Wednesday night was our final official workout of this the 05/06 ski season. The NBNRT Wed night workout series has been a huge success. We had a total of 20 people come out and join the group at some point during the year. More remarkable was the core group of 8 to 10 skiers that didn’t miss more than one workout all year.

It was nice to see many team members taking part in our 1^st annual Bluesky Loppet. The loppet was a good test for seasoned racers and the perfect introduction for those just getting into competitive skiing. A few members took to the regional race scene as well. They put in some great performances throughout the season. Our goal was to encourage participation in cross country ski competition and I think we achieved this. Everyone seemed to have a good time and welcomed the challenge.

The enthusiasm that everyone brought to our gatherings each week certainly made it more than worthwhile for me. Every week I looked forward to meeting with the team and helping people improve as best I could. I know that EVERYONE who came out showed impressive improvement throughout the season - by reducing their lap times, improving their confidence and demonstrating much more efficient and balanced technical skiing. Already I look forward to what we can accomplish next season.

A few of us have some informal plans for some organized dryland training sessions this coming summer and fall. Most team members already focus on other competitive sports during the summer (running, cycling, triathlon, paddling etc.) so general fitness certainly won’t be an issue (Be sure to check the Calendar of Events for exciting multi sport race dates). For those interested, we will make a few key moves in the fall that will certainly help us get the jump on our skiing performance!

Good luck to everyone this summer, I look forward to seeing everyone again next year. We’ll get underway as soon as the trails are white again!!!

Early Thoughts for Next Season:

- We need to get team clothing!! I’m thinking vests or jackets. Brooks clothing is very supportive of XC teams and we could look into their products (my UW jacket is Brooks).

- The Canadian Masters Championships are to be held in Deep River next year. This could be an excellent chance for the team to test themselves without dropping the big coin. We’ll talk more about this later!

- We’ll get going next year as soon as the trails are open to decent skiing

- Stay tuned to the website for updates and team related announcements

- PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SEND ME WEB CONTENT – I know a lot of you are out there racing, I’m sure we’d all love to hear about it!!!

SEE YOU HERE - NEXT YEAR!!