Athabasca will be well represented in the Alberta Winter Games this year, with over half of the Zone 5 ski team consisting of Athabascaís Nordic Ski Club members.
Nine club members qualified for the Alberta Winter Games during an Edmonton loppet on Dec. 19 ñ overcoming some stiff competition from all over the area.
ìTo have all of our members make it was really good,î said Henril Asfeldt, head coach of the local Nordic ski team. ìWeíve been training together since the beginning of September, and we go right through the ski season and start up dry land training again in the spring. Itís pretty intense, but it pays off.î
The 16-member Zone 5 team will have nine skiers from Athabasca racing in all three age categories. Sam Elgert, Noah Day and Anna Macisaac-Jones will ski in the Juvenile category. The Midget category will have Abby Elgert, Makayla Shepherd, Jake Gerritse and Bo Maier. Finally, the Mini-Midget category will consist of Taylor Shepherd and Amy Kamelchuk.
ìI think itís especially pleasing this year, because itís been quite a bit more competitive,î said Asfeldt. ìWe have a fairly active zone with a lot of clubs. Weíre in Zone 5, which includes Athabasca, Fort Saskatchewan, St. Albert, Devon, Drayton Valley, Hinton and Jasper. For us to get nine out of sixteen spots is pretty good.î
Because the majority of the skiers are from his own team, Asfeldt was appointed head coach of the Zone 5 team, along with fellow coach Collin Elgert. The two will be coaching alongside the coaches from Drayton Valley and Fort Saskatchewan.
ìIíve coached quite a few other times, but this is the first time as a head coach, so that will be a little bit different,î said Asfeldt. ìColleen Elgert was a coach last time and the fellow from Fort Saskatchewan has coached it several times, so we have a pretty experienced crew.î
The winter games are in Medicine Hat, but the Nordic ski portion will held in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park from Feb. 13-16. The team will be up against 112 other skiers from across the province, but Asfeldt is confident his new team will do well.
ìWeíll see how the medal count goes when we get down there,î he said. ìWeíll certainly have competitions from other zones, but I expect weíll do alright.î
