Author Archives: ginaunger

Did your son/daughter (ages 5-9) participate in the 2018 Jackrabbit Toque Design contest?  Whether they did or did not or became one of the finalists chosen on the facebook page, you can still help make a decision:  VOTE for your favourite design!

The design with the majority of “likes” will be the one chosen for the 2017-2018 CCC ski toques distributed by clubs all across Canada each year.

1. Be part of a CCC ski club (If you’re reading this, you’re most likely already registered with APJ – all good.)
2. Be-friend Cross Country Canada’s facebook page
3. Vote for one of the 6 designs you’d like to see on the CCC toque for the 2017-2018 ski season
4. Voting process takes place until March 12 (noon)
5. Remember that you need to be part of a CCC Club AND ‘Like’ CCC on Facebook for your vote to count!

*Here’s the link to the facebook photo album with the 6 toque design choices:  https://www.facebook.com/pg/cccski/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1441966842501138

Well done, APJ coaches!  Yesterday, our usual ski session had to be reconfigured and moved to the Formal Gardens due to the melt/freeze that’s been happening. We have some pretty flexible coaches who can make anything work!  Happy skiers played games, worked an obstacle course, hunted down rubber chickens, and skied the loop, all the while smiling for photos with Stafford Studios.

Photos will most likely be complete in two weeks’ time.  If you didn’t submit an order form, but would like to do so after viewing your photos, give Stafford Studios a call to arrange for that.

Tomorrow evening is the annual DASH FOR CASH… a very fun, short, ski event where every child wins chocolate loonies and/or real loonies!  WIN-WIN!  It’s for any skier from Nursery to Grade 6.  Coach Jeff McMillan and Coach Steve Scoles are the hosts who make this event a blast… (read below for details)

Next Sunday March 5 is intended to be APJ’s annual Falcon excursion – an all day event.  Due to the melt/freeze thing making it icy, some trails are closed.  So please stand by and await a final decision on this club event as the coaches find out more about trail conditions.

The DASH FOR CASH is back!

Brought to you by:

Assiniboine Park Jackrabbits and Downtown Nordic

Sponsored by:

YES Ski wax!

TUESDAY, February 28^TH 6:45PM

WINDSOR PARK NORDIC CENTRE

Training grid area

Format:

Classic technique. Grades N-2 approx. 50 m.   Grades 3-6 approx. 100 m.  Races will go in order of grades starting with Nursery.

For categories with less than 8 entrants: the first heat is against one other person. The person who finishes first in this heat receives a loonie and goes to the A side final, the person who finishes in second place gets a ‘chocolate loonie’ and goes to the B-Side Final.

For categories with 8 or more entrants: we will run heats of 4, with top two going to the A Final and the bottom two going to the B Final. Loonies for top two, chocolate loonies for bottom two.

Finals will be mass start. 1^st ,2^nd, and 3^rd place medals will be awarded to the winners of the A-side group for each grade.

This is an entry level, fun oriented, participation event.

Fee:

$2.00 per child.  Thank you to our sponsor YES Ski Wax for making this event more affordable!

Eligibility:

The event is open to students from Nursery up to and including Grade 6.

Registration:

Registration will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 PM at Windsor Park Nordic Center. No registrations will be accepted after 6:30 PM. (to allow time to make the race schedule)

NOTE:

ALL racers MUST complete the Entry Form and have the waver signed by a parent or guardian before being allowed to race.  Waiver posted on www.ccsam.ca

It’s APJ’s annual Stafford Studios photo shoot this Sunday February 26.

Photos are a wonderful way to remember the year of skiing with APJ, and Stafford Studios are very reasonably priced with a variety of options available.  They take any form of payment.

Even if not purchasing, please do make an effort to show up so there can be as many skiers as possible in our group photos.  Thank you.

Double Check our website on Sunday for possible location changes, but right now the plan is to meet at our usual time of 1:30pm in the Formal Gardens (where the head statues are).  Entrance is at Corydon and Park Blvd.

