North Bay Nordic Ski Club
Newsletter
President’s Message by John Bowes
As most of you may have noticed from my previous entries in the newsletter, I am a pretty positive
guy. I generally see the good in things, but I must admit, this season was challenging. I had many
skis, alone, in the cold temperatures, wrapped up in multiple layers, barely able to breathe because of
the ice buildup on my buff. I am sure most of you had similar experiences. But we all fought through
it; I saw many new faces and all the regulars out there enjoying what the Nordic club has to offer.
As mentioned, the season was COLD. Despite this, we had some great events. We hosted the Cross
Country Ski portion of the 2015 Ontario Special Olympics (a great event with great people, special
thanks to all the volunteers), the Ontario University Championships, the Blue Sky Loppet, and a very
successful Jack Rabbit/Bunny Rabbit program. We had many visits from various elementary schools
throughout the winter, a successful fun ski program and a fantastic trail reversal weekend. It is always
great to see our Nordic community throughout the season. If there is snow on the ground there are
skis on the trails.
As always, I must give a special thanks to our Board Members. They work hard to make this club run
well and we appreciate all their efforts. Our team includes Tom Cook (Building & Property), Gary
Jodouin (Treasurer), Julie Bass (Newsletter/Publicity/Social), Erin Fettes (Schools), Amy Gibson (Ski
Programs), Mike Ward (Races), David Weiskopf (Membership) and Kelly O’Grady (Trails). Extra
thanks must go out to Kelly and the grooming team for all their hard work. The trails were in great
shape all season as a result of their tireless efforts.
As I headed out this afternoon, March 29, and saw the first bare patch out on the trails, it made me
realize that Spring is on its way. Days are longer, temperatures are warming up and skis are requiring
wax beyond this season’s standard green. The skiing, however, is not over yet. I will fight hard to
achieve my ultimate goal of a May 1st ski and I hope to see you all out with me. Thanks for a great
season and I look forward to seeing you all again soon.
North Bay Nordic Ski Club Newsletter
Building and Property Report by Tom Cook
This will be my final report as the director responsible for the Building and Property portfolio as I am
resigning from this position on the executive. I am very pleased that Andy Davies has volunteered to
fill the position. I will remain on the Building and Property committee.
A few changes were made this past year which included new flooring in the snack bar, a new
condiment counter, a new ski rack for rentals and a backwash filter for our well water.
For my final report I would like to propose some suggestions to the membership that I think need to
be done to the buildings:
The chalet and garage continue to be very expensive to operate. We have tried to reduce the electric
heating costs with cost saving procedures but are still faced with exorbitant bills. To reduce our
heating costs I will be proposing that the doors in the garage be replaced with insulated doors; that
the interior of the garage be re-insulated and lined; that the basement door to the chalet be refitted
and sealed; that a wood burning stove be installed in the common room in the basement; that the
south side of the chalet be re-insulated, and finally that the south side deck be removed and an
enclosed porch be constructed at this entrance.
The Jackrabbit lodge which is used by over 90 youngsters every Sunday and serves as race
headquarters two or three times a winter needs new windows.
Obviously we cannot afford to do all of these things. The directors will be presenting a budget at the
AGM that will determine what will be done this summer. Let us know what you want to be done at the
club by attending the meeting and discussing and voting on the acceptance of the budget.
Finally, I would like to thank Heather, Vicki, and Leanne for all the help they have given to make the
chalet a warm and friendly place. Their patience and pleasant smiles plus their Nordic cookies are
greatly appreciated. A big thank you to Gary my main back up man. Thank you to Julie who
decorates the chalet for our socials and thanks to Jake and Ian our nightly custodians and wood box
fillers.
Bert Marsden and Heather
celebrating Valentine’s Day!
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North Bay Nordic Ski Club Newsletter
Membership Report by David Weiskopf
It has been a pleasure to serve the past three years as a Director on the Board. Skiing has always
been a passion of mine, and being involved with such a great club brings great satisfaction. As the
membership director for the past two years, I would like to thank everyone who has helped out with
the change over to the online membership database, which has been a huge asset to our accounting
and record keeping. I’d also like to extend my thanks to Laure Larocque for her countless hours filling
out membership buttons and stuffing envelopes until the wee hours of the night.
As a skier and resident of the North, I have always been amazed that although we have a healthy
membership and cross country skiing community amongst our own club and others, that there are not
more people who have taken up our sport. With the past winters being so long and full of snow, I
really do hope to continue to encourage and introduce new people to the sport in coming years.
Building the base of skiers in our area and improving the health of our community as a whole.
