KAWARTHA NORDIC SKI CLUB HOSTING PROVINCIAL MIDGET CHAMPIONSHIPS

Skiers practise on Friday at the Kawartha Nordic Ski Club, in North Kawartha Township north of Peterborough, which is hosting the Ontario Midget Championships. The three-day event continues Saturday and Sunday, presented by LLF Lawyers LLP, with 205 cross-country skiers aged 9 to 16 skiing for 20 teams from across Ontario and Quebec competing in five different events, with a team championship title on the line. Under the lights Friday night, competitors raced head-to-head in a ski cross sprint event featuring ups, downs, jumps, slalom and obstacles. Each skier was given three opportunities to try the course and improve their standing against skiers of similar age and skill, in a King’s Court format, until a winner was crowned. Saturday will kick off with individual time trials featuring interval starts. Depending on their category these races can be up to 5km in length and a good result means a better starting position in Sunday’s race. The afternoon will switch gears to a fun event with random teams created from across all racers. Three skiers will each sprint 700m, tagging their teammates and hoping to hold off the competition for the victory. Sunday morning begins with the popular mass start race, where upwards of 50 skiers in each category start all at once and jockey for position over a course of up to 5km. Both the start and finish of this event are always exciting. Finally, the weekend will close with another fun team sprint, but this time skiers in random teams of four will each get to experience the sport through the perspective of a para-nordic athlete. Competitors will have to sprint 60m in a sit ski or standing using only their legs in the ski tracks. See more photographs in the online gallery at www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com.