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Mono Nordic Invitational hosts skiers from around the region

February 6, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

Conditions were described as about as good as they could be during the annual Mono Nordic Invitational held at Monora Park on Saturday, February 1.

The trails were groomed with a solid base and good conditions and the temperature hovered around the mark that made it not too cold and not to mild for a day of Nordic skiing.

Racing began around 10:30 after competitors registered.

Competitors raced on course ranging from 1.4 K, for younger skiers up to 10 K, for older skiers which included two times around the 5 K course in the park.

Racers earned points toward their provincial stats.

Several high school clubs also took part in the day’s racing. There were also several university teams on the trails.

“It’s an invitational. We invite all the other clubs from the southern Ontario district of Cross Country Ski Ontario,” explained Mono Nordic Club president Gerry Gregoire. “HighLands Nordic is here, Georgian Bay Nordic from Parry Sound came down, the Hardwood Hills team is here. They started going out on the trails around 10:30. It takes about an hour and a-half just to get everybody started.”

Competitors are placed in classes by age and that also determines the length of the race.

“In the southern Ontario District they go under eight, under ten, under 12, 14, 16, and 18. They’re matching it up with what they do in the rest of the world,” Gregoire explained. “The older skiers do two laps of the 5K course. Everyone goes out in intervals. When they cross the finish line they get their time. For the clubs, they’re all competing for championships for the number of points in the season. Then they have the provincials that are later in the year. We have a banner out there – our Club won the southern Ontario District provincial championships last year. Part of the whole development of cross country skiing is a the Club level we’re providing opportunities for recreational skiing but part of our mandate through the provincial and national governing bodies is our goals are to try to work in a pyramid where we offer recreational and we offer our programs. We have kid who are learning to ski, kids who are learning to race, we have kids who are racing. The goal is to try and get kids up to the national Olympic level. They start out at the Club level. As they get better, of course it gets narrower up at the top. This is the bottom. This here is the support. This is how they all get started.”

Skiers trip a signal at the start of the race which tracks their time.

When the cross the finish line their time is recorded.

The Invitational is an annual event hosted by the Mono Nordic Ski Club.

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