CANADIAN MASTERS' CROSS COUNTRY SKI ASSOCIATION

APRIL 2001 NEWSLETTER

A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR

HI MASTERS - Jack White(National Director)
E-mail Address:  j.m.white@nf.sympatico.ca

Quebec OC at Mariazell 

The Quebec OC for 2002 and Sport Quebec sent a delegation to Mariazell. The purpose was to promote their event and to observe first hand all aspects of hosting a MWC. They had a well staffed information booth set up at race headquarters where brochures, entry forms,and hotel accommodation forms were distributed. The Quebec delegates were also available to answer any questions pertaining to the 2002 MWC at Valcartier.

Andre and some of the OC were at the WMA annual meeting to give an update on how things are progressing toward 2002.                    

I would once again like to thank Andre and all of the OC for the efficient and highly professional manner in which they have handled all aspects of preparation leading up to the MWC 2002.   

MWC's 

Masters World Cups do not "just happen". They are the culmination of many hours of hard work and planning over a three year period. This work is performed by "volunteers" who generously give countless hours of their time, not for monetary gain but for the knowledge that they have accomplished something very special. 

Feb 24th. Saturday's Classic Distance It was beautiful sunny day to cap off this MWC 2001. Skiers everywhere were enjoying the best conditions yet. James Bannon had a good race in the M-4 (45K), finishing a respectable 13th position. 

Overall this was another tremendously successful MWC attended by close to 1,000 Masters. There was a wonderful closing banquet with the passing over of the flag to the Quebec Delegation for next year. This was a memorable event for all.  For many years people will remember the monumental task accomplished by the Mariazell OC in dealing with the most unusual conditions ever seen at a MWC. 

Masters AGM 

This years annual general meeting was held on Friday March 9th 9AM, at Hotel Adelaide in Dalhousie. I would like to thank Harry Vanderlugt who sat in for Fiona McKenna of Ontario, and Gerry Morrison for Dirk Tempelman-Kluit of BC.It was a unanimous consensus that this years race format was excellent and should be continued at future "Nationals". Next year of course our Nationals will be held in conjunction with the MWC at Valcartier, in 2003 they will be somewhere in Western Canada. 

A few items; The National and all Provincial Associations doing well financially.Fee structure for "Masters Nationals". The National Director will discuss this with future Hosting Clubs and a decision will be voted on by Directors.

Discussion on increasing ski draw from $5 to $10. This year 87 Masters participated for a total income of $425. Pierre got us a great bargain on skis $320. We contributed $1000 to the National Junior Team so simple math shows we are losing money. But it was unanimous we continue our support of the National Juniors.

Jack elected to another term. Accepted--after pleading with Directors "Doesn't anyone want this job"? 

One Director voiced concern about underground parking at downtown Hotels, very low doors and ceilings could cause problems for vehicles with roof ski containers. Yean-Yves says "no problem", he will look into the possibility of having all these Hotels "Jacked up" a few feet to fit our vehicles by next February!  "This OC is good"! 

New race format for MWC's. At Mariazell in February National Directors voted almost unanimously ( 1 against, 1 abstention) in favor of shortening future MWC's by one day. One obvious reason for this change was the extended time between races for those not participating in relays. For example: In Mariazell a person doing free technique raced on Sat Feb 17th,  Mon Feb 19th, then Fri Feb 23rd, three days off Monday to Friday. Also the Banquet will now be moved to Wednesday night. Thursday off. Each year many participants (100 plus) were having to depart for home on Saturday immediately following their last race, thereby missing the Banquet, this is unfair considering the entry fee includes races, banquet, etc.

The new proposed format is... 

Saturday Opening ceremonies.

Sunday   Free Tech M 1-6 30K, M 7-11 15K, F 1-11 15K

Monday  Classic, as per Sunday races

Tuesday All skiers do 10K-morning classic, afternoon  free technique.

