The Teck Kootenay Cup No. 1 and No. 2, as well as the BC Winter Games Trials for the Kootenay Zone, were held in the beautiful venue of Kimberley Nordic Club (KNC), in Kimberley, January 2 and 3.

The KNC invited ski clubs from across the Kootenays, Alberta, Yukon Territory, Montana and Idaho. Racers ranged in age from 4 to 81!

Sunny skies, combined with excellent snow and awesome grooming, made for spectacular conditions. Over 150 racers (our most ever at a Kootenay Cup) competed in the classic ski competition on Saturday and around 120 skiers in the skate races on Sunday. We were blessed with beautiful sunshine on both days, allowing the temperature to rise just high enough to allow all age groups to race.

This event was also the Kootenay Region trials for the BC Winter Games. Three Kimberley skiers – Sydney Wilson, Marielle Ackermann and Molly Miller – qualified for the Provincial BC Winter Games, along with Quinn Morgan from Golden. Amongst the boys, Rohan Moola from Nelson, Robert Caldwell from Golden, and Mac Dressler from Fernie all qualified.

As the Kootenay Cup is a series of races in the West and East Kootenay, you can follow how the various teams are ranked against each other on the Cross Country BC website. Presently the KNC has a substantial lead, but this will surely change as the race venue moves to the other clubs.

As usual, the 50 volunteers who braved the very cold conditions were the heart of the event! As well, numerous donations of hearty, hot lunches were delivered and served to the racers, volunteers and spectators. A huge thank you to all of the folks who made this such a wonderful weekend!

A big THANK YOU to Teck for sponsoring this amazing event!

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