Category Archives: 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.

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.

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).

Hello Jackrabbit Managers,

Please thank your skier(s) for inventing and/or performing their own let-it-snow dance(s) this past week!  All efforts combined have appeared to work!

Jeff Hampshire of Nordic X-Ventures has indicated that all ski trails at Assiniboine Park will indeed be fabulously mechanically groomed for both classic and skate techniques for tomorrow’s session.  Body armour will not be required!

And Mother Nature is forecast to give us a -13 degree Celsius air temperature with a -19 windchill at the start of skiing.  As such, the session is indeed on!

Meet at The Hummocks at 13:30 on Sunday, 8 February 2015.

Please bring a reusuable mug for hot chocolate (to reduce avoidable waste).  We won’t turn you away from the hot chocolate if you don’t have one, but if you can bring one, great.

Hi skiers, we will actually give skiing a shot Thursday night at Windsor Park, 6:30 pm.

Technique will be skate (free technique). Temperatures won’t be super warm like the last few times we’ve seen so make sure your fingers will stay warm!

Sunday at Assiniboine Park: so far looks good.

See you there!

Coach Ihor

Hello Jackrabbit Managers!

Tomorrow’s session is… sigh… wait for it… cancelled…

Puddle sticks…

And were not cancelling because of the weather, even though that is going to be -21 degrees Celsius with a -28 windchill at the start of the now cancelled session.

Nope, we are cancelling because of the boiler-plate snow.  Without body armour (hard on the outside and soft and squishy on the inside) every (frequent) fall to the rock-hard snow would result in a plethora of “owies“.

Not the memories of skiing we want our kids to have.

So, in lieu of our group session on Sunday, if your kids are interested in creating their own let-it-snow dance, let them know that their coaches are in full support of this activity.  We need more snow!

Hello Jackrabbit Managers,

Tonight’s session of “Fast Rabbits Thursday 6” has now been cancelled!

Coach Ihor’s let’s-cancel conversation just before noon included words such as “broken poles”, “body armour”, “zero grip”, “Piston Bully”, and “unhappy kids”.

No indoor session will be held either.

Hello Jackrabbit Managers,

Tomorrow’s “Fast Rabbits Thursday 6″, for Thursday 29 January 2015, is cancelled.  Likely.

Or it will be moved from the Windsor Park Nordic Centre to a safer venue.  Maybe.

Or just cancelled.  Probably.

Bottom line is that we don’t know at this time.

A definitive answer will be posted on Thursday around noon.

The reason for this whole-lotta-indecision is that tonight’s “Wednesday Night Race #7” was cancelled due to “…icing as a result of the rain and sleet…” and “…the rain is freezing on the snow [therefore] the conditions are getting treacherous…” on all of the ski trails at the Windsor Park Nordic Centre.

Given that reports from Windsor Park Nordic Centre on Sunday indicated that it was already icy, additional “icy-ness” on Wednesday would likely prove to be a safety hazard.

If, however, Coach Ihor is able to find a suitably safe place to ski somewhere in Winnipeg on Thursday evening, we will let you know the location at around noon.

Temperature is forecast to be -18 degrees Celsius with a -24 windchill at skiing time.  Skies to be clear.  Moon to be shining.

Hello Jackrabbit Managers,

Also as announced by Coach Ihor this past Sunday:  Track Attack skiers are encouraged to register and to participate in the “CCSAM Manitoba Cup Race #2” this upcoming Saturday, 31 January 2015 at 12:00.

Register online no later than 19:00 on Thursday, 29 January 2015.

Show up at the Falcon Ridge Ski and Recreation Area chalet no later than 10:30 on Saturday, 31 January 2015.

If you do decide to register, please also e-mail Coach Ihor to let him know so that he can coach (and possibly transport) your skier on Saturday.

For your information, after the race, at 14:30, will be the “Biathlon Open House at the Biathlon Range specifically to experience Biathlon shooting. Ages 10 +”.  This was hugely popular last year during our Jackrabbit Expedition.

Having said all that, the latest weather forecast is predicting -26 degree Celsius air temperatures with a -37 windchill.  If this turns out to be likely to occur (closer to race day) this race will again be postponed.