canada
Winter Games
Who:
• 2,400 athletes
• 1,000 coaches
• 4,500 volunteers
• Lots of media
and spectators!
• The City of Prince
George
• The Lheidli
T’enneh First
Nation
Where:
• Various venues in
Prince George
• Otway Nordic Ski
Centre (Nordic
Sports).
Maecenas purus
Anna with Team Alberta, all
decked out to cheer!
Inspired?
Learn More:
• http://www.cana
dagames2015.ca
• From Anna!
C anada W inter G ames is held every 4 years in a different venue
ac ross C anada. In 2019 the G ames will be held right here in Red
D eer!! You c an help out, and maybe even c ompete in the G amesjust ask your c oac hes and parents about 2019! W oo H oo!!
6
April Newsletter, 2015
New Trail Map and Signage on Hills
The RDN crew did a Saturday ski with a mission: Assign names to all the major
features on the hills section of the ski trails, and put up illustrated signs. You can
check out their work below (see picture), on the website (for higher resolution), or
in person when you’re out on the trails.
Not only will the signs and names make it easier to meet people on the trails,
explain interval courses and routes, but with Canada Games approaching, it will be
awesome to show off our trails and our new names to visitors! Check it out!
7
Ask the Coach
Is April supposed to be totally off from training? What am
I supposed to DO with my life?
- Cautiously Lazy?
Time to hit the
beach!
Hey there! You’re right: April is typically a “rest month” for
competitive skiers. After eleven months of hard and
disciplined skiing, we need a break for both our bodies and
our minds. Some World Cup skiers take the month to go
surfing or to lie on tropical beaches. Wow! Others go
backcountry and downhill skiing on long, sunny tours.
Crust skiing is awesome in some parts of the mountains in
April!
For us, it’s still a good idea to aim for about 3-6 hours of
physical activity a week, depending on how much you train
a year, and how healthy you are. This “training” lets us
maintain some fitness before the spring dryland ski stuff
starts. However, this “training” doesn’t have to be long
boring runs or strength workouts.
Go with someone
experienced if you
crust ski- be safe out
there in the
mountains!
April is a good time for you to try different sports and
have as much fun as you can. Rainy soccer game with your
friends? Laser tag? Bike tour? Now’s the time to do it!
Keeping “workouts” short (less than 1 hour), and fun (go
with friends and family, try new things, etc..), we can stay
pretty fit and give our ski minds and muscles a muchneeded break.
Hope this helps! Have a great April! J
What about the Summer?
When summer time comes (June to August), it’s hard
to think about skiing. It’s a great time, however, to
build a good cardio “base” for the ski season. Think
of this “base” as the foundation of a good training
season. It makes it easier to get muscles into ski
shape when the ski season starts.
So, what can you do to build a good summer ski
base? Cardio workouts like swimming, biking, and
running, soccer, ski walking, rollerskiing,
rollerblading, and paddling are great! Strength
workouts also build strong muscles.
Have fun and stay fit!