| Board of Directors Nick Soper President Jack Waye Vice President Jerry Collins Treasurer Nigel Summers Secretary Ed Collins Director Denny Frampton Director | Dianne Vey Morawski Director Jeremy Decker Director Robert MacKenzie Director Dale Foote Director Daniel Mackenzie Director Bruce Matthews Director Kevin Morawski Director Justin Kieley Director |
First the preseason. We are in the midst of an ACOA project. Well before the end of the last construction season we obtained the approvals and permits for hut renovations and installation of water and sewer. Unfortunately, no bids were completed by contractors. It is now May, and we are still waiting for bids. A significant obstacle to the bids been completed is getting a reasonable estimate for moving the hut which is required to allow for the creation of the septic field.
In late Fall we completed the first stage of the trail work component of the ACOA project. For 8 days Mulrooney’s excavator worked on ditching and culverting, trail widening and the removal of rocks. Major work on the Black, Stadium, Red, Green, and Lower Blue paid dividends with significantly improved drainage in a number of problem spots. The entry on the Black trail from the parking lot was significantly widened with dump truck loads of fill giving much more room for those walking to the hut. Our ACOA project also helped us purchase 16 new sets of skis and 7 pairs of combi boots for our rental program.
The Fall also saw the annual trail mowing by Mulrooney’s, plus work by volunteers trimming trees and branches and removing blowdowns. A number of new directional and caution signs were added to the snowshoe trails.
Winter Games planning was a priority. In December, Shawn Leamon and Brian Moores conducted a Level 2 Officials Course in Gander. Five Airport Nordic members were certified along with participants from Clarenville and Avalon. The club also had another official complete the Level 1 course online.
The first Ginzu grooming was December 24 but without a classic track. The next Ginzu effort on Dec 31 gave us a track. January’s snowfall was well below normal but with lots of cold and no killer milds or big rains, we probably had more ski days than any other January. Skate skiers were often raving about the conditions. Classic skiers had fewer prime days since we were able to set a new classic track only a few times.
There was not enough snow depth to use the Pisten Bully till February 2, but we had great reults from our Bearcat/Ginzu groomers who groomed 14 days in January, often doing more than one shift since the machine would overheat if pushed to two hours.
February’s snow more than made up for January and we had excellent snow coverage for the Winter Games despite heavy rain hours before the first event. We used the Pisten Bully 11 times in February and the Bearcat 8 times.
Pisten Bully problems marked our winter. During the Games and twice in early March we had grooming interrupted and the machine sent for repairs. March 8 was our last time using the Pisten Bully and by the time we had the major repairs completed the season was over. We had huge help from the Town of Gander with repair work and the machine is ready to go for next year. We must also thank Decker’s Towing who transported our groomer to and from the Town garage free of charge on a couple of occasions.
Our last Ginzu grooming was March 27. 3 days of high temperatures followed which made further grooming impossible. The end of our season on March 28 was one of our earliest finishes.
The high point of our winter was hosting the XC skiing for the Newfoundland and Labrador Winter Games. Everything came together. Great work from our groomers, the Winter games Committee, the technical delegates from CCNL and our many volunteers in the hut, the canteen and out on the course. We had excellent trail conditions and weather and all the events went smoothly. The electronic timing was a dream. We had wonderful feed back from all involved. The drone footage was a hit on Facebook.(see The Games. Many thankyous which follows the report).
Congratulations to our host team and their coaches. A year ago we were afraid we wouldn’t have a team. It’s good to have a race program again. To support training the club purchased 4 sets of roller skis which will be available for rent during the off-season. The junior program had a successful program again this year. (Alyssa’s report will be added later).
The Gander Invitational was cancelled due to a lack of hotel rooms. The hotel where we had reserved a block of rooms overbooked and no rooms were available elsewhere. The Lakeside Loppett on March 17 had 61 participants doing 753 km and contributing $1190 to the Central Northeast Health Foundation . Compare to last year’s numbers of 58 completing 674 km to raise $1,365. On March 15 the club did its part for Gander’s Winter Carnival with its annual SnowBreak free skiing, rentals and beginners’ instruction. We managed only two other instructional sessions during the season.
After a couple years absence, we were pleased to welcome back Dale Hussey as our part-time hut attendant. She’s a great asset to the club and we hope that she can return next year.
Our membership of 355 was up slightly from last year’s 340. Last year’s was our lowest in 12 years. Two years ago we had 514 members Airport Nordic’s highest membership ever. This was the year after our Covid record of 470. Eight of the last 12 years the club surpassed the 400 member mark with one other interruption of 2 years when the numbers fell below the 400 mark. Let’s hope the past two years are a similar interruption, and we can work our way back up.
