Just this past February, the return on investment was seen in the Alpine valley of Planica, Slovenia, when 21-year-old Sonjaa Schmidt from Whitehorse YT. made history by becoming the first Canadian woman to win a gold medal in cross country skiing at the FIS Nordic U23 World Ski Championships. And again when Derek Deuling, another Whitehorse skier, teamed with Jasmine Drolet of Rossland, B.C., Max Hollmann of Thunder Bay, Ont., and Quebec City’s Liliane Gagnon to claim gold in the mixed team relay at the same event.

L-R: Derek Deuling (Yukon), Liliane Gagnon (Quebec), Jasmine Drolet (British Colombia), Max Hollmann (Ontario) celebrate gold at the 2024 U23 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica, SLO

In these, and in the lead-up to many other Canadian cross-country ski achievements, the National Winter Sports Development Association (NWSDA) played a quiet but vital role.

Formed in 2008 as an initiative launched by B.C.-born business titan and philanthropist Bob Disbrow with his family, the NWSDA has provided a consistent stream of funding support in developing cross country skiers from coast to coast to coast. The funding is centered on helping clubs pay for and develop coaches who will allow internationally competitive athletes to flourish. The funding also helps clubs make coaching a more attractive profession by supporting professional development and funding pension and health benefits.

Bob Disbrow is no stranger to sports innovation, being among a group of individuals responsible for introducing the first two generations of six-person outrigger canoes to Canada. He and wife Kim Kawaguchi began participating with the Lotus Sports Club cross country skiing group in the 1980s, and it quickly grew into a shared passion.

In 2001, while vacationing at Soldier Hollow, the site of the 2002 Olympics, Bob and Kim were impressed by Team Canada’s performance at the World Cup test event. This inspired them to become key supporters leading into the 2002 Olympics and beyond.

Following the team’s Olympic medal successes in 2006, Bob, Kim, and their children Fei and Brent recognized the necessity for continued support in Canadian cross-country skiing, leading to the establishment of the NWSDA in 2008, where they now serve on the board of directors.

Over the past decade alone, the NWSDA has invested $1.4M into cross country ski development through its partnership with Nordiq Canada and full-service ski clubs.

Jen MacKeigan, coach of the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club, fully understands the vital role the NWSDA plays in helping transform young talents into high-performance skiers.

“It (the NWSDA) helps provide continuous coaching, which is absolutely key for athletes,’’ says MacKeigan. “Sonjaa and Derek, for the developing part of their careers, always had the same head coach, so they weren’t constantly trying to adjust or adapt to a new person when they were learning some major lessons.

“We’ve seen some amazing things happen (in the Yukon). Over the years, we have produced a lot of Olympians and Paralympians – Emily and Graham (Nishikawa), Knute (Johnsgaard). This year Sasha (Masson) made the World Cup team.

“Then, of course, Derek, after coming back from injury, and Sonjaa delivering those amazing results in the Under-23s, as well.

“If you’re constantly with one coach, your growth and progression go quicker. In that kind of partnership, you have to try and learn how each other works, to give and get feedback, learning how to teach them – so that when there’s a problem, you think: ‘OK, I know how to address this; how to fix this.’ You know what you’re working on from session to session or season to season.

“I haven’t coached anywhere else, just the Yukon kids for the past four years, so I can’t speak of other places, but I can see how beneficial it is for our program and I don’t think we would be as successful if we were constantly changing coaches.”

Consider for a moment that 19 out of 20 Canadians who participated in the most recent World Juniors and Under-23 Championships have been impacted by NWSDA funding, as have many Olympians.

This year’s NWSDA funding was shared across the country between six local clubs in British Columbia, five in Quebec, three in each of Alberta and Ontario, and one each in the Yukon and New Brunswick. Nordiq Canada works with the NWSDA to select and support the clubs that will receive financial support.

Andrea Stapff rowed for Canada at both the 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympic Games before U-turning into another sporting love with a coaching position at the Bulkley Valley Cross Country Ski Club in Smithers, B.C..

“An important piece is for the club to be a full-service club, offering everything from recreational programs to high-performance programs,’’ Stapff explains.” All the way from skill development to racer development.

“These sorts of grants make that possible, help put in place the leadership required to steer that kind of development, versus an entirely volunteer basis. Those clubs still function and do well but there’s a big difference when there’s leadership that has the professional expertise to be able to pull those things together, from coaching at the grassroots level to the high-performance level. That professionalism of day-to-day support that NWSDA funding allows, provides that extra expertise to help steer gifted skiers to lofty heights.

“There is a recognition now that you can’t do this over the long term as a volunteer,’’ Stapff says. “People don’t come into this line of work looking to make the dollars. They come in because they love it. I love skiing. It’s my thing. Being able to do those together and being active at the same time, as a profession, is bonus-bonus.

“Then being able to work with kids and parents who are go-getters, achievers, they want to be successful so they’re willing to try, to put themselves out, to work hard – cross-country skiing is hard, not at all easy – so it brings a unique population to the sport.

“From my perspective, in my position, knowing the club has this kind of funding makes me feel better that there’s going to be a job in the future, also that there’s commitment by the club to working with a professional in a professional capacity.

“Having this support in place certainly makes me feel better in coaching as a profession. It’s a fairly niche profession, a developing profession, I think in lots of ways an undervalued profession. What this is doing is providing the value in a concrete way.”

That continuity Jen MacKeigan spoke of is echoed by Stapff.

“Continuity is vital for all parties – for the coach, the athletes, the families involved, the people you work with at the club,’’ she emphasizes.

“I’ve been in the role for a while, and when I started as a volunteer coach at the beginning, there were kids five years old and I coached them right through until their Grade 12 high-school year. Then they left the program and went on to bigger and better things, skiing World Cups and things like that. Kinda cool to see; to have been a part of it.

“The thing also to recognize is that those athletes winning U-23s this year are not a result of just the last couple of seasons. That’s the development of a very young skier coming through a club program, with some consistency, wherever they lived, getting good coaching right from the get-go.”

The journey from eager beginner to U-23, World Cup or Olympic medalist doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years of sustained commitment. From skiers, coaches, club administrators and staff. Along with loyal, in-it-for-the-long-haul financial partners such as the National Winter Sports Development Association.

But the return on investment is there, in plain view.

“This kind of support on a regular basis, when some of the funding that happens at the other levels ebbs and flows,’’ emphasizes Stapff, “is huge.”

“Much of (other funding) impacts only the top end, not the bottom end, where it all starts.

“But these sorts of commitments, by the Disbrow and Kawaguchi family, this Foundation, puts funding at the grassroots level to help develop the sport. A sport I love.

“Without something like that it would far, far more challenging.”

“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 that, I turned back to sport, a place where I have always felt lucky, have always felt safe.

“It’s helped me deal with and move through the other experience.

“Because of that, I really, really see the difference this can make and see the contrast between a safe and unsafe space. It’s very important to me to make sure everyone feels welcome.”

Morgan Rogers

Making the Nordiq landscape safer and more accessible to all is the platform Morgan ran on in her chair campaign. Prior to taking those reins, she had acted as point-person for a steering committee that led to the creation of a safeguarding committee, expanding the initiative to both safe sport and REDI (Reconciliation, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion).

Since undergoing a governance overhaul in 2016, Nordiq Canada has continued to lead the way among National Sport Organizations (NSO) in adopting policies to ensure safe, inclusive environments. In June at its AGM, for example, voting members approved a by-law that requires all divisions and clubs to adopt a common set of safe sport policies.

“Safe sport and safeguarding – safeguarding being that broader mandate of not only prevention of maltreatment but to creating equitable, diverse and inclusive spaces – are obviously taking up a lot of space around Canadian sport news right now,’’ Rogers says. “What there hasn’t been is enough time or focus dedicated to NSOs that are doing a great job or what’s working. I’m very proud to be part of an NSO that’s working well and acknowledges where more work is needed.”

Also entrusted with helping navigate Nordiq Canada’s immediate path forward are the incoming members to the board voted in on June 17th: Julian Smith of Ontario as one of two Athlete Directors, voice for the athletes; B.C.’s Kate Scallion with a background in sport-dispute resolution and Safe sport case management; lawyer Bruno Caron, with expertise in corporate governance; Lex Albrecht, a national-calibre cyclist for nine years who sat on sat on Cycling Canada’s athletes’ council, a platform for athlete rights, wholistic well-being and governance; and Shawn Leamon of Newfoundland, an Indigenous ski club manager and ski official.

