BC Ski Team Athletes in Norway: International Junior Camp (Aug 10) – photos

(August 1st-4th)
Due to missed connecting flights at Heathrow, the team was split up for the flight to Oslo.  That made for a longer flight plan than anticipated. Unfortunately  the luggage and training equipment had an even longer trip than the team, and took five days to show up.  No gear and clothing it made for difficult to participate in the sprint races at the Blink Festival in Sandnes, but we still managed to take part in the festivities and had the opportunity to watch many cross country and biathlon races in the last few days of the event.  We also did a little sight seeing and saw some of the amazing areas of southwest Norway.  Tomorrow we head back to Oslo to prep for the International Junior Camp at the Olympic Training Centre.

(August 5th-10th)  
It feels like we have have been in constant motion in a whirlwind adventure for the last five days . We headed back to Oslo after the Blink Festival and even though it was 500km it took a full day of twisting and turning in the car (with an average speed similar to a trotting horse) to reach the Olympiatoppen Sports Centre. We spent the next few days there roller skiing at the Olympic venue and through the country side. Our touring also took us to the Ski Museum in Holmenkol, and to down town Oslo to see all the sights. The Olympiatoppen was bustling with folks from many sports coming and going, including the Norwegian National Junior Team, who were preparing for the upcoming International Junior Camp and and training along side everyone else in the gym session.

Our next stop was Sjusjoen where we met up with the athletes and coaches from 20 nations who were converging on this small cross country ski resort to compete and train with each other for a period of eight days. Day #1 was a beautiful day with a sprint race, Day #2 was a challenging distance race day with heavy rain, and today – Day #3 - we are starting off with to a 3 or 5 hour run.

Holmenkollen

Oslo

Oslo

Athletes
Benita Peiffer (Whistler Nordic Ski Club, BC) – Canadian National Junior Team
Beth Granstrom (Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club, BC) – Canadian National Junior Team
Elizabeth Elliot (Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club, BC) – Canadian National Junior Team
Tallon Noble (Strathcona Nordic Ski Club, BC) – Canadian National Junior Team
Remi Drolet (Black Jack Cross Country Ski Club, BC) – Canadian National Junior Team
Sam Hendry (Canmore Nordic Ski Club, AB) – Canadian National Junior Team
Michael Murdoch (Whistler Nordic Ski Club, BC) – met International Performance Benchmark standard
Ian Williams (Telemark Nordic Club,  BC) – met International Performance Benchmark standard

Coaches
Chris Manhard (CCBC Provincial Head Coach)
Andrea Stapff (Strathcona Nordic Ski Club Head Coach)

Schedule overview

July 31                 Departure from Vancouver to Oslo
Aug 1-2               Training in Oslo
Aug 2-5               Stavanger, 15 min from Sandnes and the Blink Festival (worlds biggest rollerski festival);
                                    http://www.blinkfestivalen.no/program
Aug 5-8               Training in Oslo
Aug 8                  Travel from Oslo to Sjusjøen/Lillehammer 
Aug 8-15             International Junior Camp   https://www.sjusjoen-skisenter.no/summer /   Detailed schedule below.
Aug 15                Travel from Sjusjøen/Lillehammer to Oslo
Aug 16                Return flight from Oslo to Vancouver

International Junior Camp – Detailed Program:

This camp is being organized  by the Norwegian Ski Association - Cross Country, together with their sponsor Statoil, and the IOC.