The new racing team website has now been officially launched. You can find it here: http://www.nakkertok.ca/racing-news/racing-newsflash?lang=en. All of the new racing team news items will be published on this site going forward. If you have any questions about accessing it, please contact Peter Lloyd.
(November 21, 2009)
Training the High Performance Mind - An interview with an Olympian
Ask any athete who's competed at a very high level and they'll tell you that raining your mind is as important for high performance as it is to train your body. They're really one and the same. You can overcome many obstacles and attain incredible results by focusing, committing and using mental skills in your sport and in life. Last weekend we had Dr. Kim Van Walsum in to do a mental training session with us and she'll be back again to provide more mental skills training in a couple of weeks. Kim was out last week and managed to interview Carol Love, a former rowing Olympian and coach of the Peterborough Rowing Club to get her thoughts on mental training and some of the skills that she teaches and reinforces with her athletes. Click here to watch the interview.
(October 31st)
Nakkertok racer Katherine Stewart-Jones comes first in cross-country provincials
Congratulations to Katherine Stewart -Jones who place first last Saturday in Chicoutimi at the Quebec High school cross country running championships. She came in ahead of over seventy other runners including fellow skier Frederique Vezina (4th), double medal winner at last years XC ski nationals. The race was run in zero degree weather with rain, 60 km hour winds and 10 centimeters of snow on the ground. Although most of the top runners were using spikes, Katherine raced with only road running shoes, but it didn't seem to slow her down! Click here for a link to all the results from the championships.
(October 29th)
Nakkerwear Fall Orders
We’ve had the first heavy frost and it is time to stock on Nakkerwear! Orders will be taken for Nakkertok jackets, ski suits and, new for 2009, buffs. Orders require completed form(s) and payment. Samples of jackets and ski suits are available but we do not have buff samples.
How to order:
There are 3 ways to order:
Print and complete appropriate form(s) and give form(s) and payment to Christine or Gordon Holstead at a practice before October 25th
Print and complete appropriate form(s) and mail form(s) and payment to Christine Holstead at the address provided on the bottom of the form before October 19th
Attend one of the following sessions where you can try on samples, complete the appropriate form(s) and provide payment
Wednesday October 14 5:30 – 6:30 Mooney’s Bay parking lot
Saturday October 17 10:00 – noon Gatineau Park visitor centre
Wednesday October 21 5:30 – 6:30 Mooney’s Bay parking lot
Saturday October 24 during work session / trail clearing / open house at Nakkertok South
Please note that orders will not be accepted without payment and the orders will not be accepted after October 25th at noon. Order form to be sent once all prices have been confirmed.
(October 14th)
Coach Mike's Video from the Dachstein Glacier
Mike was out with his video camera on the Dachstein glacier in Austria catching some of our skiers, some of Canada's best and some of the world's best. Click here to check it out!
(October 12th)
Roller skiing in Austria
A short video of some of the exciting rollerski trails that Andrew and Steffan were able to train on while in Austria (Courtesy of Colin Abbott who was filming. Some pretty sketchy corners!
(October 7th)
MEC Club Night for Chelsea Nordiq, Nakkertok and FreeHeelers United
Mountain Equipment Co-op invites all members of Chelsea Nordiq, Nakkertok and FreeHeelers United to a special night where our store will be open exclusively for you!
Monday, November 9th, 2009 from 7pm-9pm Location: MEC Ottawa, 366 Richmond Road in Westboro
10% discount on all in store gear
Door prizes
Important: You must be a member of either Chelsea Nordiq, Nakkertok or FreeHeelers United. Members are invited to bring their immediate family. Since MEC is a co-operative, you must be a member to make purchases. A lifetime membership at MEC costs only $5. You can easily become a member when paying for your purchases at the cash.
For any questions, and to RSVP please contact Rebecca Goostrey at 613-729-2700 or by e-mail at rgoostrey@mec.ca!
(October 7th)
Parent Meetings
Don't forget about the upcoming Parent meetings:
Racing Rabbits (L2T) - Tuesday, October 6th (7:30-9:30pm) at the Churchill Seniors Recreation Centre, 345 Richmond Road (please see link to google map here)
T2T and L2C - Tuesday, October 13th (7:30- 9:30pm) at the Churchill Seniors Recreation Centre, 345 Richmond Road (please see link to google map here) *LTC and Stage 3 T2T skiers who will be attending the Montmorency Training Camp, please bring a cheque for $325.00.
Please also read this important document for more information on the program and anticipated trip fees. As well we do need cheques immediately (at the Parent's Meeting) for some of the upcoming trips. More information is provided in the document.
(October 7th)
Nakkertok at the Adirondacks - Photos
This past weekend the Nakkertok Racing Team went down to Lake Placid for our annual fall frolic in the Adirondacks. Two days of hiking in the High Peaks region. This year, on day 1, one group did Giant mountain and the other group went over the Wolfjaws, Armstrong and Gothics. On Day 2 some of us went up Pitch Off mountain and the other group went up Cascade. It was a great weekend despite the rain on the Saturday. Click on the image below for photos from the weekend's hike and camping.
Hello all, It was truly fantastic to see so many eager Nakkertokers out in the park Saturday morning.
Just as fantastic was our club's turnout today in Almonte for Peri's run. What a great reminder of where dreams and hard work can take us.
This week Nakkertok goes International as we head to the Adirondacks! This is a great opportunity for families to get together, meet, mingle and hike south of the boarder. Please be advised that there will be no regularly scheduled training this weekend as a result. But before the Adirondack's...
Information Session this Wednesday; All You've Ever Wanted to Know about XC Ski Training Centres & Academies But Were Afraid To Ask!!
An Information Session for all interested Athletes and Parents Lisa Patterson, High Performance System Coordinator for Eastern Canada will be in town and we have arranged for her to speak to interested athletes and their parents after practice on Wednesday, Sept. 30. Please meet in the corner of the parking lot where we all park at Mooney's Bay beach and we will run over to the English Lounge at Carleton University for her talk. Her presentation will cover:
Current training centres and academies in Canada
Pros and cons of training centers
The role of training centres in CCC's future plan
The ability to combine education with skiing - training centre by training centre
She will also offer her personal opinion of Training Centres as a former elite athlete and a current assistant coach at the Thunder Bay Training Centre. There will be plenty of time for questions. Please contact Sabrina McTaggart (smctaggart@hotmail.com) by Monday, Sept. 28 if you intend to come. I really need to get some idea of numbers. Thanks!
Important Info re: Adirondack Weekend (Oct 2-4) -Keep in mind the Cornwall boarder complications. It may be easier to cross into the States through Prescott. -The camping fee is $12/adult per night and $6 for students 16 years old and under per night.
Payment should by made by cheque (payable to Nakkertok Ski club) Wednesday Sept 30.
Pam Midgley will be collecting the cheques at MB training All the other important info (like directions to the camp site!) is included in the document attached to this email.
That's all from me folks, see you Wednesday night!
(October 1st)
10 Things You Don't Know About Steffan Lloyd
Each month one of the Junior National Team members are profiled in Cross Country Canada's monthly newsletter. This past month Steffan Lloyd from Nakkertok was profiled. Click here to find out more about another of our illustrious skiers. Read on to find out more about Steffan.
(You can sign up here to be added to Cross Country Canada's monthly newsletter distribution.)
Click here to check out Steffan Lloyd's recent blog update from the Dachstein Glacier in Austria. Steffan, Andrew Stewart-Jones and Leif Lennie are all Nakkertok athletes who travelled up to the Dachstein Glacier to train. They'll be skiing there for the next couple of weeks along with members of the National Team, and the Russian, Swedish, Finnish National Teams, as well as many other athletes from around the world! Find out more their travels on Steffan's Blog. Click here for photos from the Dachstein.
(September 27th)
Blog updates - James 'Lightning' Taylor / Guillaume Ethier
Click here to check out a cool video put together by Coach Mike of some of our Nakkertok athletes out rollerskiing last week.
(September 22nd)
Upcoming Parent's Meeting - October 13
For those both old and new to Nakkertok, the parents meeting is an opportunity to identify important announcements and changes to the racing program. Based on past experience, we have made attendance mandatory for at least one parent, since we have found that parents that miss this meeting are often missing key information for their skier (and we need to reduce the burden on our coaching staff). We will cover all you need to support your skier and the club over the coming season:
Philosophy of Nakkertok racing including Cross Country Canada's Long Term Athlete Development model
Equipment & clothing
Race preparation;
Season's training, racing and travel schedule; and
Parent responsibilities.
Racing Rabbits (L2T) - Tuesday, October 6th (7:30-9:30pm) at the Churchill Seniors Recreation Centre, 345 Richmond Road (please see link to google map here)
T2T and L2C - Tuesday, October 13th (7:30- 9:30pm) at the Churchill Seniors Recreation Centre, 345 Richmond Road (please see link to google map here)
*LTC and Stage 3 T2T skiers who will be attending the Montmorency Training Camp, please bring a cheque for $325.00
Parking is accessed from Churchill, behind the bank. Parking spots are limited, so you may need to park on the street.
**Please let your Parent Coordinators know if it is impossible for a parent to attend:
The latest 2009 / 2010 Racing / Training Camp Schedule for Nakkertok LTC and T2T athletes is now available here. It's important that all parents and athletes are aware of the schedule, when events are planned and the expected costs involved. We have a great season planned with many exciting events. Take a read through the schedules and ensure that you add the events you're planning to attend into your calendars. We've taken some time to also provide our best estimate of the expected costs for each event. If you have any questions on the calendar and which events you should be attending please speak with one of the coaches or Racing Committee members. We are also looking for trip coordinators and volunteers for trips, please contact Denise Workun or Gwen Avery for more info.
(September 13th)
New Nakk Athlete Blog - "Lightning" James Taylor
What do you know about Nakkertok athletes? You can find out quite a bit about training and our athletes on their athlete blogs. This week we have a new blog put together by "Lightning" James Taylor. You can check it all out here.
