Results From The 32nd Annual Manitoba Loppet...

Record Number of Skiers Participate in 32nd Manitoba Loppet

The Manitoba Loppet in Pinawa is the largest Cross Country Ski event in Manitoba. The next closest in attendance numbers is the Sandilands Classic at an average attendance over the last 5 years at 85. The Cross Country Ski Association of Manitoba advertises the Pinawa "Premier" event as the "must do" Cross Country event in Manitoba.

A combination of warmer weather and superb local organization by the Whiteshell Cross Country Ski Club (WCCSC) brought out the largest number of skiers in over 15 years in MB to Pinawa for the 32nd Manitoba Loppet. A total of 100 adults and 80 youth, ranging in age from 6 to over 60, participated in the 5 races held on Sunday the 27th of January. Races ranged in length from the 3-km Mini Loppet for younger children, to the 50-km Super Loppet for the elite skiers. The races started and finished on the Pinawa Golf Course and crossed the Pinawa Channel onto the Red and Blue Ski Trails. Full details of the race results and over 200 photographs of the skiers are posted on the WCCSC website.

http://www.whiteshellskiclub.com/photographs.html

Kick Sledding & Skijoring Demonstration

Pictorial of This Exciting Event

by Frank Walton

Snow Motion - Winter Dog Sports Club of Manitoba was recently in Pinawa for a tour of the Red Trail followed by a demonstration for the Jackrabbits. I made up a composite of these activities. The picture covers the following aspects of the afternoon's events:

• Upper right members of Snow Motion toured the Red Trail system using the skating track. They used both the kick sleigh and skijoring techniques.
• Top centre - Suzie Strachan their coordinator gave a talk and demonstration of the various techniques to the Jackrabbits and their parents.
• The kids where given an opportunity to try the various techniques (upper left and lower right).
• It was obvious that the members of the Snow Motion group both enjoy dogs and the outdoors (lower left).
• The finally featured tricks with 2 Border Collies. This was very hard to capture since the dogs were black and white and so was the trainer's clothing and background (i.e., trees and snow); and the lighting was heavy overcast.

Editor's Note: Read more about this fun event in Jackrabbit Corner articles below.

Jackrabbit Corner

Regular Hoppenings With The Young Skiers...

by Bruce Goodwin, Head Jackrabbit, Volunteer, and Resident Of Pinawa

February 03 - 2008

We seem to have turned the corner on the very cold weather and the rest of the winter season promises to be great for our shorter skiers. This week we moved into more badge testing. One of our newer Jackrabbits just started this year, but received both his Green and Yellow technique badges this past Sunday. To earn their first level Green badge, our Jackrabbits must display some basic skiing skills, and they must also toast a marshmallow for their coach.

Coach Susan Barnett is shown in the above photo, wolfing down yet another offering.

Susan's daughter also earned her Red badge and displayed some very advanced skills! Many Jackrabbits earned new speed badges from the Loppet last Sunday. Of special note: Marissa, Tessa, and Grant achieved times equivalent to 50% of the speed of an Olympic athlete. Younger Tessa, Emilie, and Maren got to 40%, Aidan and Alex to 30% and Autumn to 20%. Other Jackrabbits also had remarkable speeds, including Skye, Ben, Sophie, Emma, Anika, Megan, Liam, and Marc. Most of them had personal bests but didn't earn a new speed badge. Marc, for example, cut 43 seconds off his previous best and needed to lose just 7 seconds more to earn his 40% badge.

This week we separated into two bunches of Jackrabbits. All of the more developed skiers joined coaches Linda Tait, John Buell and Rebecca Bilsky and me for another skating trip around the Red Trail. This time it was a technique and critique session, where we demonstrate common problems with technique, and then of course we practice the correct way. I called upon my many years of experience to display a multitude of problems while the other coaches repaired the damage. We used the offset skate to climb hills and the marathon and the one-skate for speed on the flats. The two-skate and coach's skate techniques are not as popular but we tried them anyway. We also practiced some downhill turning tricks, including the very fast step turn and the Christie sideslip. Meanwhile the other group was pottering about somewhere with Susan, Kevin Dearing, and John Truman. I think they were also skate skiing, based on the tracks all over the golf course.

