Hello Jackrabbit Managers,
One word: Cancelled.
No, make that two words: Cancelled again!
Latest weather forecast says -24 degrees Celsius with a -34 windchill with winds 15 kmh at the start of our proposed session tomorrow. So, well beyond our -27 cutoff.
Worse yet, the fabulous indoor facility is booked by others, so a no go there too.
Just remember: Skiing in March and April is normally fabulous!
Posted in What's New
Hello Jackrabbit Managers,
“Fast Rabbits Thursday 9″, for Thursday, 19 February 2015, is indeed on!
Just not on skis! Nor outdoors! Nor at the Windsor Park Nordic Centre!
Yep, you guessed it: Latest prediction says that doable -17 degree Celsius air temperatures will be accompanied with a not doable -27 windchill (just for laughs, I am going out on a limb to guess that the windchill will actually end up being -30) at what would be skiing time.
So, we are moving indoors. To the Assiniboine Park Duck Pond Shelter. 18:30 to 19:30 (not 20:00). Coach Ihor promises his world-famous “Stability and Balance Workout (For Skiers Only!).
Bring shorts, t-shirt, sweat pants, long-sleeve top, and running shoes.
Don’t bring skis. No waxing nor skiing involved.
Posted in What's New
Hello Jackrabbit Managers,
Yeah! Mother Nature is (kind of) cooperating today. The last two runs of the Meteocode weather model are mostly corresponding to what is actually happening, so today’s outdoor session is indeed on.
Not to say that the weather will be truly delightful. Doable would be the better word.
Air temperature is forecast to be -16 degrees Celsius with a -25 windchill at the start and improving to -14 air temperature and -20 windchill at the end of today’s session.
Given that the snow has been colder than -20 degrees today’s technique will be classic (not skate). Put your grip wax on in the comfort of your home if you have appropriate grip wax. If not, the coaches will supply grip wax on site.
Meet at 13:30 on The Hummocks.
Hot chocolate and wagon wheels will very likely be in the Duck Pond Shelter. Please bring a reusable mug.
Posted in What's New
Crazy! If all you had read was the latest Environment Canada weather forecast for Sunday (“Wind chill minus 36.”) you would say to yourself, “Hey, skiing is for sure cancelled!”.
Crazier still is that I would then say, “Nope, skiing for Sunday is still on!”. The reason is that when you look at the hour-by-hour version of that very same Environment Canada weather forecast you can see that the air temperature is predicted to be a doable -16 degrees Celsius with a -26 windchill at the start of our skiing session, and climbing to a -24 windchill by the end.
Now, that still is a model. And if the model is looking a wee bit optimistic by 11:30 on Sunday morning, we may be able to move our outdoor session into a fabulous indoor facility (in the works).
So, I will post around 11:30 Sunday morning indicating if we are: skiing outdoors; exercising indoors; or outright cancelling.
Posted in What's New
Cancelled. “No go”.
The weather model has been a couple of degrees too optimistic and a little shy on the actual windspeeds today. If I would have to guess, the predicted windchill for tonight’s now cancelled session will likely remain a little too optimistic. Therefore, we will likely be beyond our -27 windchill cutoff.
Instead, have your skiers stay indoors and watch this just under nine minute video, “The Elements of Cross-country Skiing: Skate Skiing“, by Saul Goldman, of Velotique. Then ask your skier(s) the question, “How many skate techniques do you try to do when you ski?”
Posted in What's New
Hello Jackrabbit Managers,
Ever wanted to be a mascot? How about a “Chief of Kitchen”?
If you are interested, Kenton Frith, friendly facial-haired skier found in this FIS-friendly photo, is looking for a couple of special somebodies to volunteer their efforts for the upcoming Jackrabbit Jamboree.
In (mostly) Kenton’s words:
“Sparky [the mascot] needs someone that can comfortably support his head. It’s is a bit heavy! That person also needs to be able to ski him during the mascot race! Only needs for an hour or so around the mascot race.”
“Chief of kitchen is a bigger one. Need someone to manage the kitchen volunteers through the boiling up of 200 hot dogs… Usually that person is also responsible for getting the hot dogs, chips and drinks but this year I am very happy to take on that responsibility. I am already going to make arrangements for sliced hot dog buns! They also take care of the cookies and hot choc for snack in the afternoon. We have traditionally used the kitchen at [Windsor Park Nordic Centre], with a brief clean up the day before. There has also been some large pots at [Windsor Park Nordic Centre] that we have used to boil the dogs. I took a quick look last week and didn’t see them so we will have to come up with alternatives! I have detailed list from last years chief if we can find someone interested I will send it over!”
