The Whistler Nordics' Sea to Sky Devo Team is back on snow for the 2009-2010 season, first at a camp at Silver Star last week, then on the newly groomed Lost Lake trails on Tuesday night. In reality the team has been training a lot longer than that, with regular training sessions as far back as June.
"This program is fairly new and it's going to take some time to expand to an even bigger program, but everyone here has been training really hard through the summer with dryland training sessions and I think we'll see the results this winter," said coach Maria Lundgren. "We've actually been training since June all together - running, roller skiing, ski striding, swimming, biking, we've been in the gym. Cross-country needs so many cross-training sports in the summer, and we introduced them all. We're very motivated."
The Devo Team athletes train five times a week, three times with the group and twice on their own. One of those training days is a gym day and two are dedicated to technique. Athletes do a lot of their cardiovascular fitness on their own and are expected to get out skiing regularly during the winter, or to spend time running or in the pool. Every athlete keeps a training log that Lundgren collects to measure progress.
In the first year the program had six students; this year there are 11. The team is committed to travelling to Coast Cup events and older athletes will also get a chance to race at a provincial level B.C. Cup in Kelowna. The younger kids will take part in a qualifier to represent the zone at the B.C. Winter Games in Terrace in March. As well, athletes will compete in local events like the Whistler Loppet, Spud Valley Loppet and the 10 Toonie Race events hosted by the Whistler Nordics over the season.
The team is open to athletes who are 13 or older, although exceptions can be made by invitation. You also have to be a strong skier who is motivated to compete at a higher level.
The main competition for the Devo Team are the rep teams from other clubs around the province, although it's not all about winning says Lundgren.
"Hollyburn is probably our biggest competition, but there's a lot of good clubs in B.C.," she said. "Hollyburn is the closest one, so we've been doing a lot of training with them. That's important for the sport, to make friends with the other clubs. It's about training and working hard, but also having fun and making friends."
The team is supported through the Whistler Nordics, cross-country B.C. sponsor Haywood Securities and the Nordic Shop to some degree, but Lundgren said they will be looking for new sponsors to expand the program in the future. As well, she says it wouldn't be possible without parent volunteers, who work with Whistler Nordics skiers at all ages.
For the skiers the biggest cost will be travelling to events. Otherwise the costs have been kept low at just $4 per session three times a week. That's less than $20 a month to train with Lundgren, who is a former national level skier from Sweden. The team has also had the opportunity to train with members of the national team in town for training events and the World Cup test events last year.
The team doesn't have a home base. During the weekends they train at Whistler Olympic Park but any on-snow training sessions during the week will be under the lights at Lost Lake Park. They also use the high performance Canadian Sports Centre gym in Creekside.
Their first event is a Coast Cup race at Whistler Olympic Park on Dec. 10. It's a free technique race with distances from one kilometre to 5 km, depending on age category.
The team will be there. The 11 members taking part include Nicki Murdoch, Jack Iles, Lauren Doak, Katie Madden, Akiko Clarke, Erin Davidson, Birken Metza, Marlin Beswetherick, Sidney Jackson, Jennifer McTavish and Jenya Nordin. All but the last four athletes took part in the Lost Lake training session on Tuesday.
Murdoch is returning to the Devo Team for a second year and once again her goal is to be selected to the B.C. Talent Squad, a provincial program for club level racers that includes three training camps with high performance coaches.
"I made the squad last year and I'd really like to make it again," she said. Roughly 40 kids are named to the team each year, with one athlete with the best results selected from each club.
"I really want to work on my sprinting this year, that's probably my worst event," she said.
Pemberton's Madden prefers skate skiing and sprinting, and has set a goal to compete in the nationals.
"Sprinting is my favourite, it's just really fun," she said. "Making the nationals this year was my goal coming out of this season, so that's what I've been working on."
Jack Iles prefers skate skiing to classic skiing and likes cross-country because it complements his summer sport of mountain biking. "It's pretty much mountain biking in the summer and skiing in the winter, and dryland in between," he said.
Birken Metza's preferred event is the medium distance classic. "You don't have to sprint as much and can pace yourself," he said. "You still get to go fairly fast, but it's not as hard on the body and your ankles don't get as sore as sprinting."
Erin Davidson is partial to sprints, both classic and freestyle. "Right now that's the only event I'm good at, but we train everything," she said. "I also have a goal of making the talent squad this year."
Akiko Clarke also likes skate and classic sprints for the same reasons, and has modest goals. "I'll just try to make it to all the Coast Cup events and that's about it," she said. "I'll try to get on the podium, but now that I'm in a different (age) category it's more of a challenge for me."
Doak likes the medium classic races the best, and has a goal of representing the Devo Team at the B.C. Winter Games.
"The selection race is in January, so I'm pretty focused on that," she said. "I'll also do both Loppets, the one in Whistler and the one in Pemberton, and all the Coast Cup events."
For more on the Devo Team program visit www.whistlernordics.com.