(September 13th)
Luskville Falls Uphill Time Trial
Today was a superb day for the Lusk Falls Uphill Time Trial. It's a great race (if you consider running full speed uphill for 2.1 km with burning thighs fun!) and we had a good turnout with 28 athletes out to run. It's a steep climb that follows the picturesque Lusk Falls. Our athletes were once again in fine form for a test of their strength, power and endurance.
The King of the Mountain award this year went to Aidan Lennie who covered the full course in an amazing time of 13:47! It was a course record and an amazing time to traverse the distance up to the fire tower from the parking lot. The other amazing result was that almost all of the athletes significantly improved their times over last year and the year before. Click here to check out the results from this year as well results from 2008, 2007 and 2006. Click here for a satellite view of the course.
(September 7th)
NCD Training Camp - Photos
At the beginning of August, Nakkertok participated in the NCD Regional Training Camp. Athletes from across Ontarion and Quebec came down and were treated to a great experience with lots of training, education and fun. To see photos from the camp, click on the image below:
Last weekend our Train to Train athletes did a rollerski time trial at P8.Half of the time trial was done legs only and the other half was done double poling. Click here to check out the results.
(September 2nd)
This Week at Nakkertok - week of September 1st to 7th
Upcoming Events:
A reminder that the Nakkertok activities calendar is updated regularly with upcoming events and is also available here on the side menu under Calendars.
Practices This Week
Wednesday: Meet at the Arboretum at 6:00pm. One of our last practices of the year at the Arboretum.
Sunday: Meet at P8 at 8:00am with skate gear. Bring lots of food and water (that you can carry with you).
(August 31st)
Sprints Video - Technique training
A quick video of some of our Junior Racers (Riel, Do, Ian, Zeke and Ben) at technique practice last week doing some sprints and technique training. Check it out below:
(August 30th)
This Week at Nakkertok - week of August 17th to 24th
Upcoming Events:
A reminder that the Nakkertok activities calendar is updated regularly with upcoming events and is also available here on the side menu under Calendars.
Sept 7 Luskville Uphill running time trail: Nakkertok’s fourth annual Labour Day Labour is fast approaching. This running race is all uphill starting at the bottom of Luskville falls and ending at the fire tower on the top of the Eardley escarpment. Meet at 8:30am at the Luskville falls parking lot located on Ch. Hotel de Ville just off highway 148. There are two distances for this event (half and full) and it is a fun event for anyone to try, I encourage all athletes, siblings and parents to come and participate in this event! Also we need timers and course marshals too!
Sept 16th Move to Mooney’s Bay: Wednesday practice will be moved to Mooney’s bay for the rest of the fall.
Sept 20th Adventure Race: Annual Nakkertok Adventure race held at Lac Phillipe inculdes running, cycling and canoeing legs.
Sept 27 Peri’s Olympic Fundraiser: Help support a Nakkertok athlete reach her goals to compete in the Olympics. All of the details can be found at http://www.runalmonte.ca
Oct 3-4th Adirondack’s Trip: Annual Nakkertok Racing Program hiking trip to the Adirondack Mountains of New York. Leave Friday and camp at the Alpine Club of Canada site in Keene (near Lake Placid). We do a long hike on Saturday in the High Peaks and a shorter one on Sunday. Check out some photos here and here from last year's trip to give you an idea of what we will be doing. This is a family oriented trip so siblings and parents are welcomed (and in the case of parents required!). There will be no regular Nakkertok practices on this weekend.
October 12: Chelsea Challenge: 5km and 10km run done in Old Chelsea. Another Nakkertok favorite.
October 18th:Midget Training Day: A fun day of activities and events for midget aged skiers.
October 24: Nakkertok South Trail Clearing: Trail clearing will occur today and we may also combine this event with the Nakkertok Ski Swap and Open House (to be confirmed).
October 31: Halloween Orienteering: A very special Halloween Orienteering this year as it will occur on Oct 31!.
Practices This Week
Wednesday: Meet at Mooney’s Bay (please note the change of location!!), at 6:00pm with skiwalking gear. LTC you will be completing a Strength Test and you will need your skate rollerskis!
Sunday: Meet at P8 at 8:00am with skate gear. Bring lots of food and water (that you can carry with you).
(August 26th)
Racing Committee Monthly Report - July 2009
New this month, the Racing Committee will start posting the minutes from Racing Committee meetings. The purpose is to provide strong and open communications between the committee and racing families. We hope that this will give you a sense of the issues being addressed and the decisions being made by the racing committee on behalf of the Racing Team athletes and parents. To see the July report click here. For more information on any items contact any of the racing committee members - Judi Agnew (Racing Director), Kevin Jones, Nathalie Gilbert, Aidan Lennie, Mike Vieira, Lyle Fair, Peter Berkeley, Sabrina McTaggart, Jan Downing, Rachel Williams, Sue Holloway, Carolyn Johnson-Grall and Geoff Tomlinson.
(August 26th)
Nakkertok Skiers off to Finland
This week several Nakkertok skiers headed out to Finland to train with the Ontario Team. The team will be training in the specially built snow tunnels which are kept up year round for training and fitness. The contingent includes Leslie Foley, Alison Stephenson and Kirsten Petersen. Wish them luck in their travels. Hopefully we'll get some stories and pictures back from the training camp.
(August 21st)
Junior Athlete Profile: 10 Things You Don't Know About Andrew Stewart-Jones
Each month one of the Junior National Team members are profiled in Cross Country Canada's monthly newsletter. This past month Andrew Stewart-Jones from Nakkertok was profiled. Click here to find out more about one of our illustrious skiers. You might find out some interesting and surprising facts!
(You can sign up here to be added to Cross Country Canada's monthly newsletter distribution.)
(August 18th)
This Week at Nakkertok - week of August 17th to 24th
Upcoming Events: 5 Peaks Running Race August 22: Another really fun running race. Info can be found here. If you enter the code f QCSTUDENT you will get a ten dollar discount.
A reminder that the Nakkertok activities calendar is updated regularly with upcoming events and is also available here on the side menu under Calendars.
**Pole Sharpening Service:**
The Nakkertok Continental Cup Team will be offering a pole tip sharpening service before every Sunday rollerski practice starting this week. Poles can be professionally sharpened using a diamond file Dremel tool for $2.00 a pair. A year round unlimited pole sharping pass can be purchased for $10.00-$15.00. Please arrive 20min before practice, to get your poles done, look for the “Pole Sharpening” sign.
Practices This Week
Wednesday: Meet at the arboretum, at 6:00pm with skiwalking gear. LTC please bring skiwalking poles today!
Sunday: Meet at P8 at 8:00am. LTC please bring classic gear. Bring lots of food and water (that you can carry with you).
(August 18th)
Midsummer Training - Steffan Lloyd Blog update
For an interesting read, check out Steffan Lloyd's recent blog update. You'll hear about training with National Team athletes at the Centre Nationale d'Entrainement Pierre Harvey and see what it's like to rollerski down a 16% grade hill!
(August 14th)
Ontario Team Nominated - 5 Nakkertok Skiers named!
Cross Country Ontario recently named their list of Ontario skiers who made this year's provincial team. Nakkertok skiers took 4 of the positions on the team. Named to this year's team are: Leslie Foley, Kirsten Petersen, Aidan Lennie, Alison Stephenson and James Taylor (Ontario Development Team). Congratulations to these athletes on their strong performances in 2008 to be named to this year's team! For the complete list of athletes click here.
(August 14th)
This Week at Nakkertok - week of August 10th to 16th
Upcoming Events: 5 Peaks Running Race August 22: Another really fun running race. Info can be found here. If you enter the code f QCSTUDENT you will get a ten dollar discount.
A reminder that the Nakkertok activities calendar is updated regularly with upcoming events and is also available here on the side menu under Calendars.
**Pole Sharpening Service:**
The Nakkertok Continental Cup Team will be offering a pole tip sharpening service before every Sunday rollerski practice starting this week. Poles can be professionally sharpened using a diamond file Dremel tool for $2.00 a pair. A year round unlimited pole sharping pass can be purchased for $10.00-$15.00. Please arrive 20min before practice, to get your poles done, look for the “Pole Sharpening” sign.
Practices This Week
Wednesday: Meet at the arboretum, at 6:00pm with skiwalking gear. LTC this week’s practice will be fun and easy.
Sunday: Meet at P8 at 8:00am. LTC please bring classic gear. Bring lots of food and water (that you can carry with you).
(August 11th)
Nakkertok Racers on CTV
Nakkertok Sport-Etude skiers were interviewed back in May by CTV regarding their year round training and rollerskiing. The interview aired on Monday night and you can see our Nakkertok personalities interviewed by Carolyn Waldo (former Olympic gold medallist in synchro swimming) here. Just click on the cross country skier link under the video viewer. Thanks to Sue Holloway for organizing this.
(August 11th)
Quebec Team Named - 8 Nakkertok Skiers listed!
Last week Ski de Fond Quebec named their list of Quebec skiers who made this year's provincial team. Nakkertok skiers make up almost half of the skiers on the team. Named to this year's team are: Michelle Workun-Hill, Noemi Berube, Kirstin Besemann, Steffan Lloyd, Andrew Stewart-Jones, Patrick Stewart-Jones, Riel Alain and Zeke Williams. Congratulations to these athletes on their amazing performances in 2008 to be named to this year's team! For the complete list of Quebec athletes on this year's team click here.
(July 29th)
Owl Training Camp - trip report from Patrick Stewart-Jones
Another good write-up, and photos, from the Owl Training Camp last week. Check it all out on Patrick Stewart-Jones' blog.
(July 24th)
Owl Training Camp - trip report
For a great write-up, photos, and video from the Owl Training Camp last week, an overview of the work-outs and the epic run down the river, check out Steffan Lloyd's blog.