For those of you out for a ski on the golf course, watch out for our new ski jump and bicycle run. They need some caution and can give you quite a fright, not to mention a bruise or two, if you are not lined up quite right. We'll be using them next week, and starting out longer tours soon. As ever we welcome visitors, especially shorter ones. We start skiing at 1:30 and our snack bar opens at 3 PM.

February 17 - 2008

This is usually the outstanding part of our ski season. There is enough snow, the ski trails have been packed and tracked, and the weather is cooperative. Even better, our shortest Jackrabbits have developed enough skills and endurance that we can explore some new trails.

Our activities this Sunday are a good example. All of us skied on the Blue Trail, which has more hills per kilometre than any of our other trails. Most of the Jackrabbits skied in the normal direction, except for our more advanced Jackrabbits. They wanted more of a challenge and so we skied in the opposite sense. They needed to make some fancy moves because several downhills have kinks and very sharp corners at the bottom. To increase their ordeal, we took the Ken Demoline link to check out several monster hills on the Orange Trail. One such hill has claimed my close attention several times but fortunately I was not embarrassed today. Our workout covered more than 6 km and 20 huge hills but took just over an hour.

We eventually met up with the rest of the Jackrabbits. Bryn Wallach had built a temporary fire pit in a fantastic location close to the start of the Red Trail. We were sheltered from the wind and facing the sun, and the hot chocolate and marshmallows were especially tasty. We awarded several badges at the fire today, including a Racer badge to young Alex who competed in both the Loppet and Provincials this year!

We also welcomed a few new visitors. Two newcomers joined us all the way from Argentina, and several broke away from the Dark Side (hockey) for an afternoon of fun in the outdoors. We hope they return and bring some more guests, especially the shorter variety. Our ski sessions typically run from 1:30 to 3:30 on Sunday afternoon and our snack bar opens at 3 PM but you'll need skis to find it.

February 24 - 2008

This weekend our trails were very busy with perhaps 20 visitors from a ski club in Winnipeg. Several of them happened to see two of our little Jackrabbits ski by and remarked to me how well they skied. It's very true. These two particular Jackrabbits, who are just in their second season, already have better technique that most of the adult visitors. They are also more fearless and will (successfully) take on any hill we have and come back for more.

The Jackrabbit session last Sunday was perfect for skiers. In the bright sunny conditions, and with the temperature hovering near -1 o C, many Jackrabbits were happily skiing without mitts or toques. This week we focused on badge testing and a bunch (nest?) of Jackrabbits demonstrated that they had the skills to advance. The first three Jackrabbit badges cover all of the basic skills. Only seven children in this group were available today but all moved up a notch - congratulations to Dylan, Megan, Kalan, Tessa, Alex, Autumn and Sasha!

The three advanced Jackrabbit badges are more difficult to earn, but Liam, Grant, and Maren had little difficulty taking their well-deserved Blue badges while Skye and Tessa graduated with the ultimate Purple badge. All of the advanced Jackrabbits had a special challenge at the end of session: we dared them to skate up the Wall. This is a long steep hill that requires hands and feet to climb in the summer, but our Jackrabbits scampered up the hill without a stop. Fortunately they did not notice their coaches plodding along behind!

The remainder of our ski season will include longer and longer tours. This coming Sunday or next, we plan to ski to the cabin on the English River trail for hot dogs. Most will ski the entire 11 km but some will catch a sleigh ride. Consider joining us and get a free marshmallow expertly toasted by a Jackrabbit (a basic skill requirement).

March 03 - 2008

The highlight of our Jackrabbit session this week was a visit from Snow Motion the Winter Dog Sports Club of Manitoba