Board members who completed their terms this year include: Ted Kalil, Sarah Daitch, Charlotte MacNaughton, Alexis Turgeon and Scott Hill, while Toni Scheier, Jo-Anne Wolach, Derek Estabrook and Katie Weaver remain on the Board.

“Of course, we’ll miss our outgoing board members who made great contributions over the years,’’ says Rogers. “And we look forward to the expertise and fresh perspective around our table.

“The amount of turnover” – board members serve for three years with a maximum of two terms – “can be difficult from a governance perspective but as someone who values diversity and inclusion, I think turnover in terms of having new voices, not having the same board forever, is valuable and a strength.”

At the core of priorities, naturally, is strengthening the culture, enriching the experience, of cross-country skiers at all levels.

“Safe sport,’’ echos Albrecht, “is so obviously important. It should’ve been important a long time ago. In all sports.

“What we can do now is learn from the past and focus on the present and the future, and that’s what Nordiq Canada is doing in being one of the leaders in safe sport. That’s awesome. That commitment is great for the sport, its longevity, for the community. It’s really cool that everybody, including the people on the board, are involved in safe sport.”

Albrecht actually bypassed an opportunity to run for the Cycling Canada Board, coaxed by now-former Nordiq Canada board member Kalil, a friend and fellow Montrealer, to venture outside her comfort zone.

“I just thought I might be able to bring even more value to a parallel organization,’’ Albrecht says. “By that, I mean another Canadian national team, another endurance sport, one with a similar structure to Cycling Canada – without a centralized national team location.

Lex Albrecht

“For me, as an individual, it’s refreshing to be able to step a little bit outside of what I’ve been so heavily involved in the last decade of my life.

“One of the things I really, really love about this is that I feel I’m part of a group of winners, in the sense that they’re all people aligned with the same goal, same mission. To me, that’s important. A good, solid team. Passionate, driven people.

“I find that I started taking this for granted, being in sports for so long, but that’s not common to find in general everyday life. So, for me, it’s an exciting, refreshing group to be a part of.”

Working now as a marketing consultant for various companies, both inside and outside the sports industry, Albrecht hopes to inject fresh business-development ideas to the Nordiq Canada board with an end to securing additional streams of funding, now and into the future.

“There are so many things that go into funding – the marketing, the storytelling, the visibility-boosting, the networking, the communicating to groups the value of being part of a high-performance program and the impact of that program on all Canadians,’’ she enthuses. “I don’t think that a lot of organizations or potential sources of funding are even aware of the opportunity to partner with an organization like Nordiq Canada and to align their brands with this type of program.”

Smith, in contrast to his fellow board member’s high-performance bicycle background, has always been all about cross-country. A former (and, he hopes, future) part of the national team set-up, he joins B.C.’s Katie Weaver – who encouraged him to run for the board – acting as athlete voices. One of the most progressive things Nordiq Canada has implemented, Smith stresses, is implementing both a female and male athlete rep.

23.02.2023, Planica, Slovenia (SLO):
Julian Smith (CAN) – FIS nordic world ski championships cross-country, individual sprint, Planica (SLO). www.nordicfocus.com. © Modica/NordicFocus.

“Every board’s job is to run the organization that it represents as best it can, right?’’ asks Smith, who fell in love with the sport growing up in southern Ontario. “Well, a sport organization really demands synergistic communication. How does that happen without an athlete, or multiple athletes’, voices at the table? Nordiq Canada has been at the forefront of that drive in Canadian sport, with both a female and a male athlete rep.”

As a competitive athlete himself, and fully invested in its future, one word jumps out for Smith when topics of improvement arise in conversation.

“Communication. Regardless of whether it’s in the sporting world – safety, well-being, nutrition, you name it – if communication is good, there is almost always only one place the conversation can end and that’s in a better place than where it started,’’ he emphasizes. “But if communication is poor, there’s almost always only place the conversation can end. And I think you know where I’m going with this …

“That’s something I’m proud to push for and I think Nordiq Canada is adopting alongside myself and Katie – to improve communication, the flow of two-way dialogue. Do that and you improve the performance, the well-being, the happiness of coaches, athletes, staff members, parents across the entire spectrum.

“I think we’re on the right track, especially on the focus of safeguarding and safe sport. That’s part of the process.”

Communication, of course, is vital everywhere, at all levels, within a sport. From jackrabbit lessons on local snow to the World Cup trails of Ruka, Finland, Oberhof, Germany and Canmore. And right into NSO boardrooms.

“Seeing that shift as we’re going through our education of board and staff of having these difficult conversations of grappling and working to change has been very rewarding – seeing people on the board going from raising their hand saying ‘Sorry, what is REDI?’ to saying ‘Oh, this is important if we’re looking at inclusion in this conversation’ are the kinds of leaps and shifts in the past few years that have made me very, very proud of the work our whole board has done; how open-minded and willing everyone is.

“We’re still intentionally pushing (the narrative) but it’s become a lot more part of our day-to-day conversations and considerations. And that’s huge.”

Improvements made over the past half-dozen years made have been impactful. But no one on the Nordiq Canada board is anything close to being satisfied.

Least of all the chairperson.

“No one’s perfect,’’ acknowledges Morgan Rogers, “but we’re making a concerted effort to do a good job.

“I wouldn’t be chairing this board if I didn’t believe in what we’re doing, the way we’re doing it, and the path we’re heading down.

“Safe sport/safeguarding is kind of an interlay of my passions of making everyone feel safe and included, so that others don’t have to experience what I did, in a place where I already see so much good and so much potential.”

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 don’t tell people you’re from ‘another side,’ let’s say.”

This, then, was a place where she felt she could more be herself?

“Yes. Exactly.

“It was still pretty hard (to leave). I have some relatives in Odessa. My parents had passed away. Not in the war but they were gone. But I did have family. Right now, it’s not that bad there, in Odessa, at least compared to the eastern part of the country.

“I know English so in Canada I didn’t need to learn another language, like I would’ve had to in Europe. I did some research on other provinces. The salary here is a little bit higher than other places. I also have some friends here. They told me about Alberta and Calgary.

“That’s why I chose this city.”

To that end, she began the settlement process, landing a job in quality assurance at a processing company, and began to integrate into the Canadian culture as well as the city’s 2SLGBTQI+ community.

Shortly after arriving, Modryka heard of a project being launched by the Calgary Gay Ski and Social Club in partnership with the Calgary Centre for Newcomers and the End of the Rainbow Foundation, a Calgary-based non-profit group that helps settle and support refugees who identify as part of the 2SLGBTQI+ community.

The project was an introductory cross-country ski lesson for 2SLGBTQI+ immigrants to Canada, to be held on February 26. Equipment and instruction absolutely free.

What could be more quintessentially Canadian than a day out on the snow?

Today, in the midst of Pride Month, the fun she experienced and the camaraderie she felt that day alongside other 2SLGBTQI+ immigrants to this country continues to resonate.

“As a newcomer to Canada, I’d never skied before,’’ Modryka admits. “I was expecting to meet new people, make new friends. That was a big part of it for me. And I did.

“Everyone made all of us feel comfortable.

“They were super nice. Prepared coffee and had sweets. There were funny moments. Everyone had to learn to fall down. Then learn how to stand up.

“Actually, it was fun.”

The project was part of Nordiq Canada’s Equity Initiative, funded in partnership with Sport Canada’s Community Sport for All Initiative, a grant created to remove barriers to increase participation in cross-country skiing for underrepresented groups. A dozen participants attended the program.

“Why do this? To build some connections with new Canadian gay people that live in Calgary,’’ explains club president Roy Strum. “It’s about developing a safe, inclusive, welcoming, caring environment. That’s the type of community we want to build here.

“Being gay, coming out as gay, is not an easy thing for a lot of people. So part of the motivation for doing this event is so people can openly be proud of who they are as people, as athletes, as members of society; where it’s okay to be you, and where you’re cherished for who you are.

