Making Trax
The following are exerpts from the October 1998 issue of the newsletter. Other parts of the newsletter can be found in the corresponding section of the web site.
Volunteers Needed!
Race Team News
Coach's Corner by Helen Lindfors
STAR News
Ski Prep by Helen Lindfors
Athlete of the Month: Adam Kates
End Notes by Peter
Volunteers Needed!
The Sault Finnish Nordic Ski Club is in great need of more volunteers to help run the terrific programs offered by our club. Remember, a club is only as effective as its members! Those of you who have given of your time and energy in the past know that it is a very fulfilling way of contributing to both the club and your community. In addition, you are providing a priceless example of selflessness for your children. Of course, it is not just the kids who benefit from our activities.
We also provide adult instruction, waxing clinics, Lantern Ski events (which are very popular with everybody!), ski swaps, social activities that are family-centered and of course the opportunity to meet new friends of all ages. Those are in addition to the physical benefits of skiing itself. We are trying to remain a friendly, dynamic club with members who are all willing to do something towards keeping our club alive and vibrant. So get in touch with any of our very approachable executive members and let them know how YOU can help out!
We need people to staff our hot dog socials, help out at the ski swap, get our chocolate bar fund-raiser off the ground, become coaches and assistant coaches, etc. Whatever input you can give to the club will be warmly appreciated and can really provide the boost to make our club better than ever.
Race Team News
The events that the race team plans to attend include the following (participating team members are listed for each event)
Dec 6 - Canmore Regional Race; Brady & Adam
Dec 11/12 - World Junior Team Trials, Continental Cup, Canmore Alberta; Brady, Adam & Chad
Dec 16 - Continental Cup, Kimberly, B.C.; Chad
Dec 19/20 - Ontario Cup, Lappe, Thunder Bay; Team event
Jan 7, 9/10 - Eastern Canadians & Continental Cup, Val Carter, P..; Chad
Jan. 16/17 - Hiawatha Meet; Team event
Jan. 19-24 - Canadian Senior Championships, Duntroon; participation to be decided
Jan. 23/24 - Ontario Cup Race, Duntroon; Team event
Feb. 6/7 - Ontario Cup Race, Deep River (?) Selection race for Junior Nationals; Team event
March 9-14 - Canadian Junior Championships, Smithers, B.C.
March 19-21 - Ontario Championships, Onaping; Team event
We wish the entire team good luck in all of their competitions!
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Coach's Corner by Helen Lindfors
The ski team has been hard at it, putting in hundreds of kilometers running, roller skiing, hiking, ski striding and hill climbing. A lucky few even put in a few hundred k's skiing on snow at Glacier Camp.
Brady Dunne and Adam Kates will be racing in very big races in the early part of December, along with teammate Chad Yurich who will be there with the National Training Center athletes from Thunder Bay, For these members of our team, current dry land training workloads look more like those we see in January as opposed to October.
For most of the rest of the team, big races will be in March at either the Canadian Juniors or the Ontario Championships. For Ricky Francis, this year will be a building year on the way to the next World Championships to be held in Alaska in three years.
If you are twelve years of age or older and want to learn more about ski racing, competitive sports, or yourself, you are invited to join us. All we ask is that you come out, have fun, challenge yourself and try your best. We will ensure that you learn about technique, training, and waxing. The rest is only limited by your dreams.
"What the mind can conceive
And the heart can believe
You can achieve"
Jack Donohue"Whatever you can do, or dream you can......begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
Goethe
Did you know that two time Olympian Wayne Dustin was a member of the Soo Finnish Ski Team? He placed 13th in the World at the World Juniors, and skied on the Canadian Senior National Team for 8 years. He competed at the 1988 Olympics in Canmore, Alberta, and in the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France. He completed one university degree while skiing for Canada, and did an Engineering degree after he finished his career with the National team. Last I heard, he was working in a great job with Northern Telecom, still ski racing (he loves skiing, racing and training) and coaching.
