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

Weekly Division Update April 25

Table of Contents

• 2024-2025 Para Nordic Team and AAP Nominations
• 2024-2025 National High Performance Program and AAP Carding Nominations
• Club and Division Job Postings Web Page
• AGM Information: Register before May 5
• Nordiq Canada Awards
• Thank you Officials!

Nominations

Nominations

Learn More

Register Here

Nomination Form

Awards will be presented at this year’s AGM June 6-9 in Whitehorse, YT.
Questions?  Contact Krista at krobinson@nordiqcanada.ca

Learn More About Officials

Congratulations to the Athletes who have been nominated to the National High Performance Program based on the criteria outlined in the Nordiq Canada National High Performance Program Selection Criteria 2024-25 and to those who will be nominated to Sport Canada to receive AAP carding under the Athlete Assistance Program Selection Criteria 2024-25. All nominations were reviewed and supported by the High Performance Committee.

Selection Rational

• The goal of NHPP and AAP selection criteria is to select athletes who are following the performance pathway progression in relation to global competitors to achieve podium success at the Olympic Winter Games and World Ski Championships.
• AAP carding type nominations are not finalized and subject to change upon review and acceptance by Sport Canada.
• Final Team announcements will be released early May after final acceptance of nominations.
• Development Team size is set at 12 athletes.
• Team and AAP criteria descriptions are abbreviated versions of the criteria. Selection was competed using the full criteria description within the selection documents.
• Benchmark criteria standards were based on the athlete meeting being the target age or younger on race day . Athletes and younger on date of race. Rankings were made on best results across all benchmarks.

The deadline to appeal the NHPP and AAP carding nominations is Wednesday, May 8th 11:59 PM in the athlete’s residing time zone. Appeals must be submitted in writing to Nordiq Canada’s Appeal Manager, Stefano Mingarelli, at stefmingarelli@gmail.com.

Nominations (click to view)

The HPC oversaw the athlete nomination selection process as per the Nordiq Canada Selection, Nominations and Announcement policy. Members of this committee are:

• Graham Nishikawa (athlete rep – Para)
• Devon Kershaw (athlete rep – Olympic)
• Maria Lundgren (BC)
• Pauline Nadlersmith (ON)
• John Lofranco (Athletics Canada)
• Julie Beaulieu (Nordiq Canada)
• Chris Jeffries (Nordiq Canada)

Final athlete selections were approved by Chris Jeffries, High Performance Director.

Congratulations to the following athletes who have been nominated to the Paralympic stream of the National Ski Team based on the criteria outlined in the Para Nordic Canada National Ski Team (PNST) Selection Criteria 2024-25 and to the athletes who will be nominated to Sport Canada to receive AAP carding under the Para Nordic Athlete Assistance Program Selection Criteria 2024-25.

Selection Rational

• The goal of PNST and AAP selection criteria is to select athletes who demonstrate the potential for a podium performance.
• For World Cup Team selection, the FIS PN points listed are a combination of the best of two (2) races.
• Athletes are listed in priority order for AAP carding nominations, as there is no priority selection order for selection to the PNST World Cup team.

The deadline to appeal PN nominations is Wednesday, May 8, 2024 11:59 PM in the time zone of the athlete’s current residence. Appeals must be submitted in writing to Nordiq Canada’s Appeal Manager, Stefano Mingarelli, at stefmingarelli@gmail.com.

Nominations (click to view)

The HPC oversaw the athlete nomination selection process as per the Nordiq Canada Selection, Nominations and Announcement policy. Members of this committee are:

• Graham Nishikawa (athlete rep – Para)
• Devon Kershaw (athlete rep – Olympic)
• Maria Lundgren (BC)
• Pauline Nadlersmith (ON)
• John Lofranco (Athletics Canada)
• Julie Beaulieu (Nordiq Canada)
• Chris Jeffries (Nordiq Canada)

Final athlete selections were approved by Chris Jeffries, High Performance Director

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

Weekly Division Update April 18 

Table of Contents

• 2025 Nordiq Canada Ski Nationals
• Nordic Sports Coaches Conference

Learn More

Registration

Detailed Program

When: April 25-28

Where: Canmore AB

Program: (Click here)

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Wade Gilbert, hailing from Canada, is a dynamic coaching top name and esteemed professor at California State University – Fresno. Renowned for his groundbreaking contributions to coaching theory and practice, he’s a sought-after advisor to top-tier sport organizations globally, with a track record of coaching medal-winning teams and revolutionizing sports communities.