“To connect those new 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians to a fun outdoor winter sport, spreading out tentacles into the community so that these people feel a part of what’s going on.

“We wanted to make those connections and to reach out to a community, our community, the gay community, that I think is under-represented and underserved.”

“We had people there from eastern European countries, Ukraine, Belarus, from Mexico, other Latin American countries. One girl was from Russia,’’ points out another of the event organizers, Harri Ulmer. “Some from the hot-weather countries didn’t realize they could do stuff in the winter. They thought winter was something to be endured. So this was a way to introduce them to a sport that’s pretty easy. To rent a pair of skis, poles and boots is about $20 for the whole day. There’s lots of places in town where you can go locally.

Participants gather for snacks and refreshments in Calgary, AB.

“When people arrive, sometimes they’re not really sure who else is here. So this was also a great opportunity to get know each other. To connect.”

Retired national cross-country ski team member Maya MacIsaac-Jones was brought aboard to helm the session.

“Great group to work with,’’ MacIsaac-Jones reports. “Really excited to get the opportunity to work with these new skiers.

“I approached it like any other coaching session; that’s what I was hired for. But it is called the Gay Ski and Social Club so there was an emphasis on the social aspect, as well.

“Roy and I had spoken before, several times, back and forth, about the plan for the session. I wanted to go in, get a feel for the group and then lead them through some activities that would push them a bit and some fun relay-things at the end.

“There’s a big demand for sport, both locally and nationally, to be more inclusive; sport where everyone feels welcome. Roy and the club have done a great job in kind of setting a precedent for this.”

The day itself, Feb. 26th, could not have been better, the event held at Calgary’s East Village Nordic Loop. Clear blue sky. Minus-2 Celsius as a high temperature. Ideal snow conditions.

“The day,’’ recalls Strum, warmly, “was filled with a lot of laughter.”

After the lesson, all participants gathered at a nearby coffee shop to discuss the day and get to know each other better.

Brenda Bonfiglio and her wife Leslie, both born and raised in Mexico City, were among those who took part.

“We’d both taken (downhill) ski lessons before,’’ says Bonfiglio, a cook by profession who had lived in Aspen, Colo., for a year before moving north 10 months ago. “And we’d had kind of … not so good experiences.

“So we were sort of worried. But everyone was very supportive, kind, friendly. In a way, it re-introduced us to skiing.

“It was our first time doing cross-country, and it helped that everybody was not super-advanced in the sport, which can be a bit intimidating.

“The program we took that day was awesome.”

Even a few of the volunteers hailed from far flung countries. Alan Martino, for instance, was born in Sao Paolo, Brazil, leaving at age 18 to live abroad and attend school. He’s been in Calgary now for 10 years and is a professor at the University of Calgary’s School of Medicine. While still a student, he met his partner, Tony Wang, on campus.

Alan Martino times the Western Cup in Canmore, AB.

“I was super excited to support this,’’ Martino says. “I was in charge of timing – no pressure!

“It was amazing just to take the space and have the rainbow flag there. Events like this allow you to see that there is a community that is welcoming. There was such a positive attitude of spirit, of team.’’

Wang, hailing from Chengdu, China, joined the CGS&S last winter and had a blast.

“I will definitely continue with the club. I had a lot of fun. It’s funny, but I’m one of those people who actually wishes winter was longer.

A welcoming, inclusive environment. Comradeship aligned to physical activity.

Hopefully to be repeated, and expanded.

“Oh, yes,’’ responds Valentina Modryka. “I’d go again. Totally.

“I wish there were more activities, sports, set up like this.”

“I hope this is not the end.”

The Nordiq Canada Equity Initiative is currently seeking new funding partners. Please reach out to Krista at fund@nordiqcanada.ca to learn more.

Story by George Johnson

Calgary Gay Ski and Social and Space Dogs members gather at the annual Western Cup in Canmore, AB.

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 how Dave Dyer, Nordiq Canada’s 2023 Dave Rees Award winner, describes the thousands of people who participate in and drive the sport of cross-country skiing.  

Dave is the embodiment of someone with a big engine and a big heart.  

Often found in the heart of the action, Dave’s contributions to the sport are countless. Whether at a local club jackrabbit event, the Canada Winter Games, a National Championships, or a domestically hosted World Cup; for the past 40 years Dave’s caring, thoughtful manner along with his negotiation and mediation skills have directed, shaped, and touched every aspect of cross-country skiing in Canada. From his roots as a club coach, his passion for sport, combined with his desire to get out on the road and meet people, took him on a path from provincial Jackrabbit program development to national programming as Director of Events with Nordiq Canada.  

Over the span of his career, Dave contributed over and above the expectations of a volunteer and an employee to the benefit of the ski community.  

“Dave’s plate was always overflowing as a staff member, so he volunteered the additional time needed to get the job done,” says long-time race official Al Maddox. “Retirement did not end his commitment to hosting events. Dave just keeps on giving back to the sport.” 

“If you don’t roll up your sleeves and get involved, things don’t tend to happen,” explains Dyer on his extraordinary commitment to the sport. “Doing stuff for the community just makes sense. There’s a pride in ownership. Cross-country skiing is a sport where you can have a positive influence and impact.” 

A sentiment supported by Andrea Stapff, one of the 2023 Firth Award winners. Stapff has an Olympic legacy in rowing but has made an impact on cross-country skiing that is equally impressive.  

The Head Coach of the Strathcona Nordic Ski Club, located on Vancouver Island, was gobsmacked by the nomination.  

“Accepting an award is a challenge. It’s not about me. It’s about the contribution you can make. The impact you can have on people so they can live in a positive way,” says Stapff.

Coaching for 40+ years in various sports at the local, national, and international level, Stapff uses her love and enthusiasm for sport to support and transform the lives of people around her. “Sport is a medium for creating great people. It’s about learning a skill and becoming resilient through integrity, and working hard.” 

Not all of it is about hard work. “I love the ‘Ah ha!’ moments,” adds Staph. “It’s fun when a skier at any age gets a new concept. It’s fun helping people learn how to have fun and become better people.” 

Masters athlete Gillian Clayton agrees. “Being coached by Andrea was a fun challenge. I liked being there. She helped me feel in place, rather than out of place. She’s a gift to our community. We take for granted those who are truly excellent because we assume they’ll always be there.” 

On the other side of the country, Club Les Aventurieres de Charlo in New Brunswick has their own inspirational role model, Claudette Maltais, also a 2023 Firth Award recipient. Known for her willingness to learn, mental and physical toughness, determination, and inexhaustible ‘joie de vivre’, Charlotte was introduced to cross-country skiing in her early 30’s and hasn’t stopped giving back to the sport since.  

Training as a competitive master’s athlete for 30 years, Claudette spread her love for the sport to those around her, working tirelessly as a head coach for provincial team events, officiating, and stepping up to coach wherever it was needed in cross-country, Para nordic, and biathlon.  

“If kids have an interest in the sport, we have to give them a chance even if it’s just taking them out for a ski,” says the ever-smiling Maltais. “Going out to help is fun. It’s a sharing and transfer of a passion you have with someone else.” 

Former team club member, Philippe Levesque was a recipient of Maltais’ enthusiasm for the sport. “Claudette has the skills and love to pass on her passion to young people. She was always there for me and generous with her time so we could complete across New Brunswick and Quebec.” 

In pursing her own success as a competitive athlete, Maltais stays focussed on a key aspect of the sport. “Ski because you want to ski. Don’t think about competitions; do it because it’s fun. The main thing is to have fun. “ 

Rod Sompii, Nordiq Canada’s recipient of the Distinguished Volunteer Award is all for bringing fun to the sport. The Chief of Timing extraordinaire would don a ‘Cat in the Hat’ toque to bring humour to the youth races. After 25 years of volunteering, Sompii is hanging up his hat.  

His outstanding volunteer contributions began as a Jack Rabbit parent volunteer, then progressed to taking on every role on the club board; including the presidency, where he shifted the culture to an athlete-centred focus, enabling all athletes to ski at the level they wanted.  

With his technical background, it was a natural for Sompii to slip into race timing where he become a pioneer in modern race timing systems.  

