Program Coordination at North Bay Nordic

Updates!

2012-02-23T12:33:00.002-05:00

Gee, looks like a while since I wrote my last blog entry!

So, since the Jackrabbits Olympics waaaay back when, a few things have definitely been going on!

Jackrabbits
On Feb. 19th we held a scavenger hunt for the kids.... and I thiiiinnnk it went quite alright. Kids were running all over the place looking for clues to try and complete their sentence! Almost all the groups were able to find all their words, and those that didn't were able to find some help from their peers. (the clue INSIDE the wax room proved especially difficult...)

The week after, we held the Beckie Scott Sprints. In this event kids get certain colour stickers based on their speed. Some of our skiers even attained the maximum level! Way to go guys!

A major thanks also has to go out to all the parent volunteers who came out for the Beckie Scott Sprints! Your help was much appreciated!

This coming weekend will also mark the end of a another season of Jackrabbits "lessons"; but that doesn't mean that "Jackrabbits" is over! All the Jackrabbits have free entry into the Blue Sky Loppet on Sunday, March 4th! Check out the race notice here! (Print off and hand-in before or on race day). Come out on Saturday as well and make sure to try Michel Chartrand's famous Crepes for $5! My mouth is already watering.

The Blue Sky Loppet won't even the the last event for the Jackrabbits though. There will still be one more: the year end Scavenger/Easter Egg Hunt! Exact details are still in the works, but I am sure that it will be a blast! Goodies are guaranteed!

Nipissing University PHED Ski School
Being involved with this program was a blast as well as being a great learning experience. Before starting to help teach the course every Wednesday and Thursday, I had never really taught skiing to a group of adults before. Working with Jackrabbits is a different ball game, and I had always worked with kids who had previous experience with skiing. I am glad that Tom recommended that I come out to watch the first session, he really gave me a heads up on how to approach the whole thing. Thanks Tom!

Blue Sky Loppet
I am looking forward to seeing a good crowd out here again for the Blue Sky Loppet. I am crossing my fingers for some superb weather (-5 and brilliantly sunny) to make it a gorgeous weekend.

As mentioned before Michel will be out on Saturday making Crepes inside the clubhouse! I definitely plan on sampling some his famous culinary work!

That's all for now. Winter just seems to be flying by, but hopefully we'll get the chance to keep on skiing right until the end of March and into April!

- Victor

P.S. - Check out OFSAA results on zone4.ca!

Photos of the Green

2012-02-09T15:22:00.000-05:00

I should really make a point of posting more pictures on this blog... but that would also require me to start taking pictures...

Luckily we have a few club members Like Peter Bullock who do take a few pictures. See this link to check out some of the photos he took last weekend!

Jackrabbits Olympics!

2012-02-09T15:04:00.000-05:00

The North Bay Nordic Jackrabbit Olympics took place this past weekend!

Event 1: "Races"
This station consisted of 3 different races. First the athletes had to negotiate their way though a challenging obstacle course including a steep climb, a biathlon range, a gnarly downhill and a slalom finishing straight. The Bunnyrabbits had it extra tough and even had to negotiate a deep snow section! Next the athletes had to race without poles but only use their arms (hard to imagine - but it is possible!) and finally participate in a "bobsled race" to wrap things up at event 1!

Station 2: "Games"
The games here varied depending on the age and the availability of balloons... but in addition to a classic game of "british bullog" some groups had to chance to attempt "balloon crush". This was probably the most ridiculous game I have ever seen on skis, largely because the kids were not heavy enough to break the balloons! Only after a large pile-up of Bunnyrabbits were some balloons finally broken!

Station 3: "Downhill"
Another classic but with the part 2 of the station adding a twist of having to chase balloons down the hill and then bring them back without breaking them! The wind direction also added a little more challenge with some of the balloons going in the opposite direction and up the hill!

Awards Ceremony
After everything was wrapped up, each kid got a "golden cookie" medal for their efforts!

Major thanks go out to our Jackrabbits leaders for keep the kids flowing enthusiastically through the different stations and on time! Our Sunday director Katlyn Quinn also deserves special mention. Excellent work keeping everything running smoothly at the Jackrabbit Chalet Katlyn!

- Victor

P.S. - To answer one child's question this past Sunday: I do not own North Bay Nordic!

Ontario Team Canoers

2012-01-28T10:35:00.000-05:00

It's always great to get some positive feedback.

I received little bit of that this past week from Tim Evans, the host coach for the Ontario Canoeing Team Training Camp held here in North Bay. They came out and used our trails in early January and from what I can tell, had a great time. Special thanks go out to Liam Patterson and Jack Bowness for helping run the short lessons on the canoers first day out.

Word has it that they will run the camp again next year and again make skiing a part of their training schedule. We look forward to hosting them!

- Victor

Team Ontario Paddlers at North Bay Nordic Ski Club

Racing + Adventure!

2012-01-25T13:26:00.000-05:00

Well, that was a busy weekend!

North Bay Nordic hosted the OUA Invitational here this past weekend. Everything came together at the last moment thanks to a group of fantastic volunteers. Major thanks again to those who volunteered.

The weather on both Saturday and Sunday were just about perfect. The excellent snow conditions and grooming also allowed us to try out a new entrance/finish in our stadium, which got some good feedback from the racers. The sharp entrance onto Nighbor Corner followed by a steep climb allowed for some overtaking at the last moment before entering the finishing straight. It was great to see some OUA racers again about 2 years after I was a racer myself. Oh the good old days!

That wasn't all that happened this weekend either. Sunday's stadium setup also meant the Jackrabbits got a chance to race around the stadium. Races ranged in length from about 20m right up to about 500m. Some groups got creative and raced with only one ski or even no skis!