(July 7th)
Forerunners needed at the Winter Olympics
There's an interesting opportunity posted on the CCC main website for forerunners at the Olympic Games this winter. If you're a Junior or U23 and are interested in running the track before the main skiers, this would be a great opportunity to be a part of the Winter Olympic Games. Links and instructions for applications are posted on CCC's main web page. Applications have to be in before July 19th.
(July 7th)
Owl Camp - Photos
WE had a great time at the Owl Training Camp this past week. Many thinks to Dirk and the team at Owl for letting us train there and all their help and support, great meals too! The week consisted of lots of hard training, education, a triathlon and bookended by a long bike ride up each way. Click on the photo below to see photos from the Camp.
Another blog to bookmark is Guillaume Ethier's. Follow Guillaume throughout the year as he puts in the kilometres and the training and sets his sights on the Nationals in Whitehorse and beyond! Another good blog to follow is Alex Harvey's. Very inspirational. You can get some good ideas as well for training and get an idea of the types of things that a World Cup athlete does to become the best that they can be.
(June 28th)
Two more videos of Swedish Team on Youtube
I just posted two additional videos on Youtube. Check them out, one is of the national team doing a double pole uphill time trial and the second is of one of their skiers during a 15 K classic world cup race. At the Owl Camp we'll get lots of video for you to see yourself and to work on technique. Watch these a few times and use them to do visualization work to improve your own technique!
(June 21st)
Kirstin Besemann and Alison Stephenson - More Athletic Achievement Awards
Congratulations to Kirstin Besemann (Darcy McGee) and Alison Stephenson (Lisgar) who also won Athlete of the Year awards at their respective High Schools! That's 5 athletic achievement awards for Nakkertok athletes this year. Way to go!
(June 15th)
Technique video - One skate sprint
Click here for a great video of one of the Swedish National Team Skiers doing a one skate sprint. There are a few great things to watch for on the video 1) double push on the skate leg, he pushes once with the outside leg and then again with the inside leg (very cool!), 2) power at the start of the push - he gets very high and leans his body far forward so he has a very powerful starting push, 3) high arms at the start of the pole - he's able to get a long push. It's fun to watch! Check it out. Pop quiz question - who's the skier?
(June 14th)
Athlete Blogs
One of the best ways to keep track of our budding athletes is to follow their blogs. For parents it's a great way to get an idea of the types of training and the huge efforts that athletes make to compete at the highest levels. For athletes, this is a great opportunity to learn from others about training, mental preparation, nutrition and the life of an athlete. There are 5 Nakkertok athletes who are starting to build their blogs. You can find out more about them at the following links: Patrick Stewart-Jones, Andrew Stewart-Jones, Steffan Lloyd, Leif Lennie, and Perrianne Jones.
(June 10th)
Ian Holstead - Athlete of the Year at Colonel By High School
Congratulations to Ian Holstead who was the third Nakkertok athlete named as Athlete of the Year by their respective High School. Ian was given the honour by Colonel By High School for his strong showing this year at OFSAA in cross country skiing (1st overall), and strong showings in both track and field and cross country running!
(June 10th)
Michelle Workun-Hill - Athlete of the Year at Ecole De L'Isle
Congratulations to Michelle Workun-Hill who was also named the Athlete of the Year at Ecole De L'Isle High School!
(June 10th)
James Taylor - Athlete of the Year at Nepean High School
Congratulations to James Taylor who was just named the Athlete of the Year at Nepean High School. Aside from his strong showing at OFSAA in Skiing, James was also Captain of the hockey team, and competed at OFSAA in Cross Country Running and played Rugby. Great all-around athlete!
(June 9th)
Nakkertok Jr Racing Team Survey - Prize Winners!
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Nakkertok Junior Team Athlete Survey. The results really help us in making our racing program better and ensure that it's meeting the needs of all of our athletes. Thanks to Fresh Air Experience who provided some some great draw prizes for participating in the survey. We entered all of the names of the athletes that participated and drew for the 7 prizes. Coach Peter will bring the prizes to the next practice for you to collect.
And the winners are:
Darcy - very cool lightweight Salomon backpack
Devan - Swix waterbottle and waist holder
Ben T - Swix waterbottle and waist holder
Thomas - Metal water bottle
Maddie - Metal water bottle
Bryana - Metal water bottle
Patrick S-J - Metal water bottle
(May 2nd)
Nakkertok Junior Racing Team End of Year Video
Nakkertok racers celebrated the end of the year at Nakkertok South with their annual End of the Year party. Patrick Stewart-Jones received the award for the Top Nakkertok Racer of the year for his performance at the Nationals coming first overall in the Junior Boys category. The day also had lots of activities for the athletes to participate in and show their speed, strength and agility!
On the last Saturday of March the Nakkertok Midget and Racing Rabbit Programs celebrated the end of the ski season at Nakkertok North with what has become a traditional rite of spring, the Skimeister! At some point in the past what was once an athletic competition turned into what is now a (somewhat) organized funfest on skis. It starts with a few of the keener skiers and coaches arriving early in the morning to construct a series of bumps, jumps and obstacles for the kids to test their nerve and skills on. Once the snow has been piled and shaped to perfection the event usually begins with a few tame launches into the air and then quickly evolves into some pretty amazing tricks and equally amazing wipeouts! With photographers standing by to catch the action a fair amount of "Kodak courage" is shown by the kids.
While the fun on skis is always a highlight it goes beyond just catching big air. There are egg and spoon relays, a backcountry ski tour on the quickly disappearing snow and afterwards a barbeque picnic with tradional maple taffy on snow. A perfect day and a great end to the season.).
(April 3rd)
Nationals - Photos and Final Results
We're all back now from the Nationals and we had a great week of skiing and fantastic results. The last day of racing we had 3 medals and many top 10 finishes. Zeke Williams ran a very exciting race with Raphael Couturier, where they led the pack by a significant margin and went back and forth exchanging the lead right to the finish where Raphael outsprinted Zeke for first place.
Other notable races included Michelle Workun-Hill who finished 3rd in the Junior Girls category, and Seb Townsend who had one of his best races of the year to finish in 5th place just out of the medals. Kirsten Petersen also had a great race, going back and forth with the top skiers to finish in 3rd place in the Juvenile Girls category.
For all the results check out zone 4. Nakkertok also had many top individual performances, including Patrick Stewart-Jones who finished 1st overall in Junior Boys, Michelle Workun-Hill 2nd overall in Junior Girls, and Ezekial Williams who came 2nd overall in Juvenile Boys. For photos from the last day of racing and the Awards ceremony, click on the photo below.
Congratulations to all our skiers on a really strong nationals! We're all looking forward to next year already! Thanks to the many support crew parents, coaches and waxers who worked tirelessly all week to keep our skiers happy and the skis fast!
(March 17th)
Nationals - Middle Distance Classic Race
Today Nakkertok raced the Middle Distance Classic Race. The conditions were great for racing with a hard packed granular base. The temperature did go up quickly from the low overnight of -4 to a high of 5 or 6 C. Nakkertok racers didn't disappoint today and turned in some spectacular performances. Both Patrick Stewart-Jones and Michelle Workun-Hill won their respective categories and Zeke Williams also medalled with a 3rd place finish. There were many other great races by Nakkertok athletes over the day.
With one more event to go Nakkertok leads the overall Club aggregate points total with a 50 point lead over Foothills from Calgary. It'll be an exciting final day of racing on Sunday at the Nationals with the mass start distance skate races. For all the results check out Zone 4. Click on the photo below to see photos from the Sprint races on Friday and the Awards ceremony Friday evening.
Today the Junior Men raced their sprint event. It was a fun and exciting day of racing although it made for tough waxing throughout the day as the temperature changed from -14 to +6 or so. The wax went from a cold hard wax like VR40 all the way up to VR65. Quite a range of temperatures. In the end we had fairly good wax and glide. All of the 5 Nakkertok athletes competing made it through to the Quarter Finals and had good races.
Steffan Lloyd was the top Nakkertok finisher of the day with a 14 place finish. Other strong results included Andrew Stewart-Jones in 18th, Leif Lennie in 23rd, and Aiden Lennie in 29th. For complete results see Zone 4. The pictures below were taken by Jasmine Workun-Hill of yesterday's sprint races.Click on the image to see more.
Nationals - Juvenile and Junior B Sprints - Photos and Results
Today was another exciting day of racing at the Nationals. Mother Nature smiled on us and gave us an evening and morning of snow and colder temperatures. By the start of the races, there was a good covering of fresh, dry snow. The snow was tilled up by the grooming machine and gave us very fast conditions. Most of the course was a sugary consistency of ice and snow. This made it fast but also tough on the uphills as the racers pushed off and the snow just pushed to the side.
Nakkertok had a good day of racing. Although it was classic, many of the racers opted either for light grip or their skate skis to take advantage of the fast conditions. We had many of our racers make it through the qualifying round to the Quarter Finals. In the Juvenile Boys category, Zeke, Reme, and Dominic made it through to the top 30. In the Juvenile Girls, both Alexandra and Kirsten P. also made it through. In the Junior B Girls we had a stacked field with Kirstin B., Michelle, Leslie, Noemi, Sofia, and Alison all making it through (20% of the top 30). Finally in Junior B Boys we had Patrick, Riel, Seb, Reme, and James all making it through.
It was a sea of yellow, watching many of the Semi and Quarter finals. Check out the pictures below. Sprinting is an exciting event and it was no different for the Nationals. In the Juvenile Boys final, Zeke had a great race finishing 5th overall,Kirstin Besemann had the best race of her Nationals with an exciting 2nd place finish in the Junior B Girls. She stayed solidly in 2nd place throughout the race and skied it perfectly for a 2nd place photo finish.
Patrick Stewart-Jones skied an excellent race finishing 2nd overall in Junior B Boys. Riel also had a great race finishing 6th overall in the same final. Riel is now in the lead overall for the Junior B Boys title by one point and fighting it out with Patrick Stewart-Jones. Other notable finishes included Dominic Moncion-Groulx who finished first in the B Final, Michelle Workun-Hill finishing 4th, Sofia Attali finishing 6th, and Alexandra Joy in 10th.