If you have the right stuff, contact Kenton Frith directly at jrski@rainyday.ca to start the conversation.
Posted in What's New
Sorry Jackrabbit Managers,
Aaargghhh…
In my last post, I said that a “go” or “no go” message would be posted by 09:00 on Thursday morning. Unfortunately, I am now going to have to delay that decision to 16:30 on Thursday afternoon.
Why? You may ask?
The latest weather forecast indicates an air temperature of -17 degrees Celsius with a windchill of -29 at 19:00, rising to -16 with a -27 windchill by 20:00 (yes, getting warmer instead of colder). And at 21:00 (bed time) the wind is supposed to drop from 30 kmh to 10 kmh for a windchill of a “nice” -22.
If I had to make the decision right now, it would be to cancel. Which I don’t want to do, since the wind could turn off earlier and/or the air temperature might be a couple of degrees warmer (and the session could be run and be pleasant).
Therefore, if by 16:30 Thursday, the actual air temperatures and windchills are nicer than what the latest weather model (of 16:30) is predicting (or the predictions are warm-enough), then we would be a “go”.
Stay tuned.
Posted in What's New
Hello Jackrabbit Managers,
We are changing it up this week. Bye bye 18:30 start time. Hello 19:00 start time!
Yes, by popular demand — this week only — “Fast Rabbits Thursday 8″, for Thursday, 12 February 2015, will start a whole half-hour later (at 19:00), and yet still end at 20:00! That’s amazing!
As per usual, Coach Ihor’s and Coach Rob’s groups are invited out to the Windsor Park Nordic Centre. Three APJ coaches will be in attendance.
Technique (classic or skate) to be determined.
Daily trail pass (and hot chocolate, if required) is the skier’s responsibility to purchase in the clubhouse.
Unfortunately, the latest weather forecast is predicting a -21 degree Celsius air temperature with a -31 windchill at skiing time. As such, a “go” or “no go” message will be posted by 09:00 on Thursday morning. If “go” then technique will also be posted.
Posted in What's New
Hello Jackrabbit Managers,
Registration is now open to the first 100 kids (or 2015-02-25, whichever comes first) for the Jackrabbit Jamboree.
See details of this once-a-year Red River Nordic Ski and Biathlon Club event at the Cross Country Ski Association of Manitoba (CCSAM) website (http://www.ccsam.ca/jackrabbit-jamboree-registration-now-open-2/). Then register at Zone4 (https://zone4.ca/reg.asp?id=8492). Cost is $12 per kid.
At this moment, 11 kids (from various clubs) of the 100 kid maximum limit have been registered. It is our hope that all 53 Assiniboine Park Jackrabbit kids will be registered for this event.
The reason for that hope, is that unlike previous years, this winter’s Jackrabbit Jamboree will now (due to recent rescheduling) be held on a Sunday (not Saturday!). Yeah! That means that many or most of our club members should be able to attend at least part of it.
The Jackrabbit Jamboree will be held on Sunday, 1 March 2015, from 09:45 to 15:00. Hot lunch is provided. No, your child is not obligated to ski the whole day (although it is indeed set up for them to do so). And, yes, your child can arrive late, or leave early, or do both, if they have another Sunday commitment to attend.
No session will be held in Assiniboine Park on Sunday, 1 March 2015, between 13:30 and 15:00. This is because we will be at the Jackrabbit Jamboree.
Posted in What's New
Hello Jackrabbit Managers,
Apologies for the update.
For the older and/or more experienced kids who will be venturing beyond The Hummocks tomorrow, bring their skate skis. If they don’t have skate skis, bring their classic skis, but in the warmth of your home, simply scrape off the grip wax found in the middle third of their classic skis, and smooth the remaining grip wax down using a ski waxing cork. The goal is to have slippery skis not slippery-and-grippy skis.
Sorry for the confusion.
Due to the difference between”as planned for” and “as actually implemented”, a few-minutes-old update from Jeff Hampshire has now indicated that all ski trails at Assiniboine Park will indeed be fabulously mechanically groomed for just skate technique for tomorrow’s session. However, only the The Hummocks will be groomed for both skate and classic technique (where grip wax is an asset not a liability).
Posted in What's New
Assiniboine Park Jackrabbits 