Growth in our Masters Program

| Wendy Shannon

With almost 270 Masters skiers in our Masters XC Program alone, it is impossible not to call this whole thing a gigantic success. It is so exciting to see so much growth in this program, a program that started just 4 short years ago with 20 participants. It would not be possible without the amazing dedication of our coaches and the organizing team. Our Master HP group, maxed at 30 participants is ready to grow for next season and had some amazing success stories this winter harvesting medals at local, National and International competitions.

This program is starting to draw in national and international attention with skiers from all over the place wanting to move here and join in the fun. We’re not joking…this is really a thing. They love skiing at Sovereign so much they are willing to move across the country or to another country in some cases. It is already happening!

Have an amazing summer everyone and we look forward to seeing you out on the trails in the offseason.

CANSI Courses a HUGE Success

| Wendy Shannon

The Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructors (CANSI) hosted two instructor courses this past weekend at Sovereign Lake training 20 new CANSI Level 1 and 2 Instructors. These instructors are taking part in our Masters Ski Programs as well as with our Ski School for teaching lessons to members and the general public. Congrats to all our successful candidates.

CCBC On Snow Camp a huge success!

| Wendy Shannon

SLNC is proud of the efforts put forth November 8-11th to ensure that 95 of our up and coming BC athletes and 20 of the provinces coaches had the best possible skiing conditions, a warm lodge and ski storage capabilities despite what nature threw at us.

The camp ended with fitter, albeit a little tired, but extremely happy athletes.  Special thanks to our grooming team and new staff members for keeping the facility going prior to our official opening.

It’s with a sense of pride that I am happy to belong to the Sovereign family but in the larger scope, we all belong to the XC Family which is what makes this sport so awesome!

Eric de Nys (SLNC Programs Director / CCBC Fall On-Snow Camp Leader)

Biathlon Demo Day at Sovereign

| Wendy Shannon

Have you ever wanted to give the sport of Biathlon a try? Well now is your chance! Our coaching team and athletes are opening up the range to anyone in the club with an interest in trying out this fun and dynamic sport.

2018/19 Programs Registration OPEN!

| jladmin

While we are in the heat of summer we never really stop dreaming about snowy days at Sovereign Lake. 2018/19 Program Registrations are now open. There are many new and exciting program options for this season so have a read through the program details and let us know if you have any questions prior to registering.

  • Youth Programs:
    • Bunnies
    • JackRabbits
    • Track Attack
    • Junior Development Team
    • Junior Biathlon Team
    • WinterFit
    • Academy
  • Adult Programs:
    • U35’s
    • Masters
    • Masters High Performance
    • Masters Biathlon

Join us today!

Website Programs Link: https://www.sovereignlake.com/programs/

Zone4 Registration Page: https://zone4.ca/reg.asp?id=18415

Contact our Programs Director Eric de Nys for more information at [email protected]

SLNC Wins BIG at BC Championships!

| Wendy Shannon

Congratulations to the full SLNC race team of over 60 participants that took part in this past weekend’s BC Championships at Telemark Ski Club in West Kelowna. With a  record 628 athletes registered for the three days of racing, Sovereign was able to secure some key podium positions in addition to numerous overall aggregate championship awards.

A HUGE CONGRATS to each and every participant this weekend!!!! A special shout-out to all of the helpers, coaches, and parents for keeping the team prepared. Below are all the Top 5 placements from this past weekend with links to the full results.

Day#1 Mass Start: (Full Results)  https://zone4.ca/race/2018-02-16/f9bf5738/2018-teck-bc-championships-ft/results/

  • 4th Place Atom Boys Chase Pighin
  • 3rd Place Atom Girls Linnaea Heidt
  • 2nd Place Junior Boys Ian Oliphant
  • 1st Place Junior Women Hannah Mehain
  • 3rd Place Masters Men 30-39 Kevin O’Connor
  • 2nd Place Masters 50-59 Paul Hardy
  • 1st Place Masters Women 60-69 Maureen Clement
  • 1st Place Masters Men 60-69 Gerry Brenemen

Day#2 Individual Start Classic (Full Results) https://zone4.ca/race/2018-02-17/965d74ca/2018-teck-bc-championships-cl/results/

  • 1st Place Atom Girls Emily Lane
  • 3rd Place Atom Girls Shayla Flanagan
  • 4th Place Atom Girls Linnaea Heidt
  • 1st Place PeeWee Boys Simon Heidt
  • 5th Place PeeWee Girls Eula Palmer Bird
  • 4th Place Juvenile Boys Lucas Sadesky
  • 5th Place Junior Boys Ian Oliphant
  • 1st Place Junior Women Hannah Mehain
  • 4th Place Open Women Marta Green
  • 5th Place Open Men Andrew Casey
  • 2nd Place Masters Men 30-39 Kevin O’Connor
  • 1st Place Masters Women 50-59 Josee LeClerc
  • 4th Place Masters Men 50-59 Paul Hardy
  • 5th Place Masters Men 50-59 Bob Boorman
  • 1st Place Masters Men 60-69 Gerry Brenemen

