2019 - 20 Club Membership Contest »

The results are in for the Club Membership Contest… and there is fantastic news to report!

First off, thank you for all your work and leadership in building healthier communities.  It’s worth repeating that, although sport & physical activity are on the decline in Canada, cross country skiing in BC is bucking the trend.

Some highlights:

  • 25 clubs already have at least 75% of their last year’s total membership!
  • 5 of these clubs have already matched or beaten their last year’s total!
  • 3 clubs have already broken their all-time membership record!
  • Expect more records to be broken very soon!
  • We already have 2,000 kids enrolled in the Skill Development Program, sponsored by Kal Tire.  It must be emphasized that the past 3 winters have seen the highest enrolments ever, meaning more kids than ever before are learning the skills to enjoy our lifetime sport.  On a related note, here is the current coach workshop schedule.

A HUGE thank you to the generous contest sponsors for supporting our “sport for life”.  Each of them readily stepped up to the plate to support this initiative and they’ve been fantastic to work with!

And finally, the results:

This year we have 5 new winners, and 1 repeat winner.  (In total, there have now been 20 different winning clubs in the past 4 years.)  This year we saw another strong showing by northern BC.

  • Group A:  On the final homestretch, Caledonia turned on the jets and secured its first victory!  In a very tight race for 2nd, both Sovereign Lake and Larch Hills lunged a toe past Telemark for a photo-finish tie.  Congrats to Larch Hills for being 50 members ahead of this day last year, likely on route to another membership record.
  • Group B:  Overlander managed to keep its very slight lead, securing its 4th victory in a row!  Only a ski length behind were Nickel Plate, Revelstoke, Nelson, and Black Jack in a very tight bunch.  Congrats to Revelstoke for an incredible acceleration on the homestretch (and getting more members than this day last year);  had the race been a bit longer they probably would have won it.
  • Group C:  Stunning performance by Snow Valley, passing Hollyburn in the final couple days and shattering their all-time membership record in the process!  On Nov 22, Prez Liz had challenged the club to “100 signups in 10 days!  Let’s do it!  Start tagging!”… and they achieved more than 150.  Not only that, they’ve already recruited 134 first-time members… with no snow on the ground.  Coming in 2nd was Hollyburn, followed by Strathcona.  Big effort by Golden to jump a few spots to finish 4th.   
  • Group D:  No changes in the final 10 days, with Nordic Racers claiming the victory, followed by Vancouver Skiers and Whiskey Jack.  Nice work by 100 Mile and especially Morice Mountain for strong finishes, in 4th and 5th respectively.
  • Group E:  Huge finish by Valhalla Hills, moving from 4th to 1st in the final couple days and breaking their membership record in the process!  Sea to Sky finished a close second, followed by Sun Peaks.  Strong finishes by Wells Gray and Spud Valley.
  • Group F:  In the final few days, Chetwynd passed everyone in front to claim the victory.  Manning and Fort Nelson were next, followed by Barriere and Arrow Lakes.     

Winners will be contacted shortly.

Here’s the data for Top-3 finishes ranked by percentage, plus clubs that achieved at least 75% (of their previous winter’s total membership).  Current club membership totals are also shown for reference.

 

2019-20 Club Membership Contest – Prize Giveaway!

To add a bit of extra excitement to your club’s membership drive, Cross Country BC is collecting some fantastic prizes to give away to the winning clubs. 

The following have been donated so far:

  • From Rossignol
    • Prize #1: A fleet of kids’ ski gear – perfect for your Skill Development Program, Ski S’Kool program, equipment rental pool… your choice! The winning club can choose between:
      • 10 X beginner combi ski packages (various sizes of combi skis & boots, bindings, poles) - $4,000+ value, OR
      • 20 X beginner classic ski packages (various sizes of waxless skis, boots, bindings, poles) - $4,000+ value

      PLUS the option to buy up to 10 more packages for only $100 each. – $2,500 value

    • Prize #2:  A fleet of kids’ ski gear (skis/boots/bindings/poles) for only $100 per set.  Max of 15 sets – $3,750 value.

 

  • From Fischer and Swix:
    • Classic Package - $1170 total value
      • Fischer Twin Skin Race IFP Skis
      • Turnamic Race Classic binding
      • RCS Classic Boot
      • Swix Quantum 5 Pole
    • Skate Package - $1595 total value
      • RCS Skate IFP Skis
      • Turnamic Race Skate Binding
      • RCS Skate Boot
      • Swix Quantum 2 Pole
    • Assorted Fisher and Swix swag

 

  • From The Pinnacles Suites at Silver Star Mountain
    • two night stay for up to 8 people in a Pinnacles Central Lodge Suite during the 2019-20 Winter Season (excl. Christmas holiday and long weekends). - up to $1230 value
    • https://pinnacles.com/

 

  • From Sovereign Lake Nordic and SilverStar Mountain Resort:
    • 3 day XC Supercamp (valued at $575)
    • “From First Timer to Big Timer” Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre and Silver Star Mountain Resort offer Canada’s most established cross country ski improvement camps for all skiing abilities & fitness levels. Whether you are a competitive Master's racer, a first time skier, or somewhere in between, come and enjoy our 105km of rolling terrain, professional coaching, exceptional grooming and the best early snow in the country.
    • www.xcsupercamps.com

 

  • From Nipika Mountain Resort:
    • A Ski Getaway for Two, including 2 nights’ accommodation in a private cabin and private ski lesson (skate or classic) - Value of $835
    • www.nipika.com

 

  • From Salomon:
    • S/Race Click carbon poles
    • Vario Junior adjustable aluminum poles
    • Salomon swag:  Hydration belts, boot bags, ski bags

 

​Prizes can be used by clubs as they see fit:  to raffle off, for a family in need, to use as a volunteer draw prize, for a kids program, for an Early-Bird prize … your choice!

To win, a club has to have the highest percentage of members registered*, as of midnight Dec 1 2019, as compared to its previous winter’s total membership.   For example, a club with 200 members last year and 140 members by Dec 1 would be at 70%, and a club with 160 members last year and 120 members by Dec 1 would be at 75%.

To make things fair as well as have more winners, clubs have been divided into 6 groups and a winner will be selected from each group, for a total of 6 winners.  The prizes will be randomly distributed amongst the winners.  The groups, along with last winter’s club membership totals, are shown below.

As a recap from last season, 14 of our clubs had record memberships, and many more were at multi-year highs.  Amazing!  What is possible this year?

Fingers crossed for early snow!

*As reported in the Zone4 membership database.