Please share this information within your offices and with your members as appropriate.

Weekly Division Update December 17

Table of Contents: 

• 2024-25 World Cup Period 2 Competition Team
• 2025 FISU World University Games Team
• Ski to School Scholarship
• Nordiq Canada Officials Hub
• Happy Holidays and Office Closure
• Title: Special Preview of the Ski Like a Girl Podcast

This scholarship is to be awarded to an individual who combines excellence in both academics and cross-country skiing. The scholarship has been funded by Canadian university alumni cross country skiers and other interested parties to encourage students to continue to combine excellence in both academics and cross-country skiing as they proceed with their postsecondary, university or college education.

Amount: $1000.00

Criteria

The applicant must meet the following requirements:

• Individual must have achieved a grade average of B+ (80%) or above and demonstrated national level potential in cross country skiing;
• Individual must be attending a Canadian post-secondary, university or college educational institute as a full-time student. The Selection Committee may consider individuals attending on a part time basis provided the individual will be completing a full academic year within a 12-month period;
• Individual must be a licensed racer and a member of a ski club in Canada.

Application process

Each participant needs to provide the following:

• a letter outlining, in 500 words or less, why they should be considered as a candidate for the scholarship;
• a summary of racing experience and results;
• information concerning other prizes, scholarships, or awards won in any endeavor;
• an academic transcript; and
• a letter of reference from their coach and/or local club.

Each applicant must agree in writing to release their name to the donor(s) and for publication purposes by Nordiq Canada.

Payment of Scholarship: The amount will be payable upon confirmation of enrolment at the educational institution in the case of an individual attending.

Notification of Applicants: While we appreciate applications received, only the successful applicant will be contacted. We thank all applicants for their applications.

“Coming into this season was just about starting new,” said 11-time Paralympic medalist Arendz. “Last season was that undefeated season, but this year we start with different focuses as we look towards the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games.” 

Arendz picked up right where he left off, capturing gold in the 7.5-kilometre sprint race and shooting a perfect 10-for-10 on the range. Finishing 12 seconds behind was Ukraine’s Serhii Romaniuk, with China’s Xiaobin Liu 11 seconds back. 

“I’m really happy with how it went today,” Arendz said after the race. “You never know where your fitness is for the first race of the season, especially after travel and fighting jet lag, but I was really happy with how the body reacted. I’m happy with how I felt, and shooting clean on the range, so it’s great to settle my nerves and get that first one under the belt.” 

In the women’s standing field, Canada’s Natalie Wilkie captured bronze after two misses, behind China’s Yujie Guo, who took gold, and Ukraine’s Liudmyla Liashenko, who claimed silver. Brittany Hudak finished sixth with one miss on the range. 

Mark Arendz races to gold in the 7.5km Sprint event in Vuokatti, Finland.

After a difficult summer battling injuries, Collin Cameron finished fifth in the men’s sitting field with a time of 23:49 and two misses, while Derek Zaplotinsky finished seventh with a time of 24:13, shooting a perfect 10-for-10. 

“It was hard missing the majority of last year through illness, and then again having to take time off training for three months this summer for a shoulder injury, “Cameron said. “I think I proved that, despite so much time off, I can still compete with the best in my sport. It was a great feeling to finish fifth in my first biathlon race of the year.” 

On the second day of competition, Canada finished first and second in Women’s Standing in the 12.5-kilometre individual event. Natalie Wilkie took gold with one miss on the range and a time of 38:33. Hudak secured silver, shooting a perfect 20-for-20 with a time of 38:56. China’s Yujie Guo earned bronze with a time of 39:14. 

“It’s always tricky racing in colder conditions,” Hudak said of the –18 degree conditions. “We’re coming into the range swinging our arms to try to warm our fingers up, and I think the conditions really play around with your mindset. But Para athletes do well with adversity, and tough conditions are just something you have to learn to overcome.” 

Despite another perfect 20-for-20 day on the range, Arendz finished second, just 4.5 seconds behind Ukraine’s Serhii Romaniuk, whose teammate Dmytro Sereda claimed bronze. 

