Athabasca’s Max Elgert, 15, attended the Haywood Ski Nationals in Corner Brook, Newfoundland from March 15–22 and placed fifth in Canada in the sprint skate event for his age group.
He placed ninth overall amongst juvenile (JV2) boys born in 1998 over the course of four races.
Although Elgert had set his hopes high, he was not disappointed.
“We has some tight corners, crazy crashes, and I had a few lucky breaks to advance to the A Finals, where I finished fifth in Canada,” he said of the sprint. “I hope to attend ski nationals next year, which will be held in Thunder Bay, Ontario.”
This year in Corner Brook, Elgert faced some new challenges.
“The trails were extensive and well maintained,” Elgert stated. “The ski area was called Blow Me Down Trails, and the area lived up to its name because most days we were hit with wind.”
Elgert stated the wind was more than just a slight breeze.
“One day, it registered at 100 kilometres per hour,” he said.
The conditions were challenging due to fresh snow, wet snow and ice.
“It’s always fun to attend these big events with some of our local racers, as well as racers I know from around the province,” Elgert said. “This was the first year I was of age to race in the juvenile category, so I had set some big goals for myself. Overall, I was pleased with my races, especially my sprint skate race (1.2 km).”
Three others skiers from Athabasca attended nationals: Maya and Michael MacIsaac-Jones and Norwegian exchange student Ingrid Tveten.
Tveten, 18, won one of her races (the 7.5-kilometre distance classic); however as she was competing under the colours of her home country (Norway), she was not included in the official rankings for the Canadian event.
Maya placed third in the Jr. women aggregate standings (JW-1) for her year of birth (1995). Michael placed 18th in his junior boys division (JB-1) amongst peers born in 1997.
Six Athabasca skiers competed in Sharkfest, an Alberta Cup race, this past weekend in Canmore.
Colleen Elgert, whose children Abby, Max and Sam participated, explained the weekend’s format, using Abby’s race as an example.
“The courses are difficult because there are a lot of hills,” said Colleen. “The interesting thing about this race is that it is called a pursuit race. On Saturday, the girls all race each other classically for 2.2 kilometres.
“On Sunday, they do a skate race, and the girl that won (on Saturday) goes off ahead, and the time increments is how they stagger them,” Colleen said.
While Anna MacIsaac-Jones placed first amongst the midget girls during Saturday’s classic race, the race was scratched due to course confusion, so instead of a pursuit, she competed in a mass start race Sunday, in which she finished third.
Sam and Max Elgert had second-place finishes Saturday in their age divisions, and Maya Mac-Isaac-Jones also placed second amongst junior women.
Abby Elgert placed third for the mini-midget girls, while Michael MacIsaac-Jones was fourth amongst junior boys on Saturday.
In Sunday’s skate race, Maya finished second, Michael finished third and Sam finished fourth, while Abby finished third — all in their respective age divisions.
As of press time, Max’s Sunday results were unknown; like Anna’s race on Saturday, some racers were confused about the course.