Looking forward to some great spring skiing in the coming month, and then putting the skis away in
exchange for rolling wheels!
Favourite Ski Trail
Favourite Ski Style
35
24
56
16
27
29
Sprint
Yellow
Gold
Purple
Red
Blue
Blue X
Green
Classic
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44.2%
Brown
Skate: 30.8%
Classic: 44.2%
Skate
30.8%
North Bay Nordic Ski Club Newsletter
Historical Membership Data
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
North Bay Nordic has its own App!
For all of you who have not heard, North Bay Nordic has a great new App
available for your Smartphone or tablets (iPhone and Android). With it, you can
check conditions; watch your ski history; track your progress, and compare all
your stats for the season. A HUGE thanks goes out to Scott Clark and his team
at Clark Communication for all their hard work putting this together. Check it out,
it is fantastic.
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North Bay Nordic Ski Club Newsletter
Ski Programs by Amy Bartlett-Gibson
Despite the consistently cold temperatures we managed to only cancel
one session this winter! I would like to thank all the coaches and
volunteer helpers for their hard work each week. Everyone did a great
job balancing time on the trails with fun games in the field and keeping
kids warm and moving! I would also like to thank our program
coordinator, Brittany Nelson, for all her work with our programs as well
as her support with our Bunny Rabbit classes!
If you have not yet sent us your feedback on your family’s experience with our programs we would
still love to hear from you. Please e-mail us at northbaynordic@gmail.com. Your feedback will help us
to make positive changes to the programs in the future.
We are also still looking for a Bunny Rabbit parent volunteer to join our
Parent Committee. We meet two to three times throughout the season as
a group. The parent committee helps to inform the board pre, mid and
post season about programs.
Just a reminder to families who have children finishing level 4 Jackrabbits or Track Attack that the
Development Team is a great option for those who would like to get involved in racing or participate in
loppets. It is also a good option for children who are interested in improving their speed and
technique, or just love skiing. The Development Team will begin their training season in September.
Andrew Koski-Harja and Mike Ward are the coaches and would be pleased to respond to any
questions you may have.
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North Bay Nordic Ski Club Newsletter
Development Team 2015 by Andrew Koski-Harja
Once again, an eager group of young athletes were involved with our Development (Devo) Team this
year. Led by coaches Andrew Koski-Harja and Mike Ward, fourteen athletes ranging in age from 10
to 14 years old participated in dry land training; on snow training; races, and other activities this year.
Members of the team for 2014/15 were Alek Blais-Rogers, Daelin Henschel, Derek Jones, Eric KoskiHarja, Lily McCubbin, River McCubbin, Justin Smith, Brett Stoppa, Naomi Suitor, Shkaabewis
Tabobondung, Jazz Tae-Duff, Michael Travers, Adam Valenti and Jericho Whale.
Season Highlights:




The season began in late September with dry land training. Weekday dry land training was at
Chippewa Secondary School and weekend training was at the Nordic Ski Club.
We also roller skied twice in mid-November thanks to loaned skis from the Ontario Ski Team.
Early on snow training was held on the Nipissing University soccer pitch. On snow training
moved to the Nordic Ski Club once the trails were ready.
All athletes participated in at least one of the below events or activities:
 Muskoka Loppet, Arrowhead Nordic (Huntsville)
 Ontario Special Olympics Winter Games, North Bay Nordic (forerunning/skiing in the
100 m race course)
 Sounder Loppet, Georgian Nordic (Parry Sound)
 Blue Sky Loppet , North Bay Nordic
 Near North District School Board elementary cross country ski events, North Bay Nordic
 NDA high schools events, North Bay Nordic
 NOSSA and OFSSA Nordic Championships, Laurentian Nordic (Sudbury)
 Ontario University Championships (Tour de Nipissing)
- forerunners for the course at Nipissing University (3.3 km loop)
- participating in the exhibition sprints under the lights at Laurentian Ski Hill
- paintball biathlon, Laurentian Ski Hill
 Ontario Midget Championships – Temiskaming Nordic, Cobalt
 Team “Ski the Green Trail” – twice this year
 Temiskaming Loppet, Temiskaming Nordic (Cobalt)
Thank you to Coach Toivo, Coach Sera and Coach David for your assistance this year and for
helping provide the Development Team athletes with some of the above activities.
The Development Team is always looking for new members. The goals for the team are to provide
positive race experiences; to improve technique, and to have fun. Athletes should be between the
ages of 9 and 14; have completed Jackrabbits, and have an interest in racing. If you know of anyone
who might be interested in joining us next year, please contact Coach Andrew at 705-474-0478.