Nakkertok is now 1st overall in the Club point standings by 25 points. Nakkertok has 1112 points to Foothills' (Calgary) 1083 and Big Thunder's (Thunder Bay) 721. Check out all the point standings for club, province and individuals on the Ski Nationals website.
For complete results, check out Zone 4. Also check out photos from the day's races below by clicking on the image.
Today many of the events were cancelled due to the high winds on the race course and the icy conditions. They were expecting gusts today of up to 70 km/h and were afraid that the skiers wouldn't be able to ski safely on the course. The Open Men and Women's events did run however. With the icy conditions it was tricky waxing. Some clubs hit it well, others missed the wax and their athletes had a tough go.
We had four racers in the event today. Andrew Stewart-Jones had a good race and placed 10th overall, Steffan Lloyd placed 16th, Aidan Lennie 22nd and Leif Lennie 35th. They placed well in very tough conditions. Many of the athletes were skiing up the hills, while others were double poling! For all the results, check out zone 4.
We'll be back at it again tomorrow early in the morning with the Juvenile and Junior Classic Sprints. Saturday will be the make up day for the Juveniles and Juniors that didn't race today. For photos from the awards ceremony on Tuesday for the Team Relay and Short Distance Skate, click on the photo below and here for photos from the race course today.
For up to the minute news and information on the Nationals, check out the Nationals website. They've been having trouble getting information posted to Zone 4 and they've promised to try to get it up more quickly on that site.
(March 11th)
Nationals - Race Report by Zeke Williams
Last year, the Nakkertok team finished second overall at the Canadian Nationals. On Friday the 6th of this month 32 of our athletes started out on the six hour drive to the 2009 season Nationals in the hopes of improving last years results. And now, two races into the event, some good results have already been put down.
In the team relay, Nakkertok skiers took 6 of the top ten places in their respective catagories with two challenge boys teams and one challenge girls team on the podium. In the skate interval start race a couple days ago Nakkertok kept up the results; by the end of the day our team was leading overall by 60 points. So, on the eve of the interval start classic race, we were all feeling pretty excited. And then it rained on our parade. Literally.
When we woke up this morning the news was being sent around that the race organizers had cancelled today’s race due to the sketchiness of the trails. Moans of anguish and disappointment were heard all around the condos (except from the junior a’s, who got to race anyway) as the bad news spread, like a virus, from person to person. NO! What will we do all day with no race?? But, whether getting yelled at by the blue mountain ski patrol for walking up the down hill runs, or just sitting in front of the tv watching movies, we have all found ways to keep ourselves safe from the inevitable depression of not being able to hammer your guts out on the ski course.
Now, with about fifteen hours to go until tomorrow morning and the classic sprint races, everyone is feeling well rested and wanting to finish up this report and go see where the other people from my condo have gone. But then again, maybe the second half of that sentence only applies to me.
Wish us luck for tomorrow!
Zeke
(March 11th)
Nationals Short Distance - Photos and Results
Today the Short Distance skate race was held at the Nationals. Nakkertok had some great results again today. The conditions were better today with some light overnight snow and cooler temperatures. The temperature went below freezing and then later in the day rose to above freezing.
The Junior B Girls led off the day and Nakkertok was strong! Noemi Berube turned in a great result coming first overall. She was followed shortly by Michelle Workun-Hill who also had a great race coming in 3rd place. Other strong performances came from Kirstin Besemann in 9th, Leslie Foley in 11th and Sofia Attali in 12th.
The Junior A Men followed the girls and Aidan Lennie had a great race coming in 4th. Andrew Stewart-Jones also did well placing 10th in a very strong field only 20 seconds from the leaders, followed by Steffan Lloyd in 16th and Leif Lennie in 17th.
The Junior B Boys followed with more strong results. Riel Allain placed 2nd, Patrick Stewart-Jones was 7th and Seb Townsend was 8th. In Juvenile Boys, Zeke Williams also medalled today with a 3rd place finish, and Dominique Moncion-Groulx placed 9th. In Juvenile Girls, Kirsten Petersen placed 4th just out of the medals!
The racers did one or two laps today of a 5 km course. The course was a very steep uphill climb up to a rolling area, and then onto a hair pin turn and back into the stadium. We had great skis today, thanks to our waxing crew who worked from 5:30 a.m through to noon to keep our racers going fast. Mike and Peter were also out on the course giving splits and helping our athletes to know where they were on the race course against their competitors.
The course was very well laid out with lots of snow. Tonight we all headed out to town for the medal presentation by the Mayor and Cross Country Canada. Very exciting! Our next race will be on Wednesday with the Middle Distance Classic event. Click on the photo below for more photos.
The first day of racing, was a very successful day for Nakkertok. Mother nature was not being kind and gave us a heavy rainfall over night. However when we got up there in the morning, the rain had stopped and it was a little cool with the temperature below freezing which was good for the race conditions. The track was a little soft and continued to soften up during the day. However all of the races went well and there were very few changes required to the course. As you can see in the photos, there was quite a bit of fog early in the day but brightened up considerably in the afternoon.
Our first races went very well with three teams making it through to the finals in the Challenge Boys races. In the Challenge Girls, again 2 teams made it through to the final with some great performances by the other teams participating. Nakkertok had 15 teams competing on the day, likely the largest of all the teams participating. It was great to see the fitness of our Nakkertok athletes and how well they're competing against the best in Canada.
In the Open Men category, we had two teams competing. Andrew Stewart-Jones and Steffan Lloyd were competing in the first heat. Andrew had a very stong first lap, coming through in 3rd place along with some of the fastest skiers in Canada. After handing off to Steffan, Steffan's ski binding came open and the ski came off causing them to fall back a few places and lose contact with the leaders. Despite the mishap, they went through the race with some very solid skiing. The two Lennie brothers were in the second Open heat and raced hard to get into the final with a 10th place time. They raced a great final and ended up 8th overall.
In the Challenge Boys final, Zeke Williams and Nansen Weber battled it out with Patrick Stewart-Jones and Riel Allain for first and second places. An amazing race for Nakkertok with Patrick and Riel ending up first and Nansen and Zeke just behind in second. It was a fun race to watch with the lead going back and forth between the two Nakkertok teams and the gap slowly starting to grow with the other racers. Nakkertok's 3rd team of Seb Townsend and Dominique Moncion-Groulx came in a very solid 7th place.
In the Challenge Girls final, again Nakkertok went out in the lead with 2 teams leading, Sofia Attali and Kirstin Besemann and Michelle Workun-Hill and Noemi Berube. Sofia and Kirstin had a great few laps in the lead when unfortunately someone stepped on Sofia's ski and she fell. She got up quickly but had fallen back to 4th place and kept that place through the rest of the race. Michelle and Noemi led a very strong race and gradually gained on the second and third place teams from Whitehorse and Canmore respectively and finished the race in the first place with a comfortable lead.
Nakkertok had a great day overall winning 2 of 4 golds, as well as a silver, a 4th, 7th, and an 8th place! What a way to start the Nationals. For all the results, click here. As well, check out photos from the day below.
We arrived yesterday at the site of the Nationals in Duntrooon, Ontario. The conditions aren't bad but there are definitely places where the course is very wet as you can see from the picture below. The weather yesterday was a balmy 14 C and you can see from the photos that it was quite warm for skiing. They also have several pumps on the course, especially the stadium area where they're trying to remove some of the water.
We have a good set up for our waxing area, which we'll be doing lots of over the next week - big structure and lots of fluoros. Gilles and Luc did a great job setting up prior to the team arriving yesterday.
Racing will start in earnest tomorrow with the Team Relay Sprints. All of the athletes are psyched and ready to go. If there's info that you're looking for, just send me (Peter) or one of the coaches a note and we'll try to get back to you.
Nationals starts this weekend in Duntroon, Ontario and goes until Sunday March 14th. Check back here regularly for results and stories on the days' events. The Nationals website and Cross Country Canada will also provide information on the races, updates, scheduling and other information. The first race is the Team Relay on Sunday. We have many teams entered and it should be a very exciting race.
(March 5th)
Ottawa Citizen Articles on Nakkertok Skiers at OFSAA
There are a few really good articles in the Ottawa Citizen blog by Martin Cleary. There's a really good article on Ian Holstead and his amazing OFSAA victory, as well as one of Kirstin Petersen who also had a great race to finish first. To check them out click here and scroll down the page.
(March 4th)
Kanata Sprints
Click here to see some great videos of the sprint finals at the Kanata Sprints a couple of weekends ago. There's a good video of the Peewee Boys final where one athlete's lost a pole halfway through and manages to hang on to win the race. Another one is of the all Nakkertok Juvenile Boys final... very exciting! A great jump by Thomas McKenna right off the start during the race.
(March 2nd)
Noram Midget Championships - Race Report by Nicolas Lum
This was my first Norams EVER, it was really fun! We slept in a school. All the other clubs had to sleep in classes but we got to sleep in a gym. I left my school at about two thirty in the afternoon and my parents drove me to Joliette where the race was held. When I got to the school it was around six thirty. When almost everyone got there we had a team meeting with the coaches and they showed us the schedule for the three days. see more
(March 2nd)
Quebec Games - Results and Race Report by K. Jones
Nakkertok Midgets have had some really great results over three days of competition at the Jeux du Quebec.
In Saturday's 3 kilometre individual start classic race Emilie Stewart-Jones, skiing for the Outaouais Region, was second in the Midget girls followed by her sister Katherine only 0.6 seconds later. In the Midget Boys Sacha Morin-Sirois was also second while Jesse Williams came in 9th less than thirty seconds off the pace of the winner!
