2021 FIS World Junior/U23 Championships

Vuokatti, Finland
February 8 – 13, 2021

The Canadian team has arrived in Finland for the World Jr/U23 Championships, including nine athletes from BC.

After two Covid tests, five flights, four layovers and 35 hours of travel, we finally made it!  Our first flight was at 6:45am from Calgary to Vancouver, then Toronto, Frankfurt, Helsinki and Oulu.  From there it was a 2.5hr bus ride to Vuokatti, Finland, our final destination.

The first ski this morning made it worth it though, blue skies, sun and perfectly groomed track! But before we went out skiing everyone got another Covid test.  Not only did the healthcare workers stick a swab up our nose, but they stuck it veryyy far and held it and twisted it there for a longgg time.  If I had little knowledge of human anatomy I would swear the swab touched my brain.

On this trip there are many COVID-19 protocols that everyone follows strictly.  Until we get our tests back we all eat in our rooms, so for every meal each person walks to the cafeteria at their assigned time and fills a medium sized Ziploc container with food to eat back at their place.  All teams are staying at the same place the race is being held, Vuokatti Olympic Training Center, so everything we need is in close proximity.  We haven’t gotten a chance to explore any trails besides the race trails yet, but from what we can see from our hotel window they sure are nice!

By Beth Granstrom
 

BC Athletes on the Canadian Team:
 

Juniors:
Joe Davies (Whistler Nordic Ski Club, Whistler)
Jasmine Drolet (Black Jack Cross Country Ski Club, Rossland)
Molly Miller (Black Jack Cross Country Ski Club, Kimberley)
Alexandra Luxmoore (Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club, Revelstoke)

U23s:
Elizabeth Elliott (Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club, Revelstoke)
Hannah Mehain (Sovereign Lake Nordic Club, Vernon)
Rémi Drolet (Black Jack Cross Country Ski Club, Rossland)
Annika Richardson (Hollyburn Cross Country Ski Club, North Vancouver)
Beth Granstrom (Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club, Revelstoke)

A fundraiser has also been set up to help BC athletes that subsequently qualify for the senior World Championships and World Cups this season:  www.gofundme.com/f/road-to-the-fis-nordic-world-ski-championships

Go BC, Go Canada!