“2006 Nationals was the most interesting challenge,” recalls Sompii of the first time he took on the Chief of Timing role. “I had only done one provincial race prior to the event. I was totally scared. Every procedure was written out and practiced. I was nervous the entire time. It was trial by fire.” 

That trial by fire solidified Sompii’s expertise in race timing. Never looking back, he become Chief of Timing for every local, provincial, and national race in Thunder Bay, eventually landing him a timing role at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.  

“It’s an interesting challenge and way to give back for the support my son received as a competitive skier,” says Sompii of his volunteer commitment to the sport. “It’s the best sport in world.”  

Dyer sums up the heroic commitment by this year’s award winners. “Traipsing in the snow at minus 15, that builds bonds. There’s a feeling of accomplishment that you’ve made a difference in the lives of the volunteers, and supporting athletes uniquely committed to giving it their all – if a person has the heart to do it, they’ll give 100-110%.”  Big engines and big hearts.  

David Dyer – Dave Rees Award winner 

Andrea Stapff – Firth Award winner 

Claudette Maltais– Firth Award winner 

Rod Sompii – Distinguished Volunteer Award winner 

Pembroke Management – Sponsor of the Year Award winner 

Chris Dornan – Media Recognition Award winner 

Author: Cindy Chetley

“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, it was like ‘Oh, yeah, we’re going to race the next town over …’”

“Here, the next town over is a long way over.”

Which is precisely why Cross Country NWT was a great choice for $130,000 in funding through the Sport Canada Community Sport for All and Nordiq Canada Equity Initiative.

The initiative is designed to build community and increase access to sport. Cross Country NWT used the funds to partner with Spirit North, a national charitable organization founded by Olympian Beckie Scott that uses land-based activities to improve the health and well-being of Indigenous youth. Together, they brought cross-country ski programming to nearly 30 northern communities across the vast north, including Ulukhaktok.

Logistics, as mentioned, being the most singular challenge.

“Here, there is no ‘next town over’,’’ ruefully notes Ollie Williams, who helps Cross Country NWT with public logistics and administration.

There are, he points out, virtually no opportunities to ski in a new community or alongside fresh faces, new people, in new places.

“From Yellowknife, for instance, the nearest town with a ski club is somewhere around a five- or six-hour drive, at best. And no one’s going to drive that for a weekend ski.

“So, one of the most exciting things about the project we’re going through right now is that it allows us to create circumstances where youth from different communities get together and ski together, and have that sort of environment that I expect people sometimes take for granted in the south. But for us, is not conceivable on a regular or even occasional basis for us in the north.”

“Communities need infrastructure that we often don’t think about. They need people, they need resources, they need ideas and energy and enthusiasm and zeal, and they need physical infrastructure; they need connections between people.

Leah Reid, Spirit North Leader, shares her passion for skiing with a group of enthusiastic new skiers – Fort Providence NWT, Photo by Mike Doyle-Baker

“Maintaining that all at once in an area twice the size of France with a population of 40,000 is really hard. So, we need all the help we can get in making those connections that provide fresh energy and enthusiasm.

“Which is why this project is so exciting. It provides an energy the sport can then feed off of afterwards.”

Stone has been involved in cross-country skiing for a decade plus, competing on North Bay, Ontario’s Nippising University team, before moving north to join the faculty at the 110-student Helen Kalvak Elihakvik school.

Naturally, heading north to launch a teaching career, he packed his skis.

“All the kids saw me skiing,’’ he recalls, “and wanted to give it a try, so I looked for some funding and was surprised at how quickly everybody jumped on board – the idea being, ‘if the kids are interested, let’s make this happen.’

“So, it was pretty cool.

“Two years ago, I started up a ski club and I was really surprised at the funding, the interest and the initiative that the school board and the community took to it. They threw a good number of skis my way and so we were able to get a bunch of kids out on the snow relatively quickly.

“Boots, poles and skis … we were able to outfit everybody. And there’s a big shipment of skis that arrived this year.

“It just so happened that the sea ice is perfect for skiing so we have this nice, big, wide-open area to ski.

“Getting some consistent attendance from students is still a work in progress. But on special-event days with the school we see a lot of interest, especially from the younger ones.”

Williams is something of a different story. Born in south England, he worked his way up to Olympic sports correspondent for the BBC. While in Vancouver to cover the 2010 Winter Games “I met a girl” and the course of his life detoured rather sharply.

“After the 2012 Olympics in London,’’ he says, “we decided to move back to her part of the world, and wound up in Fort Liard” – a hamlet located 37 kilometres north of the British Columbia border.

From London, England, pop. 8.8 million, to Fort Liard, NWT, Canada, pop. 468.

“And,’’ he reports, “I loved it. A phenomenal place to live. I loved the NWT.”

A group of skiers walks down a snowy road – Whati NT, Photo by Mike Doyle-Baker

So, he quit the BBC, relocating to Yellowknife, where he bought, and continues to run, Cabin Radio, a NWT news web site and online radio station.

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way. The exciting thing for me is that while I may be generally terrible at skiing, I’m going to have at least a tiny little part in helping the next generation in NWT to realize that this sport is great and that they live in a part of the world that is ideally suited to it.

“Even for someone as bad at cross-country skiing as me, the opportunity to go out and bash around a frozen lake on skis with a German Shepherd tied to the front of you is just … heavenly.

“Absolute bliss.

“You are forever trying to do as much as you can with the money, and the people, that are available, as well.”

Williams is quick to point out that he is but “a tiny, tiny, tiny part of this” project, singling out Sarah Pruys, communications specialist/ multimedia journalist at Cabin Radio, and Annika Olsen of Spirit North as driving forces behind this project.

“We have people from Spirit North going out to these communities, we have teachers in these communities, recreation co-ordinators in these communities,’’ emphasizes Annika Olsen of Spirit North. “They’re the ones on the front line, actually delivering this programming.

“Anything we can do to introduce more people to skiing, the better.”

The programs generated by the grant are, all agree, creating a current of interest in many, many NWT communities.

“A really exciting piece is that we’re going to have visitors from Nordiq Canada up here for an entire week to try and get the whole community involved in skiing,’’ reports Stone.

Two skiers and their dog enjoying the trails – Letslke NT, Photo by Mike Doyle-Baker

“That’s fantastic. The students travel south for competitions and things like that but to actually have someone come north is a little bit different, and great to see; really important.

“Also, they’re using a full-community approach, inviting everybody to come on down, give it a try. That way you’re getting parents interests, siblings interested.

“That’s the way you build a skiing culture.”

Cross-country NWT is a territorial organization (there are only four actual Clubs located across its 1.3-million-kilometre expanse), so its mandate is to help all residents get involved in skiing.

“That’s where the resources come in, the challenges come in, because if you don’t have a club and you have to fly into a community, then getting ski instruction and getting people to learn about our sport is really difficult,’’ sighs Williams.

“That’s why this project is so meaningful, and we hope will have a long impact.

“I’d quantify it by saying Cross Country NWT’s annual budget is around $100,000. This project is worth $130,000. So, we’re receiving more than our annual funding to be able to do this. You don’t have to be an accountant to realize what that means.

“It’s incredibly hard to get the right people into the right place at the right time and find the money that you want to have to get as many people as you want to get into as many places as you want to get them.

“We have some really successful projects in the NWT area.

“But we can’t underplay anything on this scale, so it’s really exciting to be involved with it.

“Hopefully it’s a foundation for us to be able to do it in future.”

Photo by Spirit North Leader, Mike Doyle-Baker

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 five kids, and worked very closely with them for several years. That was totally outside the ski club.”

But after seeing firsthand the challenges faced by newcomers to Canada in trying to fit in, he and other members at Wostawea began to envision cross-country skiing as a way to help newcomers settle into their new communities and acclimatize to our winters. They joined forces with the club’s outreach program.

“We started thinking: ‘We should really work with the multicultural association to get Syrians and others in similar situations on skis, in order to introduce them to winter.

“Many were struggling – with the cold, the snow, the ice. And, as a result, becoming quite isolated. They just didn’t see winter as a possibility, the way you and I see winter as a possibility.”

To that end, Wostawea is one of a dozen clubs spread across our vast Canadian landscape to divvy up almost $285,000 in federal grant money through the Canadian Sport for All and Nordiq Canada Equity Initiatives, to help offset the costs of introducing equity-deserving groups to cross-country skiing and ultimately build strong communities where all people thrive.