On Sunday in the sprint relay Sacha teamed up with Simon Lapointe from Skinouk and came first overall in a race that ended in a sprint finish which saw Simon overtaking his opponent in the final few metres. Emilie, who was paired up with Sophie Carrier-Laforte from Skinouk finished up second to a strong Queber Region Team while Katherine and her team mate Heidi Gagné-Montcalm from Skinouk just missed the podium with Katherine passing numerous skiers on her last relay leg to just fall short of the third place position.
On Monday in the mass start classic race the Outaouais dominated the results with Emilie and Katherine coming one two in the 5 km Midget girls race and Jesse and Sasha coming third and fourth in the boys. In the Juvenile Boys Simon Lapointe was second (to go with the two golds he won on the first two days) and Alexis Lepage, also of Skinouk third.
One thing that is fun about the Jeux Du Quebec is that it generates lots of local media coverage. Today there was a full colour front page photo of Emilie in Le Droit and tomorrow there will be an article featuring her and Katherine. Check out all the results on Zone4.
(March 2nd)
OFSAA Ski Championships - Results
Many Nakkertok racers were competing for their respective Ontario highschools at the OFSAA Cross Country Ski Championships this past week. Some stellar results were achieved by some of the Nakkertok racers competing: Ian Holstead 1st Junior Boys, Kirsten Petersen 1st Junior Girls, Alexandra Joy 5th Junior Girls, Symon Stowe 8th Junior Boys, Leslie Foley 2nd Senior Girls, Alison Stephenson 5th Senior Girls, and James Taylor 7th Senior Boys. There were many other strong results. Check out all the results from Day 1 here.
(February 28th)
NCSSA - Photos and Results
Anne Duggan attended the recent National Capital regional highschool ski championships. Many of our Nakkertok skiers were participating for their respective schools and did very well in all categories. Click here to see Anne's photos from the day, and here to check out the results.
During the summer Paul van Leeuwen attended the Midget training camp and the Aerial Park activity. Paul caught all the action on the high wires. Click here to see his photos.
Pavlina was at the Midget Norams on the weekend and was able to catch some of the excitement and action at the races. Click here to check out some of her photos.
Today Nakkertok won the overall Midget championship at the Midget Norams. Congratulations to all of the team who put in a superb effort for the victory. Nakkertok had several podium finishes and many top 10 results en route to the victory.
Winning the championships is quite an achievement since clubs from across Ontario, Quebec, the United States and Eastern Canada come to compete with their best athletes. Congratulations and thanks as well to the trip organizers and support crew who travelled with the team and helped them to achieve the win.
(February 22nd)
Midget Norams - Classic Race Results
Today Nakkertok Midget racers were out at the Midget Norams near Joliette Quebec. Nakkertok racers did very well placing 8 racers in the top 10 across 4 categories. Particularly strong results from Emily and Katherine Stewart-Jones who placed 2nd and 3rd today in the Midget Girls category and Sacha Morin-Sirois who placed 2nd in Midget Boys. Congratulations to all the racers. The skate race goes tomorrow. For complete results go to Zone 4.
(February 21st)
More Easterns Photos
Brad Jones was on location at the Easterns taking photos between waxing skis. Here are some great shots from the weekend!
(February 19th)
Quebec Team Selection for Nationals
The following Nakkertok athletes have been selected to represent Quebec on the Quebec Team at the Nationals this year:
Zeke Williams (Juvenile Boys)
Michelle Workun-Hill (Junior B Girls)
Noemi Berube (Junior B Girls)
Patrick Stewart-Jones (Junior B Boys)
Steffan Lloyd (Junior A Men)
These athletes are one of the top 2 athletes in their respective categories in Quebec. Congratulations on the achievement!
(February 17th)
Ontario Development Team Points List
The interim results from the Ontario Development Team Points List is now posted. If the individual results continue to stand, Nakkertok will have 8 athletes on the team!
(February 17th)
Ontario Cup Thunder Bay - Results
Click here and here for results the 4th Ontario Cup race in Thunder Bay this past weekend. Some really great finishes from Nakkertok athletes. Leslie Foley had 3 strong podium finishes, Leif Lennie placed second in the sprint, Aidan Lennie had a second and third, Ian Holstead had a third and a fourth, Kirsten Petersen had a first and a third... and many, many more strong results. Thanks to the wax crew of Dave Mallory and Erik Petersen.
(February 17th)
Quebec Cup Mont. Orford - Results - Classic Mass Start Event
Click here to see results from the final event at Mont Orford Quebec Cup.For the 3rd straight day, Nakkertok had more really great results ... with a third Nakkersweep in the Junior B Girls (4 of the top 5 spots), another almost Nakkersweep in the Junior B Boys (3 of the top 4 positions), an almost Nakkersweep in Juvenile Boys, and another almost Nakkersweep in Junior A Men.
Special kudos to Patrick Stewart-Jones, Michelle Workun-Hill, Kirstin Besemann and Zeke Williams who all picked up medals in each of the 3 races this past weekend. As well, kudos to Emilie Stewart-Jones who was racing with athletes two years older than her in the Juvenile category, and came 2nd and 3rd in two of the events! Thanks to all of the support crew, including Gilles Berube, Kevin Jones, Mike Vieira and the many others, who kept the athletes happy and the skis fast for all of the races!
(February 8th)
Quebec Cup Mont. Orford - Results - Skate Sprint Event
Click here to see results from the skate sprint event yesterday at Mont Orford. Nakkertok had another really great day again ... with a second Nakkersweep in the Junior B Girls (top 4 spots), an almost Nakkersweep in the Junior B Boys (3 of the top 4 positions), and 2nd in Juvenile Boys. Special kudos to Michele Workun-Hill who claimed top spot for a second straight day in the Junior B Girls event. Racing resumed again today, with the final event of the weekend with the distance Classic Mass Start race.
(February 8th)
Quebec Cup Mont. Orford - Results - Classic Sprint Event
Click here to see results from the classic sprint event on Friday at Mont Orford. Nakkertok had some really great results... with a Nakkersweep in the Junior B Girls (top 4 spots), an almost Nakkertsweep in the Junior B Boys (4 of the top 5 positions), another almost Nakkersweep in Juvenile Boys, (2nd and 3rd), 2nd in Junior A Men, and 3rd in Juvenile girls! Another day of very exciting racing. Racing resumes today, with the Skate Sprints and then tomorrow with a long distance Classic Mass Start race!
(February 7th)
Eastern Canadian Championships - More Photos
Click here to see some more great shots from the skate races at the Eastern Canadian Championships last weekend by Jo-Ann Holden
(February 7th)
Eastern Canadian Championships - Photos
Click here to see some great shots from Marlys Symington of the skate races from the Eastern Canadian Championships last weekend.
(February 4th)
Ask a Coach - Waxing advice for the CSM
If you're looking for waxing tips for this weekend's Canadian Ski Marathon, there are some posted now on Ask a Coach.
(February 4th)
Eastern Canadian Championships - Results and Photos
This past weekend, Nakkertok racers competed in the Eastern Canadian Championships taking place in Gatineau Quebec. Nakkertokers had some great races including top 3 finishes by many of the athletes. As well, Nakkertok won the overall club award based on points. An amazing weekend for Nakkertok skiers. Congratulations to all of the athletes and support crew! For all the results, check out Zone 4 (skate event, classic event). Click here for photos from the weekend (courtesy John Stephenson and Peter Lloyd).
(February 1st)
Nakkertok Invitational - Photos (Open Men)
Click here to see some great shots from Louise Guay of the Open Men's race at the Nakkertok Invitational last weekend.
(January 27th)
Eastern Canadian Championships - Registration closes Jan 26
Don't forget to register for the Eastern Canadian Championships, taking place at Le Relais in Gatineau this upcoming weekend. Registration closes at the end of the day on Monday, January 26th. This is one of the largest and most competitive races that will take place in Ontario / Quebec this winter. Teams participate from across Eastern Canada and the US. To register go to Zone 4.
(January 26th)
Nakkertok Invitational - Results
Although the temperature was very cold, the Nakkertok Invitational went ahead with temperatures hovering just below - 20 C! Nakkertok had some great results for this NCD event. For all the results, check out Zone 4.
(January 26th)
Nakkertok Jacket update
The light weight (NeoPro) jackets are supposed to arrive this Friday and will be available for pick-up during the Nakkerok Invitational on Saturday. The warmer (Morpho) jackets are due to arrive on Monday and will be available for pick-up at practice on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.
Another good day for Nakkertok at the 2nd day of the Ontario Cup at North Bay. Yesterday Nakkertok athletes took home more medals in several categories including the top position in Junior A Men (Aiden Lennie 1st / Andrew Stewart-Jones 3rd), Junior B Boys (Guillaume Michaud-Ethier 1st), Juvenile Boys (Ezekiel Williams 1st / Dominique Moncion-Groulx 3rd), Juvenile Girls (Kirsten Petersen 1st), and Junior Girls ((Noemi Berube 1st / Michelle Workun-Hill 2nd)! There were another 20 top 10 finishes as well today. Congratulations to all the athletes, coaches, waxers and support crew for a very successful and fun weekend after many challenges in getting there. This was also a great opportunity for the Nakkertok Quebec athletes to join with the Nakkertok Ontario athletes for another competition.
The combined total number of athletes we had this weekend was 40, the largest team that we've ever taken to a competition! Thanks to all the organizers including Anne Duggan, Cindy Lyon, Jill Kearney, Nathalie Gilbert and all of the other people that made it happen! Complete results can be found on Zone 4!
(January 19th)
Whistler World Cup - Update #6
Update #6 from Dirk and Claudia who are out in Whistler, BC for the World Cup. In this update, Claudia provides gives us the play by play excitement of the Men's and Women's Pursuit Races! Many thanks to Claudia for sending the daily updates from the World Cup in Whistler.
"Woke up to clear skies and crisp mountain air for a third straight day this morning – the Europeans believe this is normal for Whistler in January….I think they’ll be in for a surprise in 2010.
