Junior Athlete Profile:10 Things You Don't Know About Andrew Stewart-Jones
Current Team: Nakkertok Racing Team
Club Affiliated: Nakkertok
Career Goals: Win medals in international competitions!
How did you get involved in cross-country skiing? My parents, I started skiing at the age of 3 maybe and went through all the Nakkertok programs like Jackrabbits and Racing Rabbits with Nakkertok until I was on the racing team.
How did you balance high school academics with athletics? Well, you try your best to organize yourself ahead of time, although I'm definitely not one of the best examples of this.
School Average: +or- 80%
What is a typical training day?
Wake up at 8 am and then eat fast, get out training by 9 and do a 2 or 3 hr training. Get back home and nap or go to work. Maybe do a short recovery workout in the afternoon, although my days vary quite a bit.
When not skiing I am likely?
Giving in to my addiction to internet surfing, sleeping, eating, doing other sports like mountain and road biking and working a bit.
When finished skiing I want to?
Hopefully own my own eco-tourism company and get to show all sorts of people the outdoors. Maybe I'll have a canoe tripping company or own my own bungee jump, It's all up in the air right now. I also want to stay involved in skiing, and help Canada in developing skiers so that we can become a skiing superpower!
Favourite Vacation Spot? Canoe tripping in Temagamie, Ontario.
Favourite Book?
Pursuit of excellence, Terry Orlick
Favourite Movie?
Batman, Dark Knight
Favourite Competition Venue:
Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec
Favourite Olympic/
Paralympic Moment?
Chandra winning her gold medal, I was watching it live and I remember being so inspired to see her win!
Inspiration?
In skiing probably Petter Northug for being good at both sprints and distance and for being able to perform in important events. Alex Harvey as well, he's going to get even faster with age and he's an amazing Canadian athlete. Others would be Devon Kershaw, Simon Whitfield and Adam Vankouverden. Favourite Colour?
A dead tie between Neon Green and Orange
If I had to do maintenance on my car what could I do?
If I had a car it would probably be pretty bad, maintenance probably wouldn't be worth the cost, so I would just like duct tape whatever is loose and hope for the best.
Before a race, I will listen to what song?
Gang Starr, Above the Clouds
Favourite Muscian?
Gang Starr | |
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FREE SkiTrax Cap
(while quantities last-Newspaper boy style cap, black cotton)
when you purchase one recovery and one endurance drink mix at the same time.
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Valued Partners and Sponsors
Funding Partners:
- Sport Canada
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- Jemini Foundation
- National Cross Country
Development Association
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Cross Connections
August 2009 Co-editors: Chris Dornan, Cathy Sturgeon and Nadia Smith |
| Dear Cross Connections Subscriber,
Enjoy the news! We welcome your feedback anytime.
We wish to remind you to please consider the environment before printing this email.
Thank you and happy reading!
Nadia Smith
Assistant Administrator
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| CCC Sponsorship Profile: Halti Outerwear
One of Cross Country Canada's most important partners is its long-standing relationship with Halti. One of the leading partners for FIS, Halti struck a five-year commitment with Cross Country Canada following the Torino Olympics.
The leading-edge Finland-based clothing manufacturer, who has developed and produced high-quality outdoor outfits and equipment for three decades, is the official outerwear and competition clothing supplier for the national teams. As a result, Halti supplies all warm-up gear, race suits and outerwear including parka and rain clothing for the national teams. Over the term of the sponsorship, Halti has also provided backpacks, tailored racing gear and an assortment of product designed to ensure the Canadian team has the perfect fit to win.
"We have been extremely pleased to have Halti commit to our program for the last five years," said Dave Dyer, director of marketing, Cross Country Canada. "Our preparation for, and our performance in 2010, will definitely be enhanced by Halti's expertise in high tech apparel. This deal is a collaborative and innovative partnership that also extends support beyond our senior team into our junior national team and national training centre programs across the country." Halti designs and manufactures clothing collections for various outdoor pursuits, including hiking, climbing, alpine and cross-country skiing, golf and snowboarding. Halti is currently the Finnish market's leading outdoor clothing brand. The company's exports sales of cutting-edge, technical outdoor clothing have grown markedly in recent years. International sales accounted for 20 per cent of Halti's turnover in 2006. In teaming up with Halti, Cross Country Canada has aligned itself with an enthusiastic booster of high-performance winter sport, both in its long-running relationship with the Finnish alpine ski team and involvement in international sport events. In its own commitment to excellence, Halti has greatly increased its brand visibility by assuming the roles of partner and official clothing supplier for major international ski competitions. Halti's products are distributed in Canada by Diamond Head Sports Inc., based in Whistler, B.C. www.halti.com . | |
CCC and FIS Racing Licenses are Now Available for Purchase Online!