Indigenous people. Low-income people. 2SLGBTQIA+ people. Racialized people. People arriving here from faraway lands.

Helping the community-building process via an introduction to ski trails has proven, at no small number of clubs across the country, to be richly successful.

There’s absolutely no pressure to continue skiing. Just give it a try to see where the experience might lead you.

And the initiative is growing.

“Nordiq Canada is committed to building a safe, inclusive and welcoming community without borders that provides all Canadians the opportunity to get in shape while finding their stride on a pair of cross-country skis,’’ said Stéphane Barrette, Nordiq Canada’s chief executive officer in announcing the initiative.

The River Ridge Nordic Ski Club just outside of Saskatoon has used its money to stimulate the first year of an Indigenous Community Sport Development Program. A group of 25 or so was initially expected. Forty-four applied.

“We’re going to keep skiing until there is no snow, but we had our wind-up and the kids are just amazing,’’ enthuses club vice-president Kira Nelson, who is also in charge of the youth programs.

“They’re having a blast. From the first lesson to now, well, I’ve heard so many parents just in awe of being there to see the improvement, not just at the skills level but in the kids’ confidence, their independence, and their ability of being able to work as a community within themselves – not needing that facilitation anymore from an adult, which is really, really great.

“We’ve really aimed at low-income Indigenous youth. We ended up having everything from low-income families, Indigenous Metis children, newcomers. A wide variety of that demographic.

“Our goal is to create a community, safe space, to learn the sport, learn independence, the opportunity to get outside for children, with cost being such a barrier for youth.”

What’s been particularly rewarding, adds Nelson, is the way in which the program has been embraced by the entirety of the community.

“We’ve received a lot of social buy-in,’’ she says. “Not because people feel indebted because they basically got to take part in this program for free, which is unheard of, but because they feel a connection to the program and want to find ways to give back in order to keep it going.

“We didn’t want to push anything down anyone’s throats at the beginning but as the program went along, they saw that, hey, to be a community coach you don’t have to be a pro skier. We can put you through the coaching course and you can be out here, helping.

“We just need people.

“The more people we have helping, the ripple effects will help us offer the program to more people and carry it on.

“It was really intimidating at first. ‘Oh, no, I can’t be a coach! I can’t help.’ But we really encouraged the parents to come out, be with the coaches and join the lesson. We had some equipment they could use and gave them the chance to see that it didn’t have to be intimidating.”

Marlene Alt is past president of Kanata Nordic in Ottawa.

The grant money her club received, she says, has been obviously most welcome in terms of essentials – the cost of new gear, transportation and the like – but so, too, is the simple sense of sport body/government commitment it evokes.

“In a way, it validates us, in the sense of: ‘Yes, this equity/inclusion initiative is important to the whole sport’,’’ she says.

“This wasn’t really part of our core business at Kanata Nordic but because it was supported by Nordiq Canada it feels more like what a club should be doing, besides teaching the little kids, and running races and training racers.

“I love that aspect to it.”

Kanata’s programs are organized in partnership with a variety of local organizations (among them Women of Colour Remake Wellness, Black Ottawa Connect and the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization), free of charge, and designed to suit each group.

“Many communities within the city just have no idea even where to start. They might have heard of cross-country skiing or seen it on TV but they have no idea.”

“We have a young Russian boy – we call him Stan, short for Stanislav (Korobeinkov) – he came through the MCAF (Multicultural Association of Fredericton) program,’’ says Wright. “You put skis on him, he’s in his happy place. He was a bit of a wet hen at first, flopping around. With some lessons we were able to teach him a few basic skills and by the end of it, he was doing double-pole one-kick.

“Just unbelievable.

“He wanted to join his peers already on the junior racing team, after just five or six lessons. We said: ‘You know what, that’s such a crazy idea, let’s make it possible.’

“So, we bought him boots, poles skis – skates and classic. We bought him outdoor clothing.

“Now his parents take him to races across the province, he’s at all the practices. He skied in the Loppet, was a bit mad that his mother would only let him do the 60km there.

“He’s 14 and about nine feet tall. But both his parents are about nine feet tall, so he comes by it honestly. Imagine coming to a different country and not knowing the language.

“But he’s blossomed. He’s fallen in love with the club. So, outgoing now.

“It’s just so wonderful.”

Stan could not agree more.

“Every practice,’’ he says. “I wait for it to start. I want school to finisher faster so I can get to practice.

“The Wostawea Club is a big part of the Fredericton community. On the trails, I pass someone, and I know them because we’re a part of Wostawea.

“It’s helped me physically. Now at school I’m one of the best athletes.

“Volunteering in my culture is not really developed, but here people are always volunteering. I got a chance to volunteer at some of the activities. People are so kind to help, for nothing. Just share.”

“I want to keep skiing. I want my siblings to ski. I have a little brother, he’s only seven months (old) and I want him to start skiing earlier than I did.”

Stan’s mother, Elena Vladimirova, can’t say enough about how much the experience has meant to her son.

“It’s an amazing program for newcomer kids,’’ she praises. “They are able to get acquainted with Canadian culture and a sport, skiing, that is very interesting, not easy.

“With this program, all the equipment is provided, there are a lot of great volunteers and coaches who help. I was in this program also, with my kids. We learned basics, how to ski.

“The kids are just starting to develop interest in this sport. They are asking us: ‘Can we just go outside and go skiing?’

“My son is growing and getting strong and now he’s a member of the Wostawea team. We are very grateful to the Club. They invited him, helped him with his gear and he’s training three times a week for two hours.

“He’s more active, stronger, not spending a lot of time with the computer. Now he’s a busy boy.”

From the NWT to Roseisle, Man., from Uncas, Alta. to Gatineau, Que., from Oliver, B.C., to Halifax, N.S., ski clubs across Canada are benefiting from the funding provided.

“We need more programming like this, all over the place,’’ Kira Nelson enthuses. “In our case, sport is such a huge part of Indigenous culture and it’s been largely removed from schools and recess and gym time.”

“We even had a Metis elder come out and land teachings are part of the program.

“It’s really a great program and we’re just happy to be a part of it.”

During his tenure at Wostawea, Donald Wright has happily embraced a variety of differing roles. Jackrabbit coach, head waxer, organizer, fund-raiser and now president.

“I do wear many hats at the club,’’ he acknowledges, “but this is the best … well, let’s say the most rewarding … hat I can wear.”

Marlene Alt can certainly relate.

“This is so far beyond some people’s realm of experience, so you try to make them feel as comfortable as possible,’’ she says. “And the difference between when they put on their skis – we’re about an hour and a half on the snow – to the end, well, it’s just remarkable, the improvement.

“I had a woman a week or so ago, near the end of the session, just skiing along, look at me and say: ‘I can’t get enough of it! I just love this!’

“Smiling, selfies happening … amazing. Any volunteer I’ve had help me is like: ‘Oh yeah, I’m for sure coming back and helping out again. Count me in. This is so much fun.’

“Let’s face it, they’re giving us as much as we’re giving them. And I always thank them for letting us share our love of Ottawa winters with them. We want them to see there’s actually an upside to when we’re expecting a lot of snow.

“We want them to know about, and to join, that secret society of people who don’t mind when there’s snow in the forecast.”

The understanding of the 17-year-old’s high school, Ross Sheppard, located in the northwest section of the city, allowing her to incorporate skiing with schooling, another.

The influence of her coach at Edmonton Nordic Ski Club, Ulf KIeppe, yet another.

She feels very fortunate to be a part of it all.

“Edmonton’s skiing community may be relatively small – we only have two clubs, Edmonton Nordic and U of A – but it’s still so strong,’’ says Mackie, who has turned heads with a breakout early-2023 that included a pair of top-15 finishes at the Junior World Championships late January/early February at Whistler, B.C.

“The whole nordic community here is super welcoming, super close-knit. The Canadian Birkebeiner is held close to Edmonton every year and that attracts a lot of skiers.

“I grew up skiing. My parents introduced my younger brother and I to it since we could walk. I joined Jackrabbits when I was younger and since going to Track Attack, I made a lot of very good friends and we always skied together, which made it a lot fun and really helped maintain my interest.