Wednesday, relays. All skiers do 5K legs     Banquet

Thursday  Rest day

Friday     Free Technique. M 1-6  45K,  M 7+8  30K,

               M 9-11  20K.  F 1-6  30K,  F 7-11  20K

Saturday  Classic, as per Friday races.  Awards  closing ceremonies 

Canada is in agreement with this proposed format but has requested a slight change. Have the relays on Tuesday  As there are only 4 skiers per age class who participate in relays, the majority will have a rest day. Example: In Mariazell a total of only 14 relay teams competed. Some Directors may say that in the past relay teams are selected from their top skiers in the hort races (ie; 15K, 10K) But I feel they could just as easily make that selection from the 30K, 15K races. Furthermore, most Team Captains are aware well in advance who their top skiers are!

Another point Canada will make at the WMA annual meeting is that in the interest of fair play for all, each year races should alternate, ie: One year first race classic technique, next year free technique, etc. Avoiding the fact that one discipline would ski on two successive days every year. 

New race format in effect at MWC 2002. 

After the affirmative vote at Mariazell for the shorter race format, WMA President Dieter Heckmann requested  Quebec Organizing Committee President Andre Filion to consider making this change for the 2002 MWC.

At a meeting on March 29th, the Quebec OC graciously decided in favor of making the change to the short format, even though all entry forms, accommodation forms and brochures had been printed and distributed, at considerable cost.

Originally all of these forms would have been included with your newsletter, however new forms are being processed and will be mailed out to all Masters as soon as they become available. 

Final Word.Once again,  it's been a really good year for  Masters in Canada, with en even more exciting season ahead. Any of you who have comments to make, items you would like added to future newsletters, please contact me. All the best                    Jack

NEW SKI SUITS NOW IN STOCK

Canadian Masters- Charlo New Brunswick

An Alberta perspective

By John Reeves, Head coach of Millcreek Nordic, Edmonton Alberta 

In synopsis, great skiing, great organization, great people.  If you missed it you missed a wonderful event in a wonderful location put on by a very competent and friendly group of New Brunswickers.

Our Alberta group left Edmonton on Friday March 2 and through the usual hold-ups by our National Airline managed to arrive in Moncton only 2 hours after we should have.  We left Edmonton with little snow and temperatures of about

 +2 to +16 C.  This had been typical of our winter this year.  We basically had skied on re-processed ice for most of the season and had little good classical skiing.

When we arrived in Moncton it was about -16C. and snow drifts of about 8 feet on the corners of most streets.  We were happy to arrive in Canada's snow belt.

After an overnight stay in Moncton we drove to Charlo passing towns and cities with names like Shediac, Boutouche, Kouchibouguac, Miramichi, Bathhurst, Campbellton, which reflected the French, English and Native mixture that makes up New Brunswick's culture.  One of the first things we noticed was how French the culture and language was.  Most people spoke French as their first language but had the ability to quickly flip to English when they knew you could not speak French.  We finally arrived at our accommodation in Charlo (the Heron's Nest).  This was a beautiful spot that overlooked the Chaleur bay and the Gaspe' Peninsula.  Our next stop was Superstore, they seem to be everywhere in Canada now, in Campbellton for our grub for the week.  We wanted to see the trails at Charlo, which was only a 10-minute drive from our Chalets, so we donned our skiing duds and headed for the 5km of lite trails.  The trails were beautiful and well groomed.   We were in heaven because we hadn't skied on snow like this all year in Alberta.  We also met Dr. Ed (Wilkins) who took us under his wing and let us know everything there was to do, see, and eat at in the Charlo area.  Dr Ed indicated to us that we could use the ski chalet at any time because they never locked it.  He indicated they didn't lock it because they didn't want people to do damage trying to break in.

