THUNDER BAY - When it comes down to race day, the thrill and excitement of flying down the ski-hill is still very much there, but it’s also time to get serious and put your skills to the test.
“It’s more serious when it comes to races,” said 13-year-old Caleb Downie. “When I’m not, I just fool around and do the drills.”
“I get a little bit more nervous,” added 13-year-old Jasmine Vardy. “I really notice in racing that it is a lot different and I try to show my best when I race.”
Both Caleb and Jasmine were competing in the Loch Lomond Club Championship hosted by the Norwesters Alpine Ski Club on Saturday.
Nearly 100 skiers participated in this year’s race, with members of the general public invited to compete against club members. Skiers took on a timed slalom run down the Lower Pine slope.
“It’s a lot of fun, said Norwesters Alpine Ski Club president, Dany Fedun. “What happens usually is the age groups are competitive with each other. You have the younger kids competing against each other through the race program and today is an opportunity for them to compete with friends who are not part of the ski program that are just out here skiing on a regular basis. It goes for a little bit of bragging rights.”
Age categories range from under five-years-old all the way up to under 99-years-old. Fedun said this year there were skiers as young as four and some skiers in over 70 took on the run.
And while the results may offer bragging rights for the skiers who put up the best times, the annual competition is meant to provide skiers, young and old, a taste of what it is like to compete in an actual race.
“It’s about developing the skiers at a young age and giving them time on snow and understanding the different techniques,” Fedun said. “It creates skiers for life and that is what we try to do as a ski club. We try to teach the kids in different types of racing like slalom, GS, super G now, and it’s a really good opportunity for kids to build their technique and learn the dynamic of being coached.”
For Caleb and Jasmine, who have already competed in races this year in Duluth and Sault Ste. Marie, the competition on Saturday was a chance to hone their skills while perhaps envisioning bigger competitions in the future, and racing down a hometown hill certainly helps with that.
“I would love to picture myself as an Olympian,” Jasmine said. “It’s nice competing in our home town. We know all the runs and we are familiar with the hills.”
“It went pretty good,” Caleb said. “It was a clean run.”