What to bring: 
•⁠  ⁠Computer, notebook, etc.
•⁠  ⁠A way to take and view video.
•⁠  ⁠Videos of your athletes for review for one of the workshops – with permission from the athletes to use them.
•⁠  ⁠Workout clothes.
•⁠  ⁠Ski boots, poles, helmet, roller skis

Accommodation: Check out our deal through Basecamp

Dietary Restrictions: 
Please contact Krista with any dietary restrictions: krobinson@nordiqcanada.ca

We hope to see you there for a weekend of connecting and learning!

More than 800 senior, junior and Para nordic skiers will compete in sprints, distance races and team events on the famous trails, which hosted a FIS Cross Country and IBU Biathlon World Cup this past season. 

“The Canmore Nordic Ski Club, with support from the Town of Canmore, Tourism Canmore Kananaskis, Alberta Tourism and Sport, and Alberta Parks and Recreation, is thrilled to be chosen as the host for the 2025 Nordiq Canada Ski Nationals,” said Hugh Simson, Event Chair. “We are excited to invite Canada’s cross-country ski racing youth, rising stars, elite athletes, and future Olympians and Paralympians to participate in this week-long National competition in one of the world’s most beautiful cross country skiing destinations. A return to Canmore in 2025 will provide this country’s cross country skiers a chance to celebrate the best of our sport and what we hope will contribute to a life-long passion for our sport.”

Nordiq Canada Ski Nationals provides an event for athletes, coaches, wax techs, and officials to come together as a community in a developmentally appropriate manner. 

“Canmore is no stranger to hosting high-caliber events. On the heels of hosting a successful World Cup event, we are thrilled to welcome the entire ski community to Canmore next March” said Ilona Gyapay, Events and Officials Manager at Nordiq Canada. “We look forward to working with the Canmore Nordic Ski Club, officials and volunteers in staging this prestigious event and showcasing the Olympic legacy venue.”

More information on the event will be made available at the end of April on the Events tab of https://www.canmorenordic.com/

Nordiq Canada continues to work with our stakeholders to finalize event dates. 

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

Weekly Division Update April 11

Table of Contents

• The Ski Playground: An Introduction to Sport for Life for All Canadians
• Nordiq Canada Board of Directors Call for Nominations
• Nordic Sports Coaches Conference
• Congratulations Porcupine Ski Runners on winning our Nordiq Canada Snow Day competition!

Full Story

Ski Playground

Learn More

Registration

Congratulations Porcupine Ski Runners on winning our Nordiq Canada Snow Day competition!

Over 70 participants took part in Porcupine Ski Runners Snow Day for an intro to skiing, trying out the Ski Playground, followed by enjoying marshmallows, hot chocolate, and juice by the fire! It was an amazing day in the snow with many getting their first taste of cross-country skiing.

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

Weekly Division Update April 4 

Table of Contents

• Nordiq Canada Awards
• National Winter Sports Development Association Gives the Gift of Consistency

Nordiq Canada Awards – Do you know someone who should be nominated? 

For over 30 years these awards have provided national recognition to Canada’s most impactful people in our cross-country ski community.

Dave Rees Award 
Awarded to an individual who has made an outstanding long-term commitment to cross country skiing in Canada.

Firth Award 
Awarded to a woman who has made an outstanding contribution to cross country skiing in Canada.

Distinguished Volunteer Award 
Awarded to individuals who have made a significant contribution to cross country skiing.

Nominations are due May 2. 

Nomination Form

Awards will be presented at this year’s AGM June 6-9 in Whitehorse, YT.
Questions?  Contact Krista at krobinson@nordiqcanada.ca

National Winter Sports Development Association Gives the Gift of Consistency

Consider for a moment that 19 out of 20 Canadians who participated in the most recent World Junior and U23 Championships have been impacted by NWSDA funding, as have many Olympians.

Formed in 2008 as an initiative launched by B.C.-born business titan and philanthropist Bob Disbrow with his partner Kim Kawaguchi, the NWSDA has provided a consistent stream of funding support in developing cross country skiers from coast to coast to coast. The funding is centred on helping clubs pay for and develop coaches who will allow internationally competitive athletes to flourish.

Full Story

Nordiq Canada invites its members, the public, and other interested candidates who are passionate about our Purpose to get all Canadians on skis and more athletes on podiums to respond to the Call for Nominations, or to identify and encourage other qualified candidates to apply.

