 |
|
|
|
|
  
|
Snow has flown, skiing starts soon
A few more inches needed before ski club opens its doors
Samantha Stokell
Although the ground is white, cross-country ski trails at the Inuvik Ski Club won't be ready for a few weeks. The board for the club will hold its annual general meeting on Nov. 7 and is looking for people to get involved and expand the current programming. Plans for the year include hosting family events and adult social skiing evenings, possibly a regional ski series. "I love getting away from town and just out there, having a view of the Delta and you're out on tundra time. It's a different landscape. It's beautiful," said Janet Boxwell, club chair. "It's great physical activity and you're breathing fresh air and you're working through your day. It's a little zen out there, almost a meditation." This winter will mark the 44th season of the Inuvik Ski Club. While the number of recreational skiers is strong, the number of competitive skiers is low. This year, the club will try to establish a competitive team. "We can't quite compete with hockey, so we're going to try different ski days," Boxwell said. "There's a ski season here from October to May. It's an eight-month season." Membership to the club provides access to the clubhouse and trails with trail lights for those dark winter days. Just more than 10 km of trails are available, including newly built trails out on to the tundra. Most trails include some hills. The trail lights are available on 3.5 km of trail. Skiers just switch on the timer and they have 2.5 hours of light on the trails. With JackRabbits, the skill development program for six- to 14-year-olds, the club has gone back to the drawing board. Samuel Hearne Secondary School has started dry-land training for the high school students to get them ready for the year, specifically the Arctic Winter Games. The younger skiers will have returning instructors from last year to continue their skill development. A cross-country skiing trainer course has meant a number of new coaches will be available for the winter lessons. Parents, too, are a great help throughout the year, even those who don't get on the skis. "Parents who get involved do what they can," Boxwell said, expressing that parents could bake cookies or others snacks if they didn't want to strap on some skis. "We just need bodies on the hill, one or two adults to assist." Three- to five-year-old skiers can participate in BunnyRabbits, which teaches the basics of moving and falling and getting back up again. Skis, boots and poles are available for youth participating in the sport. Younger skiers likely won't start lessons until February, but the trails should be in by mid-November. If people have their own skis, though, they can feel free to use the trails as soon as they like. The club welcomes snowshoers and walkers to also use the trails, but asks them to avoid walking directly on the trails. Snowmobiles, however are not welcome on the ski club trails. "They have the rest of the Delta and volunteers put in a lot of work on the trails," Boxwell said. "It could cause injuries by people falling. They could have a bad tumble from the damage from snowmobiles." The website for the club is not current and Boxwell asks anyone with questions to e-mail the Inuvik Ski Club.
|