The next day, the day before the first race, we went to look at the 10k classic course for tomorrow's race.  The local skiers at the chalet indicated that these were the best conditions they had had in the last 5-10 years and that they would probably be skiing until the end of April.  We believed it when we skied the trails.  There must have been 2 feet of extra snow above the packed snow on the trails.  The course included a stiff fairly long climb out of the stadium area, then a lot of double poling and rolling terrain.The course concluded with some challenging downhill sections and finished with "Jaws", a screaming downhill into the stadium.

Our day concluded with an orientation session in Dalhousie, at the host hotel, and finished with a session on the locale bird population given by Mike Lushington, who would be our announcer for the week. 

The first day of competition, the 20k classic brought temperatures of -2C to 0C and glazing tracks at race time.  This was somewhat of a waxing challenge but not too bad because a lot of the course was double poling.  The 2 x 10k course was still very challenging because it did not give you much rest.  It was short climbs double poling and quick downs.  This was a great race for me because I could use the strength of my double poling to get me through the race.  Since we got very little classic skiing this year in Alberta this course was suited to what I could do best.  The race went off without a hitch using 30-sec. individual starts.  The post race activities included an excellent lunch and a friendly atmosphere provided by the local volunteers.  The evening session included medal presentations at the host hotel in Dalhousie.

The next day was an off day to prepare for the next two consecutive days of skiing.  It was to be the two-day pursuit race that followed this day.  We got up early to take a look at the 7.5k course that was set for us.It was to be a 10 k course so we skied the first 2.5k twice.  The first thing we notice was that the structure of the course had completely changed.   We had expected a very flat course again with some rolling hills.  What we found was course with some very challenging hills and lots of them.  The course started with what was know as the "three sisters" or three very challenging uphills.  We weaved in and out of the former 10k course but they seemed to have left the easy bits out.  It looked like a tough waxing challenge for tomorrow so out came the fluorides, Streamlines and Cera's and yes no wax skis.  We were ready for a challenging wax day tomorrow.  In the evening we went to a VO2 max demo put on by a group of local respiratory therapists and technicians and Cross-Country New Brunswick.  This was a very interesting demo on a$80,000 piece of equipment that measured VO2max and anaerobic threshold.  I think it was a joint venture with the respiratory group and Cross-Country New Brunswick to test their higher level skiers.

March the 7th brought us the first day of the 10k classic pursuit.  It turned out to be warmer than we thought with the temperatures at 0C in the stadium at 9am.  It turned out to be more of a waxing challenge than we thought, but with some wax testing we came up with the grip mixture that seemed to work.  We started in groups according to age groups.  This made the starts very exciting and quite critical for the faster racers to obtain a good start into the first hill.  The course did prove to be very challenging as we had thought.  You had to work very hard for a medal in this race.  Unfortunately I choose to use waxless skis for this race and it was not a wise choice as they did not work as well as I had thought and probably cost me about 2 minutes, which is a lot for a 10k race.  Oh well live and learn.  After the race it was another host lunch them prep your skis for the second half of the pursuit tomorrow.  Next it was in to Dalhousie for coffee at Tim Horton's, a daily ritual, then a quick tour of the town's gift shops. 

The next day was the second half of the pursuit race, the 10k free style race.  The morning brought temperatures of -16C but it warmed up quickly to -4C by race time.  We lined up according to the results of the previous day.  This was so precisely organized that we couldn't believe it.  We line up in 6 different lanes with our start times posted on large sheets of Styrofoam next to our race numbers.  Each lane had it's own starter.  It ran like clockwork, excuse the pun.  The course was the same as the day before so we knew exactly what to expect.  It was just as hard skating as it was classic.  What a great course!  It was followed by a host lunch again and the evening brought another award ceremony in a restaurant/pub in Charlo.  It was a great evening of camaraderie and fun. The organizing group had a magician who was fantastic at card tricks.  We are still trying to figure out how he did some of those tricks. 

