Students fight tough, mild conditions at OFSAA Nordic Skiing Championship
Lakefield College School student Armstrong finishes in eighth position in senior boys race
Lakefield College School once again wrestled with Mother Nature in order to get the 2024 OFSAA Nordic Skiing Championship completed.
The Lakefield private school hosted the event Thursday and Friday for a second straight year and again unseasonably mild temperatures created challenging conditions.
Last year, the big battle was just to get enough snow to cover the course as the start of races was delayed while volunteers worked tirelessly to get it prepared. Drawing on lessons learned, organizers had the course prepared with plenty of snow on hand but, as temperatures soared to as high as 11 C, race conditions weren’t the best for competitors. There were 526 students from nearly 70 schools competing.
“The conditions were tough,” said Graeme Armstrong, a Grade 11 Lakefield College School (LCS) student who was the only local athlete to place in the top 10 of an event with his eighth-place result in the senior boys race Thursday morning. “It was warm, wet, slushy snow, which made for slow skiing, but everyone was in the same boat. We were lucky to have enough snow coverage so there weren’t any exposed areas but the snow was soft and wet and made for challenging skiing. I feel like the snow was better last year.”
Armstrong, a Peterborough resident and graduate of St. Anne’s elementary school, was competing at OFSAA for a second straight year after finishing seventh in the junior boys race last time around. While he’s skied all his life and his brother Evan Armstrong, who is attending Royal Military College this year after graduating from LCS last spring, was a competitive racer, Graeme only began racing last year.
“I grew up skiing and come from a family of skiers,” he said. “I was looking for a new winter sport and like to try new things. I thought, since I’ve been skiing for a long time, it might be interesting to try racing. I like the competitive atmosphere of racing and thought It would be a good experience.”
He also really enjoys working with coaches Todd Harris, brothers Avery and Spencer VreugdenhilBeauclerc, Laura Inkila and Diane Rogers. “We’re very fortunate to have experienced coaches,” Armstrong said. “They are super supportive and know a lot.”
He’s had a strong season, winning two invitational races and placing second at the Conference of Independent Schools of Ontario Athletic Association championships in Huntsville for private schools. Being on the younger side of the senior division, he didn’t necessarily expect to repeat his top 10 finish from last year.
“I put in a lot of time training, both on skis and running, and I’m also a hockey player, so I put in a lot of training. I thought I was definitely faster this year,” he said.
Skiing on his home course for a provincial championship was exciting.
“It’s a great experience being able to host OFSSA and be familiar with the course. Obviously, I have
trained on it, so that gives me an upper hand. It was a great atmosphere. A bunch of my friends are helping out, so going through the start and finish area and having them cheer you on in your hometown is always a great feeling,” Armstrong said.
Coach Harris said they were in better shape to start this year’s races than last time around.
“We had snow making this year and we got lucky with some good snowfalls and, like last year, we used some Zamboni snow and had it stockpiled since the beginning of the season, “he said.
He was worried about what the course would look like Thursday morning after a Wednesday night rainfall.
“I heard it during the night raining here in Lakefield and it was fine this morning,” he said.
Day 1 featured individual races while Friday’s action featured team relay events.