Collin Cameron finished eighth with two misses, while Derek Zaplotinsky placed 11th with one miss. Ukraine’s Taras Rad and Pavlo Bal took gold and silver, while China’s Zixu Liu claimed bronze. 

Natalie Wilkie and Mark Arendz closed out the final Para biathlon race in Vuokatti with gold medals in the sprint pursuit event. Arendz delivered yet another flawless day on the range, finishing 26.4 seconds ahead of Germany’s Marco Maier, who took silver, and 42.6 seconds ahead of Ukraine’s Serhii Romaniuk, who earned bronze. 

Despite two misses, Wilkie secured gold by eight seconds, ahead of Ukraine’s Oleksandra Kononova, and 31 seconds ahead of China’s Guo Yujie. Brittany Hudak finished fifth. 

Derek Zaplotinsky finished 11th in the men’s sitting field, while Ukraine’s Taras Rad took gold with a time of 8:15. China’s Mengtao Liu and Zixu Liu claimed silver and bronze with times of 8:37 and 9:24, respectively. 

“It has been a great way to start the new season. The fabulous results reflect that the work over the off-season paid off,” said Arendz. “I’m very proud to have the shooting come together as it has. Three clean races are an awesome way to start. There were a few close calls, and I’m sure some heart flutters from the coaches, but all the paddles did go up.” 

Canada’s Para nordic team now switches over to cross-country with three more races scheduled in Vuokatti, Finland. 

“Now to transition into the cross-country races. Kicking off the season with a sprint is always interesting,” Arendz said. “There is always that small element of uncertainty before the first race of where you will stack up against the others. But I focus on the process, doing the small things correctly, and we’ll see where that leaves me after day one and into the rest of the cross-country season.” 

Canada results summary   

Full Results: https://live.ultimate.dk/uploads/2024/biathlon/paravuokatti/ 

Click above to view the Selection Rationale

Congratulations to the following athletes who have been selected to the World Cup Period 2 (Tour de Ski) Team from December 26, 2024 to January 6, 2025. Athlete selections were based on the 2024-25 Nordiq Canada Competition Selection Criteria.

Selection details and factors: 

• Provide appropriate competition opportunities to athletes that have demonstrated the ability to achieve a top 20 performance.  

• Nominate a minimum of 2-3 athletes per gender to aid in mental and physical health.  

• Achieve top-10 nations ranking for 2024-25 season to secure Olympic quota spots. Not racing the minimum athletes could negatively impact Olympic quota objectives.  

• Financial non-refundable commitments. 

The deadline to appeal Team nominations is December 19, 2024, 11:59 PM MST. Appeals must be submitted in writing to Nordiq Canada’s Appeal Manager, Stefano Mingarelli, at stefmingarelli@gmail.com.    

Summary of Nominations 

Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (Declined) – Fondeurs-Laurentides, AWCA

Tom Stephen (Declined) – Foothills Nordic, AWCA

Antoine Cyr – Skinouk, CNEPH

Olivier Léveillé – Club de ski de fond Orford, CNEPH

Liliane Gagnon – Skibec, CNEPH

Katherine Stewart-Jones – Nakkertok Nordic, AWCA

Please share this information within your offices and with your members as appropriate.

Weekly Division Update December 12

Table of Contents: 

• Weekly FIS Race Alert
• Nordiq Canada New Office Coordinator 
• 2031 Canada Winter Games: We’re In!
• Mark Arendz Starts the Season with GOLD!

Weekly FIS Race Alert

The Canada Cup circuit is headed out east for the Candy Cane Cup this weekend at Gatineau’s Nakkertok Nordic Centre. Over in Finland, the Para biathlon team will start their season in Vuokatti Finland.

Vuokatti, Finland, hosted the first Para biathlon stop of the season, and Mark Arendz picked up right where he left off, capturing gold in the 7.5km race. Shooting clean, Arendz finished 12 seconds ahead of the runner-up. Natalie Wilkie also had a strong start, hitting eight of 10 targets on the range and earning bronze in her season opener. After struggling with injuries this summer, Collin Cameron returned to biathlon World Cup racing, finishing fifth despite two misses.

