Gatineau’s Club Skinouk will host the Haywood NorAm Multi-stage Eastern Canadian Championships on February 11-12-13, 2011.
Races will be held on Nakkertok-South trails, in Cantley, Quebec. Club Skinouk will be hosting its fourth Eastern Canadian Championships since 2005.
The Championships take on a new format this year by spanning over three days in a mini tour de ski series. The Event winners will be crowned at the conclusion of the three races as they cross the finish line on Sunday’s race.
Having national and international sanctions, these Haywood NorAm Cup-Teck Sprint races will permit competitors to accumulate points for Canadian and International Ski Federation (FIS) standings. Therefore, close to 600 competitors from Eastern Canada, North-East United States and even Western Canada are expected to participate.
“Club Skinouk is proud to host Canada’s best cross country skiers.” said Pierre Millette, the Event Race Director, and added that his organization was ready to take on the challenge of the most important ski race after the Nationals. “I am confident that the event will be a success.” he concluded.
The championships will be launched on the Friday with a 3km Prologue. Then on Saturday, open category racers will head off in sprint qualifiers and heats to obtain standing bonus seconds. The bonus seconds will be combined with the Prologue times to determine handicaped start times for Sunday’s main 30km /15km distance events. More than $6000 in burse prizes will be awarded to winners during the weekend.
Midget, Juvenile and Junior racers will also participate in races on Saturday and Sunday as Ski de fond Québec and Cross Country Ontario, the provincial sport organizations for cross country skiing, have agreed to hold one round of their respective provincial cup series at the Eastern Canadians.
A very exciting ski racing program that will also crown best ski club and best province.
Source: Club Skinouk
Ben Theyerl
Ben Theyerl was born into a family now three-generations into nordic ski racing in the US. He grew up skiing for Chippewa Valley Nordic in his native Eau Claire, Wisconsin, before spending four years racing for Colby College in Maine. He currently mixes writing and skiing while based out of Crested Butte, CO, where he coaches the best group of high schoolers one could hope to find.
