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From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.

Tag: Pat Pearce

  • Sovereign Lake to Host 2020 Canadian Cross Country Ski Championships

    (Press release)

    CANMORE, Alta. — Cross Country Ski de fond Canada’s Events Committee is pleased to announce the Sovereign Lake Nordic Ski Club in Vernon, B.C. will play host to the 2020 Canadian Ski Championships in March 2020.

    Clubs throughout the area, including Sovereign Lake, Larch Hills in Salmon Arm, Telemark out of Kelowna and Kimberley along with Black Jack from the Kootenay’s and Revelstoke have continued to support high-performance racing programs over the last 10 seasons.

    “Sovereign Lake Nordic has played a critical role in providing Canadian cross-country skiers access to snow early in the season as the anchor to our NorAm program,” said Dave Dyer, CCC’s events director.  “It was time we finished the season off in the same style as we have become accustomed to every December by going back to the Vernon region for our national championships.”

    Dyer added the Selection Committee was especially impressed with the evolution of the leadership group and dedicated staff at Sovereign Lake Nordic.

    The premier event on the 2020 domestic race calendar will fall immediately after the World Cup Finals in Canmore, Alta., March 20, 2020.

    Homologated in 2005 to meet FIS standards in preparation for the return of the FIS World Cup to Canada, the trails at Sovereign Lake will provide a variety of options for both senior and junior skiers at the 94th running of the Canadian Ski Championships event.

    “SLNC last hosted the Canadian Ski Championships in 1995 making the 2020 Nationals Campaign the 25th Anniversary of that event. An annual stop on the Haywood NorAm circuit each December, hosting other world-class events such as the 2005 World Cup and 2011 World Masters Championships, SLNC is poised to once again welcome our country’s top athletes during these eight days of racing,” said Pat Pearce, Chair of the Bid Committee. “The Organizing Committee is excited to get to work on its tasks to host the 2020 Canadian Ski National Championships.”

    Located just 22 km from downtown Vernon, and 50 minutes from Kelowna International Airport, at an elevation of 1667m, Sovereign Lake Nordic Club and Silver Star Mountain Resort together provide over 105km of daily groomed Nordic ski trails. Its high elevation, moderate winter temperatures, world-class grooming and outstanding early and late season ski conditions provide some of the best cross-country skiing in the world.

    SLNC is the largest not-for-profit ski club in North America, founded in 1974, with backcountry skiing roots dating back to the early 1930’s. With over 1850 members and a thriving Youth and Master’s program of over 340, Sovereign operates a full-service facility with night skiing, large rental/retail shop and tuning services. We host over 29,000 visitors annually and offer a busy S’Cool Ski Program for more than 1700 local children across three school districts.

    The 2019 Canadian Ski Championships will be held at the Nakkertok Nordic Centre, March 13 – 20, 2019.  A two-day pursuit will lead off an action-packed week of domestic racing prior to the World Cup Finals slated for Quebec City.

  • Opening Weekend at Sovereign Lake/Silver Star

    Opening Weekend at Sovereign Lake/Silver Star

    Less crowded away from the stadium at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre on Nov. 9.
    Quiet serenity away from the stadium at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre on Nov. 9.

    By Gerry Furseth

    VERNON, B.C. – Both Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre and Silver Star Ski Resort had a ‘soft-opening’ for cross-country skiing on Thursday, Nov. 7.  By Saturday, there were classic tracks and 75-kilometres of trails set. FasterSkier’s Gerry Furseth spent Saturday on the Sovereign Lake side, where 100 of some 1,700 club members picked up their season passes and 236 visitors bought day passes.

    A popular place: the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre parking lot on Nov. 9, two days after opening for the 2013/2014 season.
    A popular place: the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre parking lot on Nov. 9, two days after opening for the 2013/2014 season.

    Although most were local, skiers came from as far as Saskatchewan. A good collection from the neighboring clubs, Larch Hills and Telemark, made the roughly one-hour drive to kick off the season.  About 15 skiers drove five hours from Vancouver, representing at least three of the coastal clubs.

    To the East, Canmore has Frozen Thunder and about half of the national team. On the opposite side of the country, La Forêt Montmorency neighbours the epicentre of Québec skiing with another large group of national team members.  Of the early skiing destinations in Canada, Sovereign Lake and Silver Star comparatively fly a little under the radar.

    Like most nordic areas in the region, Sovereign Lake is operated by the local ski club. The day lodge staff and the track setters are paid, but a large amount of volunteer work makes the system and events possible.

    There is a definite family feel with trails named for founding members (i.e. Wylie Loop, for Carl Wylie) and founder’s grandsons (Lars Taylor, a local star, long retired from racing).  A photo of Matt Wylie racing at the Canmore World Cup last season is featured on the wall of fame, putting him one up on his cousin Alysson Marshall. A perennial NorAm destination, the club hosted World Masters in 2011 and hopes to bid for nationals in a few years.

    Farther up the hill, Silver Star is a major alpine destination, known for champagne powder and 7 metres of annual snowfall.  The resort maintains 50-plus kilometres of trails without a need for snowmaking. The main street of the village is groomed, but not set for classic.

    A fun way to end a long day is to ski up to Long John’s and order a pint of liquid carbohydrates – local and organic, of course.  The community has a mandatory gingerbread-house colour scheme, which sounds tacky but somehow looks great once the snow arrives.

    For the last decade, skiers have stayed at Silver Star while racing at Sovereign Lake.

    The dual-area pass is changing the way visitors see the area.  Pat Pearce, the chair of Sovereign Lake Nordic, said “it has gotten much more popular … the idea of skiing across [to Silver Star], having lunch and skiing back.”

    Larch Hills coach Brian May brought 50 juniors to the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre last weekend.
    Larch Hills coach Brian May brought 50 juniors to the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre last weekend.

    “We are in a real evolution and growth of the programs right now,’ said Sovereign Lake head coach Darren Derochie, who moved to the area in 1987 to try to make the Olympic team in 1988. He represented Canada at the 1992 Games.

    “Our junior development program is around the two dozen range, whereas a few years ago we only had a handful of kids of that age,” Derochie explained.

    The club executive and staff excitedly announced “mid-winter conditions on November 9th.”  Seeking truth behind the claim, FasterSkier carefully inspected 15 k of the system, and while there were twigs sticking up through some of the trails, there wasn’t a single rock or dirty patch.

    The classic tracks were good, but after two consecutive nights of heavy snowfall, it was a bit soft for skating in some areas. The end result of the two-hour inspection: “mid-winter” is a good description, as long as your idea of mid-winter includes heavy snowfalls. Don Wylie, part of the track-setting team, said a night of packing without new snow would get the skating lanes up to their usual standard.

    Saturday night brought only 5 centimetres of new snow, allowing the track setters to catch up and create firm skating lanes.  Another 15 k of trail opened Sunday, including Upper World Cup, which in this author’s opinion, is in better condition than the last five Decembers. For Furseth, this is the earliest ever switch from rock skis to race skis: most years he’s still on rock skis during early season NorAms. Classic was trickier Sunday, with a high of -2 degrees Celsius and some glazing in the tracks.

    Some skiers end up at national training centres, but they certainly don't start there.
    Some skiers end up at national training centres, but they certainly don’t start there.