Could you ski your age in km?
That was the challenge members of the Yorkton Youth Cross Country Ski club accepted on a recent cool Sunday afternoon.
With COVID-19 restrictions, the club ran a virtual loppet where socially distanced students skied as far as they could in a time based on their age.
The improvement and achievement of young skiers was impressive with most four-to-10 year olds skiing their age in kilometres.
Notable achievers included Arabella, a 4 year old who just learned to ski, went 4.5 km without poles. Ollie, 6, skied 9 km. Alexander, 8, went 20 km combining classic and skate skiing. All the senior skate skiers, age 11 to 17, went 19 to 28 km in 2 ½ hours.
Over 40 students attended weekly 45-minute lessons Sunday afternoon, with older students taking several weekly lessons in classic and skate skiing.
Lessons finished March 7, weather permitting, with extra events possible.
The club would like to thank the following; groomers Ken Geduk and Mike Giroux for braving the cold to set a great track for us to enjoy, coaches Ray Bailey, JoAnne Maloff, AnnaLissa Ubongen, Wayne Clark and Garth Hunter for their fun but practical instruction and the City of Yorkton for providing the grounds, parking lot and as much access to the clubhouse as COVID allowed.
This past year has been the busiest in recent memory at the Deer Park trails, mainly due to skiing being so COVID safe. We look forward to continued growth in interest in cross country skiing next season, with the strong foundation of our young skiers taking a step forward. In a post-COVID world, more skiing linked social activities may be offered next season. Individuals or families looking for more information for this season or next should contact JoAnne Maloff
Youth Program Director, Maloff03@gmail.com or YCCSC Facebook
