Reported by The Sault Star
December 30, 1985
A strong wind blew over
Kinsmen Park, but it wasn't strong enough to
hold back more than 100 kids from participating
in the fifth annual Jackrabbit Ski League cross
country event. The Jackrabbit league is
aimed at providing youngsters with instructional
training in cross country skiing. Included
are races, instruction and games. The
program is named after 110-year-old Piedmon,
Que., native Herman (Jackrabbit)
Smith-Johannsen, one of the leading founders of
cross country skiing in Canada. "We had
about 120 kids out there today," said Art
Anderson, one of the local coordinators of the
event.
December 1, 1982
Sault Ste. Marie's Wayne Dustin, two-time junior boys' national cross country ski champion, did it again over the weekend in Labrador City, Nfld. Considered young for competitive cross country skiing, Dustin has secured a berth on Canada's World Cup team.
March 18, 1981
The Sault will be represented at the World Cup cross-country ski championships by Bill Maki and Brian Brooks in Whitehorse, Yukon. Sixteen countries will have their top racers at the 10-event meet. Bill is cross-country national chairman of discipline for the Canadian Ski Association and Brian servers as vice-chairman of public relations.
March 17, 1981
Nearly every resident of Sault Ste. Marie and the nearby region eventually will feel the effects of the King Mountain ski resort, if Frank Rush's multi-million dollar vision becomes a reality. During the two decades of its development, the huge resort will have a dramatic and sustained influence on Algoma's construction industry, job market, and retail and service industries and tax base, according to an impact study commissioned by Mr. Rush's development corporation.
A donation of $1,500 by the Steel City Kiwanis Club has meant the racing team of the Soo Finnish Ski Club has been able to purchase videotape recorder equipment to help them evaluate their performances. Half of the cost will be paid by Wintario. The club has also made an application to Wintario to purchase a time recorder.
January 20, 1981
Is $5 too much to pay for a whole season of cross-country skiing? The Sault Ste. Marie Kinsmen Club doesn't think so, and club representatives are hopeful that the message is getting through to the public. On Sunday, the club held its second pin day of the season. Skiers were asked to buy a $5 "Bombi" pin to help cover the cost of grooming trails at the Kinsmen Park - Crystal Creek Conservation Area. Ron DiPaulo, park manager, said about 300 pins were sold. There was some grumbling, but few serious complaints, he said.
December 24, 1980
There's light on the two-kilometre trail at Kinsmen Park now and Al Riutta hopes it marks the dawn of a new era for area cross-country skiers.
November 16, 1980
Sometime next week, the lights will be switched on for the cross-country skiers in Kinsmen Park. If there are no hitches, skiers will be able to use the two-kilometre trail until 11 p.m.
June 25, 1979
When members of the public get a look at what $1.8 million can buy, they will find a year-round facility over 2,500 acres in the north end of the city. It is the Crystal Creek Conservation Area that spreads across a huge tract at Fifth and Sixth lines encompassing Thayers Acres camping area, Landslide ski area and Kinsmen Park. "I believe it will be one of the most important recreation areas in the city," said conservation authority chairman Stan Corbett. A preliminary development concept of the facilities has been completed and envisages the project finished by 1993.
March 17, 1979
Sault Ste. Marie's Pentti Thil and Helen Lindfors are in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, to race in the Fleishmann's Margarine Mixed Doubles Spring Relay cross-country ski championships. Thil and Lindfors will be competing in the Group 3 classification. The Sault team won the regional championship in Northville, Michigan, three weeks ago to earn the trip to this weekend's national final.
January 17, 1979
It took four years but David Maki finally defeated his close friend, Wayne Dustin, in a cross-country ski race. Maki edged Dustin by less than eight seconds Saturday to win the juvenile boys' race in the Ontario cross-country championships here at Kinsmen Park.
December 21, 1978
Sault Ste. Marie's Sonja Nehr and Wendy Hansson finished first and second in the junior ladies' five-kilometre cross-country ski competition at the Ontario Winter Games in Kingston, Ontario. Nehr's 20:33.94 time earned her a gold while Hansson got a silver with a time of 21:32.40. Dale Hansson got a bronze medal for his 37:21.14 time in the senior men's 10-km race.
December 21, 1978
The Sault Kinsmen Club is having a tough time getting its grooming program started on the cross-country ski trails at Kinsmen Park and the Crystal Creek Conservation Area. The skiers - hundreds of them - are ready but some trails are not. Ron DiPaulo, in charge of grooming, blames a combination of weather, equipment problems and rough terrain for the conditions of the ski area's longer trails.
April 25, 1978
A "User Pay" system has been proposed as the most desirable alternative to help finance operation and expansion of the cross-country ski program near Hiawatha Lodge, Stan Dustin, president of the Soo Finnish Ski Club, which grooms the trails, told the Community Services Board Thursday and that $15,000 to $20,000 in assured annual income is needed to cope with the huge increase in trail use.
March 13, 1978
For Wendy and Dale Hansson, cross-country skiing is more than just a pastime. The two Sault skiers have made skiing a part of their everyday lives during the winter. Dale recently returned from the National Collegiate Athletic Association championships in New Hampshire where he competed as a member of the Lake Superior State College team. He finished 18th overall and was the fourth-best North American skier at the event. Wendy and three other Sault skiers, Sonja Nehr, Helen Lindfors and Keith Dustin, are in Sudbury today to join with Northern Ontario junior cross-country team.
|