Of course, the club was used by more than the membership. Day fees and rentals brought in $5,140 down from last year’s $6,560 (compare to $2,078 in 2022 and $6944 in 2021. Two Cub packs, the scouts, Sea Cadets, and a church youth group had sessions on the trails. Adult groups were down from last year due to a couple of weather cancellations but the YQX women organized two snowshoe outings and 9 Wing Gander held their Winter Carnival at the club. We had small student groups visit from Lakewood Academy and Gander Collegiate but unlike last year no large school groups.
The Gander Wings Special Olympics snowshoers trained at the club and hosted the Special Olympics Central Snowshoe Championship on January 27 with 4 other clubs joining them for a morning of competition.
Biathlon NL had a dryland training camp at the club on the Thanksgiving weekend. The season ended to early for them to have a “Try It” Day on snow but they are hoping to get in a dryland session in the off-season.
They did manage a very successful demonstration afternoon with laser rifles during the games.
We have again had overtures from Disc Golf about setting up a course on the trails for off season use.
I’ll conclude by recognizing our volunteers. Everything that happens with the club is dependent on their work. In saluting them we must note that they are being stretched to their limits. We need new recruits.
Nick Soper
President Airport Nordic Ski Club
The Games. Many thank yous
Cross-country skiing went superbly at the Winter Games. Everyone involved – athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, parents felt the excitement. The feedback from all quarters was positive. Long planning went into our efforts and we can look back on the Games with pride.
Congratulations again to our host team – Laura Moshenko, Kelsey Shelley, Hannah Gillingham, Willow Dicks, Isaac Gillingham and Benjamin Shelley who did so well. Hats off to their coach Pam O’Keefe and manager Alyssa Gillingham who are entirely responsible for making our Gander team a reality. We are thrilled they are continuing their work with the team and looking for new recruits.
Congratulations to Robert Mackenzie who led our efforts and worked at so many levels and with so many partners to bring it all together. He worked closely with the host committee and the Town. The overall games effort had huge support from the Town Council and the Town of Gander on many fronts, particularly the Town garage.
Major support too came from different units at the base whose personnel aided us. From the base we borrowed tents, heaters, radios, a trailer, and big containers for storing the athletes’ in the garage. The club gets to keep the two beautiful ski racks and the exterior bulletin board made by 91 Construction Engineer Flight.
Congratulations and thanks to all our volunteers. Some of them did big work long before the games began. Our volunteers were amazing on the course, in the hut and garage, in trucks transporting skis, tables and chairs, water, fuel etc. Working in teams they did their jobs and quickly headed off potential problems. Their flexibility in taking on new roles was impressive. Volunteers organized by the host committee’s first aid, transportation, security, awards, and photography groups played key roles too .
Our groomers did an awesome job. Terry Nippard in the Pisten Bully and Jim Elms on the Bearcat/ Ginzu gave us excellent courses midst difficult grooming conditions. Their product was lauded by the racers and their coaches.
Invaluable help came from our provincial ski body XCNL. Brian Moores from Corner Brook taught a Level 2 Official’s course along with Shawn Leamon in December and returned as technical director for the games. His guidance, professionalism, and hands on work taught us so much and brought the quality of the event to another level. Will Fitzgerald from Avalon Nordic in St. John’s acting as technical chair gave us huge support too. Rachel Dalton and RaeAnne Tremblett from Clarenville did the Level 2 course with us and returned to be a key part of our crew of officials on the course.
Thanks to all those who contributed baked goods. Great treats. And to Dianne Vey Morawski and Debbie Waye and their team of volunteers who kept the canteen going.
Thanks to ANW Construction who came to our rescue with two truck loads of pylons and barriers, all of which found their place on the course; to the Evangel Pentecostal Church for the use of their sound system and miles of cable; to the Town for their Starlink setup which gave us wi-fi and allowed Patrick Brewer of Corner Brook to use his sophisticated electronic timing system.
Thanks to Wayne Lorenzon for his incredible drone footage of 3 of the race starts, to Hubert McGrath whose excellent photos captured all the events to Sam Roberts who did a stellar job with her FaceBook posts before, during and after the Games. Thanks to Roger’s, CBC, and NTV for their stories from the ski events.
Bonuses during the games were two hands-on demonstrations. One from Biathlon Newfoundland’s coaches Katie Thistle and Chris Langdon which allowed participants to use the group’s laser rifles. The other from Marg Tibbo with the province’s Para-Olympian program allowed athletes to try out sit-skis.
Congratulations to the ambassador for XC skiing Ian Stryde. Ian is a Special Olympian snowshoe athlete who trains at the club.