Nearing a year and a half ago, on the outskirts of Bonnyville (pop. 6,000), nestled in the Lakeland District of northern Alberta between Cold Lake and St. Paul, Les Parsons married a local lass, thereby making her home his. The couple tied the knot on Friday, June 21st, the summer solstice, outside, in the glories of nature, at Lookout Point. The ceremony was held on a cross-country ski trail. No coincidence there. Not with Les Parsons being a familiar face on the...
If Allison McArdle had a wish, it would be to see women clamouring to become high-performance cross-country skiing coaches. It’s still a long-term objective, but the Nordiq Canada women’s coaching mentorship program is at least a step in the right direction. “The goal is to take women who are at that competition development level essentially, and try to find them a mentor so they can continue to expand their knowledge and confidence,” described McArdle, the chair...
By Rita Mingo Volunteers make the world of amateur sports go ’round. Lorenzo Caterini would never have become a volunteer if he hadn’t had a great affinity for the sport of cross-country skiing. “I learned to ski on a skidoo highway, there was no grooming per se in Halifax,” explained Caterini. “We used to go to one of our venues, Dollar Lake, and there would be five of us, trying to stomp a five-kilometre loop with our skis and snowshoes so we could ski there....
Ted Kalil has experienced first-hand just how instrumental the Nordiq Canada Development Fund (NCDF) can be. “I remember talking to some of the athletes on site at the 2019 World Cup in Quebec City, standing by the trails,” began Kalil, a member of the Nordiq Canada Board and chair of the NCDF committee. “I recall the Friday was a sprint and there were distance races on Saturday and Sunday and talking to some of the athletes after they had their first experience...
The blast of noise emanating from the computer room at Lawrence Grassi Middle School in Canmore back on Feb. 15, 2002 could be heard as far away as Main Street.“I remember being 13,’’ Jesse Cockney is reminiscing, “and we – a few buddies of mine, Haakon Lenes and Evan Bruce, fellow skiers, some others, can’t remember who exactly, and I – were sitting at the computer, looking up the Olympic race results from Salt Lake City. “And we saw that Beckie Scott...
