Submitted by Warren Todosichuk, Race Chairperson
The Kamsack Ski Club was the host club for this year's Sask Alpine Nancy Greene Festival. This is one of two Nancy Greene events held annually in the province. The event took place at Duck Mountain Ski Area in Duck Mountain Provincial Park. Five clubs from across the province brought 68 skier racers to compete. The competitors ranged in ages from 5 - 12 years of age. The festival involved not only the racers, but dozens of volunteers over the two day event.
This was the first time in nearly two decades a race event has been held at Duck Mountain Ski Area and the response from the visiting clubs was extremely positive. Conditions were great and the facilities really lent themselves well to the event.
While a Nancy Greene Festival is a full-fledged race event, the emphasis is on introducing the kids to competition. The actual times are recorded as they would be at any race, including the Olympics, however, the times are not posted for the athletes to see. At the end of each day an award ceremony is held and the standings are announced for the top 10 in each category, but their times are not made public. The podium is in place, and the top three are announced, but the differential in times isn't disclosed. An introduction to competition is achieved.
Kamsack Ski Club's primary purpose is to encourage a healthy outdoor active lifestyle through introducing both alpine (downhill) and nordic (cross country) skiing to anyone interested. Volunteer certified coaches offer alpine lessons annually and participants can choose to add "speed training" to their lesson plan.
The club's race team, nick-named DART for Duck Mountain Alpine Race Team, had five racers registered at this event. The DART kids also travel to other Sask Alpine events around Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, and BC throughout the year. Some competitors can even be chosen to race at an international event called the Whistler Cup. The team starts out with its youngest members participating in the NG Festivals like this one, and some choose to continue racing into their teens. The club encourages all levels of skier to become skiers for life as it is a fantastic family sport.
DART has four athletes selected to attend the Saskatchewan Winter Games in February in the Alpine Race events.
The next planned club hosted function is a cross country Loppet - the 35th annual - at Duck Mountain on February 22. Details can be found on the club website at www.kamsackskiclub.ca.