Men raced first today in the 30 km Pursuit (4 laps of 3.75km classic, 4 laps of 3.75 skate). The BC Team opened the venue in synchronized fashion as forerunners – with the women skating the blue course and the men classic on the red....." Click here for more
(January 18th)
Ontario Cup North Bay - Classic Results
There were some stellar results by Nakkertok athletes today at the Ontario Cup in North Bay. Nakkertok placed 20 athletes in the top 10 of their respective categories and also placed first in 5 categories. Overall it was a great day! To check out all the results go to Zone 4. Thanks to all the support crew as well for a great race today!
(January 17th)
Whistler World Cup - Update #5
Read here for update #5 from Dirk and Claudia who are out in Whistler, BC for the World Cup. In this update, Claudia provides a great description of the Canadians in their sprint races! Click here for a few photos courtesy of Claudia Van Wijk.
"An exciting day in the Sprints bowl of the Callaghan Valley - great fast conditions in this warm coastal BC climate. A big undertaking to run two World Cups side-by-side, XC Ski Sprints and Nordic Combined – made it fun for spectators and challenged the multitude of volunteers testing many different functions. The comment was made that there were probably 10 times more Volunteers sporting their navy blue Whistler Olympic Park jackets than spectators at today’s venue...." Click here for more
(January 17th)
Coupe Skinouk - Photos
Anne Duggan was at the Coupe Skinouk event last weekend and took some great photos of our Nakkertok racers. Click here to check them out!
"A real treat awoke me at 2:30am this morning …Dirk, arrived back from his overnight grooming job early. With the below zero temperatures the crew chose to meet at 8pm – which gave the tracks maximum time to firm up overnight. This meant Dirk and I got to enjoy our first breakfast together, and hopefully a ski..." Click here for more
(January 16th)
Quebec Cup Race - St. Jerome
The Quebec Cup race in St. Jerome this weekend is cancelled due to extreme cold. For more info.
(January 16th)
Keep Trying, Don't Stop, Make Yourself Better Each Day! by Mike Vieira
After the stellar results achieved by Nakkertok athletes at World Junior Trials, Coach Mike put down his thoughts about the achievements and the potential for Nakkertok racers to compete with the best in Canada!
"Keep trying, don’t stop, make yourself better every single day, push your limits, never quit, there will be ups and downs....
The first Nationals trip that Nakkertok Coach Mike Vieira went on with Nakkertok was to Thunder Bay in 2006. This was also the first Nationals for Aidan Lennie and Steffan Lloyd. Some very inspiring races happened in Thunder Bay and both of these athletes posted some of their very best results up to that point. Steffan placed 11th in a distance classic (Juvenile Boys) and Aidan, in his first year skiing, came 44th in a 15km race (Junior Boys)..." Click here to read on.
(January 15th)
Ask a Coach - more questions and answers
There are a couple of more Questions and Answers on "Ask a Coach" - 1) How to wax in cold weather and 2) When are the new jackets coming in. Click here to view.
Woke up to clear skies – saw the mountains, all of them – in every direction we looked. And the ground was frozen.
Great news for ski conditions. Upon arriving at the Nordic Centre we right away knew a big event was unfolding. Parking marshals, designated parking for athletes (teams) and spectators – recreational skiers were to proceed to the Biathalon Area where the ski shop, and access to trails was unhindered and continue to be open to the public..." Read more
"Four days into their grooming, lists are getting longer and more specific. The Russian TD and the German TD have arrived – both pointing out important details. The snow is too soft on the outskirts of the course as ski poles sink in, so Dirk has organized the biggest of the grooming machines -the Pisten Bully 600 to slowly groom and compress the snow this morning..." Read more
(January 13th)
XC Ottawa Duathlon - Photos
Click here to see some great photos from Sunday's race by Lyle Fair (on Devan's new camera!).
(January 13th)
XC Ottawa Duathlon - Results
Results are now posted for last weekend's XC Ottawa Duathlon held at Nakkertok South. To check them out click here.
(January 13th)
Whistler World Cup - Head of Course Report
This week Dirk and Claudia Van Wijk are out in Whistler, BC for the World Cup that's taking place there on the weekend Jan 16 - 18. It will be an exciting series of races. Dirk is there this week as a lead up event to the Olympics as the Head of Course Preparations. Dirk will also be the Head of Course for the Olympics when they're in Whistler next year. He and Claudia will be providing a series of reports to provide us with some insight and a peak into the world of Olympic and World Cup racing. Here's the first report. Also here's a link for World Cup coverage on CBC starting on Friday.
(January 12th)
Weekend Results - Coupe Skinouk
Yesterday the Nakkertok racing team was out at Lac Beauchamp in Gatineau, Quebec for the 1st NCD race of the season. Nakkertok had some great results at the event. Click here to check them out.
(January 11th)
World Junior Team Trials- Photos and article
Click here for some great shots from the World Team Trials this week from Steffan Lloyd. As well, there was a nice article written up in the Citizen about the Nakkertok team heading to Canmore.
(January 4th)
World Junior Team Trials - Classic Sprint
The team finished their final event today at the World Team Trials. Nakkertok had some strong results on the day. Perianne Jones, now a National Team member, finished first on the day in the Open Women's category. Patrick Stewart-Jones improved his qualifying position from 9th place to a very impressive 7th place finish! This result is even more impressive given that he's had to recover from a broken collar bone in the fall and he's also 2 years younger than some of the athletes that he's competing against.
Andrew Stewart-Jones and Michelle Workun-Hill also had good results today finishing 16th in their respective races. Between the Junior Men and Women Nakkertok placed 6 athletes in the top 30. Leif Lennie who's been sick this week, just missed qualifying by one position! The team that is selected to go to the World Junior Championships this year is made up of the winners of each of the 3 events and a fourth skier. The fourth skier is selected based on their performance.
Congratulations to all the athletes that went out to Canmore to compete in this very competitive event!
There are some photos of Nakkertok and Ottawa area athletes on XC Ottawa's site. For all the results, visit http://www.zone4.ca and also visit Cross Country Canada's website for more info.
(January 4th)
World Junior Team Trials - Pursuit Race
Nakkertok had another good day at the World Junior Trials in Canmore, Alberta. Today's event was the Pursuit race. Steffan Lloyd had another really strong day with a second 4th place finish. He was followed again closely by Aidan Lennie who finished in 8th place. Steffan was in a pack of 4 coming into the finish area. Steffan and another skier pushed the pace and put some space between themselves and the other 2 skiers and then he outsprinted the third for an exciting 4th place finish. Noemi Berube also had a great race finishing 7th in the Junior Women's category. It was an especially close finish as well. Noemi was in 5th place coming into the finish and was just outsprinted to the finish. A great race for an athlete that still has 3 more years in this category!
Nakkertok put 5 athletes in the top 20 of the Junior Men's race, more than any other club at the competition. A really great set of results at this very high calibre competition. Tomorrow is the final day of competition with the Classic Sprint event. Should be a very exciting race!
Nakkertok has 10 athletes competing this week at the World Team Trials in Canmore, Alberta. For our Junior team racers attending, this is an important event since it is the race which determines the athletes that will go to the World Championships for both senior and junior ages. Today was the Middle Distance race and we had some great results from the team. Steffan Lloyd placed 4th overall and Aidan Lennie was just behind him in 5th in the Junior Men's category. This is a great result considering that is against the best skiers across Canada! On the women's side, Michelle Workun-Hill had a very impressive race, placing 9th overall in the Women's category. Our racers will be doing a pursuit race tomorrow and a final sprint event on Wednesday.
Here are some additional photos from the races in Duntroon last weekend from Claudia Van Wijk. If you're wondering about the maple syrup, each of the athletes making it to the podium received a bottle.
(December 26th)
Duntroon Canada Cup Races - More photos
Here are some additional photos from Sunday's Classic Sprint race in Duntroon last weekend.
(December 24th)
Duntroon Canada Cup Races - Results and photos
This past weekend Nakkertok racers went to Duntroon, Ontario for an Ontario and Canada Cup race. There was lots of great skiing. Conditions were superb, if not almost too snowy. We received about 30 cm of snow on the first day and it seemed to snow constantly throughout the weekend with bitterly cold temperatures. The new Nakkertok looked great as a sea of Nakkertokkers raced to podium and top finishes! To see all the results, go to Zone 4. Click here for some photos from the event - Skate sprints, Skate long distance. We'll get some photos from the classic sprints up shortly.
Thanks to the organizer of the trip - Gwen Avery who worked hard to ensure that everyone was well accomodated and to John Stephenson for organizing the transportation. No small feat when we're talking about 50 people heading out to a trip! Many thanks also to all the waxers, support crew and parents for making things fast and seamless for the athletes.
(December 23rd)
Foret Montmorency Training Camp - photos from Skate race
Here are some additional great shots from the Foret by Anna Tonneguzzo of Sunday's Skate race.
(December 16th)
Foret Montmorency Training Camp - report by Zeke Williams
Nakkertok racer and roving reporter, Zeke Williams, put together the following report on the training camp from the weekend:
I (among others) have been looking forward to the first on-snow trip of the year since the spring and, once again, the Foret camp lived up to expectations. Now, I could write forever about the endless kilometers of freshly groomed trails and the spectacular boreal forest of the Laurentides. But, since this is just supposed to be a couple paragraphs long, I will list some of the pros and cons of the trip for the interests of those of you who did not participate in it.
Pros:
SNOW! The Foret Montmorency gets 6 meters of the white stuff every season.
Good grooming. On a number of occasions we were the first people out on the trails after the groomer (although, this may just be due to the fact that nobody was up as early as us).
The Hills. You can really feel the G-forces as you bomb up and down the trails.
Chill'n. A number of people brought movies. I like movies.
Being able to go outside and have ski trails right there.
First race of the season!!
Cons:
The cafateria food could have been better. . .although, on one of the days, they made sugar pie--which is definitively a pro.
ummm. . . the bus ride was kind of long, but playing name-the-song hangman made it a pro.
