Tips for Racing at Canmore

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Tips For Racing In Canmore Dec. 19, 20

If you have never been to Canmore for a race here are a few tips that might help make your weekend more enjoyable.

The races happen on Saturday and Sunday and usually families travelling from Saskatchewan travel on the Thursday. Often there will be a short, fun ski practice (no shooting) at 7:00pm(meet at the Nordic Center) that is optional.

Each athlete must be registered ahead of time using “zone 4”. Enter “Saskatchewan” for your club (which helps to coordinate firing lane assignments for official practice) and remember to register before the deadline passes.  

Official Practice

Friday is the “Official Practice” day which means that you can ski your loops for the race and practice shooting. Athletes practice at the same times as they race. Junior Men and Women always practice in the morning and Senior Boys and Girls are sometimes in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon.  Dev 1 and 2 races along with air rifle races are always in the afternoon. Bring a recovery snack and drink!

Club coaches will be there to work with younger athletes while the Provincial Coach will manage the older athletes who are on the Provincial Team.

Wax

The snow in Canmore is fast and hard and usually it is best to wax before you travel. Usually Toko Pink or Start Green over a layer of soft yellow wax is a good bet.

Rifles And Ammo

Make sure your rifle has a trigger lock and note that all rifles must be in a soft or hard case in the parking lot. Usually 300 rounds are more than enough to last a weekend and try not to switch bullets during the weekend. Make sure the bedding bolts on your rifle are tight and the action is smooth and clean. This is the responsibility of the athlete. 

Where To Stay?

Places where some families have stayed before include the following:   

Windtower - http://windtower.ca/   - may have a special Biathlon Sask room rate for 1 bedroom suite at $99 and 2 bedroom suite at $149

Canadian Rocky Chalets - http://www.canadianrockieschalets.com/ - variety of 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom accomodations

Rocky Mountain Ski Lodge - http://www.rockyski.ca/

Econo lodge - http://www.canmoremountainlodge.com/

Quality Inn - http://www.chateaucanmore.com/

Am I Ready???

If you are not sure whether you are ready to tackle the tough ski trails at Canmore, ask the provincial coach to get a sense of where you fit.

Frozen Thunder

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Every winter the people at the Canmore Nordic Center make a big pile of man-made snow when it is cold and then cover it in sawdust—this keeps it from melting over the summer. Every year, around Oct 20th, they use dumptrucks to haul out the snow and make a trail that is 1-2 km long. This trail is perfect for early skiing in October and November and is great for getting a lot of volume skiing in before December rolls around and it is racing season.

Serious skiers form Saskatchewan often go there to:

  1. get used to skis rather than rollerskis
  2. put in lots of miles on skis – usually we ski two or three times per day
  3. practice shooting with skis on
  4. work on balance

This early preparation for the season helps to align our athletes with success.

“Champions are made in the summer and fall— not in the winter.”
— Legendary Biathlon Coach, Petr Zidek