Hello again everyone, it is now time for the final blog post
of this trip, and what a trip it’s been. Since I failed to update you about
yesterday’s happenings, I shall do so now. Yesterday was a day of near glory
for many members of team Manitoba. Several skiers missed out on qualifying for
the sprint heats by very small margins, the smallest of all being Simon
Giasson, who missed out on qualifying by 0.16 seconds despite a small fall.
Various members of the team raced 3 different sprint courses, with Maya and Katy
racing a 1.3 km course with 2 big climbs, followed by a screaming downhill into
a long finishing stretch. The junior boys/ girls raced 1 km which included a
big climb, then a long downhill with a crazy right hander into the stadium. And
finally the Juveniles raced a 500m course with 2 highly technical right-hand
turns (including a 180 degree turn, which saw many fallers (including Simon and
Conor)) a short uphill, and a very fast finishing stretch. Conditions were
hovering around -3 and the tracks were hard packed and very fast, which made
for some exciting races. Levi N, Conor, Katy, Lucas and Maya qualified to the
heats, with Conor advancing to the semis and ultimately the A side final. He
was seeded third and stayed in that position until the uphill portion of the
course. He then made one of the most impressive passing moves many of us have
ever seen, both technically and physically, passing both the 1st and
2nd seeds. He then went on to win the A side final with a
comfortable 20 metre lead, to thunderous applause and cheering from the
Manitoba faithful. After the awards ceremony, we returned to the chalet to
rest, rehydrate and relax. Later after yet another fabulous dinner made by the
Betsy and Pauline, the girls and guys returned to their respective cabins. That
night, I witnessed one of the funniest things I have ever seen. The trap music
was loud. The lights were low. Conor
McGovern finally gave in to the multiple requests to dance. Here are some facts
about Conor: We all love him. He’s a great athlete. He cannot dance. We assume
at this point that he was trying to match Levi N’s freestyle moves from earlier
in the evening, but to no avail. Later after much laughter and many immature
jokes (thanks to Levi W), we all went to bed. Today (Sunday) was the final day
of competition at the 2015 western Canadian ski championships, the freestyle
distance race. The Juveniles race a grueling 6.6 km course that was made up of
two laps of the 3.3 km course. The course included relentless climbs and steep
technical down hills, but I think you’ve come to expect that out of Canmore at
this point. Simon Giasson quite literally left it all out on the course (and
somewhat on the Betsy). He did however end up finishing, showing one of the
gutsiest performances of these westerns. Simon finished in 34th
place, Liam Allan in 31st and Conor McGovern in yet another first
place position. In Juvenile girls (also racing 6.6 km) we had Claire Hensrud
with a strong performance as the only juvenile girl from Manitoba. In Junior
boys (racing 3 laps of the 3.3 km course) we had Cam Roe with another solid
race, Levi Warkentine in 24th and Levi Nadlersmith with an amazing 8th
place finish! In junior girls (racing the same course as junior boys) we had Amelia Kovachik in another solid
position (those who finished in a “solid position” failed to remember their
actual placement), Lisle Compton in a solid position as well (I think it was 19th)
and Sarah-Lynn Bergen with yet another solid finish. Karly Lockhart also forgot
her finishing spot, but she also had a you-guessed-it solid race. In Junior
Women we had Katy Lockhart with… wait for it… ANOTHER SOLID RACE! Also in the
junior women category we had Maya Boivin with a stupendous race (I got tired of
saying solid). We then returned to the lodges to pack up and eat lunch. As per
usual, the packing included a lot of running around and yelling on the part of
the coaches and athletes. Earlier Coach Alan had very skillfully managed to get
the Uhaul van up the very narrow icy gravel road to our cabin. It did in the
end take the combined strength of several skiers to get the van out of the ruts
it was stuck in, but we managed it (without the help of Beckie Scott this
time). It was a lovely van ride with just Pauline, Simon, Lucas and I. it
included much judgement of music by Simon. Near the end Pauline and I decided
to try and convert him to the good side of music. We played some Cat empire. It
didn’t work. We played Jack White. No success. It was then that Pauline and I
discovered that we shared a love border-line obsession for Dave Matthews. We
spent the next 20 minutes two-stepping all along the watch tower. Simon however
found it too much. Funny the way it is that some people have so much to say
about some music. If only he had some sort of rhyme or reason to his rant. He
said it made him want to lie in his grave. If only he could find a grave
digger. He claimed he’d listen to him only when the world ends. He tried to
crush me but I just stood up for it. Alright I’m done now. We then arrived to
the airport, and we finally got Simon to admit he was talented. Baby steps,
right? We then unloaded all our bags onto carts and entered the airport to
check our bags. Levi N had a slightly more successful method of transporting
the ski bags, this time in a vertical position. We went through security and
began to binge on pizza and burgers, because a weekend of Pauline’s delicious
super healthy food can’t help but leave you with a craving for junk. As we
boarded the plane, there was an announcement. “There is a small black suitcase
with wheels that was left in the waiting area. Please come up to claim it.”
Conor made the walk of shame to fetch his bag to the smattering applause of the
Manitoba skiers. We then took off, and that is when I began to write this blog,
and it is now that I must leave you again. As I sit here and we begin our
decent into Winnipeg and look back on this trip, I can’t help but smile. So
many great memories and so much great new racing experience made it an
unforgettable experience. Thanks again to Conor for providing course
descriptions and correcting a few of my grammar mistakes. So long from Canmore!
.JPG)
Chillin in the cabin
Nobody wanted to leave
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