“Without that ingredient, the friendships I’ve made, I probably wouldn’t have continued and reached the level I’m at now.

“And I can’t say enough good things about my coach, Ulf KIeppe. Absolutely incredible. Not just with me. With everybody in the program.

“He came to Trials to support me and a teammate trying to qualify (for the World Juniors).

“He is … amazing.”

From the Nordiq Canada Selection Trials in Prince George, B.C. through her first exposure in the international spotlight at World Juniors and now, on to the upcoming Canada Winter Games to be held in Prince Edward Island, the past couple of months have proven to be a whirlwind of new experiences and ever-heightening ambition.

“I think I was actually more nervous before the Trials because it was a big goal of mine to qualify. Being a part of the National Development Team, there were definitely a lot of eyes on me, people watching me,’’ Mackie admits.

“Once I made the team … To be honest, I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I’d be in Whistler. I kind of felt the pressure lessen.

“I just went out there with the goal of skiing my best and it turned out pretty well. I mean, I set a high bar on what I wanted to achieve and getting two top-15s was, like, crazy to me.

Alison Mackie smiles as she finishes 13th in the 20k Mass Start at the 2023 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Whistler BC. Photo: Doug Stephen

“Picking a favourite? Hard to choose. But I’d say the 20-kilometre classic mass start. I’d never done a race that big before and it was really cool to ski in a pack with other people. For some reason, in all the ones before that, after the first lap in I’d be alone and have to work by myself.

“This was much different.

“But I was really proud of myself, being able to stick with a group and do well there. Eventually, when the group broke apart, I was able to stick with the leaders.

“The relay was awesome. So much fun to compete with your teammates, right? I haven’t had the chance to do many relays, so to do one in Canada, on that kind of stage, in that sort of environment, was really cool.”

Kleppe, involved with Edmonton Nordic since 2011, believes we’re witnessing only the beginning of the Alison Mackie saga.

“I think,’’ he says, “that the sky’s the limit. I’ve always seen such great potential in Alison.

“She has the work ethic. She’s physically and mentally strong. She’s very coachable. She wants to improve. She’s keen to improve on the details.

“I can’t put my finger on what we do that’s right,’’ Kleppe acknowledges. “We try to make it fun, make it athlete-led. Not just a my-way-or-the-highway. There’s a lot of flexibility in what we do.

“Our actual training days are etched in stone. But I guess I could say there’s a lot of laughter within our group.

“The social fabric is very strong and that’s vitally important.

“The kids – I call them kids, but they’re 16-, 17-, 18-year-olds – love to train together, be together, they feed off of each other. That breeds excellence.

“Alison exceeded her own and everyone’s expectations (at the World Juniors). She just rose to the occasion. Anyone’s first international event is pretty intimidating, but she didn’t let it faze her.

“So, I believe she could reach the very top if she puts her mind to it.”

There sometimes don’t seem to be enough hours in the day for student-athletes.

“The people at my school have been so incredibly supportive,’’ Mackie emphasizes. “They deserve a lot of credit for the way I can live and train right now. I have a lot of flexibility.

“When I was at Trials in Prince George, I was allowed to defer some exams until April, to finish the ski season and then concentrate on exams – to be able to do my best in both parts of my life.

“They’ve been super happy for me, cheering me on through their social media sights and I feel super, super supported by them. By everyone.”

To decompress from school and sport, Mackie plays the violin, has done so for the last 10 years, since Grade 2.

“It keeps my life balanced. I find it good to have school, sport and something else that can take my mind off things when I’m stressed out.

“I like classical music. Right now, I’m working on a series of sonatas by (late 17th century to mid 18 century English composer) Henry Eccles. They’re fun to play.”

Next up, P.E.I. And after that? Well, there is that big, expansive “sky’s the limit” the coach mentioned.

“This year I plan to keep ski racing,’’ says Mackie. “I’d really like to reach the Senior National team, race some World Cups, even the Olympics in this next quadrennial or the one after that, depending on circumstances.

“But I can’t predict the future. I don’t want to have my sights set on one goal and limit myself.”

As much as she’s received from the Edmonton ski community, Alison Mackie is giving back. Not least in the example, that necessary sense of possibility, she is providing to other skiers in her hometown.

“That kind of accomplishment,’’ says Ulf Kleppe, “is contagious. It’s absolutely huge.

“We’ve created a good, positive milieu for people, I think. But the other kids will now literally look up to Alison because she did it: She’s been on the big stage. She reached The Show.

“We’ve got momentum right now. We have something like 400 kids in our jackrabbit program.

It was already growing.

“So, for those kids to notice, to see that someone in our Club has made it to that level …

“Hopefully it’s going to encourage others to aspire higher and higher.”

“Some parents,’’ he laughs, “joke to me: ‘Hey, Martin, you cost me a lot of money!

“‘Since Coupe des Fondeurs, the whole family skis!’’

No offence taken.

The teasing is wholly good-natured.

Because everyone in town understands the three weekends of the Coupe des Fondeurs school-age cross-country ski races have become a staple of winter life in Saint-Jérôme, a city of 80,000 situated 50 kilometres northwest of Montreal, on the Rivière du Nord.

Thirty-seven years ago, Marc Desjardins, a gym teacher in the area, hatched the idea to connect local schools with another of his passion projects, the Fondeurs-Laurentides Club.

Following Desjardins’ retirement from the school district, the gauntlet of running the Coupe des Fondeurs has been taken up by Richer.

“At that time of Marc’s retirement, I was a gym teacher and I skied,’’ recalls Richer. “So he asked me: ‘Martin, do you want to take my place? I’ll prepare you.’

“I said: ‘It would be an honour to continue the tradition.’

“I meant it.

“I took Marc’s idea, and with time, improved technology and the greater visibility of skiing – Alex Harvey and the Olympics in Vancouver, it was more popular than before – it’s grown.

“In the beginning, five or six schools participated in the races, maybe 50 kids. Now we have almost 30 schools every year, and around 600 kids in almost every race.

“Nearly 1,800 kids participate every year.

“Pretty phenomenal.

“Our feeling is: Saint-Jérôme is close to Morin Heights, the place where cross-country skiing started in Canada. So why couldn’t Saint-Jérôme be the best place in Quebec to ski?’

The Coupe’s founder, Desjardins, typically, continues to help out in the ski community, as a starter during the three weekends of the event and working the Coupe du Québec held in Morin Heights.

The growth of the idea he thought up has taken even its founder aback.

“Every Saturday Marc looks at me and says: ‘Wow! This has become big!’ He never thought it would get so big.

“It’s one of, if not the biggest, races for school-age kids in the country.

“We did a good job in the schools, meeting every gym teacher to say: ‘We have something more than basketball or ice hockey or volleyball. We have Nordic skiing. ’And all the gym teachers said: ‘Yeah, yeah, but we don’t have equipment.’

“So we went to the manufacturers, Fischer, Madshus, Rossignol. And Rossignol said ‘I believe in your plan.’

“That was a turning point.

“Jacques Vincent, the representative for Rossignol Canada in cross-country skiing, told us: ‘Martin, Marc, I’ll be there with you.’

“So, they sold the equipment to the schools at cost level. The schools would buy, say, 10 pieces of equipment one year, 10 the next, and pretty soon …

“It became a wonderful boom. Without (Vincent), the whole thing would’ve been very difficult. And my bosses at the school board, they believed, too. They could’ve put money in basketball, swimming, you name it, but 20 years ago they looked at cross-country skiing and said: ‘Yeah, let’s go for it.’

Now, schools share equipment. There is no cost to participants. All school-age kids are welcome – no matter their skiing prowess, or lack of same. The gym teachers in the city all pitch in with organization, as do parents. Skiing in schoolyards to keep the sport vibrant became a thing locally.

The City of Saint-Jérôme, seeing the growth in cross-country skiing interest, purchased a PistonBully to manage the ski tracks, replacing a light Ski-Do with a tracer on the back.

Local businesses – banks, a food company, a furniture company – have jumped aboard to show their support as sponsors.

All of which means the kids and the sport benefit.

The most notable graduate of the Coupe des Founders program would have to be Cendrine Browne, who retired from competition in 2022, aged 28, following a 10-year international cross-country career.