Both CCC and FIS racing licenses are now available for purchase on Cross Country Canada's website at www.cccski.com/main.asp under the Notice Board on the right hand side.
To own a FIS license, you must be a member of Cross Country Canada. Your FIS license will not be processed until your CCC license is renewed or bought for the 2009/10 season.
The deadline to apply for your FIS racing license is August 31, 2009.
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Club Spotlight: Birch Brook Nordic Ski Club, Newfoundland and Labrador (credit: Graham Moorhouse)
The folks at Birch Brook Nordic Ski Club are over the moon, they've got a new ski chalet, and what a chalet it is! Log built, it's situated on top of a hill, surrounded on three sides by forest. The main floor boasts a conference room, fully fitted kitchen, a dining area, and a view from the armchairs across Gosling Lake and Lake Melville, past ten million trees to the beautiful Mealy Mountains. The basement contains changing rooms, ski rental shop, Jack Rabbit room, and a sauna. What a set up they've got. It's not hard to imagine putting your feet up in front of that view after a great day skiing and a relaxing sauna.
Skiers have used Birch Brook since the late 70's, and until this year everyone snuggled into a cosy, but small, log cabin, without power or water. But who would complain, when they expect to ski in seven months of the year?
Birch Brook boasts forty kilometres of trails, groomed by a Piston Bully, and a challenge for every level of skier. The 5.5 kilometre Games Trail is the most popular, but McLean Cabin, at 6.5 kms into the Labrador wilderness, and Colin's Hut at 10 kms from the chalet are challenging destinations for the most adventurous.
There are plans for a mid-November ski camp, and in March the club will host the ski races, as well as the snow show biathlon events, during the Labrador Winter Games. The Big Land Loppet will be held on the final Saturday in March, and this includes events of 4.4, 11, 22 and 44 kilometres.
Birch Brook invites all skiers to "come and ski the Big Land." |
Para-Nordic Profile: Summer Training Equipment for Para-Nordic Skiers - Adapted Mountain Board (credit: Jeff Whiting & Margaret Barron)
The coaching strategies used to train able-bodied athletes are applicable to training athletes who have amputations or are blind. However, coaches need to consider a number of factors when designing a training program for athletes with a disability. For athletes who use wheelchairs, the differences are greater because you are dealing primarily with the abdomen and above, or non-weight bearing activities.
Although double poling ergometers have been shown to be sport specific in able-bodied skiers, marked physiological differences may exist between able and disabled skiers. For example, because of the limited lower body involvement, a greater upper body power output may be required in sit skiers and lower leg amputees when compared to able-bodied skiers. Vo2 peak* arm values can reach 66% to 88% of Vo2 max* in standing skiers. Vo2 peak values have been reported to be lower in subjects with paraplegia than in able-bodied subjects due to reduced active muscle mass. Hence, mountain boards or skate boards on "steroids" are a good alternative to ski specific summer training.
Compared to able-bodied individuals, people with spinal cord injuries (SCI's) respond to submaximal* and maximal arm exercise with lower stroke volumes and higher heart rates due to the decreased venous return*. Coaches need to explore the physiological differences in cross-country sit skiers with varying disabilities to able-bodied cross-country skiers.
If you would like more information on training tips, or equipment available to train athletes with a SCI, contact Jeff Whiting at jwhiting@cccski.com .
*Vo2 peak: Peak oxygen consumption.
*Vo2 max: Maximum amount of oxygen in milliliters, one can use in one minute per kilogram of body weight.
*Submaximal: The athlete works below maximum effort.
*Venous return: The blood returning to the heart via the inferior and superior venae canae. |
Club Volunteer of the Month: Margot Murdoch, BC (credit: the Whistler Nordics Executive)
The Whistler Nordics Ski Club is extremely fortunate to have Margot Murdoch in our coaching and administration ranks. Margot has been a member of the club, along with her husband and three children, for the last four years.
Margot teaches both French and English Elementary School. She lives a 5 minute walk from the start of the Lost Lake Park cross country trails in Whistler, so regularly is on her skinny skis! In the summer, she enjoys running and mountain biking.
In the four years that Margot has been a member, she has involved herself in all aspects of the club. She has been a coach for the youth program and helped co-ordinate the program. Her background as a Physical Education teacher only enhanced her already wonderful skill set as a coach. She always had a great game or trick up her sleeve to get that one kid to glide a little longer or get the timing on their kick.
Margot has been instrumental in recruiting for the club. Her skill at encouraging her husband and his friends to help coach the youth program has been extremely successful. As a result, many more families have joined the club and the youth programs.
With three of her own children in the youth program, Margot attends all the events, always helping in any area that needs attention. She jumps in to help with registration, timing, setting courses and then MC'ing for awards at the end. Always with a smile too!
