The national stage is no stranger to either skier, but the Canada Games still holds something special for both Athabasca natives.
The reason is that neither 19-year-old Maya MacIsaac-Jones or 22-year-old Hans Asfeldt have competed in a multi-sport event such as the Canada Winter Games, which goes from Feb. 13 to Mar. 1.
For Asfeldt, he’s excited about being part of a broader team and not just one member of the provincial ski team.
“I’ve never been at event like this where you are exposed to various sports,” he said in a phone interview from Edmonton last week.
“It’s going to be a very rewarding experience.”
MacIsaac-Jones is also excited, but for some different reasons.
“Racing and medalling at the Canada Games has been one of my goals this season, so qualifying meant that I would have a chance to meeting that goal,” she said in an email interview.
“I have also known Hans for a long time, and I am very happy for him that he qualified as well. I am looking forward to both of us being able to represent Alberta and Athabasca at the Games.”
Asfeldt, who is in his final year of a Bachelor of Arts degree in global development at Augustana University in Camrose, hasn’t been on skis much so far this season and is dealing with a shin injury. However, he stated it isn’t going to keep him out of the Games.
“I’m working through it and doing a lot of non-weight bearing training as of late. I’ll be back on skis shortly and building up to race at the Games on Feb.21,” he said.
Asfeldt has had strong results at his last three national championships, doing better than he imagined heading into December’s qualifying for the Games, which he said was very tight – making the team by just a few seconds.
On the other hand, MacIsaac-Jones – who is training full time with the Rocky Mountain Racers in Canmore, is a member of the Canadian Junior Ski team and taking Bachelor of Arts courses through Athabasca University – also recently qualified for her second World Junior Championships, which take place in Almaty, Kazakhstan this week.
She qualified with a first place in the classic sprint and also two bronze medals at the trials.
“I previously competed in the 2013 World Junior Championships and the 2012 Youth Olympic Games. I have had a couple of tough racing seasons the past two years, and this summer I worked very hard to improve my endurance and distance racing, so qualifying for this year’s world juniors means a lot to me. It feels great to see all of my summer and fall training pay off,” she said.
A typical training week for her involves anywhere from 10 to 25 hours of training, with each hour of training generally involving an hour of recovery after the workout.
“I train six to seven days a week, 11 months of the year. Most training days involve 1.5 to two hours of training in the morning, followed by an hour in the afternoon,” she explained.
“I usually do two to three intensity sessions per week and one to two strength sessions per week. Training in the summer involves a lot of running, roller skiing, and biking.
“Winter training is almost always skiing.”
MacIsaac-Jones has been on skis since she was four, starting out as a Jackrabbit at home in Athabasca – looking up to older skiers like Asfeldt, who alos got started at a young age on the trials here at home.
However, MacIsaac-Jones took a quicker turn to the elite athlete stream and began training with the Rocky Mountain Racers Ski Team at age 12.
“I have been skiing for as long as I remember,” she stated.
“I have always loved the sport; the variety of techniques, race distances and race courses make it incredibly challenging and exciting.
“I feel very lucky to be a cross-country skier, because my job is to spend lots of time outside every day and to make myself as fit and healthy as possible.”
MacIsaac-Jones always knew in her mind that she wanted to be a skier when she grew up, but it took a couple of years for it all to come to fruition.
“I remember being about 10 when I decided that one of my goals in life was to pursue skiing to an Olympic level” she explained.
“Seeing the successes of Olympic medalists Beckie Scott and Sara Renner, as well as the success of Athabasca skier Marcia Birkigt was very inspiring to me as a young athlete.”
Both MacIsaac-Jones and Asfeldt know that their parents as well as their coaches have made sacrifices for them over the years and wanted to make sure they said thanks to them as well as to the community of Athabasca for their support.
The cross country skiing portion of the Canada Winter Games in Prince George, B.C. starts during the second week of the Games on Feb. 21.