Specifically, we are looking for candidates with skills and experience in one or more of the following areas to help round out the capacity and capabilities of the Board:

• Fundraising and business development to assist the CEO with attracting a broader range of supporters for the organization,
• Financial management,
• Strategic planning,
• Human Resources.

Nordiq Canada is committed to building cross country skiing as a sport that reflects and embraces the diversity of Canada and supports a culture that is equitable, open, welcoming, and inclusive. Indigenous Peoples, members of racialized groups, persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

If you are interested in applying for a Board position, please submit your resume and a brief cover letter describing the skills, experiences, competencies, and interests that you feel you can contribute to the Board to mbegley@nordiqcanada.ca. Your cover letter and resume will be included with the AGM Notice to Members.

Please submit your application no later than May 9, 2024. Once the nomination period has closed applicants will be contacted by the Nominations Committee for interviews. Details of the nomination, election process, and the definition of an Independent Director, are set out in Nordiq Canada’s by-laws.

Interested individuals should also be familiar with some particulars related to how the Nordiq Canada Board operates as a policy board by reviewing the following resources:

• Board Policy Manual
• Policy Governance Overview and Resources

Thank you for your interest!

“When people get on skis, any skis, for the first time,’’ says the two-time Canadian Olympian, “there’s always that moment of apprehension – they’re really focused, so dialed-in, paying extra special attention.

“But then – as always – after a while, there’s this spark, as if a light goes on for them, and they really get it. We all have experienced that, at some place, at some time.

“You’ll see the biggest smiles on faces. Cold, -18, maybe the coldest day they’ve ever been outside in their lives, and they are loving it.

“Those moments are universal, across ages, backgrounds, when you find yourself gliding, actually doing it.

“I started skiing when I was about two years old. And being a part of this – a totally unique experience – does take me back to those feelings I had when I was 5, 6, 7 years old. No aspirations of racing, of personal goals, of competing at an Olympics.

“Just the love of skiing. That is really cool to see.

As coordinator of the Ski Playground initiative, a four-sport partnership between Nordiq Canada, Biathlon Canada, Ski Jumping Canada and Nordic Combined Canada, Cockney has gotten the chance to see those moments firsthand again.

Jesse Cockney helps participants at the Wastowea Nordic Ski Playground event. Photo: Paul Jordan

The format is unique: All four ski disciplines in one setting, designed to introduce one or all of them to people of varying backgrounds and especially people who are Black, Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQi+, low income, newcomers and persons with disabilities.

It’s a one-stop ski-experience for mostly first-time skiers and oftentimes under-served Canadians. Over $290,000 in funding, received through Sport Canada’s Community Sport for All Initiative, was used to develop the Ski Playground program, market it, purchase equipment and run five demonstration events in partnership with clubs. All in hopes that clubs across the country will create low-cost ski playgrounds of their own, using shovels and other common supplies.

“There’s not a lot better than seeing kids drawn to the biathlon range,’’ laughs Cockney. “It’s fun, we have (laser gun) lights set up so they go green or red and they get really excited about that.

“Being outside, experiencing a new sport with other kids, good sport-for-life endeavours.

“What could be better?”

Ski Playground’s five-province tour began on Feb. 18th at the Nickel Plate Nordic Centre in Penticton, B.C., then all the way cross-country to the Wostawea Cross Country Ski Club in Fredericton, N.B., west to Strathcona Wilderness Centre in Uncas, Alta., then to Langham, Sask. and River Ridge Nordic , and, finally, to Cockney’s hometown, Yellowknife, NT and the Yellowknife Ski Club.

“The experience we had here,’’ summarizes Wostawea club president Nathalie Comeau, “was wonderful.”

The morning activities in Fredericton on Feb. 24th focused on jackrabbit and regular adult learners, keen to try new things. In the afternoon session, those who’d never skied before joined the participation party.

A pleasant sidelight, adds Comeau, was the sight of former jackrabbit cross country skiers who hadn’t visited the club in quite a while returning specifically to give biathlon and ski jumping a whirl.

“I think people were more ready to try the biathlon laser rifles, because they’ve been to arcades or laser tag,’’ says Comeau. “Ski jumping is a bigger challenge for people, but I was pleasantly surprised to see both kids and adults try it.

“And some kids … they actually got air. They were really good. But if they tried and didn’t get it right the first time, or the second, they’d run right back up the hill and say ‘I’m going again!’ And did, until they landed on their feet.