Ok, I guess the only real con that I can think of is that time really seems to go by too fast. So, before you know it, you're sitting at home again dreaming about the next trip.
Z W
(December 15th)
Foret Montmorency Training Camp - results from skate and classic races
Yesterday and today, there were several athletes racing in the classic and skate races at Foret Montmorency. There were was some strong competition at the race and some great results from Nakkertokkers. In most categories we had athletes in the top 5 placings. Check out all the results on Zone 4!
(December 14th)
Silverstar Racing Report
Several of our racers were out in Silverstar last week for an Ontario Team Training Camp as well as several who had travelled there for early season training. Claudia Van Wijk prepared the following report on Nakkertok performances at a Canada Cup race taking place while they were out there.
First Race of the 2008/09 cross country ski season happened in Sovereign Lakes, BC this past weekend. Seven Nakkertok skiers - three came west with the Ontario Team; Leif Lennie, Leslie Foley and Kirsten Petersen and both Weber lads - Tessum and Nanssen as well as Katrina and Stefani Van Wijk competed in the Haywood/Teck Canada Cup competition. A large USA contigent of skiers came north due to the lack of snow in Soldier Hollow, Utah to have over 300 competitors at this first of the season race. The Senior skiers are staying on in Sovereign Lakes for the second Canada Cup that stars today, as Calaghan Valley didn't have enough early snow.
It was very exciting to watch Saturday Freestyle Sprints where all Nakkertok racers qualified for the Heats. Hghlights were seeing Kirsten Petersen, Stefani and Katrina Van Wijk move all the way through to the Finals - with Katrina suprising the Cdn ski world by securing a Silver medal in Junior A Women. Katrina has focused on slalom kayaking these past 2 seasons, but loves to ski which is the ideal off-season training for her. See results here
Sunday's Classic long distance race was changed to Freestyle, due to the hard-packed icy base not allowing the creation of fresh double classic tracks. Leslie Foley raced to a superb 5th place finish in Junior B Women, Leif Lennie a great 13th place in Junior A Men, and Kirsten Petersen rocketed to a Silver medal in the fresh soft snow that fell overnight. See results here
(December 14th)
Foret Montmorency Training Camp - and even more photos
Foret Montmorency Training Camp - photos from classic race
Today there were several athletes racing in the classic race at Foret Montmorency. Here are some photos from the race today!
(December 13th)
Foret Montmorency Training Camp - mini report and photos
We're having a great training camp up at the Foret Montmorency. Yesterday and Thursday we spent doing lots of skiing and technique work. Conditions have been very good with lots of snow. Today the temperatures are very cold. Overnight temperature was -24 C. Today the athletes went out for a workout while some are racing in a classic race being held at the Foret. Tomorrow most of the athletes will be racing in the skate race. Here are some photos from the camp!
(December 13th)
Midget Training Camp - report by Alexandra Slobodian
Some additional info from Chris Bloch-Hansen on hotboxing skis and a great price for Nakkertok skiers at Fresh Air!
A request from Petter Northug and Bjorn Linde to join the Nakkertok program!
(December 9th)
Nakkertok Midget Camp - report by Jesse Williams
Jesse Williams was at our camp Midget Camp on the weekend and provided the following report:
The overnight Nakkertok South training camp is something most midgets look forward to at the beginning of the season. It?s usually the first skiing at Nakkertok and you get to play capture the flag, sleep over, eat good food and have lots of fun. This year, after the Saturday practice (and some grueling three minute intervals) we headed over to Nakkertok South and divided into three groups. My group started with games (chuck it and fireball), then worked on technique with Kevin, and then had a snack.
We then went back out for a scavenger hunt. There was argument over who would sleep where--would the girls or the boys get the ski barn. The group with the largest number of points after the day?s activities would win the barn. So the scavenger hunt was important. We would get points for the objects found during the hunt and then points for using our objects to make a Christmas decoration. After this we had supper. The food was good and we listened to music from a stereo Pav brought.
We then had a party and played charades for more points. THE BOYS WON!!!!!! At about 7:30 we played our annual game of capture the flag in the dark. We went to bed pretty late.
In the morning we were awakened at seven by Kevin for a ten minute run and came back for breakfast, did a relay race/duathlon, had an hour zone one ski, ate lunch, packed up and finished with a forty five minute game of fireball before being picked up.
All this fun would not have been possible without amazing coaches: Kevin, Luc, Paul, Pav, and Meagan, and Sacha?s mom, Andree, who organized all the food. Thank you to all of you who helped.
(December 9th)
Ask a Coach - new questions answered
New questions and answers posted on "Ask a Coach" - 1) hotboxing those skis for superior glide.
(December 2nd)
Skiing Conditions - Your turn to update
Check out the following link which I've just added. This provides you the ability to provide ski condition reports for others in the area. If you've been out and skied, pass along the good, the bad and the beautiful to your fellow skiers. Just click on this link and it'll take you to a page with ski condition reports and a form below which you can complete to provide your own report. Let me know if there's anything additional you'd like to add to the form. You can also get to the page by Mousing Over the "Conditions" item on the left hand menu and then clicking on "Gatineau Park and Area".
(December 1st)
Skiing Conditions in the Gatineaus
Skiing today is very good although the new snow is quite soft. We received about 15 cm of snow on the parkway. It's groomed from P8. Wax was red this morning. There were a few skaters this morning and the snow was holding up but there were a few pushes where you could see pavement. It's great to get out!- Peter Lloyd
(November 25th)
Skiing in the Gatineaus
For those of you itching to get out and ski, there is pretty good skiing up along the Champlain Parkway starting at the bottom of Black Lake Hill all the way to Huron Lookout. The best access point is P6 (Mackenzie King Estate). Just hike over to Mulvihill Parking Lot and you can ski most of the way from there! I used Vauhti Carrot for grip and the snow was pretty good the whole way. A few grassy patches. Wear your rock skis for sure. If we get the snow predicted for the next couple of days, the skiing will be very good! If anyone else has gone out and found some decent locations, let me know and I'll post it. - Peter Lloyd
(November 23rd)
Nakkertok Jackets - Ready for Ordering!
The newly designed Nakkerwear jackets are ready for ordering!
We have a complete set of sizes for try-ons. There are 2 styles of jacket, one of medium weight and one light weight. Orders will be taken at the following times and locations:
Saturday November 22 - NCC Visitor Centre, King room (down the ramp at the back of the building from 9 am to 12:15 pm
Wednesday November 26 - Mooney's Bay/Terry Fox Field House from 5:30 to 7pm (If they don't lock up at 7pm I'll stay later)
Saturday November 29 - NCC Visitor Centre, King room (down the ramp at the back of the building from 9 am to 12:15 pm
The order form is available here, simply click to download. Orders can be mailed in as per instructions on the order form.
Please note that we do not expect to receive the jackets we order until January. Also note that the order must be received by November 30. When the order is placed, additional orders can not be accepted.
(November 20th)
Ask a Coach
There are a few questions and answers posted on Ask a Coach. Check them out here!
(November 18th)
Ask a Coach!
There's a new feature on the Nakkertok Racing Team website - Ask a Coach! You can see the button on the left hand menu items.
We encourage you to post those burning questions you may have as an athlete or parent. Our experienced team of coaches will try to answer your questions as best as possible or help you to find the answers. Questions and answers will be posted on the website for everyone to learn more. Did you ever wonder why you're eating so much these days... or maybe how to improve your agility...or what's the best way to improve my strength... or why can't i use the same skis I had last year, they were perfect with my ski suit!
(November 7th)
Time Management for Nakkertok Racers
We had a full house and great participation at our Time Management for Nakkertok Racers session held yesterday at the Chelsea Community Centre. If you'd like a copy of the presentation you can download it here. Don't forget to write down your goals and put them somewhere you'll remember them!
(November 2nd)
Nakkerwear Update!
The samples of youth lined suits in medium have arrived. There is not a youth large sample, we have to estimate it. It is in between the youth medium and adult xsmall. The lined suits have a panel of mesh in the front of the top and of the pants so they are less lined than expected. There is also a sample of the unlined suit in youth medium. Note that these samples are not in the Nakkertok colours.
Fittings and orders will be on Wednesday October 29 from 5:30 to 7 pm at the Field house at the Terry Fox track by Mooney's Bay. If they don't lock up at 7pm like they did last week, the fitting will continue until 8:30 pm. The final fit and ordering session will be on Saturday November 1 from 10 am to 12:30 pm at the Visitors Centre in the Gatineau Park in the King room which is at the back of the building, down the ramp.
Click here for the order form. You can also mail your order with a cheque to Christine Holstead, the details are on the bottom of the order form.
The new Nakkertok jacket samples are expected in the second half of November, stay tuned for details on fittings and ordering.
(October 28th)
Gatineau Park Parkways - Gates are now closed!
With the overnight freezing that happened on Wednesday evening the NCC has closed the parkways. This is great news for Roller Skiers as we'll now have access to the entire parkway to train on. It's not a guarantee that the parkways will stay closed till the snow flies, but in past years it has stayed closed after the initial freeze. Hopefully this will be the case this year as well.
(October 23rd)
Nakkertok South Trail Clearing - Thanks!
Thanks to everyone for helping out with the many tasks at Nakkertok South this past Saturday. It was a beautiful day and everyone's enthusiasm was inspiring. There are many more projects planned before the snow flies and your help makes all of the tasks less daunting. Please stay tuned. Also check out a couple of photos from the day from Beth and Ross MacLeod.
Thanks again!
Dirk and Claudia Van Wijk and John Stephenson
(October 20th)
New Nakkerwear!
The Nakkertok ski suit and jacket have been re-designed and the ordering has begun! Due to timing with the suppliers, only suits will be ordered at this time; jackets will likely be ordered later in November. Samples of the suits in the new design in a range of sizes will be available at the Terry Fox field house (near Mooney's Bay) during practice Wednesday October 22 and the NCC visitors centre Saturday October 25. Orders will be taken at these times with payment by cash or cheque.
