Teck Regional Snow Camp (North) Photos - Smithers, BC
December 13-15, 2024
The 2024 Teck Regional Snow Camp (North), hosted by the Bulkley Valley Cross Country Ski Club, was an exciting, fun-filled event, with a definite uptick in numbers, especially in the 2011 (thirteen year olds) age category! Not only did participation from northern clubs increase this year with a total of 72 athletes from Snow Valley Nordic Ski Club (Terrace), Bulkley Valley (Smithers), Morice Mountain Nordic Ski Club (Houston), Omineca Ski Club (Burns Lake), Nechako Nordics (Vanderhoof), Caledonia Nordic Ski Club (Prince George) and Mackenzie Nordiques (Mackenzie) in attendance, but there were also 33 athletes, all 13 years old, from the Nakkertok Ski Club in Ottawa.
Over the three days, skiers enjoyed a good amount of fresh snow and the full network of fantastic trails at the Bulkley Valley Nordic Centre, courtesy of the amazing grooming team and the newest addition to the grooming stable, the Prinoth Bison. Skiers also enjoyed the incredible meals and snacks provided by a crew of wonderful cooks and helpers. The snack tables in particular were next level, festively decorated and displayed. Last, but definitely not least, the camp provided an excellent opportunity to bring athletes and coaches together to focus on enhancing technical and tactical skills in both skate and classic skiing, along with an easy endurance skate ski under the stars on Friday evening, a classic time trial on Saturday afternoon and a very fun festive themed mixed age group classic sprint relay on Sunday morning.
The camp was supported by BC Development Squad head coach Adam Elliot, who provided excellent leadership, and along with Bulkley Valley Head Coach, Andrea Stapff, fostered a collaborative learning experience for all. Adam led coaches and athletes through a variety of technical and tactical skills in classic sprint and mass starts as well as a variety of agility skills expertly incorporated into the mixed age group sprint relay. The 19 northern coaches facilitated technical development by working in small groups and offering individualized feedback and encouragement to athletes. They also brought their mentorship skills, inspiration and passion for the sport to the camp participants. Athletes left the camp happy, with increased skill, greater endurance, new friendships and connections and motivation for the season ahead.
This camp showcased the strength of the northern skiing community, nurturing a culture of collaboration and excellence and successfully reinforced the continued growth and success of cross-country skiing. A very special thanks to all of the amazing volunteers and coaches for making this camp a great success and to Teck for their continued support of the Teck Regional Camp program.
Nakkertok Exchange
The Nakkertok athletes were in Smithers as part of a week-long cultural exchange with the Bulkley Valley athletes. In addition to a number of local activities these two groups of teens enjoyed (downhill skiing at Hudson Bay Mountain, sleigh rides in Telkwa, curling at the local rink and a scavenger hunt through town) the feature activity of the exchange was participation in the Teck Regional Snow Camp. The happy faces said it all; the camp was super fun with lots of opportunities for skill development, some distance skiing, a 3km time trial and fun holiday themed team sprint relay. It was especially great to see all the new friendships develop which we hope will continue when the Bulkley Valley athletes travel to Ottawa at the end of January.
During the exchange week and regional camp, the Nakkertok group was accompanied by four chaperones, also all enthusiastic coaches from their race team programs, and a huge support to the northern coaches.
