Kimberley local Raleigh Tarte’s meteoric ascent in the sport of Nordic Skiing continues, with a second-place finish in the U18 Boys category at the National Championships in Gatineau, Que.
Tarte battled unpredictable conditions resulting from a lack of snow and warm weather, meaning the first races in the morning to be cancelled shifting the schedule of the entire event. There were no classic technique or mass start events, only a skate interval start and a skate sprint.
“This caused lots of chaos among the 800 athletes and a big challenge for the event staff to try and pull off at least some races,” Tarte said. “On the flipside, the warm weather meant that it was super nice to walk around Ottawa and experience city life when we were not racing.”
Tarte added his paternal grandparents and a couple uncles live in Ottawa, so he and his dad flew out and stayed with them ahead of the event and were later joined by his mom and brother to visit some other family who live in Prince Edward County.
When he last spoke with the Bulletin in February, 2024, Tarte talked about just how close the margins are between finishing positions in Nordic ski racing and how his goal was to keep training to continue to push ahead and progress.
READ MORE: Kimberley’s Raleigh Tarte competes with Team Canada at World Juniors in Slovenia
“It is funny we are talking about margins because I think I have had some of the closest races of my life in Ottawa this year,” he said. “In both distance races I was one second and two seconds off of second place, which would have meant I was second every single day in competition, and in doing this would have put me first in the Overall National Championship awarded at the end of the week.
“Which to be completely honest is very frustrating. My goal was to go there and win, as the last two years I have been the national sprint champion and placed first and third in the overall the last two years and being so close to win again, even though I was pretty happy with how I raced, is tough.”
To wrap up the season, Tarte has one more trip to Jackson Hole, Wyo. and Sun Valley, Idaho, for the US Super Tour International Spring Series, where he will race the best American Nordic skiers, as well as numerous Canadians who will be there.
Beyond that, Tarte will finish High School in June and then start training full on for the 2024/25 season in May.
“I do not believe I will be going to [post secondary] school next year,” Tarte said. “I will be training with a training centre in Canada or the US and with the Canadian National Development Team, but I have not committed to anything fully and there are still lots of decisions to be made.”
Two other Kimberley skiers also fared well at Nationals: Logan Cox who took second place in Men Para Nordic and Avafei Clark who placed sixth in U16 Girls.