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North Bay Nordic Ski Club Newsletter
Junior Racing Team at Canadian Nationals by Sera Tempio
The North Bay Nordic Junior Racing Team capped off their season with a grueling week of high
performance racing at the Cross Country Ski National Championships in Thunder Bay.
The four skiers ranging in age from 14-17 competed in 4 races over 8 days including 2 freestyle
distance races, a classic sprint and a classic distance race.
This was the first National competition for newest teammate Olivia Wolfram who joined the team as a
second year juvenile girl and was thrilled to compete amongst the country's best skiers including
national champion and World Cup medalist Perianne Jones.
Teammate Hannah Story-Korman is also a new team member and second year juvenile girl. Hannah
represented the team on the podium at three of the four Ontario Cup races but this year the top
juvenile female spots at Nationals were dominated by racers from western Canada.
In his last year on the Junior Race Team, second year junior boy Mikell Blain-Rogers faced strong
competition in a field that included boys representing club, provincial and junior national teams.
Mikell plans to continue ski racing at the varsity level.
Juvenile boy Hudson McCubbin saved his best performances of the season for Nationals. Hudson
narrowly missed the podium several times at Ontario Cup races but shone at Nationals where he
capped off the week with a 6th place overall and 3rd in Ontario on the last day of racing. Hudson
started the week off strong with a 12th place overall, in the week's first distance race, just 47 seconds
off a bronze medal spot. He continued to perform well qualifying for quarterfinals in the classic sprints.
The team is taking a well deserved rest before resuming their training in May. The team is coached
by Sera Tempio and Dave Nighbor.
We are more than just bikes. Drop by to see our complete
selection of cross country ski equipment and Nordic clothing.
593 John Street
North Bay, Ontario
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705-472-5662
www.cycleworksbikes.ca
North Bay Nordic Ski Club Newsletter
Skiing in Japan by David Weiskopf
Skiing Japan!
Well another ski season has come and past and with that many great memories. This past December, Laure
and I were fortunate to travel to Japan for several weeks to sightsee and ski. Most people don’t associate
Japan with skiing at all, and if they do, they think deep powder skiing, surely not cross country skiing. When
you think of Japan, you think of big cities, robots and sushi, however there is so much more to explore and we
were on a mission to combine a new cultural adventure with some epic cross country skiing! …
*To read full article go to; www.footstops.com/d_weisk/blog/9438/
… Overall, cross country skiing in Japan is a very different experience than what we are used to here in
Canada. I would not consider going back to Japan as an x-c ski destination, however, if you are looking to
combine a new culture and skiing, it is certainly worth considering. The whole experience there has given me
a much greater appreciation for our local club and ski community. To have an actual/physical club with
warm meals, waxing facilities and endless kilometres of perfect trails is really quite special. Combined with
the community feeling our club brings, and the culture that although we don’t think exists, really does exist
quite strongly. I sometimes think that we forget just how lucky we really are to have our club and take it for
granted.
Tom Cook to be Inducted into the North Bay Sports Hall of Fame
Tom is an inductee into the 2014 North Bay Sports Hall of Fame under
the “builder category” for Nordic skiing. Tom has been involved at the
Nordic Ski Club for over 32 years. We are grateful for his dedication,
hard work, wisdom and vision. Ceremony to be held May 2 at the Best
Western.
CONGRATULATIONS TOM!
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North Bay Nordic Ski Club Newsletter
Board of Directors
John Bowes
President
Tom Cook
Vice-President; Building and Property
Gary Jodouin
Treasurer
David Weiskopf
Membership
Kelly O’Grady
Trails
Julie Bass
Newsletter/Publicity; Socials
Mike Ward
Races
Erin Fettes
School Liaison
Amy Bartlett-Gibson
Ski Programs
Board members can be contacted by
email at: info@northbaynordic.ca
Roller Skiing
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Thanks!
Thanks to all of the volunteers who keep the
club running. Without you we could not
continue to operate.
Special thanks to the groomers; the coaches
and instructors; Heather, Vicky and Leanne in
the snack bar; the race committee; the trails
committee; the building and property
committee; everyone who work on the trails
through the adopt-a-trail program and the
overhead nearly dead brushing crew; the board
of directors, and you.
Sadly we say goodbye to winter
It has been a great year of skiing. We are now
winding down the grooming. With the
temperatures rising above freezing at night we
will not be able to groom after Wednesday,
April 8. I would like to thank the groomers for
their many hours of grooming as well as all the
volunteers who helped out with the brushing
and equipment repairs this past season.
Kelly O’Grady