Apparently there was a huge shoveling party happening at Windsor Park last night… and thus…

Track Attack skiing will be a “GO” for APJ tonight!  Please be ready to skate-ski.  Same time.  Same place.  (6:30 p.m. at Windsor Park)

ALSO, in the good news stories…  one of our members had lost their orange APJ club jacket.  However, a wonderful person found the jacket, took initiative to seek out our club’s website, located our contact page, and submitted a comment indicating he had found it, giving us his contact info!  There are some really awesome people in this world!  The jacket and its owner are now happily reunited.  🙂

Website Schedule/Calendar will be updated as follows (snow dependent for some):
– February 26: photos with Stafford Studios
– March 5: Falcon excursion
– March 12: Cookie sprints (and wind-up???)
– March 19: ???
– March 26 & April 2: Spring Break – no skiing

Kevin’s father, Peter Sim, has once more put together a short film of one of our Sunday afternoon ski sessions.  THANK YOU, PETER!

Check it out:

• February 2017 – Assiniboine Park Jackrabbits – Sunday afternoon ski at the park (short film):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExuNf_BK4RM&feature=youtu.be

Note:  All short films that Peter has made for our club over the years can be viewed on the LINKS page.

Happy Valentine’s Day!  Hope you’re feelin’ the love today.

This Thursday, February 16, is APJ’s special ski outing to Beaudry Park for those families who want an extra challenge/adventure.

Beaudry Park is groomed with 16k of classic trails.  We won’t be skiing all 16 of them on Thursday.  Perhaps 5k…give or take.  (There are 2 smaller loops off the parking lot side.)

• Headlamps
• Hot chocolate mugs
• Provincial Park pass

Our Sunday session today will be on as usual.

Coach Ihor is away as his son James is racing this weekend.  But the other coaches will be at the park to lead the session.  Should be great weather!

Meet at the Duck Pond at 1:30.

Bring those hot chocolate mugs!

While I was out for a walk at Assiniboine Park this afternoon, I was surprised to spot two extremely familiar, orange jackets skiing rapidly toward me.  I wondered if I’d gotten my days mixed up – was it already Sunday afternoon with APJ?

Nope.  Still Friday.  It was none other than the McManus brothers who were out with their mom getting some fresh air at Assiniboine Park on a day off school.

Mom, Simona, informed me, “After a few hours of tackling math homework and practicing piano, we desperately needed to take a break!  So we decided to come here for a ski.”

There’s nothing like exercise to clear the mind.  Way to go, setting a great example, boys!

PJ (10) and Sebastian (9) McManus

Last week, Coach Jeff and his family (Gina, Hayes, Hudson, and Marin) traveled to Ottawa & Quebec.  They visited with Jeff’s sister and family and took in the Eastern Canadian Championships at Nakkertok.  (Big-time ski races located at Canada’s largest ski club.)

Well!  It proved to be a very interesting trip as we unexpectedly encountered Coach Ihor’s past – not just once, but twice!

When Jeff stopped at a ski store to borrow some items just prior to race weekend, he met a man named Pavol… who just happened to know Coach Ihor very well!

Pavol and Ihor coached in the same era… Coach Ihor in Manitoba; Coach Pavol in NWT.

Then, during race weekend, Jeff talked in depth with Ontario’s Team Hardwood… and funny thing again, during introductions it was discovered that there was yet another person prominently linked to Coach Ihor’s past…

… Jack Sasseville! 

If any of you have read APJ’s website page on “Coaches”, then you will know of Ihor’s bio which tells of his racing days with the Manitoba Ski Team under the leadership of Jack Sasseville and Ted Bigelow.   I’m sure Coach Ihor has many more stories to tell.

WOW!  If anything, our family’s trip out East reminded and impressed upon us just how knowledgeable Coach Ihor is about skiing – in racing and everything else, too. 

Ihor was, and still is, a prominent figure in the ski community and we are very fortunate to have him as our very own Head Coach of APJ.   Thank you, Coach Ihor, for all the work you do with APJ!

Coach Ihor with his son, James.

January 28-29, 2017 – Falcon Ridge was a busy place with sprint races on Saturday and Biathlon on Sunday!  Some of our Track Attackers took part in these events, along with a few of their parents.  It was a learning experience for all and here are the photos to show for it…