Teck Okanagan Cup Nordic Ski Race yielded great local results — UPDATED with photos

By Kurt Grabinsky

The Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club was host to the Teck Okanagan Cup #1 Nordic ski race on Saturday January 2 at the Macpherson Nordic Trails. Although the weather was cold, with temperatures around race time only achieving a high of approximately -12° Celsius, spirits were high and the 252 participants had great ski conditions.

There were 61 Revelstoke residents who participated in this event. This race was also a BC Winter Games Zone 2 Trial. Participation involved six Okanagan-based clubs, plus the Valhalla Hills Nordic Ski Club, Canmore Nordic and two jet-setting skiers from New South Wales, Australia. The event was an interval start classic, with competitors 15 seconds apart and utilizing the diagonal-stride and double-pole techniques.

Local results (top five finishers) are as follows:

Atom Boys 1: Irah Cameron-Harding 2^nd, Hamish Woodman 3^rd, Henri Gallant 4^th, Zachary Grabinsky 5^th. Atom Boys 2: Nicholas Gill 3^rd.

Atom Boys 3: Kiearn MacIntosh 2^nd.

Atom Girls 1: Megan Norrie 1^st, Micayla MacIntosh 2^nd, Sela McMechan 3^rd.

Atom Girls 2: Livia McMechan 2^nd

Atom Girls 3: Fiona Woodman 1^st, Norah Painter 2^nd, Emilie Paquin 3^rd

Peewee Boys 1: Cameron Norrie 4^th, Tobin Gill 5^th

Peewee Girls 1: Natalie Morrone 1^st, Isobel Wilson 4^th,

Peewee Girls 2: Ruby Serrouya 1^st, Sophie van Oort 5^th

Bantam Boys 2: Elliot Wilson 2^nd

Bantam Girls 1: Maeve MacLeod 3^rd

Midget Girls 1: Jaclyn Elliott 3^rd

Midget Girls 2: (BC Winter Games) Kolibri Drobish 1^st, Rebecca Brosch 5^th

Juvenile Boys 1: (BC Winter Games) Simon Blackie 2^nd, Erik Brosch 3^rd

Juvenile Girls 1: (BC Winter Games) Miika Park 4^th

Juvenile Girls 2: Alana Brittin 1^st, Elizabeth Elliott 2^nd

Masters Women 40-49: Nikki Norrie 4^th

Masters Women 30-39: Marnie Graf 2^nd

Masters Men 30-39: Patrick McMechan 3^rd

Masters Men 40-49: Andrew Sheppard 4^th

Masters Men 60-69: Norm Tennant 1^st

Full results are available on the Zone4.ca website.

This event was important for Okanagan skiers born in 2001 and 2002 who were vying for spots to compete at the 2016 BC Winter Games in Penticton this February. Revelstoke Nordic skiers Simon Blackie and Kolibri Drobish automatically qualified for the BCWG by placing top two in their respective categories. Erik Brosch, Rebecca Brosch and Miika Park all placed in the top five in their respective BCWG categories and will now wait to see how many wild card spots the Okanagan region will receive for BCWG Nordic athletes. Cross Country BC will officially announce the team selection next week.

The Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club would like to thank the 62 volunteers that made this event possible. As well the following sponsors provided prizes or resources to make this event a resounding success: Skookum, Flowt, Pharmasave, Begbie Brewing Company, Revelstoke Rotary Club, The Modern Bakery and Outdoor Research.

Here is a selection of terrific photos from the race by Rob Buchanan: