Overall, XC Ottawa’s 2007-2008 racing season was one of the best and most consistent, with good performances from the early races in November through to Nationals in March. Contributing to the ski community is also an important goal for our team, and judging by the ever increasing popularity of our website, and participation at the races we organized, we think we are succeeding on that front as well.
Megan McTavish excelled at long and short distances this season, and represented Canada at the Canmore World Cup races.
EARLY SEASON SUCCESS
The early season saw several team members racing the Haywood
NorAm circuit late November through early January, looking for good competition
and those coveted FIS points. Megan and Sheila started the season impressively,
with Megan racing 6 top 10 performances, highlighted by two 6th
places (5km classic in Canmore, and 10km pursuit in Valcartier), and Sheila had
4 top 10 performances, the best being 5th place at the 10km pursuit
in Valcartier. Karl led our men with an 11th place in the Valcartier
pursuit. Alana also raced well, with 4 top 10 performances in the Junior Woman
division, her best races were in Valcartier (2nd in the 10km
pursuit; 3rd in the 5km classic).
Early season success at Valcartier NorAm - Megan and Sheila together in pursuit race.
Andrew Wynd racing his final race with XC Ottawa at Canmore NorAm
Megan’s great early season racing allowed her to represent
LOCAL RACING
Most of use stayed closer to home after January, enjoying
the great ski conditions, amazing snow, and local races. Here are some
highlights:
Coupe Skinouk Skate: Justin – 1st;
Skate Sprints - Alana – 1st Junior
Distance Classic: Megan – 4th ; Sheila – 5th
30km Skate: Craig – 1st
53km Skate: Sheila – 4th ; Megan – 5th ; Karl – 6th
53km Classic: Wayne - 5th
15km Classic: Zoe - 2nd Junior Woman
Sheila – 1st senior woman
Zoe – 1st junior woman
Justin 1st senior man
Megan – 2nd senior woman
Karl – 2nd senior man
Alana Thomas – 1st junior woman
After these local races, we headed to Canadian Nationals at
Whistler Olympic Park, site of the 2010 Olympics. The tricky wax conditions
made tough courses even tougher, but once we figured out how NOT to wax (most of us used hairies), XC Ottawa athletes managed some strong
performances in the final races (long distance classic), led by our junior woman Zoe Braul,
who placed 5th Junior, and
When we weren’t racing out West, XC Ottawa was well
represented by the McCarthy brothers. Ed was second overall senior man in the
BC Cup series, highlighted by a 1st place at the BC Championships and
5th place in a classic sprint, and Tom won the Whistler Loppet.
Tom and Ed got the first views of the Whistler Olympic Park trails at the BC Cup.
Ski Community
Our commitment to the ski community continued by helping
with Gatineau parkway closures, regular reports of ski conditions, promoting
local ski events, writing articles with training and waxing tips for skiers,
and hosting two races on Nakkertok’s great trails. We chose formats that most
skiers don’t get the opportunity to race (a team sprint and a duathlon), and both
events were quite popular.
www.xcottawa.ca traffic continued to grow this year, and we
were regularly attracting over 1,200 visitors a day this winter. Craig Storey is the mastermind behind all of this, and explained our website growth and
statistics in this article.
Thanks!
We have many people to thank. First and foremost, coach John
Suuronen, for his dedication, excellent coaching, waxing expertise, and getting
up at crazy hours races mornings to ensure that we all had fast skis. This year he had excellent help from Judy
Condliffe, Brian Suke, Graham Thomas, Eammon Watson, Alicia Berthiaume and Steve
Bursey. We also want to thank all those who came out and volunteered for our
two races. Our sponsors were also important to our successful year:
Lafleur de la Capitale
Podiumwear by Borah
E-load/Emend
Fresh Air Experience
Jessica Spring Illustration and Design
Vauhti Ski Wax
Infinity Ski
Poles
Harry Nowell Photography Inc.
Owl Rafting and
Clif Bar
Rudy Project
See you next year!