Day#3 Team Relays (Full Results) https://zone4.ca/race/2018-02-18/03ca747e/2018-teck-bc-championships/results/

  • 5th Place PeeWee Girls Sovereign Sweeties (Emily Lane/Linnaea Heidt/Shayla Flanagan)
  • 4th Place Midget Boys Megabots (Pedar Ree/Parker Munroe/Evan Sadesky)
  • 5th Place Junior Women Rainbow Unicorns (Paige Latta/Madison Land/Clara Hardy)

Aggregate Awards are presented to the best overall athletes throughout the season at CCBC sanctioned events per category. Consistency in these results are key to success is aggregate awards. Great job team! Special shout out to Paul Hardy, JD Coach and Dad for slaying it in the Master’s category. 

2018 CCBC Aggregate Award Recipients: http://www.crosscountrybc.ca/teck-bc-cup-series-2018-aggregate-awards

  • 1st Place Junior Girl  Paige Latta
  • 1st Place Juvenile Boys Lucas Sadesky
  • 3rd Place Juvenile Boys Torin Andrews
  • 1st Place Junior Boys Ian Oliphant
  • 3rd Place Masters 50-59 Paul Hardy

2018 Club Championships Award http://www.crosscountrybc.ca/bc-championship-club-trophy

The Club Championship Awards are presented by calculating club participation at CCBC Sanctioned events throughout the winter including Regional (Okanagan Cup) and Provincial Cup (BC Cup) Series events. For the first time in 7 years, Sovereign Lake has moved into the TOP 3, taking a whopping 2nd Place!! Do you think we can beat Larch Hills next year??? We will need to recruit a few more kids into Programs. Great work by our Programs Director Eric de Nys and all of our coaches for getting your kids involved in racing this winter.

  1. Larch Hills Nordic Society (114 points)
  2. Sovereign Lake Nordic Club (63 points)
  3. Telemark Nordic Club (55 points)
  4. Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club (45 points)
  5. Hollyburn Cross Country Ski Club (42 points)

SOVEREIGN LAKE RACERS STRONG AT WESTERN CANADIANS

| Wendy Shannon

January 19 – 21 saw 11 Sovereign Lake athletes and a couple of masters take to the Riverbend Golf Course for a weekend of intense cross-country ski competition at the Haywood Western Canadians in Red Deer, Alberta.

Red Deer is preparing to host the Canada Winter Games in 2019 so this was a means to get some preparation in for their organizing committee and race crew.  The weather was pretty decent for cross-country skiing but a lack of snow challenged the facility.  They managed to rob snow from the golf course and pack and groom it into the short courses that created an exciting spectator venue for sprint and distance races.

Day 1 saw Classic Sprints dominate the day. 

 Paige Latta leading the start of a sprint heat with her famous power starts.

All 11 racers Qualified to race in the heats which is a great accomplishment at this level of competition.

Junior Girls started us off with a fast and technical 800M course.  Clara Hardy, Hannah Stocker, and Madison Land qualified to the quarter heats but didn’t get past that round.

Paige Latta won her first quarter heat and came second in her semi sending her to the A final.  She took the early lead in the final heat but was boxed out in a tight corner and finished 5th overall.

Ian Oliphant, Junior Boys 800M race was fast and exciting.  He placed within the top two in all of his heats advancing him to the A Final where his textbook technique took him to a Gold medal.

Ian Oliphant pushing hard on the left in his Team BC suit. 

Charlie Hiam, visiting from Australia, joined the SLNC crew and was thrilled to qualify in his first Western Canadians event.

Torin Andrews and Lucas Sadesky also skied the 800M course in the Juvenile boys category both qualified but didn’t advance past their quarter heats.

Midget Boys had a fast 300M course and Pedar Ree dominated every heat taking Gold.  Parker Munroe just missed making it into the semis but was pleased with his efforts.

Sierra Munroe placed 7th in the Min Midget Girls category for that day.

 

Day 2 brought on Classic Distance competition.

The Junior Girls and Boys took 3 laps of a 3.3km course creating a 10km distance.  Paige Latta just missed the podium and took 4th.  Clara Hardy, Hannah Stocker and Madison Land had strong performances keeping them in the middle of the pack.

Ian  Oliphant was leading the race but took a bit of a stumble in his third lap and wound up 7th.  Charlie Hiam was near the end of the pack but was happy to not be the last racer into the stadium.

Juvenile Boys had a 5km race with two laps of a 2.5km course.

Torin Andrews took Gold and Lucas Sadesky Silver for their efforts.

Midget Boys also skied the same 5km distance and Pedar Ree and Parker Munroe had respectable placings in this large group.

Sierra Munroe completed 3km and place 9th in the Mini Midget Girls.

