Great start for Nelson Nordic Ski Team at Black Jack
The Kootenay Cup Series kicked off earlier this month in Rossland at Black Jack Ski Club.
The Kootenay Cup is a cross country racing series that travels between ski clubs in the east and west Kootenays. This year Teck corporation has come on board as a premier sponsor for the event and raised the profile for the races.
The Kootenay clubs compete for the coveted Kootenay Cup by amassing points from the various races. The initial race of the season in Golden was cancelled for lack of snow and the Rossland race also had to be postponed from December.
On Saturday, January 5 action in the form of classic sprint races was at Black Jack.
Competitors begin with an individual sprint which seeds them into heats and then the racing proceeds with the top two to three competitors from the heats moving through to semifinals and finals.
In peewee girls, Nelson’s Sabien Edney won her heat and proceeded to win gold in the final. Sophie Edney made it through to the A final where she placed third with a bronze medal.
In Masters racing, Nelson’s Jacob Dulisse captured bronze in the Men’s 30-49 category while Kim Poole and George Edney advanced to the A final where they finished first and second respectively in the 50-plus category.
Day two of the competition saw more Nelson Nordic racers in attendance. The competition was a mass start free technique (skate skiing) event with varying distances.
In peewee boys Seamus Boyd finished fourth and Reece Boulanger was third, bringing home bronze in the midget boys race.
Sophie Edney competed in Bantam girls and finished third, capturing the bronze despite a crash in the sprint to the finish. Galen Boulanger captured a very exciting first place gold in the juvenile boys race. Galen was involved in a sprint finish with BC Development Ski Team member Daniel Merlo from Black Jack Rossland, beating him at the finish line.
In the Masters Women’s category, Louise Poole captured a solid silver only minutes behind Lesley Beatson from Black Jack.
In other action, Kim Poole finished fifth overall in the men’s race, first in the 50-plus category, while Jacob Dulisse was seventh overall followed by John Boulanger in eighth and George Edney in ninth.
The Nelson Nordic Ski Club will host the Kootenay Cup Series Race on Sunday, January 27 at the Apex trails south of Nelson.
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