By John Cowan
Last week, former Port Sydney resident Collin Cameron competed in his first International Paralympic Committee World Cup event of the season at his home course in Canmore, Alberta.
Cameron competed in the sit ski events and also para-biathlon over the race week, held Dec. 4-12.
Sit skiing is an event in which athletes propel themselves using their upper body of core, chest, and arms while sitting on a seat mounted on a pair of cross-country skis. The height of the seat on a sit ski can not exceed 40 cm. Each sit ski chair is customized for each athlete, and throughout the season the customization process continues based on the athletes’ likes and dislikes of the feel of the sit ski. The sit ski base has a pin which mounts into the front of a regular cross-country Salomon Nordic System (SNS) or New Nordic Norm (NNN).
The course design of a sit ski is exactly the same as an Olympic (able-bodied) skier with some modifications such as steepness of hills for descending and climbing. The sit ski does not have a hand brake to slow them down on course. Many of the top-level skiers will hop in a track to gain maximum speed and fly down the hill. These athletes have nerves of steel.
Sit skiers, standing-para, and visually impaired skiers must be classified prior to entering a race. The classification process for a sit skier examines the balance, the lack of control or no control of limbs, and the location of fractures in the spine. Each skier is given a percentage and when all of the sit skiers are racing there will be both a real time and a calculated time. For visually impaired skiers, the process of classification requires optometrists and physiotherapists to determine the athlete’s level of sight and also assigning a percentage. Standing para skiers are those who have limbs that have been amputated, deformed, or with loss of function. Again, a percentage is assigned to each athlete and this is used for calculating their time.
On December 4, Cameron competed in a 5 km short course to take fifth place. On December 5, he earned his first medal of the season with a bronze competing on a 10 km course. Two days later, Cameron went into the 1.0 km sprint and took his first gold of the season.
The sprint set-up starts the day-of with seeding of the top 30 based on time. Five semi-finals heats are established based on qualification times followed by two semi-finals and then the final. This is an intense day with lots of racing.
The second half of the IPC World Cup was the biathlon which is sit ski around a course, followed by shooting a .22 rifle, a repeat of the course, followed with five shots at the target. On Cameron’s first event, the individual middle distance, he skied a 2.5 km loop followed by five shots. Cameron’s second round at the range did not go well with only two on target and then on the third round he was able to get four. For every shot missed a penalty loop of a couple hundred metres is to be completed prior to heading back on the course. Cameron finished the middle distance event with an eighth place and 16/20 on target.
On the second-last day of the IPC WC Canmore, Cameron competed in the sprint distance; his shooting became more accurate which earned him a fourth place. On the final day, Cameron set a new personal best in an IPC WC biathlon event, finishing the middle-distance event with a silver and an incredible 20/20 on target.
Cameron’s teammates also had success with Fonthill’s Christina Picton competing in sit ski, and Sudburian Kyle Barber in standing. Canada’s national Para Nordic team won multiple medals at their home event and are now preparing for their next event in Vuokatti, Finland from Dec, 17-21 prior to returning home for their Christmas break.
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