Submitted by Snowshoe Canada
Snowshoe Canada is pleased to announce that they will be expanding their Ontario Cup Snowshoe Series to Muskoka for 2020.
The inaugural event in Muskoka will be held at Camp Tawingo with the cooperative support of TriMuskoka Triathlon Club who will be providing organizational expertise and race participants. The event will occur on Sunday, March 1, 2020 and will be the grand finale event of the Ontario Cup Series which currently comprises four events in Caledon, Haliburton, Kawartha and Collingwood.
“The formation of a Muskoka event has been on the drawing board for a couple of years now but nothing really took off until we were able to connect with the folks at TriMuskoka who put us in touch with Camp Tawingo,” says Dave Robinson, Snowshoe Canada President.
“From those first few phone chats we agreed to send out a survey to several hundred endurance athletes in the greater Muskoka area to gauge interest. The results were an overwhelming success so we are proceeding with our inaugural Muskoka event.”
Camp Tawingo is an ideal location for a snowshoe event because the area has plenty of snow cover late in the season along with an existing set of marked and maintained snowshoe trails. The camp also has heated indoor facilities for staging the event as well as staff that are experienced in event organizing.
An additional bonus will be the availability of onsite cabin lodging providing an additional accommodation option for out-of-town athletes.
Snowshoeing is a growing activity across Canada and around the world as more people see the benefits of getting some outdoor exercise during the winter months. The activity is relatively easy to learn, the equipment is not expensive to purchase and can typically be rented from local providers.
“Running or even brisk walking is very aerobic, gets your heart rate up, and is a good all-body workout,” adds Robinson, who got into the sport about three years ago when he took over the managing of Snowshoe Canada. “I compete in the races myself. It is good winter training along with cross-country skiing and hockey. It keeps me in shape to run triathlons in the summer.”
Robinson, a 37-year veteran of triathlon, loves a good, hard workout. His wife competes in the races also.
“We have all sorts of people from all walks of life attend our events, from casual walkers with their dogs to elite athletes interested in competing in national and world-level competitions,” he notes.
An organized snowshoe event is similar in organizational structure to any other endurance sport like running, cycling or triathlon. The entry fee is typically between $30-60 and includes online registration, bib number, timed results, measured certified course, souvenir swag, finishers’ medallion, awards and lunch.
The event at Camp Tawingo will have a 5k short course and a 10k long course along with a sprint event for the kids. Other winter activities are planned for that weekend.
Muskoka has long been a tourist destination noted for its beauty in both summer and winter. In recent years it has been gaining notoriety as a sport tourism destination with events like the TriMuskokan, Ironman 70.3 and Band on the Run.
“There is still a lot of work to do over the summer to get ready,” adds Robinson, “but we intend to be open for online registration in early October.”
Updates will be available through Huntsville Doppler and various social media channels.
Camp Tawingo is a summer children’s camp located at 1844 Ravenscliffe Rd. about 10 km outside of Huntsville. The camp is open in the winter with many activities available including snowshoeing. For more information about the camp, go to tawingo.net.
The TriMuskoka Triathlon Club is located in Huntsville and is a recreational sports club for endurance athletes. For more information, go to trimuskoka.com.
Snowshoe Canada is the governing body for snowshoeing activities across Canada. The organization operates as a non-profit on a volunteer basis with a mandate to grow and develop the sport. It is affiliated with the World Snowshoe Federation and is one of a growing list of national sport bodies set up to grow the sport around the world. The eventual long-term goal is to have snowshoeing including in the winter Olympics.
The 2020 Ontario Provincial Championships will be in Fenelon Falls on Saturday, February 1 and the Canadian Championships will be in Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec on Saturday, February 8, 2020. The world championships will be in Japan in February 2020.
For more information go to www.snowshoecanada.ca
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