Kimberley has a very active cross-country skiing community, and they start them young.
Once youngsters have graduated the Jackrabbit program, many move into racing.
With good coaching and off-season dryland training, Kimberley's skiers have been doing very well on the Kootenay Cup circuit this season. So well in fact that there is hope that Kimberley may win the Cup this year.
They will have home-track advantage as the final Teck Kootenay Cup races will be held at the Kimberley Nordic Club on February 16 and 17, 2013.
The Kimberley Nordic Club has invited ski clubs from across the Kootenays and Northern U.S. region to attend this two-day event, which will feature both skating and classic ski races. Clubs from Alberta, Montana, Washington state, Idaho and the West Kootenay are expected to attend.
There will be skating technique sprint relays on Saturday, and a distance classic race on Sunday. Atom and Pee Wee team sprints go at noon on Saturday, followed by Bantam and older team sprints at 1:30 p.m. The classic distance races (20 K or less) begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
Bill Green will be coordinating the race weekend. If you'd like to help out as a volunteer or just want more information, contact him at wggreen6@gmailcom or call 250-427-5554.
CCBC, the provincial sport governing body for cross-country skiing in British Columbia, is a non-for-profit, club-based organization of more than 16,000 members. CCBC offers programs and services to support the continuous development of cross-country skiing for all ages and abilities, from introductory experiences to international excellence. Teck is the title sponsor of CCBC's Skier Development Program, thereby supporting excellence in sport and providing youth with experiences that will help them prepare for the future. For more information on CCBC, please visit www.crosscountrybc.ca.