Haywood 2015 Ski Nationals begin on Saturday

The age-old question has been answered.

Put a rabbit and a wolf on a pair of skis, and the wolf is faster. And it’s not even close.

Wolfie, the Lakehead Thunderwolves mascot, cruised to an easy win Friday over Klister, the not-so-speedy mascot representing the 2015 Haywood Ski Nationals, being staged at Lappe Nordic Ski Centre.

The event is expected to bring more than 500 athletes from across Canada to the Thunder Bay area, with competition kicking off with the team sprint races on Saturday.

Skier Alannah MacLean, recently returned from the Canada Winter Games and a member of the National Development Centre-Thunder Bay team who’s also trying to help land another university title for Lakehead, said competing on home turf is always a little advantageous.
“It’s amazingly exciting,” the Sudbury native said.

“We’re so overjoyed that we’re going to be able to have the home-course advantage both for nationals and for varsity. These are trails that we’ve been skiing on for years now. We get out here a couple times a week and know the courses like the back of our hands.”

MacLean said course knowledge could mean as much as a second or two saved over a five-kilometre race.

“It definitely takes time off knowing the exact line to take down a hill, where you can take a corner, where you can push hard. It’s just knowing on a hill if that hill continues around the next corner or if you’re going to have some rest going down into the next trail.”

This year marks the third since 2000 the nationals have been held here. They were also held in 2006. The 2015 edition will also serve as the Canadian Colleges and University Nordic Championships.

Races are scheduled to be held on Saturday and Sunday, Tuesday through Thursday and conclude next Saturday.

Events include the team sprints, interval start classic technique, interval free start technique, sprints and mass-start distance events.

Werner Schwar, co-chairman of the event, said it’s going to be a great week, made even better by the March Break timing, meaning younger skiers and fans will be able to watch the racing unfold.

“It really will be the best in Canada in all age groups, starting with 14-year-olds all the way up to the senior men, who are in their 20s,” Schwar said.

He added all of the countries national development centre teams will be represented at Lappe.

“And we do have some of the national team skiers that are returning from Europe. It really is 500 of the best 500 skiers in Canada.”

Admission to the races is free, though parking is limited at Lappe. Shuttles will be available on Saturday and Sunday from Gorham and Ware Public School in the event the lot is full.

For more information, visit the event’s official website.  http://skinationals2015.com/index.html