For Morgan Rogers, the problem strikes a very personal chord; hits a raw nerve. “This issue,’’ emphasizes the newest chairperson of Nordiq Canada’s board of directors, “is something I’m very passionate about, something I think about and work on a lot. “I myself have experienced not feeling safe or included in a workplace – that happened to me in a non-sport summer job. “So I lived it, what it’s like to be on the receiving end of those feelings. Because of...
The decision last October to flee Odessa, the third largest city in war-torn Ukraine, perched on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea, for a new beginning a world away was a difficult, but necessary, decision for Valentina Modryka. For her life. As well as her lifestyle. “I left because of the war. But Canada, for me, is also very open-minded,’’ explains Modryka, a proud member of the 2SLGBTQI+ community. “In my country, it’s pretty strict. You...
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much – Helen Keller There are universal qualities and motivators behind the outstanding achievements of this year’s Nordiq Canada award winners – their love of sport, a strong sense of community, the wish to make a difference in the lives of those around them, the desire to have fun, and an endearing humbleness on the impact their contributions have on the ski community. “A big engine and a big heart,” is...
Boasting the world’s most northerly golf course, Ulukhaktok is a small hamlet on the west coast of Victoria Island, located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories. “We’re fly-in only,’’ reports Bryan Stone, a teacher at Helen Kalvak Elihakvik school, and an avid cross-country skier. “Four hundred people, total. So, yeah, it definitely qualifies as a remote community. “It can feel pretty isolated. I remember in my early high-school years,...
We All Belong on the Trails and No Skier Left Behind The idea began to ferment in Donald Wright’s mind as far back as 2016. “That year Fredericton received, as did many parts of the country, a lot of Syrian refugees,’’ recalls Wright, president of Wostawea Cross-Country Ski Club. “My daughter (Harriet) and I became a host family through an initiative called First Fredericton Friends. “We adopted a Syrian family, the Albrdans, two parents and...