“Cendrine is the best example of how the plan can work,’’ agrees Richer. “She was a little girl in a small school close to Saint-Jérôme. She had gone skiing with her mom before, but not too much.

“Cendrine started to ski with the school. She came to the Coupe de Fondeurs and won the first race she entered.

“She was obviously talented.

“Right away we said to her: ‘Why not integrate into a club? There’s a club in Saint-Jérôme, Fondeurs Laurentides, so let’s go there.’

“Cendrine started to practice with the club … and we know the rest.”

The rest would go on to include Olympic Winter Games appearances in PyeongChang, South Korea and Beijing, China, five World Championship starts and 76 World Cup races.

Browne was also honoured with the 2022 John Semmelink Memorial Award, bestowed annually to the Canadian snow sport athlete who best represents the country internationally with integrity, conduct and ability. Even after retirement, she now works for Ski de fond Quebec, preparing the next generation of skiers.

She is the kind of first-hand example that helps in driving the program.

“There are other examples besides Cendrine,’’ notes Richer, “and we’re proud of that. We see kids at five or six years old, maybe they’ve never skied in their lives, they start, they fall in love with it, and you never know what’s going to happen.”

To no one’s surprise, this year’s annual Coupe proved to a resounding success, staying true to the foundations established by Marc Desjardins and updated by his successor.

“Sometimes,’’ laughs Richer, “people come up and say to me: ‘Hey, Martin! I was at the Coupe des Fondeurs in’ – say – ‘1992’ and they’ve come with their kids. And also, some from the late ‘80s are there with their grandkids!

“So, we have third generation skiers there.”

Asked to reflect on his involvement, the exponential growth of the event and the deeply ingrained love of the skiing in his community, Martin Richer considers a moment before answering.

“What am I most proud of? Well, I’d say the fact that people who started the sport with Coupe des Fondeurs years ago – maybe decades ago – are still skiing.

“That kind of longevity skiing can create is wonderful.

“Those people tell me ‘The Coupe Foundeurs gave me the chance to say: ‘Yes, I want to ski for the rest of my life.’

“And they are. They will.

“How amazing is that?”

“And I’m thinking: ‘This is the opportunity to stand on the shoulders of giants. The people who had built the Nordic Centre here in Prince George (B.C.) up,” Pettersen is reminiscing of that day in 2009. “I just thought: ‘If there’s any small thing, I can do to keep the ball rolling …’”

A light laugh.

“That was probably a good perspective to take at the time because if I’d had a look at the list of things we’ve aspired to, and done, since I started out back then I probably would’ve turn and ran.

“The thing is, though: Once you get involved, it becomes a passion.”

Through the passing of the years, since that initial approach, Pettersen has donned more hats at the Club than a milliner – as vice-president, president, past-president, chairman for any number of prestigious national and international events, and now, as chairman of competitions – helping to drive the growth of Caledonia Nordic Ski Club.

Born in Quesnel, B.C., a 105-kilometre drive away, Pettersen grew up Prince George, returning home with wife Jacqui to raise their family after finishing post-secondary education.

“Getting involved with the Nordic Centre, we said ‘This is a piece of our community we really want to invest ourselves in because it’s such a positive place.’

On this particular January day, early 2023, he has some free time to chat on a late-week training day for the Nordiq Canada Selection Trials and accompanying Nordiq Cup.

So, a bit of a breather, then?

“To be honest,’’ Pettersen muses, ”when the competition is actually on, my job kinda gets easier because there’s so much that needs to happen before the competitions. Then I’m in perpetual grant-writing mode, it feels like.

“Even with this competition going on I’m still doing things for 2024” – when Caledonia will host the FIS Para Biathlon World Championships and Para Nordic World Cup Finals.

“And I’m working on a Canadian roller-ski application, too.

“But just being here, a part of the competition, the energy, the magic – magic is a word I use a lot, let me warn you – pushes me to continue to press hard on things.

“We really don’t take it for granted when we host these events, believe me. And we have strong backing from our community partners. Everyone is seeing such tremendous benefits from working together and using nordic sports as a catalyst to build something that can attract the world.

“Now a really strong recognition of what we have here has developed.”

The burgeoning ambitions began in earnest when Caledonia bid and landed the rights to play host to the 2015 Canada Winter Games, proving the Club could handle large events.

“At that point we needed a strategic plan that would give us focus for the next 10 to 15 years,’’ says Pettersen.” So we could make sure what we were investing in at that point would bring us to the next level.

“From that point, we were thinking: ‘OK, we don’t want just temporary facilities and buildings.’ If we’re going to do this, let’s do it with a target for world-level events.

“So that was our target, our philosophy, from about 2011.

“We developed our goals, our targets, around that. What we see is a symbiotic relationship between what we do and our community; what we have at our Club, the membership at our cCub and hosting these events.

“They all work well together so that when we have a strong membership, as we do, almost 2,500 to 3,000 – that gives you an amazing community to draw from, to be able to rally around and do big things.

“People get really excited, really invested, in big things, in terms of bringing everyone together. These events are big, in every way. Big to organize. Big financially. But they’re also big in terms of community spirit, in keeping volunteers really excited and engaged.

“And then what happens is that we really look for the legacies that come with these events that we wouldn’t really be able to get any other way. Snowmaking being a prime example.”

One initiative at present has Pettersen and Co. working on strengthening the connection between education and athletics. An example: Caledonia has teamed with the University of Northern British Columbia to offer a $2,000 UNBC tuition credit to all participants in the just-completed 2023 Trials and Nordiq Cup.

“That’s just really come full-steam with getting the academic side front and centre,’’ says Pettersen.

“We really want that so badly. We want to be part of growing not just the athlete, but the whole person. And whatever path they choose, whether that be to continue on skiing in a very high-performance path, or add academics to that high performance,

“For me, it’s fantastic, to see academics and sport becoming more and more aligned.”

Oh, yes, there are Tylenol 3-calibre headaches that come part and parcel with the pull-and-give of backroom/boardroom negotiations. A myriad of frustrations. Obstacles.

“There are definitely times where it feels like you’re fighting tooth and nail to push things through or get people to understand your vision,’’ Pettersen acknowledges.

“But I think, for me, this is, in a sense, the field of play for me. I use the athlete analogy – for me, this is those times when they’re so laser focused; they have their eyes on the prize; when they’re in the zone, so to speak. No distractions.

“It’s the same when you’re getting initiatives for, say, a snow-making system in place or funding for moving our biathlon range.

“For me, I get very, very laser focused at those times. I know we have a very strong strategy, a really, really strong vision.

“That provides me the strength that what I’m presenting isn’t just an idea from left field. We know. We’re prepared.

“No different than athletes when they go out and compete.

“What’s the saying: Anything worth having is worth fighting for.

“It’s not just about getting handed money hand over fist. We’ve had to work for everything. But the key is that by having to work for things it gives you the energy and fortitude.”

And the rewards are, naturally, ample, for someone so invested in community and smitten with the joys of cross-country skiing, for himself and his family.

“When you stand out there on a Tuesday night,’’ marvels Pettersen, “and see all the kids at Jackrabbits or all the school kids out with their classes, it’s … magic.”

There’s that word again.

“And you think ‘We’re starting kids out on the right foot here, with a healthy, active lifestyle.’

“That’s the tremendous payback.

“It all comes back to that.

“Then when you host events like this, we see the other end of the spectrum – the heights those kids can reach; the dreams they can fulfill.

“They all started out somewhere, in Jackrabbits or things like that.

“So, you get to see the incredible people they’ve become, too.”

The aim, says Chris Jeffries, is to “reframe the conversation.” To “change the tone of the discussion.”

“If we didn’t do this,’’ assures Nordiq Canada’s freshly minted High Performance Director with flat certainty, “we were never going to have unity.

“Never have buy-in from athletes, never have buy-in from coaches.

“Basically, standing pat meant pushing against our community to try and accomplish our goals, instead of making our entire community a part of those goals, and our success.”

More flexibility. More adaptability. More willingness to listen.