Margot has also been a volunteer at Whistler Olympic Park for the lead up events to the Olympics and she plans to volunteer at the Olympics as well!
There's more.....
Each season, Margot and her husband's architectural firm, Murdoch and Associates, sponsor one of our weekly Twoonie races. These races give our members a chance to race each week in a fun, social atmosphere. Each race is sponsored by one or two local businesses, which then help marshal the course and provide a small "après" after the race. There are anywhere from 30 to 100 people each week, many of them youth and families.
Just to add to all the fun, Margot also volunteers as the Vice President of the Whistler Nordics Ski Club. She is instrumental in helping the club with policy decisions and all aspects of our club.
Thanks Margot! We really do appreciate all your efforts and hope to see you and your family around on the skinny skis for many more years to come. |
Peri's Olympic Fundraiser Run
Perianne Jones of Almonte, Ontario is a member of Canada's team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. She has put in years of dedication and hard work. Now she needs our support to help her in her final preparation. Come run and help Peri prepare to take on the world at Vancouver 2010!
The run will take place on September 27th, 2009 at the Almonte Arena, Almonte, Ontario (30 minutes west of Ottawa).
For more information and for online registration, please go to: http://www.runalmonte.ca/ . |
Recipients of Sofie Manarin Award Named at 2009 Haywood Ski Nationals held at Highlands Nordic (credit: Dave Dyer)
Just over 4 months have passed since the 2009 Sofie Manarin Award winners were announced at the Closing Ceremonies of the 2009 Haywood Ski Nationals. Dahria Beatty who skis under the watchful eye of Alain Masson of the Whitehorse Ski Club won the Juvenile Girls class while Raphaël Couturier of Skibec dominated the Juvenile Boys class with a 4 medal performance. Couturier became just the second skier to win the memorial award twice.
The Sofie Manarin Award was established in 2004 in memory of Sofie Manarin, a member of the 2000-01 Junior National Ski Team. Manarin passed away as a result of a traffic accident in 2001 in Sudbury while training for the upcoming season. As a member of the Laurentian Nordic Ski Club, Sofie had won 13 Junior Championship medals in her short career and was the top North American women at the 2001 World Junior Championships at the age of 16, just prior to her training accident.
Both recipients received a $500 bursary to help with training expenses and a stain glass plaque to commemorate their aggregate titles.
"Dahria has been skiing with the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club since she joined the Bunnyrabbit program 10 years ago," noted the coach of the Whitehorse Ski Club. "She followed the usual progression through the Jackrabbit program and eventually made it to the Yukon Ski Team. Her ultimate goal is the Junior National Team but that may have to wait a year as Beatty will suit up for the Yukon basketball squad at the 2009 Canada Summer Games in PEI.
"Raphaël skied through a very tough season in 2008 after winning the Manarin Award in 2007 on his home courses at Mont Ste Anne", stated Godefroy Bilodeau coach of Skibec."It was encouraging to see him bounce back and dominate his category this season."
The Manarin Award is presented annually to the top male and female juvenile skier (age 15 or under) at the Canadian Cross-Country Ski Championships. Previous Manarin Award winners include National Team member Alex Harvey of Mont Ste Anne and Junior Team members Janelle Greer and Lauriane Ouellet. The Award takes on special significance this summer as Devon Kershaw and Chandra Crawford recently led over 150 riders on a "Share the Road" promotion to promote bike safety in Sudbury. Kershaw, Crawford and Manarin were teammates in the early 80's.
"Sofie always found it was difficult to find corporate support during her early training years, commented John Manarin, Sofie's father. With this award our plan was to recognize young skiing talents in Canada and encourage them to pursue their dreams in the sport. The family congratulates and wishes Dahria and Raphaël well in the future."
Highlights of Sofie's short ski career included:
2001 - Top North American and 28th at World Junior Championships
2000 - Selected to the Canadian National Junior Team
2000 - Junior Women Aggregate Winner - Canadian National Championships
1999 - Junior Girl Aggregate Winner - Canadian National Championship
1996 - Youngest girl to win a medal at Canadian National Junior Championships
1996-2001 - 13 individual Canadian Championship medals
Sofie Manarin Award Winners 2004-2008:
2008: Geoffrey Richards - Overlander Ski Club, Michelle Workun-Hill - Nakkertok Ski Club
2007: Raphaël Couturier - Skibec Nordique, Janelle Greer - Whitehorse SC;
2006: Evan Bruce - Banff SR, Lauriane Ouellet - Skibec Nordique;
2005: Evan Bruce - Banff SR, Virginia Lehoux-Gagnon - Skiélite;
2004: Alex Harvey - CNMSA, Natasha Kullis - Porcupine SR & Haakon Lenes - Banff SR | |
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