Team Blog
Jack Carlyle
January 2010
Ontario Ski Team Silver Star Trip
Jack Carlyle
Mother Nature was on your side to give us the best cross country skiing weather you could ask for; lots of early season snow and cold temperatures. To have the experience to train in such an amazing place 1600 meters above sea level was a luxury. Skate or classic, there were endless trails to ski each day. One of the biggest highlights of the trip was Eric de Nys and Brittany Webster coming over to the Ontario team house to give inspirational talks on how we can better ourselves as skiers. For all of us it was great insight into what it takes to be part of the National Ski Team.
After logging 25 plus hours of training on these world class trails, it was time to end the week with the Nor-am races at Sovereign Lake. This year’s races were unique & exciting because they were qualifiers for the 2010 Olympics in Whistler. It was awesome to see Canada’s top cross country skiers duke it out for a chance to compete on the world’s biggest stage. The races were some of the hardest I had ever competed in but also some of the best. At the end of it all, sitting in the window seat of our plane looking out over the rugged landscape of the B.C. Interior I realize just how great of an experience this trip was. The whole week gave me great motivation for the upcoming race season.