Nine members of the Strathcona Nordic ski club, from Campbell River and the Comox Valley, competed last weekend at the Western Canadian Championships in Red Deer, Alta. More than 400 athletes from as far East as Ontario took part in three days of racing.
Held at the River Bend Golf & Recreation area, the host club spent 300-plus hours preparing the courses and moving snow due to an unusual low snowpack of only 10 centimetres.
The first day featured a distance race using free technique. The Strathcona athletes had no problem with the hilly course winning five medals. Ben Galik (U12) and Carly Ram (U16) both won gold in their age categories. Gillian Galik and Talia MacPhail-McGrady finished second and third respectively in the U14 girls division, and Gavin Chatterton won the silver medal for the U16 boys.
The second day of racing was a sprint race, again using free technique. The sprint used a zero-elimination “King’s Court” format, under which men and women compete head-to-head in heats. The U16 and U18 categories were also combined, making for some intense and challenging heats. Hugo Henckel used his strength and agility to finish first in U18 boys. Rory Bratrud, also in U18, qualified in 12th position, but worked his way up the ladder to finish 10th. Anna Chatterton had a great qualifier finishing third for U18 women. For the U16 girls, Maddie Galik qualified third and Carly Ram seventh. Gavin (U16) qualified in second place, while Gillian demonstrated her speed to win the gold medal in the U14 category. Talia (also U14) qualified in fifth position. Ben Galik, the youngest member of the SNSC team, finished with the gold medal for the U12 boys.
The last day was a distance race using classic technique. Organizers again had to work magic with the grooming and so little snow. Skiers had to be strategic on the course to avoid areas of ice and even some grass. Hugo finished with a bronze medal for the U18 boys, and Gavin won a second silver in the U16 category. Gillian finished first for U14 girls, and Ben rounded out his weekend with a third gold medal for the U12 boys.
The Strathcona Nordics have one more BC Cup event and the provincial championships before nationals, which run March 20-27 in Whistler.