Archibald rises to to para Nordic prominence
Emma Archibald’s rise to prominence among the para Nordic skiing community has been impressive by any metric.
The 20-year-old Fall River native, a nursing student at the University of Ottawa, is a member of the Nova Scotia provincial cross-country team, the uOttawa Nordiq team (where she serves as captain) and the Nordiq Canada Para Nordic Development Team.
Archibald was born with Amniotic Band Syndrome and clubbed feet, and is unable to hold ski poles properly with her hands. She uses arm movements to create the necessary momentum during races. She started skiing just five years ago, after attending a Paralympic camp where she was identified as a candidate for seven sports, once of which was crosscountry skiing. She attended a Nordiq Canada Para development camp in Canmore, Alta., where she received her classification and got her first taste of Para Nordic skiing.
“I was doing a lot of cross-country running at the time,” said Archibald. “So cross-country skiing seemed like a natural extension of that, and some of my friends from school were on the Nova Scotia team, so I would know some people if I decided to get involved in that, because it is a bit intimidating starting a new sport at that age, and they encouraged me and helped me so much and made it an easy transition.”
Archibald made her mark on the national stage at last year’s Canada Winter Games in Prince Edward Island, capturing two gold medals and a silver.
In January, Archibald was in Italy for a pair of Para Nordic World Cup competitions. In her debut in Toblach, she placed sixth in the 10-kilometre pursuit classic, fifth in the 10 km mass start classic, seventh in freestyle sprint and 11th in the 10 km skate. In Martell, she placed fifth in the classic sprint.
Archibald was in Thunder Bay, Ont., in February for the Ontario University Athletics championships and will be headed to Prince George, B.C., in March for the Para Nordic World Cup Finals, which are being held in conjunction with the first-ever Para Biathlon world championships.
“I loved competing overseas (in January),” said Archibald. “So I’m really excited to compete against those high-level athletes again and just push myself to that next level. And it’s a home World Cup in Canada, so just having us hosting and having as many Canadian athletes there as possible will mean a lot.”
Archibald will graduate next year, so juggling a work-life balance will be high on her priority list as she sets her sights on a spot with Canada’s Paralympic team at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
“For sure, it’s going to be a challenge,” said Archibald. “But I’m really encouraged with how things have gone so far and I want to see just how far I can push myself. Even if it doesn’t work out, I want to keep doing this long after I’ve stopped competing at a high level. I just love the training and being with friends.”