By Steve Hubrecht
The Toby Creek Nordic Ski Club had a pair of skiers at the Nordiq Canada Ski Nationals earlier this spring, representing the club and the Columbia Valley on a Canada-wide stage.
The nationals were held not that far from Invermere, just over the Alberta border at the Canmore Nordic Centre from March 17 to 24. Among the hordes of skiers, coaches, support crews, family and friends who descended on Canmore that week were local teens Anika Rievaj and Virginia Denchuk.
Skiing at this level is nothing new for either athlete; this was Virginia’s third time at nationals, and Anika’s second. But both greatly enjoyed their time at the competition and felt it helped them grow as athletes and as individuals.
“It never fails to amaze me how much (nordic skiing) talent there is in Canada. It’s a really great opportunity to be able to race against the best skiers in Canada,” said Anika.
Virginia and Anika competed in several different events as individuals, including the 10-kilometre skate ski race, the 1.3-kilometre classic ski sprint race, and the 20-kilometre classic ski race; and both were part of a team of four in the five-kilometre mixed gender relay race.
They didn’t get on any podiums, but they had decent race results, and aside from the relay (when Anika was sick and Virginia crashed), they were quite happy with how they skied.
“Canmore is such a great place to ski,” Virginia told the Pioneer. “They (the Canmore Nordic Centre) hosted the World Cup last year, so they know how to put on a race really well,” added Anika.
In fact, most of the races were held on one of the World Cup courses and it was anything but easy.
“It’s relentless. There’s nothing gradual about it. It just goes uphill. Up and up and up for most of the course,” explained Virginia. ‘Then a super steep, technical downhill with really tight courses . . . it’s one of the hardest courses in the world,” added Anika.
Virginia and Anika’s race results, both at nationals and throughout the winter, helped British Columbia finish as the top province or territory in Canada for the third year in a row.
“B.C. does have very strong nordic skiers. It’s interesting to go to provincial races, and then go to nationals. It’s like taking a step back to look at the bigger picture, and helps you gauge where you are at a Canadian level,” said Virginia.
Both said one of the highlights of nationals was simply spending time with other skiers they don’t get to see that often (and a coach from Smithers who took the two under her wing), and as well as the sense of community at the event.
“You make some pretty cool connections,” said Anika. “It’s a very supportive environment,” added Virginia.
Both graduated from David Thompson Secondary School (DTSS) last year. Virginia plans to nordic ski competitively again next winter, with the aim of heading to nationals for a fourth straight year. Anika wants to continue skiing at a high level, but is not yet sure how that will mesh with her plans to go to university. “I’ll have to see where it takes me,” she said.
