THUNDER BAY - An alpine sport growing in popularity across the country could be coming to Thunder Bay, with provincial and national competitions arriving at local ski areas in the next two years.
Jim Hemlin, a commissioner for Ski-Cross Canada, toured the Loch Lomond Ski Area and the Mount Baldy Ski Area on Monday to evaluate the suitability of adding ski-cross tracks.
“It’s super promising,” Hemlin said. “Both hills have ample terrain, lots of open space, and perfect slope angles to host events right up to NorAms.”
Ski-cross sees between four and six alpine skiers racing head-to-head down a designated track. It has been growing in popularity, both for competitors and spectators, since it made its Olympic debut during the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.
With Canadian athletes excelling in the sport and bringing home medals from international competitions, Dave Bradley, vice chairman of Lake Superior Alpine, said it is the next big sport that can find a home right here in Thunder Bay.
“We can see on the world stage just how popular ski-cross is becoming,” he said. “There is so much more awareness, the medals we are winning in Canada, funding from a sport development level is headed towards sports that are winning.”
The addition of ski-cross tracks to local ski hills could bring in high-profile competitions, from the provincial level, to the national level, or the North American Cup.
The city is already playing host to major cross-country ski events and Bradley believes “there is no reason why we can’t host a major international event here from a track perspective.”
“Having these types of environments in Thunder Bay, they have it all and certainly with a proper build, they could be hosting some very high-quality events,” Hemlin added.
But the addition of ski-cross tracks at local ski hills goes beyond hosting competition and featuring world-class athletes.
“But also, just in terms of ski hill enhancement and the quality of the experience for the general public and our developing athletes,” Bradley said. “Ski cross tracks can be utilized just for creating fun environments on the ski hill.”
Ski area owners are welcoming the news of ski-cross viability. Jason Gerry, general manager of Loch Lomond Ski Area, said installing a track could take about a month to complete.
“From a capacity standpoint, we are more than capable,” he said. “Our current infrastructure that we have in place is ready to go and this is something we could do at any point in time.”
And while it could bring the thrilling sport of ski-cross to the city, it will also allow local skiers to try the new sport and get more people involved in alpine skiing.
“Something like this is going to just add to our whole new program and revitalizing,” said Mount Baldy Ski Area owner, Kristof Kardas. “With two hills, and two young owners, we have a lot of spirit and we want to see some new events coming to Thunder Bay.”
