Submitted by Arrowhead Race Crew
As Parry Sound native, Graham Ritchie, competes at his first Olympics for cross-country skiing in Beijing, Huntsville’s own Arrowhead Nordic supported two athletes in competing in their first Eastern Canadian Championships in Gatineau, Quebec.
Corbin Wendel and Matthew Shalla, supported by coaches Jon and Holly Strickland, headed to the three-day event on Thursday, Feb 10.
“This is a big event,” said coach Jon. “Clubs from all over Eastern Canada are represented. Many of the athletes are either on their provincial terms or are on the national development teams or are looking to head in that direction.”
“For us,” added coach Holly, “it was all about the experience and the learning opportunity, both as coaches and for the athletes.”
On Friday, the two young men competed in the sprint qualifier, a one-kilometre race that is all about speed. Only the top 30 individuals in a category move onto the heats. Both Corbin and Matthew successfully finished their races. Corbin was just out of the top 50 and finished with a broken pole.
On Saturday, the weather was tumultuous and the wax technicians and coaches had to change waxing tactics several times over the course of the day. “As coaches, we were on site for 6:30 in the morning Saturday, it was plus two and raining. By the time Corbin and Matthew raced at 2 p.m., the temperature was minus 12 and we had an inch of fresh snow.”
The weather may have been wacky, but Corbin and Matthew approached the 7.75km classic race with smiles and confidence, competing as they have at any other race: with passion.
“I felt prepared,” said Matthew. “I really enjoyed the whole experience.”
Both athletes finished, having learned a lot.
Corbin was once again plagued by a broken pole, but with the longer race length was able to get a replacement handed to him. “We could not have planned the hand-off any better,” said coach Jon. “When we noticed that he had broken his pole, I ran up the trail with his spare and by luck found his broken one. I was able to change out the strap and as he crested the hill I ran down alongside the trail and he grabbed it out of my hand as he passed. Based on this experience and the positive attitudes and growth mindset that both these athletes demonstrated, I feel like the race was a great success.”
Corbin also competed on Sunday. The final day of racing saw an extreme cold warning and the race start was postponed by an hour. Despite the cold, and the very fast course which had iced up thanks to the rain the morning prior, Corbin attacked the 10-kilometre skate race with grit. “I didn’t feel out-glided by anyone and I finished despite adverse conditions,” said Corbin. He matched his lap times which demonstrated great pacing and ultimately finished the weekend on a high.
“These athletes chose to attend this high-level event, a first for both them and us,” said coach Holly. “We were invited to attend another team’s pre-race meeting on Saturday night. The coach, Bryan Dubeau, talked about putting yourself out there, making yourself vulnerable, and growing humbly through the experience. These young men have not only demonstrated exactly that, but took us along for the experience, and for that we are very grateful.”
Arrowhead Nordic’s ARC racers are looking forward to the Midland Loppet and Ski Cross in two weekends, and then in March will compete at Ontario Cup #5 in Lakefield and at the Ontario Youth Championships in Sault Ste. Marie. In the meantime, they will also be tuning into the Olympics to support Graham Richie and Team Canada’s Nordic skiers.
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