Day off, and did we welcome it.  We started the day with the AGM meeting, electing Jack again as National Director for another two years.  A presentation was made by the Quebec organizing group for the worlds next year in Val Cartier.  It is going to be a super event.  We then took in a tour of the Bowater Newsprint plant in Dalhosuie.  I had never been to a pulp and paper plant before so I found it very interesting.  We then headed off to the trails to look at the course for the 30k free-style for the next day.  It was going to be 3 times the course we skied on day one, which was great.  Most of us were not looking forward to the 7.5k/2.5 course with all those hills again.  We waxed up for the next day them headed to Dalhousie for the coaches meeting.  After the meeting we were treated to a talk on the Battle of Restagouche.  This was the last naval battle in North America between the French and the English. 

The last day of racing dawned with cooler temperatures but not too the extreme.  The temperature at race time was about -5C with fairly hard skating surfaces to ski on.  The race start was done in age groups again so you had to go like mad at the start to get a good race position up the first hill and on to the course.  The race went very smoothly until it started to snow and the skis slowed down.  This only effected the later starters, but you really notice that your race split times were significantly slower for the third lap after it started to snow. The host lunch was another great touch to the day because the skiers got together to tells lies about their race and how fast their glide was or wasn't.  You know all that cross-country ski stuff that we love to talk about after any race.  The day ended with a great banquet in Charlo.  This was a super smorgasbord of food and libations to make it a great evening.  The final awards were made with great fanfare and dignitary speeches and presentations.  Charlo is the host for the 2003 Canada Games so I guess we were a test run for the Cross-Country officials group.  I am sure the Games participants and coaches will be astonished with the super organizational skills that this community possesses.  The evening finished with a square dancing presentation by the towns seniors followed by a dance done in a Karaoke format.  A great evening and great food. 

It was time for us to bid farewell to the community of Charlo and Dalhousie and New Brunswick.   Alberta skiers had done very well overall coming away with 11 medals from the 4 clubs that were represented. 

 We headed out on March 11.  The races were not over because there was the local 30k classic Les Adventuers Loppet on the day we left.  It looked like the conditions were going to be a waxing nightmare again with temperatures around 0C and above.   We boarded our plane in Moncton and headed home to brown Alberta.  It was about +10C when we arrived home in Edmonton and not a fleck of snow to be found.  We missed the snow the skiing and especially the people already. 

Thanks to Charlo and your great community.  See you next year in Val Cartier.

MASTERS WORLD CUP 2002 FEBRUARY  23 - MARCH 2, VALCARTIER, QC. 

Okay Masters this is it, "THE BIG ONE" is here in Canada! Less than a year to make plans for the "Masters World Cup".  There won't be another in this country until 2009. 

All cross country skiers regardless of their skill level can participate in this event at the Myriam Bedard Centre in Valcartier. 

It is difficult for me to convey the excitement that is in the air at the stadium area when hundreds of skiers are starting in waves every few minutes, some with medals in mind, but most going out to ski the best they can. Those of you who have never participated in a MWC should really consider this one as it is easily accessible by all means of travel due to it's centralized location. If booked well enough in advance, air fare specials can be obtained at that time of year. 

Quebec City is a winter wonderland that time of year, and for those of you staying downtown and wanting an easy ski on off days, there will be trails groomed on the "Plains of Abraham" within walking distance from most Hotels. So join the one thousand plus Masters who will travel here from all over the world, and make this an experience you will always remember. 

Registration and lodging                                       OrganizingCommittee                                                                                    

QVC - Quebec Voyages et Congres Inc             Masters World Cup Quebec 2002

210, rue Lee, bureau 275                                    15, rue Saint-Nicolas, RC

Quebec , QC                                                        Quebec, QC

G1K 2K6                                                               G1K 1M8

Tel.   (418) 523-1370                                            Tel    (418) 694-0664

Fax   (418) 523-1371                                            Fax   (418) 694-1963

e-mail  <mwc2002@qvc.qc.ca>                            e-mail  <info@mwc2002.com>

                                  WEB SITE   www.mwc2002.com