You can get a copy of the Order Form here. Please note that the prices are higher than we had hoped due to the need to add taxes and because of the decline of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar in the recent weeks.
(October 19th)
Rollerski Sprint Time Trial and Heats - Video
We had a lot of fun on Saturday morning doing some double pole sprint time trials and heats with Nakkertok and Skinouk Junior Racers. If you'd like to see some of the action and there was lots of it, or want to see what sprinting is all about, check out the Videos on youtube - Part 1 and Part 2. It's quite impressive to see how fast all these racers are and their agility and balance on their skis.
(October 19th)
Chelsea Challenge - Results
On Thanksgiving, many of the Nakkertok team participated in the Chelsea Challenge 5 and 10 km races. This year the team had some really fast results including Aidan and Leif Lennie coming 1st and 2nd in the 10 km, Guillaume Michaud-Ethier coming 1st in the 5 km race and Emilie Stewart-Jones coming 1st in the Womens 5 km. Congratulations to everyone who competed. Many thanks to the organizers who did a great job. Complete results from the race can be found here.
(October 13th)
Gatineau Parkway Time Trial - Results
On Sunday we held a rollerski time trial on the parkway and the results were amazing! I think everyone who did the same time trial in June improved in October, and many athletes significantly. Click here to see the results from last weekend and here to see the results from June. Remember with rollerski time trials, it's important not to compare yourself to others, since there are so many different factors which affect the outcome, e.g. skis, wheels, etc. The important thing is to look at previous results and see how you're doing! Time trials are a great place to try out different things before the racing season begins.
(October 10th)
Adirondacks 2008 - Photos updated
I've updated Rachel Williams photos from the Adirondacks with additional photos and higher resolution. Click here to check them out.
(October 5th)
Adirondacks 2008 - More Photos
Here's another set of great photos from the past weekend in the Adirondacks. Click here to check out photos from James Taylor. As well, check out the main Nakkertok page to read an overview of the weekend by one of our roaming Racing Rabbit racing reporters, Zoe Williams.
(October 1st)
Adirondacks 2008 - Photos
There were quite a few photographers out to capture some of the action down in the Adirondacks this past weekend. Click here to check out photos from Rachel Williams.
(September 30th)
Nakkertok Racers at the Ski Nationals 2008
Click here to see some video of our Nakkertok skiers at the 2008 Nationals in Whistler, BC. This particular clip shows Junior B, and Juvenile Boys in the Sprint Qualifying round. For other clips from the nationals scroll down the news items.
(September 29th)
Cross Country Skiing LTAD Training Plan Design with Istvan Balyi
Cross Country Ontario is excited to bring back Istvan Balyi to Ontario. As a follow up to his 2 workshops for Cross Country Ontario, Istvan has an urgency to help our sport understand the potential of designing a training program for athletes going through their Peak Height Velocity (Growth Stage). The course takes place on October 4th and 5th at Carleton University. To register go to http://www.Zone4.ca.
(September 28th)
More Video from Nationals 2008
Video clip of the Men's Sprint Final from the Nationals last spring at Whistler.
(September 21st)
New Nakkertok Ski Wear Designs
The new Nakkerwear designs are in for 2008 and they look great. Many thanks to the ski wear design team that put it together including Christine Holstead, Mike Vieira and Leslie Foley. We have ordered a sample in each size for people to try on. We expect to get them in early October. To check it out, click here.
(September 21st)
Lost Ski Poles at P8
There was a pair of poles left after Saturday's practice at P8 by Keira Niemi. They were left by the side of the road and are KV2s. If anyone's seen them, please contact Ari Niemi!
(September 21st)
Video from Nationals 2008
I was finally able to get around to posting some video from the nationals. The clip that I've posted is the Men's Sprint Qualifier. It's a great clip to check out technique of some of the best skiers in the world. The clip includes skiers from the Swedish, American and Canadian Nationals teams. I'll be posting more video over the next couple of weeks. Click here to check it out!
(September 15th)
Strength Test - Results from July
Click here to check out the results from July's Strength Test held in the Arboretum!
(September 6th)
Parent Information Evenings
Please mark these important dates on your calendar. At least one parent needs to attend the Parent Information Evening in order to get an understanding of the program the upcoming ski season:
Midgets, Juvenile and Junior Racers: Monday, September 15 7:00pm - 9:00pm *NOTE EARLIER DATE* J.A. Dulude Arena, 941 Clyde Ave., Ottawa
Racing Rabbits: Monday, October 6 7:00pm - 9:00pm J.A. Dulude Arena, 941 Clyde Ave., Ottawa
(September 5th)
Upcoming events
There are lots of exciting activities planned for the fall. Here's a list of some of the upcoming Nakkertok events:
Annual Adventure Race - Sunday, September 21
Adirondacks Hiking Weekend - September 26 - 28
Parent's Information Meetings -
September 15 - Midget, Juvenile and Junior Racers
October 6 - Racing Rabbits
Nakkertok Race Team Ski Sale/Exchange - Saturday, October 18
Midget Training Day - Sunday, October 19
Ask any of the coaches or racing committee members for more information.
(September 5th)
Luskville Falls - photos
Kevin Jones was up at the top of the Luskville Falls catching photos of all the racers as they came up for their final push to the Fire Tower. Click here to check out the photos!
(September 2nd)
Luskville Falls Uphill Time Trial
Today we held a really fun (if you consider large quantities of lactic acid building up in your thighs fun) time trial up at Luskville Falls in Gatineau Park. It's a very steep climb that follows the picturesque Luskville Falls. It was a beautiful day for a time trial and our athletes were in fine form for a test of their strength, power and endurance.
The king of the mountain award went to Karl Saidlaw who covered the full course in 13:51! An amazing time to traverse the distance up to the fire tower from the parking lot. The other amazing result was that most of the athletes also improved their times over last year and the year before. Click here to check out the results from this year, last year, and the year before. Click here for a satellite view of the course.
(September 1st)
Nakkertok Activities Calendar
A great source of information for upcoming activities can be found in the Nakkertok Activities Calendar. To check it out, simply scroll over the Race Calendar button on the left hand menu. You'll see the second item is the Nakkertok Activities Calendar. This calendar can provide you with upcoming events, practice schedule and races. If you would like to add an event or make changes, simply send them to Peter, Brad, Kevin or Mike (email addresses below).
(September 1st)
The Zen of Parkway Closures - Find out more!
So, the Olympics are over. Kind of sad. . . But wait! Here is a timely opportunity to apply our 2008 Beijing legacy: the ability to rise with or before the sun.
It is time once again for parkways in Gatineau Park to be closed to vehicular traffic — and open for skiers — BOTH Saturday and Sunday mornings. Volunteers are needed to close the parkways in the early morning and re-open them a few hours later. Of the several dates reserved for families of Nakkertok racing team members, we are aiming at filling 8 or 9. That might seem like a lot but considering the number of us bringing our kids to P8 every weekend morning, it should be a snap if everyone who has not done this multiple times already (a few obvious suspects here, and let's give coaches a break too) takes a turn.
Here is a link to the NCD page at Cross-Country Ontario, with the sign-up schedule, procedural details and other information: http://www3.sympatico.ca/jlangs/ncd/
Simply pick a date, and drop me an e-mail at gasconlennie@sympatico.ca to let me know which date. I'll take care of posting your name on the NCD website. Once past the initial effort of getting out of bed, this is actually quite an agreeable task. Maybe not the excitement of watching the heavy eights final or of hearing Claudia's voice from the whitewater venue, but a peaceful few hours on a fresh autumn morning. Bring a thermos of coffee and a book or the weekend newspaper.
Ian Lennie
(August 28th)
Luskville Uphill Time Trial - September 1st
Nakkertok’s third annual Labour Day uphill time trial is fast approaching. This running race is all uphill starting at the bottom of Luskville falls and ending at the fire tower on the top of the Eardley escarpment. Meet at 8:30am at the Luskville falls parking lot located on Ch. Hotel de Ville just off highway 148. There are two distances for this event (half and full) and it is a fun event for anyone to try. Click here for directions.
(August 26th)
Autumn Training Begins!
The start of autumn training begins on Wednesday September 10th at 6:00 p.m. at Moodies Bay. For those who have been training over the summer months don't forget that the location changes from the Arboretum to Mooney's Bay. We're looking forward to seeing the entire team back together again for another year of training and fun!
(August 25th)
Owl Training Camp - Report and Photos
Last week the Nakkertok Junior Racing team visited Owl Rafting for their annual summer training camp. Three days of hard training, and lots of fun! The camp began with a hard strength work-out and continued with lots of aerobic training, a sprint workout, technique work and running. There were lots of other activities as well, including fireworks on Canada Day, a triathlon (swimming, running, and rollerskiing), and lots of aquatic activities. We were treated very well by the Owl Rafting team with lots of good food, and great accomodations, as well as a pontoon boat ride.
Many thanks to Dirk, Claudia and the Owl Rafting team!
To see some pictures from the camp, just click here.
Halloween Orienteering (Oct 31) -Halloween Orienteering: A very special Halloween Orienteering this year as it will occur on Oct 31!
Foret Montmorency Training Camp (Nov 19 - 22) - Early on snow training camp in and the University of Laval's Outdoor center at Foret Montmorency, Quebec (1hr North of Quebec City). This camp includes technique, intervals and the season's first on snow time trial. For more information please contact Anna at atoneguzzo@videotron.ca).
Nakkertok Nordic Racing Team is a
cross-country ski team based out of Cantley, Quebec, and provides racing programs for Ontario and Quebec athletes from across the National Capital Region.
Nakkertok maintains an extensive system of
ski trails and cabins in Cantley, Quebec ideally suited to training. Our
goal is to enable young athletes to develop their cross country skiing
abilities in a positive team atmosphere.
For more detailed information click here
Administration of this site is done by the Racing Team. Please e-mail us with
any errors, updates or information.
