Canadian skiers are largely funded by the Bank of Mom and Dad. If you aren’t a ski racer or parent of one, you may wonder why it is that parents allow their children to spend hundreds of hours gliding on skis at their expense. Seems silly, almost as crazy as those racing suits they wear. Well XC Ottawa athletes asked their mothers to share their thoughts on having a ski racer in the family. Maybe the advice of these experienced Ski Moms will encourage parents to enroll their kids in a Jackrabbit or Junior racing program.
Megan started her ski career the winter of 1985 in Revelstoke BC when she was seven. We took her and her sister Kelly
to Jackrabbits and they both loved it. Some sessions were at the golf course and some were on Mount Revelstoke. Megan
did 1 km in 8 minutes and 45 seconds in a time trial. They did a tour one time to Wheeler Hut at Rogers Pass and saw glaciers.
When we moved to Timmins in 1986, Megan and Kelly joined the Porcupine Ski Runners Jackrabbit group. They got lost
on the blue trail their first time out, and it was a rather stressful time waiting for them to find their way back.
It took a long time!!. It was a cold winter but seemed to warm up enough every weekend for them to be out and they had fun.
Then we moved to Waterloo where Don MacKinnon ran the Jackrabbits. In the spring of 1987 he started a junior racing
program which ran all year. Kelly and Megan got right into it with training logs, evaluations, videotaping, roller skiing,
etc. In the winter of 1988 we started going to races, and by then little brother James was skiing as well. We spent many
winter weekends the next several years being up at 5AM to carpool with the team to Duntroon, Hardwood Hills, Orangeville,
Midland, Wye Marsh, Udora, Wildwood, North Bay, Ottawa, and Deep River. Being a serious skier in Southern Ontario involved
a lot of travel! One January we put 5000 K on the old green Volvo. Sometimes it wasn't too keen to start or keep going,
but that's another story.
As a mother, having a serious skier in the family was a challenge. Megan always had to follow her training to the letter
whether she was sick or injured or the weather was terrible. She suffered for it at times but her love of the sport and
determination carried her through and she has done very well. Lately we have not seen Megan race that often, but last year's
Keskinada brought back a lot of memories of standing out in the cold watching the start, going inside to warm up and socialize,
then standing outside waiting for the finish. Those years really were a lot of fun and despite the cold and early mornings I
miss the flurry of activity that went with it. I wish Megan many more years of skiing success and enjoyment, and look forward
to being there sometimes to watch.
Interesting Reading. . .
"Jessica Spring - Illustration + Design"