Ski club to build storage facility

Cross country skiers in Yorkton will have a new amenity to help them enjoy the winter activity moving forward.

"The Yorkton Cross Country Ski Club has benefited greatly by the cooperation with the city of Yorkton and Deer Park. We have had the use of Deer Park Golf Course for decades, to set what started out as five kms of classic trails to the present eight kms featuring both classic and skate style of skiing. In the last five years the club has purchased a top notch Ted Tec groomer and a new snow machine and this year we have begun to purchase ski packages that we want to make available to families to try," Anne Stupak representing the Yorkton Cross Country Ski Club told the regular meeting of Yorkton Council Monday.

"At this time our head groomer Ken Gedak stores our snow machine and groomer in his back yard. This past winter the groomer and snow machine were left out in front of the club house but with the bitter cold and winds the snow machine was difficult to start and at times getting to the club house was almost impassable. We groom the trails every Friday for the weekends and events which can take approx. 4-5 hours to groom. So having the machine inside would certainly aid in helping our groomers get out on the trails without delay."

Stupak told Council the Club is ready to move forward.

"We have purchased the 16x24 garage package and have two quotes from local builders that will prepare the ground work and build the garage for us. We will be building this garage on a mud sill and anchor it down and just have a gravel base inside the garage. The garage will be completed and finished to all standard garage packages. Our club has the financial means to complete this project with no cost to the city. We just need this spot on the golf course and the city's continued support and access to the club house during the winter season," she said.

Darcy McLeod, Community Development, Parks & Recreation Director with the City said the Cross Country Ski Club has worked well with the golf course and City through the years.

"The Yorkton Cross Country Ski Club uses the Deer Park Golf Course for their cross country ski trails. They work with the Golf Course Superintendent to set their trails in locations with minimal impact to the golf course. This multi-purpose use of the golf course has worked very well over the years and allows for another form of physical activity to occur in Yorkton at a time of the year when it is hard to motivate people to be active," detailed a report from McLeod to Council.

McLeod said the building will be handled in a way similar to others contributed by user groups.

"As the building is on City property, the City would retain ownership of the building and provide free and exclusive use of the building to the Club. The structures then become the property of the City of Yorkton and will be included in the City's insurance policy. The City of Yorkton has as a similar agreement with Yorkton Minor Baseball for the batting cages and storage building at Jubilee Ball Park," detailed his report.

Stupak said the storage shed will help the local club continue to expand upon its programming.

"The Yorkton Cross Country Ski club has grown over the years to over 80 members with several of the member's families with young children. We have hosted several ski events and being able to use the club house has certainly been a real bonus to us as a club. Our club has plans to host Provincial ski races and begin a Jackrabbit program for skies from the age of five and up. We hope to host more "Learn to ski day" and waxing clinics. We hope to host a Loppet event and we had also talked about a Fundraiser Ski and Snowshoe Challenge. And having access to the club house allows us to dream in color! We had hoped to have the club house open Sundays during the winter ski season but the temps simply did not warranty it. The night skies were well attended and our Sochi Challenge was a real test of our skier's endurance and commitment with our top skier Karen Senkow recording 525 kms. We had well over 500 registered skied in visits and several elementary schools came out to use the trails. So we are seeing XC skiing growing in the city of Yorkton and Deer Park is defiantly being viewed as a year round recreational facility," she said.