This past weekend the Yorkton cross-country ski club opened its Deer Park Clubhouse doors to the public in hopes of luring in some new members during its second annual cross-country skiing clinic.
Last year's event saw over 120 people venture out to Deer Park in less-than-welcoming conditions and this year was no different as over 100 people once again braved the winter weather to experience the underappreciated brand of skiing.
What's more is each and every person who made their way to Deer Park was able to use brand new gear, something that Anne Stupak, Vice-President of the Yorkton Cross-country Ski Club, says is the best way to get a true cross-country skiing experience. "All the new equipment is great for the new skiers," said Stupak. "This way they know they're going to have a good experience because the equipment is brand new. It's not something that has been in the rafters for the last 20 years so they're, hopefully, going to have a good experience."
Roy Lanaway, Stupak's associate at the Yorkton Cross-country Ski Club, as well as a member of the club's board, also feels that the new gear is great for first time skiers in that it gives them a chance to use brand new equipment before purchasing it. "Look at it this way," said Lanaway, continuing, "If you've got kids or you're a couple and one of you skis and the other one doesn't it doesn't make sense to buy the equipment before giving it a try. So we gave everyone the chance to try out new equipment without worrying about paying for it so that they could simply enjoy the sport."
The new gear that both Stupak and Lanaway mentioned was on loan from Sask. Ski as well as Sunshine and Ski (a cross-country skiing business in Regina). Without those two entities providing equipment the clinic would not be around, something Stupak was quick to point out. "We'd like to thank Sask. Ski ad especially Sunshine and Ski for loaning their equipment to us. I'd especially like to thank Sunshine and Ski for coming out and helping volunteering their time to assist in promoting this great sport."
Lanaway also mentioned that the club is now offering skate skiing, which is the type of cross-country skiing that will be seen at the Olympic games. "We also have skate skiing, which is different than the classic skiing in that the skis are more like ice skates," offered Lanaway. "This is the first year we are offering that out here.We're also improving the trails for skate skiing so if you see those guys on television racing, skate skiing is what they are doing.
"We find that a lot of younger people are more interested in that over the classic style because of the speed and the energy they expend on that so we're offering that this year as well to members."
While the clinic is now over you can still contact the Yorkton Cross-country Ski Club and Anne Stupak at (306)-783-6617 or Barry Rogers at (306)-782-3147 should you be interested in cross-country skiing.