STAR News
Our STAR representative, Rich Greenwood, reports from the last STAR meeting that negotiations are still underway regarding STAR's use of Hiawatha Lodge for their operations in 1998/99. STAR is also considering the purchase of a new Piston-Bulley machine for trail grooming; they are currently examining the possibility based upon costs of other aspects of their operation. Trail widening on the Lookout Trail is nearly complete, including the cleanup of stumps, etc. This will provide room for skating and classic skiing on the 4 km main trail.
Ski Prep by Helen Lindfors
For those of us that are not interested in competition, and just want to ski because we love being outside and gliding on the snow, there are a lot of things we can do to make the first venture out on the skis more enjoyable. Some are as simple as getting out and walking, hiking or running the trails a few times over the next few weeks before the snow flies. Walking the Crystal Creek 5 with your ski poles and thinking about skiing will go a long way towards helping ski muscles start their transition from dormant to fit. Another way to improve our ability to take advantage of the glide in skiing is to ensure that our skis have the ability to glide. For those ski enthusiasts who took advantage of all the skiing we could get last year, and then hung up the skis, working on the basics will go along way towards improving the early season skiing.
Cleaning off all the old grip wax or klister is a given. But to improve glide, cleaning the glide zones also helps. To do this, melt in a soft glider (Swix yellow or the old Swix orange), and scrape off while it is still warm. You will probably find that it comes off with a lot of black in it. You need to repeat a few times by melting in more layers, until it is basically glider coming off. A good trick in doing this is to alternate skis each time; that is, melt on one, scrape it off, melt wax on the other ski, and then scrape. That will give the skis time to cool off so that you are not in danger of overheating. After a few coats of this, you can melt in a colder glider (purple or blue), scrape and brush. If you really want to treat your skis, you would do this layer twice. Remember not to melt glide wax into your grip zone on your classic skis. After this, you are ready for that first dump of snow. Apply grip wax for the day on your classic skis, or just skate on your skating skis.
Happy skiing!
Athlete of the Month: Adam Kates
Each month the newsletter will feature a biographical sketch of one of our race team members so that our club members can get to know our racers on a more personal level. This month we feature Adam Kates.
"I first strapped on a pair of skis at the age of six and the following winter I joined the Soo Finnish Ski Club's Jackrabbit program. At age 12, I began skiing with the race team and 2 years later I began to ski competitively. I still remember my first race in Ottawa; -30 degrees with the wind. The highlight of my ski career was being named the top overall Juvenile skier at the Canadian Junior National Championships in 100-Mile House, B.C. in 1996. My goals for the immediate future include qualifying for the World Junior Championships in Austria this February and to ski well there. Also I would like to earn a spot on the Canadian Junior National Team for the upcoming season. Accomplishing these goals will mean a lot of hard work and determination but I feel I am focused on skiing well and that my goals are well within reach. I train between 12 and 20 hours per week for a total of 575 hours per year. This may seem like a lot but I enjoy training, especially since I have the luxury of training with fellow race competitor Brady Dunne. Not only are Brady and I training partners but also best friends, which makes those 4-hour training sessions a lot more bearable. My training also includes a healthy diet and PowerBar is large part of that aspect. I also enjoy competing in various other sports such as running, golf and mountain biking.
Throughout my ski career I have had supportive people around
me wherever I go. My coach, Helen Lindfors, is second to none
and my parents have been very supportive and understanding throughout.
The Soo Finnish Nordic Ski Club has also been a major contributor
to my skiing success and without them I would not be the skier
that I am today. I would also like to thank Don Hillstrom and
Steve Trembath from The Old Ski House for their continued support
and sponsorship throughout the year."
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End Notes by Peter
Just a short message this month. Thanks to all who came out on the 24th of October to take part in the trail grooming work bee. Twenty folks of all ages enjoyed a beautiful day and even managed to get a fair bit of work done on the Mabel Lake trail out by Thayer's Acres. Opinion seems to indicate that this should become an annual event. Special thanks to Doug Cuddy and Ted Sutton for organizing the day.
Helen and the whole racing team have been working hard on their dry land training. On behalf of the whole club. I would like to wish them the best of luck for the coming season.
There is a definite chill in the air and I keep looking for the first flakes of snow. Have to go now, there are skis to prep.
See you on the trials.