The members of XCOttawa.ca are currently preparing for the Keskinada races which are happening from February 15-17.
The Keskinada races are held as a part of the Winterlude festival in Ottawa. The first of these races are the Sirius sprints. The sprints will take place Friday evening in the Byward market on a short and twisty course made from trucked-in snow. The races are designed to be fun and exciting for both racers and spectators. They are scheduled to begin at 6pm on Friday evening and XCOttawa.ca will be competing in these races. We are looking forward to performing well in such a high-profile local event.
On Saturday and Sunday, the longer distance races will take place in Gatineau Park. These races have been held in the park since 1982 when the race was called the "Gatineau 55". Since then, the race has expanded to a group of races aimed at different skiers. Classic technique races ranging in length from 5km up to 50km will be held on Saturday and skating technique races from 10km up to 50km will be held on Sunday. The 50km skating race on Sunday is a part of the Worldloppet series. As such, out of the weekend's races, it attracts the largest and most competitive field. Most of XCOttawa.ca will be competing in the 50km skating event on Sunday where we hope to be a dominant force.
The series of Keskinada races attract thousands of skiers to the Ottawa area every year. The races are among the best-known annual nordic-skiing events in Canada. More information on the Keskinada races can be found at www.keskinada.com. If you are interested in meeting XCOttawa.ca or finding out more about it, be sure to look out for us this weekend. We are open to talk about our team or skiing in general as one of the team's goals is to help promote skiing in the Ottawa area and have a positive influence in our community.
"Winning Moves"