LAPPE, Ont. – Anna Stewart stuck around her hometown for an extra week or so after the Christmas holidays with one goal on her mind – making Ontario’s Canada Winter Games team for the second time in her skiing career.
Stewart, who skis for the Alberta World Cup Academy, skied well in the early rounds of the classic sprint race that kicked off the Ontario Cup No. 2 event at Lappe Nordic, but settled for sixth place in the final, a race won by Nakkertok Nordic’s Clara Hegan.
The 19-year-old Stewart said while she wants a spot in Prince Edward Island, where the Games will be held, she’s also just having fun skiing at home again, after her big move out west.
“It’s pretty small, here, there are not a lot of competitors. Some of them are local and most of them are from Ontario, so it’s basically just a lot of fun. It’s the qualifiers for Team Ontario for the Canada Winter Games, so I’m hoping to qualify for that. It would be my second time making it, if I do make it. I made it four years ago and it was super fun,” Stewart said.
She may not have qualified on Friday, but she’ll have two more days of competition to make up for it on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday is the interval start classical race, while Sunday is the mass start race.
Stewart said the bitter cold that descended on Lappe delayed the start of racing on Friday, and it takes some getting used to, even for someone who grew up skiing in Thunder Bay.
“That can be really hard on your lungs and it can take longer to recover between heats for a really hard effort. But with the cold temperatures, it really makes a nice track and really hard conditions, which is perfect for classic skiing.
Stewart’s teammate, Sarah Culligan, who also hails from the Thunder Bay area, was second behind Hegan, giving her an early edge on a Winter Games berth. She still has work yet to do.
Ontario plans to take six male and six female able-bodied athletes, as well as two alternates and two male and two female para Nordic athletes to the Games, scheduled to open on Feb. 27. The top racer in each category will earn a spot on the team, with the remainder of the slots filled out based on overall ranking in all the races.
The weekend event is also a chance for the local volunteer ski community to shake off more than three years of rust.
Co-chair Werner Schwar said it’s a great chance for athletes to ski their way to the next level of competition, but it’s almost as important for organizers who are set to host three times as many skiers in March.
“It’s a really a prep for all of our volunteers who are getting ready for the Ski Nationals, which are happening here March 11 to March 17. We haven’t hosted a big race in a little while, through COVID. Our last nationals were in 2018. It’s good to get the rust out of athletes and volunteers at an event like this.”
Big Thunder’s Conor McCovern took the open men’s race, edging out NTDC-Thunder Bay skier Kendyn Mashinter. Theodore Ochrym was the top qualifier for the Canada Winter Games, finishing overall third in the final.
Saturday’s racing is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m.