The team will take a rest day tomorrow before tackling the 12.5km Individual race on Saturday.

Please share this information within your offices and with your members as appropriate.

Weekly Division Update December 5

Table of Contents: 

• Annual Club Fundraiser
• Para Nordic Development Camp

Para Nordic Development Camp

The fourth annual Para nordic development camp set a new record with 22 athletes and 10 coaches gathering in Canmore, AB for an unforgettable week.

Thank you to all of the coaches, and athletes for an amazing camp!

Please share this information within your offices and with your members as appropriate.

Weekly Division Update November 28

Table of Contents: 

• Weekly FIS Race Alert
• Sport Canada’s Community Sport for All Initiative Grant
• CEO Job Opportunity
• Technical Delegate and Organizing Committee Update
• Mark Arendz, Not Training to be a Car Mechanic
• Board Chair Office Hours

Weekly FIS Race Alert

It’s World Cup time! Cheer on Team Canada this weekend at the FIS World Cup season opener in Ruka, Finland!

Learn More

How to Apply

Learn More

Zoom Meeting

2026 Olympic Winter Games Selection Criteria (Internal Nomination Procedure) 

Thank you to those who submitted feedback on the draft 2026 Olympic Winter Games Selection Criteria. 

One key area of discussion was section 5.c.8: Priority 2. The purpose of Priority 1 and 2 criteria is to identify athletes who have demonstrated medal potential for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, aligning with the stated objective of the INP.  

Based on your feedback, the High Performance Committee (HPC) considered: 

• Ensuring a meaningful Trials event that supports head-to-head racing 

• Which performance benchmarks (e.g., top 10s, top 12s) were indicative of podium potential 

• The impact of World Cup experience on podium potential 

• The difference in performance benchmarks in sprint versus distance events  

• Results at Trials from unexpected circumstances 

After considering the feedback and predictive data, the HPC has updated priority 2 to the following: 

“Priority 2: 1 X top 10 AND 1 x top 12 individual final finish race result at a 2024-25 World Cup or 2025 FIS Nordic World Ski Championship.” 

Priority 3 criteria will allow us to emphasize head-to-head competition, ensuring a meaningful Selection Trials event with adequate preparation time (7 weeks) before the Games.  This approach aims to select the best team capable of delivering peak performance when it matters most. 

Questions: cjeffries@nordiqcanada.ca

The catch is that Nordiq Canada must apply for money by Dec 23. Yes! That is a tight turnaround. Our hope is to apply for this limited-time funding by submitting an application with multiple projects already happening in our clubs and divisions across Canada, and projects planned for next year. If successful, Nordiq Canada would work with clubs and divisions to refine projects and create partnership agreements.

There are two timeframes for projects:

April 1, 2024 – March 31, 2025

Applications are open for projects you’ve already completed (since April 1, 2024) or plan to complete by March 31, 2025. Projects must already have funding in place as we may not find out we have been approved for any money before March 2025, or we may not receive any money at all! Examples of projects:

• Para Nordic Development Camps
• Para Nordic Classifier Expenses
• Club programs that reach any of the underserved groups
• Ski Playground events that reach any of the underserved groups

Apply Here

April 1, 2025 – March 31, 2026

In addition to the ideas above, you can also apply for funding to support future initiatives. Successful applicants will be notified by late winter 2025, giving you lots of time to prepare.

How to Apply

Submit your application to Nordiq Canada by December 13, 2024.

Want inspiration? Check out examples of previous projects here:

• https://nordiqcanada.ca/news-item/welcoming-winter-uniting-2slgbtqi-canadian-newcomers-through-nordic-skiing/
• https://nordiqcanada.ca/news-item/cross-country-skiing-building-community-in-canadas-north/
• https://nordiqcanada.ca/news-item/we-all-belong-on-the-trails-and-no-skier-left-behind/
• https://nordiqcanada.ca/news-item/twelve-nordic-ski-clubs-across-canada-to-benefit-from-canadian-sport-for-all-initiative-funding/

Let’s continue to make skiing accessible for all!