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December 2007 | Newsletter Archive |  |
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Page December 2007
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Whiteshell Cross-Country Ski ClubSnow Has Promised A Great Year Of Skiing
Members & Friends of Whiteshell Cross Country Ski Club We have completely revamped the WCCSC website and hope you enjoy the new look. (See the image of the Home Page below). Just click on the following link to connect to our website: http://www.whiteshellskiclub.com/ The latest issue of eX-Cetera (i.e., our Fall Newsletter) is teeming with information on the upcoming ski season. The newsletter can be found on the website under the menu item “News & Events”. [Quick Link to the Newsletter: http://www.whiteshellskiclub.com/NewsLetters/EtDec07.pdf ] Our membership drive is now in high gear. We welcome prior members and are looking to attract new faces as well. Our membership fees have remained unchanged for quite a few years: $50.00 for a Family, $30,00 for an Individual (over age 19), and $15.00 for a Junior (19 years or younger). Our Jackrabbit Program is a bargain at $10.00 per person. (Parents are encouraged to participate with their children at no extra cost.) If you have yet to join our Club, and enjoy our network of ski trails or would like to participate in our programs, you can find the 2007-08 Membership Application Form under the menu item "About Us". Please print a copy, fill it in, sign the waiver and give it to any member of the Executive or mail it to the address given on the form. [Quick Link to Membership Application: http://www.whiteshellskiclub.com/Forms/MemForm.pdf ] The 32nd Manitoba Loppet will take place on Sunday, January 27th, 2008. For the second year running, we will include the 50-km SUPER Loppet. Paul Chambers is the Loppet Chair. If you would like to volunteer to help, contact him at: ultrastick@gmail.com . You can link to the Loppet Schedule of Events, Course Maps and Entry Form directly from the Home Page. [Quick Link to Loppet Information: http://www.whiteshellskiclub.com/loppet.html ] If you have any comments or suggestions regarding the new website, please contact the Webmaster, Frank Walton at fwalton@mts.net .
We are finally out of the blah part of the year and our Jackrabbits are in heaven. We want another 30 cm or more snow, but there's enough now to put us into the fun times. Two Sundays ago we were breaking trails and practicing downhill survival on the golf course. Last Sunday we were again on the golf course, but this time following the excellent tracks prepared by our trail groomers. In another few weeks the Channel will freeze over and we can get across to the Red Trail and have more winter adventures in our fantastic surroundings.
Our Club volunteers are out at all hours and in all conditions getting our trails groomed. The plan this year is to maintain a skating track on the western part of the golf course. This is good news for our Jackrabbits because they want to learn six or more different ski skating techniques. Several of the techniques are for speed on the flats, but there are also special skills that they use to skate UP even the steepest hills. You may find this hard to believe, so maybe you should come out and see them in action!
Next Sunday we will be skiing again. We will finally start a ‘regular' session, involving a pre-ski stretch, games on skis, technique drills and more. We also offer lessons to parents and grandparents so that they can keep up with their little ones. Our sessions generally end with hot chocolate and marshmallows around an open fire. This would be a good time to bring potential little Jackrabbits out to see what we do. Our usual fire pit is a short 5-minute walk from the Hydro transformer station on the highway and visitors are always welcome. Check out our photos on our web site – you can jump right to the photos using http://www.whiteshellskiclub.com/jrpics.html Give me a call (753-8393) for more information.
SCHOOL SKI 2007
Our Whiteshell Cross Country Ski Club offers two programs for children. The first is Jackrabbits, named after Jackrabbit Johanson. J.J. was a prime mover in introducing cross-country skiing to Quebec, Ontario and the northeastern States. He started skiing in Norway at just five years of age and continued skiing well past age 100! His enthusiasm gave rise to a children's program for cross-country skiing, first starting in Winnipeg but now nationwide.
Our Club's Jackrabbit program was one of the first to form and we have been running for about 35 years. We have introduced cross-country skiing to more than 500 children and most still enjoy the snowy months. This year we started training in late October and 30 of us are now out skiing every Sunday. We will continue until the snow finally disappears. Our keen Jackrabbits hope this won't happen until late May or early June!
The Club's second children's program is School Ski. This past week we held our 6 th annual event and introduced the entire Grade 2 and Grade 3 classes to our sport. As ever we had a challenge finding enough skis, and many local families helped out with temporary loans. Our Club volunteers included Alf Wikjord, Elaine Greenfield, Bryn Wallach, Derek Owen, and Doreen Bigelow. We also had extra help from teachers Erin Nolan and Janet Hilliard, plus able volunteers from Grade 6 (Shannon, Natalka, Steven and Jordan).
The program started with a discussion by EMS staff on safety and dressing for the weather. Coaches then gave instructions on Monday through Wednesday. The weather was perfect and we were out for an hour or more every day. The first day was pandemonium, but by Wednesday the improvement in skills was absolutely astonishing.
The finale was the Gilbert School Great XC Ski Challenge, held under cold windy conditions on Thursday. The highlight of the tournament was the rubber chicken relay. Two teams competed head to head, vying for the World's Ugliest Trophy ™ (built by Avery). This year the Skunks beat out the Badgers but there was almost a photo finish. Following tradition, the trophy was completely demolished by the winners (the Skunks) while the second place team (the Badgers) looked on longingly. Check out more photographs at www.WhiteshellSkiClub.com and join us on the snow soon!
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