“When you think of ski jumping in New Brunswick, you don’t think you’ll ever get the chance. You see it at the Olympics. You know there were ski jumps out west. But that’s about it. So, to have this here, to have a go with the skis, the helmet, everything, was unusual and so much fun, so exciting. I’m sure people thought: ‘I’d better try this. When am I going to get another chance?’”

An opportunity both Carolyn MacDonald, in her first year as a volunteer at Wostawea, and six-year-old son William, both avid cross-country skiers, wholly embraced.

“Ski jump!” enthuses William, when asked which of the four sports he enjoyed most on the day.

And why?

“Because it was fun and mommy was scared of it.

“I was fine. I tried about 20 times. I landed on my skis, then lost my balance and I fell over on my side or my back. And once I went over the jump, went through the air, and landed in a snowbank!”

The concept of incorporating the four types of skiing together impressed Carolyn MacDonald.

Photo: Paul Jordan

“I think it’s a great idea,’’ she says, “especially in a place like here in Fredericton, where our terrain is ideally suited for cross-country skiing but people don’t have an opportunity to really get involved with the other kinds of skiing – we do have a downhill spot near the city but compared to, say, out west, it’s very different.

“To be able to try ski jump … the slopes were very small, the bumps were very gentle but that’s something that in my life I never thought I’d try. I don’t know if I’d have ever had the chance, if they hadn’t brought the appropriate helmets and skis and built the beginning jumps for us to give it a go on.

“If they want to get people involved in all aspects of skiing, I think this is a great way to do it.

“I hope they bring it back again.”

That, of course, is music to the ears of Cockney who acknowledges that the initiative involved a lot of work and travel packed into a tight time frame.

“When I first heard of this program in general,’’ he admits ruefully, “my thought was: ‘Wow that sounds like a big job …’ As I get to the end of it here – I’ve got one more event next week in Yellowknife – it has been big – in the inertia, in getting it moving and on the radar of clubs earlier in the year, physically loading up 13 bags of Salomon skis and all the supporting equipment that goes along with that. Even driving it to communities with a rented pick-up truck or flying across three time zones in our massive country.

“I really didn’t know anything about biathlon, ski jumping, or nordic combined. For me, filling in these gaps to bring quality programming has been so well supported by the national sport bodies – I can’t hammer that home enough.

“But the whole thing, I’ll admit, was a little daunting. ‘I’m going to be bringing how many pairs of skis to how many clubs across the county, in how many weeks?’ Before I even set out, my head was already spinning.”

The personal benefits though, have made his effort more than worthwhile: Visiting new communities across the country, seeing clubs he’d never even heard of, talking skiing, and gaining fresh perspectives.

“One thing that stood out to me right from the start,’’ says Cockney, he himself of Inuvialuit heritage, “was reaching certain populations and having that be the main target. Whether it’s Indigenous communities, LGBTQ or any of our equity-deserving populations that we’ve reached through these events, and just knowing that skiing can really be for everyone. It’s not just about your ability, your age, where you come from or your familiarity. Just fun events that take in such a broad engagement … whatever you want from any of these four sports, it’s there. Sport for life activities.

“Opening opportunities to different people across the country has been really fun.

“Another cool thing, believe it or not, has been the challenges presented by this winter. Conditions have been pretty similar across the country – low snow, spotty weather, rain in January … just really tough, ski-wise. I’ve been to B.C., New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Alberta chatting with people in Ontario and Quebec, and to see the resourcefulness and the work volunteers are doing on the ground, to keep conditions good enough to get people out and skiing. Incredible.

“To see the enthusiasm of these people working with what they’ve got has been awesome.”

And the opportunity to return, on the final leg of his journey, to the place where his dad, Angus Cockney, a national team cross-country skier in his day, had introduced him to a sport that he quickly came to embrace, then cherish.

“I’ve been back over the years, but I haven’t had a chance to ski in Yellowknife since 1996, the year my family moved to Canmore, Alta.,’’ Cockney muses.

“My first steps on skis were at this ski club, in 1991 or 1992. A long time ago. I’ve got friends from Yellowknife who still live there, they’ve got young families that I haven’t had a chance to meet … time just flies, right?

“This is the community where I learned to ski so many years ago. So this is going to be really special.

“I’m just so lucky to have this sport in my life.”

And moving forward, he hopes all Canadians will feel the same, thanks, in part, to the Ski Playground.