My dad was also around that day and I was able to convince him to go out and pack the Bunnyrabbit, Jackrabbit and Adventure trails. He also had a chance to take along his camera. Click here to see the photos!

There are also some great shots of kids enjoying their racing around the field. Good to see!

That's all for now!
- Victor

Another week, another snowfall!

2012-01-17T18:15:00.000-05:00

Well, that was week two!

The Wednesday Night Series was quite a hit this week with a total of 16 skiers coming out. That was great! We worked on free skate this week and hopefully improved everyone's ability and range of use for the technique. The sprint relay was also a hoot, with a few guys really turning on the heat with the speed for this one. Good to see everyone give it their all!

Cold weather put Jackrabbits under threat of cancellation this week, but the sun came out and warmed things up so that Sunday actually ended up being an absolutely wonderful day. The Bunnyrabbit trail was also put to real use for the first time, but I think many skiers ended up trying to ski it backwards... signs are needed! They are in the process of being made, so hopefully they'll be up soon!

That's the news from last week and I look forward to writing my next blog post! We have a whole bunch of snow in the forecast and plans to build the Jackrabbits playground over the next week or so...

- Victor

End of Week One.

2012-01-09T14:14:00.000-05:00

So, that was week one of programming at North Bay Nordic!

The Wednesday Night Series, the ladies moonlight ski and Jackrabbits all got off to a great start. Even managed to throw some lessons into the mix, although I realized that I need to work on my teaching skills!

After working on some basics last week with the Wednesday Night group (the theme was "balance") we'll move onto double poling this coming week. Hope to see a few more out for Toonie Tuesdays (we have a fire permit now!) as well as the moonlight snowshoe.

Jackrabbits also seemed to get off to quite a good start. We have a good group of leaders this year who definitely provided the basis for the quality lessons and games! Good work guys. We even made it on tv, check out the clip here. Let the clip load and enjoy!

See you on the trails!
- Victor

Let the programming begin!

2012-01-07T18:01:00.000-05:00

The first week of programming here at North Bay Nordic is almost over... but the biggest program of them all is still to come: Jackrabbits!

I vividly remember my time as a Jackrabbit in Parry Sound, Ontario. Every Saturday morning at 10am my parents would drop me into a sea of children. Somehow every child would find their way to a leader and began their season of Jackrabbits. I wasn't sure how they did it, but it worked.

I am now on the other side of things and will be the one trying to make sure every kid can find their way to their leader on Sunday. How will it go? I have no idea.... but I know we have a group of competent and experienced leaders to keep everything running smoothly.

Let's do this!
- Victor

Winter Weather

2012-01-01T20:21:00.000-05:00

The rain held off! ... at least for now.

There were some major snowflakes falling out here at the club today. North Bay could have been Whistler or Revelstoke today with those huge fluffy snowflakes!

Ski Season Begins!

2011-12-30T15:45:00.000-05:00

So, it seems winter has begun!

It was fantastic to see so many people out at the clubhouse with skiing really just starting here at North Bay Nordic. Seems that North Bay has a pretty good crowd of skiers!

Things are looking up for the debut for a number of programs next week! We are still setting a few things up, but are optimistic that Toonie Tuesdays could be a real hit. What non-member person could resist skiing and marshmallows for just $2 Members can have marshmallows for only $1! Hopefully the Jackrabbit playground will have enough snow by then too! We'll be able to start shaping some fun features...

- Victor

P.S. - The Bunnyrabbit and Jackrabbit ski areas are ready to go... they should be a blast to ski!

... and winter begins! ... hopefully.

2011-12-27T21:55:00.000-05:00

So, finally a little bit of snow and cold temperatures in the forecast. Hopefully this is the sign that the winter weather will stay around this time! I was starting to get a little worried that winter would never come!

Looking forward to the start of programming in January...

Happy New Year!

- Victor

Waiting for Winter

2011-12-22T11:43:00.000-05:00

Hello, Hello,

Well, winter just doesn't seem to want to get started! I am out at the club today waiting for the snow to start falling...

So, what does a program coordinator do when there is no snow on the trails? Well, I am a little surprised too...

The work on the new Bunnyrabbit trail and Jackrabbit play area is drawing to a close. Thanks to all the volunteers who have come out to help getting it ready to go. Just a few more sticks and brush need to be cleaned up. Maybe that's what is keeping the snow away? I better get moving then!

Unfortunately, the Saturday session of Jackrabbits had to be cancelled due to lack of registration. We are still aiming for 125 Jackrabbits, but all on Sunday. I look forward to seeing the inevitable hubbub that the club will be with that many children and parents at the club. However, we know that if we want to expand our programs, we will need to find a solution to spread out our numbers - our parking lot just can't accommodate too many more cars! Please, if anyone has ideas... pass them along to me!

Work on getting the masters/mid-week programming has also been underway. Toonie Tuesdays, Moonlight Snowshoeing, Wednesday Night Funski/Open Practice, Moonlight Mommas (includes all ladies of all ages), Ski to Eat and High School skiing programs are all approaching some form of readiness as well. I look forward to keeping this place busy even during the week.

That's all for now, keep up the snow dances! ... and hopefully Santa will bring some for Christmas.

- Victor

Welcome to my blog!

2011-12-19T21:38:00.000-05:00

Hello North Bay Skiers!

This blog is intended to keep everyone in and around North Bay Nordic up to date on what is happening this year and beyond!

Want to know what happened at Toonie Tuesdays? ...this will be the place to check it out! I hope that we'll be able to post pictures and videos from out programs each week.