Wendy Johnstone
Special to the Record
The Strathcona Nordic Ski Club travelled to Thunder Bay, Ont. for the 2023 Nordiq Canada Cross Country Ski Championships.
The event, which took place at the beautiful Lappe Nordic Centre was an eight-day nordic festival with Finnish flair, with over 800 racers from across North America competing in three individual events and one team event over the course of the championships.
Seven Strathcona Nordics athletes raced at nationals and came home with several stellar individual and team performances and placed an amazing 14th overall in national club standings, out of 55 clubs. We may be small, but we are mighty.
Outstanding performances came from Gavin Chatterton from Campbell River, who won a national title in the U16 Boys 5 km skate interval race. He also performed in the top five in his other races; fifth in the 1 km skate sprint and fourth in the 10 km classic mass race. Chatterton finished the championships in fourth position in overall aggregate standings in his U16 age group, of 35 athletes.
Ben Galik of Royston (12 years old) skied up several age categories to team up with Chatterton in the sprint relay. Aptly named, Strathcona Little G & Big B, they had a blast and finished 10th in the Challenge E Boys race. Galik also placed 10th in the exhibition 3.5 km skate race for U14 skiers.
Carly Ram of Courtenay had a solid performance with a ninth place in the U18 7.5 km skate interval race in a huge field and an 11th finish in the 1 km skate sprint. Despite a technical glitch in the 15 km classic mass race resulting in a 36th place finish, Carly still finished the championships in fourth place overall aggregate standings in her U18 age group, of 35+ athletes.
Maddie Galik of Royston enjoyed a strong week of performances including the fourth-fastest qualifying time in a 1 km skate sprint for the U18 girls. She eventually finished 13th, narrowly missing the semifinals by a boot slide. She finished 31st in the 7.5 km interval skate race in a very competitive field of 90 skiers and had an exceptional 20th place finishing in the 15 km classic mass race. Maddie placed 10th in the overall aggregate standings in her U18 age group.
Maddie and Carly teamed up to finish 4th and on the podium in the Challenge Girls team sprint, a very exciting event with the top 15 teams from qualifiers skiing three laps each, alternately, on a very fast and fun 800m classic sprint course.
Gillian Galik, also of Royston and Talia McPhail-McGrady of Comox both had strong performances in a very competitive U16 girls’ field. Galik finished 23rd in the 5 km interval skate race and in the 1 km skate sprint and finished up her week with a very strong 17th place in the classic 10 km race. McPhail-McGrady placed in the top 40 for her 5 km skate race and 10 km classic mass start race. She and Gillian teamed up in the Challenge B Girls Relay finishing in third place. Galik and McPhail-McGrady finished 8th and 9th, respectively in the overall aggregate standings in their U16 age group.
Also on the podium, in the gold medal position, was Amelia Wells who won the 7.5 km CCUNC skate interval race and the 30 km mass classic race. She also podiumed in silver for the sprint race and finished 1st in the U23 aggregate. Amelia is a club member currently studying full-time in Calgary while also skiing with the Alberta World Cup Academy training centre. In addition, she and her teammate from the University of Calgary skied to gold in the Canadian College and University Nordic Championships (CCUNC) team sprint event.
“Nationals are an event that brings out the best in dedicated and committed athletes,” said Strathcona Nordics coach Andrea Stapff. “Our group of junior racers that competed at these ski nationals did not disappoint. They showed tremendous composure and grit with excellent performances coming from each and every one of them. They have much to be proud of and I’m certainly very proud of them all.”