108 resident Kirsty Bock didn’t get the results she was hoping for during the 2012 Haywood Ski Nationals in the Quebec City region, where she competed against the best cross-country skiers in Canada.
Noting it was “super warm” during the event and people were racing in their T-shirts and shorts, Bock says it just didn’t feel like a ski race.
She wasn’t disappointed with her times as much as she was with her placings.
Bock says her first race (five-kilometre Classic) was good and she placed 16th out of 57.
“It was one of those really close races, and I was only one minute off the first-place time.”
The next day was very warm for the 10-km Skate, Bock says, adding she didn’t do very well.
She competed in the 1.1-km Sprints the following day and it went well, and says she had a lot of fun the following day in 7.5-km mass start Classic, fighting for positions on the trails with 60 girls.
Noting Canada’s National Team members were also competing, she says it was a great racing experience.
It was also a great experience away from the trails, as Bock says it was great to see other parts of the country and to be with so many people who all have the same interests.
She adds the B.C. team stayed together in an old church, which had been turned into a lodge, in Monte Sainte Anne.
Bock says she doesn’t know what’s next in line for her.
Noting she doesn’t have the points to get first pick of a national training centre, but she might be able to get into one or two.
She is also considering going to one of the universities that has a ski team, and is leaning towards the University of Alberta.
“Even though I would be skiing at a lower level than if I was at a training centre, [a university team] would be lots of fun. I could do that for a few years, and later on if I decided that skiing is what I wanted to pursue, I could change and go to a training centre.
“If I want to ski later, I can’t stop training now.”
She has applied to the universities and the training centres already. Because cross-country skiers train year-round except for April, Bock will have to make some important decisions by the end of April, so she can start training again.