 Parker Munroe skating into the stadium.

Day 3 Split the Competitors into teams of 3 for a Skate Relay race.  Athletes were grouped by province for a showdown of sorts.

Junior Boys started the day with a 3×3.3km course and Ian Oliphant was on the BC Machine team.  They took the Gold.

Charlie Hiam raced with a mixed group including a Juvenile skier and took 9th.

Junior Girls had our 4 spread out.  Paige Latta was placed on the BC Twisted Sisters team and anchored them to a Gold podium finish.

Clara, Hannah, and Madison all did super work in supporting their teams.

Juvenile Boys  Lucas Sadesky and Torin Andrews teamed up with a third BC Athlete on Team Avalanche and took 4th.

Midget Boys skied 3 x 3km and Pedar Ree’s Team Heavy Duty won Bronze.  Parker Munroe raced up in the Juvenile category and had a great experience racing with the older skiers on a longer course.

Sierra Munroe’s team of the BC Ice Pirates finished the day on a 3 x 3km ski placing 1st.

Master skiers Paul Hardy and Chris Andrews skied a 10km course and both placed 6th in their age groups.  Chris said it was a fun and fast ski.

The next events for SLNC racing will be the Okanagan Cup in Kamloops Sunday, January 28th.  Ian Oliphant and Paige Latta will be heading to Ottawa January 31st – February 4th for Eastern Canadians and some of the JD athletes will travel to Prince George for BC Cup#2.

SLNC Welcomes Eric de Nys as new Programs Director

| Wendy Shannon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 20, 2017

With a focus on delivering a full roster of programming from Bunny Rabbits and Biathlon to Ski Academy and Masters,  Eric brings new collaborative vision to the delivery of Programming at Sovereign Lake Nordic Club.

Eric hails from the city of Prince George where he raced as a junior at Caledonia Ski Club, racing at the World Junior Championships in 1994, and becoming a medallist at both the Canada Winter Games and Canadian National Championships. Following the path of coaching once his race career ended, Eric has spent his entire adult working life immersed in Nordic sports – first as a successful athlete followed subsequently by diving into coaching and athlete development at Foothills Nordic Club based in Calgary, AB. Driven to continue on the coaching path, he enrolled in the National Coaching Institute in Calgary. Two subsequent coaching jobs with Alberta development teams led Eric to an 8 year term with Cross Country Canada as the Senior Women’s World Cup Head Coach and Assistant Head Coach on the Men’s World Cup team. As Head Coach, he lead athletes at numerous World U23 and Junior Championships, World Cups, and 2 Olympic Games. Following the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games, Eric was released from Cross Country Canada following funding cutbacks.

Biathlon Canada, based in Canmore, hired Eric soon after his CCC tenure as the new High Performance Technical Director to lead the Senior World Cup Team to success at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games.  It was here that Eric held a supervisory role in the administration, long term strategizing, and planning of Biathlon World Cup Team. The world of high performance coaching at the National level is a challenging one. With Biathlon Canada also facing funding cutbacks the position was terminated effective May of 2017.

Eric offers long term vision, and a unified approach with exceptional technical, administrative, and leadership skills. As the new Programs Director, the position caters to the requirements of Programs by providing full time year round training opportunities and assists the club in the creation of short and long term targets to grow all facets of Club Programs to create a true “full service” model.  Eric will be moving his family to Vernon and will commence work with the club and athletes on September 5th. Please join us in welcoming Eric and his family to the Okanagan!

Job Posting: SLNC Club Coach

| Wendy Shannon

Sovereign Lake Nordic Club is seeking a highly motivated and skilled coach available for full time seasonal employment effective September 5th, 2017. This position offers an annually renewable contract with fair compensation package. The Club Coach position is not reliant on grant funds, offering stable and secure employment. Compensation is based on experience, abilities, certifications and track record of coaching athletes at a National Level.

Sovereign Lake Nordic Club offers the largest daily groomed network of ski trails in Canada (with partner SilverStar), is among the largest clubs in the province (with over 1650 members) and sits at a high elevation providing exceptional skiing conditions for 8 months a year. This past season, club members skied from October 14th through to June 4th on 100% natural snow. SLNC has an exceptional track record of hosting world class racing events including the 2011 World Masters Championships, the 2005 World Cup and annual NorAm.

Vernon, BC is a small city providing exceptional amenities with endless outdoor recreation opportunities taking place on three lakes, over 200km of hiking and biking trails, endless paved country roads and world class cross country and downhill skiing.

Resumes will be accepted until Sunday, August 13th. Please provide 3 industry references and 2 personal references. The Club Coach Job Description is attached. For more information please contact Troy Hudson (SLNC General Manager) at (250) 558-8916 cell, or by email at [email protected]

Club Coach Job Description

We look forward to receiving your application.

Kindly,

Troy Hudson
SLNC: General Manager
(250) 558-8916 cell
[email protected]
www.sovereignlake.com