You could forgive the Yellowknife Ski Club's high performance program if they seem a bit fatigued.
They have, after all, had a busy last few weeks of competition.
photo courtesy of Shawne Kokelj
The program's competitive season is all done following the completion of the Canadian Ski Championships at the Nakkertok Ski Club in Gatineau, Que., on Wednesday. The mass start races were the final orders of business for the event and all seven of Yellowknife's best and brightest young skiers hit the trails to get in one last good result.
Nicolas Bennett had the best result overall for Yellowknife as he finished 15th in the junior men's 30-km mass start on Wednesday. Clair Littlefair was the top finisher for the girls as she was 24th in the junior women's race.
Ella Kokelj and Rae Panayi flew the flag for the city in the junior girls mass start and finished 41st and 58th respectively on a very warm day.
Kokelj said she felt good in the warm-up leading into a race with a very strong field from around the country.
“I was excited about it being the last race of the season and the last chance to go out hard and get a good result,” she said. “It was super fun and we had lots of cheering from our parents and everyone there.”
The warm weather meant conditions weren't exactly copacetic to good skiing as it made the snow soft or, as cross-country skiers like to call it- "sugary- which is the death of any cross-country skier.
Kokelj said the snow made everyone work a bit harder.
“Going up the hills got the heart rate up and we were working hard,” she said. “It was a difficult day for waxing as well because we had to use a stickier wax on our skis. Normal wax doesn't work in warmer weather so we had to change it up for (Wednesday).”
Panayi also found the conditions tough.
“It was a real slog all the way,” she said. “We're familiar with the trails because we've raced here before but it was still tough because the conditions weren't the easiest. It wasn't a bad race but not my best one I've ever done.”
It was a busy week for everyone in Gatineau with everything starting out on March 13 with the classic interval start races. Bennett had the best result for the boys as he finished 15th in the junior men's 10-km race while Littlefair was 36th in the senior women's 50-km race.
The interval start races were followed by the pursuit races, where skiers started based on where they finished in the interval start. Bennett was 17th in the junior men's race while Littlefair ended up 27th in the senior women's event.
In the sprint races, Bennett was the only one to make it to the quarter-finals, officially finishing in 21st position.
This was the final competitive event of the season for the high performance program and coming off the back of the Canada Winter Games earlier this month, it was a tired bunch that competed in Gatineau.
“I started off strong but I was getting tired by the end of the week,” said Panayi.
Mike Argue, the team's head coach, was only in Gatineau for the first two days of the championships due to work commitments back home but he said the team's goal for the event was to have the best performances possible.
“Coming off the Canada Winter Games, there was some fatigue and that played a part in the performances of some,” he said. “It could have been a bit better but they should all be proud of how they skied.”
Shawne Kokelj was the co-ordinator for the skiers when Argue left for home but there was some coaching help from a familiar face. Former Yellowknife resident Paul Green, who moved to B.C. last year, was working with the Caledonia Nordic Club from Prince George at the championships and he helped out with the logistics on the ground.
“Paul was a big help with providing equipment support and helping Shawne co-ordinate everything on the ground so it was nice to have that connection,” he said.
Here's how the team did in Gatineau:
Interval start classic
Junior men's 10-km
Nicolas Bennett, 15th
Donny Boake, 25th
Jack Panayi, 34th
Junior boys 10-km
Jack Kotaska, 49th
Senior women's 5-km
Clair Littlefair, 36th
Junior girls
Ella Kokelj, 37th
Rae Panayi, 60th
Pursuit free technique
Junior boys 7.5-km
Jack Kotaska, 46 th
Junior girls 7.5-km
Ella Kokelj, 28th
Rae Panayi, 63rd
Junior men's 15-km
Nicolas Bennett, 17th
Donny Boake, 32nd
Jack Panayi, 33rd
Senior women's
Clair Littlefair, 27th
Sprints
Senior women's 1.3-km
Clair Littlefair, 40 th
Junior men's 1.4-km
Nicolas Bennett, 21st
Donny Boake, 31st
Jack Panayi, 37th
Junior girls 1-km
Ella Kokelj, 35 th
Rae Panayi, 56 th
Junior boys 1-km
Jack Kotaska, 40th
Mass start classic
Senior women's 30-km
Clair Littlefair, 24 th
Junior men's
Nicolas Bennett, 15 th
Donny Boake, 34 th
Jack Panayi, 35 th
Junior girls
Ella Kokelj, 41 st
Rae Panayi, 58 th
Junior boys
Jack Kotaska, 68 th
source: Zone 4