Two Saturdays ago, the team made its way to Nelson Nordic Ski Club for the always fun and exciting Kootenay Cup event. Athletes from the Atom through Junior categories left early Saturday morning with their families for the 10:00am race start. All races were mass start skate. The youngest categories started first with Annika Merg being the first off the start line for Black Jack. Races progressed fairly smoothly despite some confusion on course direction, but everyone had fun competing against the other kids from the Kootenays. The older athletes used this race as a preparation for the upcoming Nationals races in Canmore. After the races, Nelson Nordic provided some delicious soup, sandwiches and baking for lunch before the awards began. We had many podium finishes including Adam Heale’s win in the Bantam Boys category, and Abbey McLean, Maya Maturo, Sabien Edney and Natasha Podgurny taking the top four in the Midget Girls category. The awards were followed by a free-for-all for draw prizes. Thanks to all the sponsors who provided such great merchandise! Once all the race events were over, several of the Black Jack families drove over to the Ainsworth Hotsprings for a nice soak. To finish the day, a few of us headed into town for a delicious dinner of Indian cuisine at Baba’s.

Thanks to the coaches, parents and volunteers who were able to make this event happen, and for always supporting our Black Jack athletes! See you next time at Canadian Ski Nationals in Canmore, Alberta!