The National Team structure has been decentralized to a fair extent for quite some time, with the three National Training Development Centres (NTDC) dotted across the country – located in Canmore, Alta., Thunder Bay, Ont., and Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que., but this year is the first time that the NTDCs and some High Performance clubs will be the Daily Training Environment for all national team athletes. No more National Ski Team athletes supported daily by National Ski Team coaches in Canmore.

This shift in structure is infinitely more complicated, involving more moving parts and a quantum increase in required avenues of communication.

But wholly necessary.

“If we are going to accomplish our goals, which are (Olympic) podium performances in 2030 and, if everything goes to plan, before then, in 2026, it’s not going to be easy,’’ adds Jeffries.

“We have to do things that are hard. And this is one of the hardest things we have to do.”

Jeffries is a cornerstone piece of this seismic, relatively recent (within a year or so) Nordiq Canada reboot that includes, among others, Robin McKeever (National Team Coach, Olympic), Julie Beaulieu (Sport Development Director), Eric de Nys (NextGen Coach), Matt Smider (Development Coach) and, since October of 2020, Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Barrette.

“The way I operate, you have to have trust in order to have meaningful conversations,’’ says Jeffries.

“It feels that the trust has been challenged between Nordiq Canada and the Training Centres for quite some time as funding to the Training Centres started to get cut year after year, until 2021. Nordiq Canada has had to earn back that trust and it had to start with a change in attitude towards Training Centres, including a reversal of the funding trend to give the Centres a true chance of meeting expectations. While this shift is still in its early stages, it has begun.

“For me, this year it was important to get our own house in order.”

In the move to de-centralization, athletes are being encouraged to choose an option that best fits their needs, their lifestyles and their futures, aligned with their competitive ski goals.

“The demand on athletes,’’ says Jeffries, “has never been higher, in terms of going to school, being an athlete, the financial demands. Living in Canmore has become increasingly less desirable for our young athletes.

“There are so many lifestyle factors, social factors, that have led to this increased de-centralization. The desire by athletes and parents to incorporate post-secondary education in their pathway might be the single most important factor we must consider.

“Things change. When I was a kid, for instance, I had a coach on the other side of the country because there wasn’t much institutionalized knowledge for different sports and different programs. So living in Ontario, I was being faxed a training plan to my dad’s office from a coach in Saskatchewan.

“Because that was the best option for me as a kid in high school to get good quality programming. That’s not the case anymore, obviously.

“Even though we still think one of the biggest gaps in our country is coaching development, we have so much more knowledge in this country, so many more coaches, now. Just the generational turnover of years and athletes in this country has created that institutional knowledge.

“And there are better facilities across the country than there were 20 years ago. The sport is growing up.

“And from when I got into coaching 12 years ago until now, what athletes are looking for in their programs has changed drastically.”

To that end, Nordiq Canada has relinquished the day-to-day instruction from National Ski Team coaching staff and placed it in the hands of the Daily Training Environment (DTE) coaches located at the Training Centres, or in some cases, local clubs or university programs: the people who know their skiers better than anyone.

Some athletes prefer a club or NCAA program. But the vast majority have chosen the Dailly Training Environment Training Centre option.

“We’re really trying to strengthen the partnership between ourselves and the Training Centres, rather than having an agreement in place and then having them do a quote-unquote ‘service’ for us,’’ stresses Jeffries.

“The feeling in the past was often that we were competing against the National Ski Team instead of being their partner. In my previous role as Head Coach and Program Director for the Alberta World Cup Academy, I often struggled with how the Training Centre was valued in the high performance system.”

Greg Manktelow, who as chairperson worked with Jeffries at the Alberta World Cup Academy (which grew from eight athletes to 27 during this time), feels the ideal person is on the job.

“Chris has a vested interest in seeing the Training Centres continue their success and build on that.

Xavier Mckeever, Alberta World Cup Academy athlete

The goal was to provide a Daily Training Environment for all these National Team athletes, and then you make the National Ski Team itself more of a training camp and competition type of program.

“Meanwhile, Tormod (Vatten) is our high-performance coach, and the daily coach for athletes like Dahria (Beatty) and Katherine (Stewart-Jones) and Xavier McKeever and all those younger skiers who are on the National Team.

“So, we’re mostly training them and that kinda takes it out of the hands of Nordiq Canada, allowing the National Ski Team coaches and staff to have better focus on the big picture areas and leading our national high-performance and development philosophies.”

The Centres themselves are naturally welcoming the increasingly invested interest from the sport’s national governing body.

“Having Robin McKeever come to Thunder Bay and join us for a training camp this past summer, integrate and fully throw himself into what we were doing, was a real tangible difference for us,’’ enthuses Thunder Bay Team Manager and Assistant Coach Leslie Bodie.

“That camp was a Training Centre camp, but we also expanded it to Ontario development athletes so the access to Robin and his expertise, him being involved in discussions and seeing what we’re up to in practice was, for everyone … fantastic.

“I think the relationship that formed – the athletes, with us as staff, with everybody, seeing where they could go and who they may be working with – was really good for us.

“Chris is also an alumni of Thunder Bay and aware of some of the challenges we face here. Having been through the entire process, he makes you feel as if you’re really talking to someone who knows where you’re coming from.

“Aligning with the direction of where Nordiq Canada wanted to go, where the National Ski Team wanted to go, and what we were up to definitely made it feel like a two-way conversation.”

LIliane Gagnon CNEPH athlete

Those more open lines of communication have also impressed Alex Harvey’s long-time coach Louis Bouchard, based, as he has been since 1999, at the Pierre Harvey Training Centre in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que.

“The way (Nordiq Canada) sees the vision for the future, it’s totally different than two, three, four years ago,’’ says Bouchard. “After the 2018 Games, after 2019, there’s been lots of change in staff, and in thinking.

“Just totally different.

“Every month counts, for us. Every day counts, for us. To me, it was frustrating (in the past), I had to do my own thing because I cannot wait. The athletes, same. There is one big competition, then another, then another.

“I cannot wait. We cannot wait.

“The other countries don’t wait. I can’t say ‘Guys, I have a problem here in Canada. Can you give me two years?’

“Now, everybody’s on the same page. It’s easy to pick up the phone or text someone. Everybody’s willing to listen, to talk.

“Everybody understands that when I call you, it’s to be better. That’s it. It takes a bit of time for the athletes to see that, too. We have to prove ourselves to them in that way, about the new Team.

“Now, I think, they’re starting to feel we’re working together.”

Yes, they do.

“Just being somewhere you’re familiar with and the freedom to stay with a coach you know, not having to move and switch up a lifestyle that you understand works for you,’’ says Ottawa-born 23-year-old Pierre Grall-Johnson now in his third season in the senior national set-up, who trains close to home, in Thunder Bay.

“You can stay comfortable and focus on training, rather than moving to Canmore, getting to know a new coach, get used to a new training program and a lot of other stuff.

“It’s a big, big advantage for comfortability and focus of the athletes, especially in that transitional first year.”

The blueprint is in place. The goals are clear, and the pathway to those goals more and more a shared challenge.

“We’ve got such a big country, with vast cultural differences,’’ says Jeffries. “We want to have a greater impact, not only on our athletes’ ability to find a program that fits their needs and lifestyle, but also on the provinces and communities.

“If everything was to, say, happen in Canmore, our footprint on the country itself is going to be quite small. Then we were also asking athletes to put themselves into a box. Especially in today’s world, where mental health has probably never been such a key factor in terms of how we plan for our athletes – giving athletes choices.

“The more choices and less barriers we give our athletes, the more chance we all have of success. And this plan makes the country feel a part of it.”

While Nordiq Canada and the National Development Training Centres work in tandem to allow Canadian athletes to achieve their athletic and personal goals, the Training Centres are independent organizations that rely on volunteers and staff from the community to operate them.

Training Centres will run multiple events a season. From The Alberta World Cup Academy’s Strides and Glides duathlon, Thunder Bay’s Nordic Fest, and Pierre Harvey Training Centre’s Classique Alex Harvey, the events give community members the opportunity to participate in the sport at all levels while getting to know the athletes on the team.   

Learn more about NTDC-Thunder Bay:  

https://www.ntdctbay.ca/  

Learn more about Pierre Harvey Training Centre 

http://www.cneph.ca/programme.html 

Learn more about Alpine Insurance Alberta World Cup Academy 

https://www.albertaworldcup.com/