Nordic skier Julien Locke, 21, is getting ready to compete on the BC Team at the Canada Winter Games in Prince George from February 13 to March 1.
Born and raised in Nelson, Locke trains full-time with the Black Jack Cross Country team in Rossland and competes at the national level. As a top sprinter at the Nor-Am (North American) Cup, Locke has hopes of winning the sprint category and finishing in the top 10 in distance racing in Canada in U23. He also thinks his team will have a chance of making the podium in the four person relay.
An unfortunate crash last month dashed his chance to travel to Kazakhstan to compete at the U23 cross country ski world championships but all is not lost as he has now made the Winter games his focus. He said the timing is good for him because the games happen only once every four years, meaning some competitors’ only chance to attend is when they are 19.
“I’m going there trying to win the sprint and get on the podium in the relay,” said Locke, adding that they have a good shot as they are a strong team.
Three of the five BC Nordic Team members are from the Black Jack Cross Country team. Black Jack members Colin Ferrie from Kimberley and David Palmer from Revelstoke will join Locke in Prince George. A fourth team member is also from Rossland but trains with another club.
Locke said they train out of Black Jack because it’s “extremely good coaching with the best preparation in the country here.”
The club has been led by former Canadian national team coach Dave Wood since 2010.
“He’s a pretty incredible coach, very knowledgeable and dedicated to the sport,” said Locke.
Julien Locke out front at the 2014 Olympic Trials-A-Final. Photo by Angus Cockney
Locke said he’s looking forward to racing on the Otway trails in Prince George as he competes against approximately 60 other skiers from 13 provincial teams.
“They’re really good trails. I’ve been racing there since I was 14 but they made improvements since then,” explaining increasing the trail width and adjusting hill grades to meet the competition requirements have made the trails even better.
Locke will be flying to Prince George before his first race — the 10 km classic — on February 23, followed by the classic sprint (1.5 kilometres) the next day. He will have one day to rest before he competes in the 15 km mass start on February 26. The relay will be his final race on February 28.
Locke, who has been Nordic skiing since he could walk, said he began racing at six or seven, and was racing seriously at the national level by age 14. Training twice a day, for two to five hours daily (with the odd rest day), Locke likes that the sport takes him outside and the inherent challenges.
“It’s a fun sport that gets me running in the mountains for five hours (in the off-season) and we do that day after day. It’s extremely challenging. It’s one of the hardest sports, anaerobically and aerobically.”
And the variables are endless.
“The snow is always changing, plus the whole waxing and ski selection. There are two different styles with multiple techniques inside of each. We have to train our anaerobic and aerobic systems to go fast at the end.”
Even though many racers specialize, everyone races the sprint and distance courses.
To find out more about Locke’s racing, check out blackjackskiteam.wordpress.com.